Everything You Need to Know About the East Railay Viewpoint Hike | Thailand
The East Railay Viewpoint hike was one of my Thailand highlights! It’s a fun, short climb to a viewpoint overlooking both West and East Railay beaches. The hike is quite challenging though, especially after rain. So here’s everything you need to know if you decide to do it!
Disclaimer: Hikers complete the Railay Viewpoint climb at their OWN RISK.
East Railay Viewpoint
Hike Stats
- 🗺️Distance: 90m technical trail + 200m non-technical trail
- 🕘Duration: Approximately 15 minutes one way
- 🧗🏻♀️Difficulty: Moderate-challenging
- 📅Government Area Hours: 8am until 4.30pm (NO climbing in the dark)
In This Guide
Railay Viewpoint Hike Trailhead
Once you’ve made it to Railay Beach in Ao Nang, the trailhead to the East Railay Viewpoint is quite easy to find. It’s located along the trail connecting East Railay Beach to Phra Nang Beach. This part of the trail is flat and paved, passing under and around the cave-like limestone cliffs.
Heading towards Phra Nang Beach, the trailhead is on the left-hand side. There are a couple of information boards at the bottom, showing a map of the route. On the right-hand side is a wooden shelter with benches and bins.
From the bottom, the trail just looks like a cliff face. If it wasn’t for the rope and the signs, I think people would just walk right past it, without even realising!
Hiking As A Solo Traveller
As much as I was desperate to do the trail hike, I was a little nervous about doing it as a solo traveller. It is a challenging climb! I was concerned that if I got stuck or slipped, there would be no one to help me.
I did the climb in November, at the start of peak travel season. The hike is quite a ‘high traffic’ route. I ended up joining forces with another solo traveller, that was preparing to do the climb at the trailhead. By doing it together we could watch out for each other.
Technical Trail
The Railay Viewpoint hike is split into 2 sections, the technical trail and the non-technical trail. It starts with the technical trail. When at the bottom you can NOT see the top of the technical section. It’s hard to tell exactly how high it is and if it gets harder.
When looking at the map at the bottom of the trail, it shows that the technical climb is approximately 90 metres. The part you can see at the bottom, it’s like that, but 2 more times.
I also thought that the bottom section was actually a bit harder than the other parts. Once you get up the first part, it’s a little more rocky with lots of vine-like tree roots. I found this made it easier to climb up.
There is a rope that leads up one side, but I found it to be a bit useless. It was a bit slack and because it moves it didn’t give me the grip or support that I was after. The rocks and roots were perfect to grab hold of to pull myself up. I ended up just using the rope as a directional guide.
I am only 5ft 4, my legs aren’t the longest, but there was only one small section where I really had to stretch and heave myself up. The rest I didn’t find too bad. But it is very much a climb. I had to use my hands and arms to help pull me up pretty much every step.
There are also lots of little ledge type areas where you can stop for a quick breather/water break, before continuing up.
Non-Technical Trail
Once you reach the top of the technical trail, you’ll see a signpost. Unfortunately, the signpost is so covered in stickers, it’s impossible to see what it actually says.
To the left-hand side of it, there’s a thin piece of rope leading off through the bushes, this is the direction to the Railay Beach Viewpoint. If you head to the right of the sign, that’s the route that continues onto the Railay Lagoon.
The non-technical trail is very easy in comparison. It’s quite level and flat, with just a few logs that you’ll need to step over. You’ll be able to give your arms a rest and just walk normally. After 200m you’ll come to the viewpoint area.
Railay Beach Viewpoint
The Railay Beach Viewpoint itself is quite a small flat area between the trees, it could fit around 6 people. However, the part with the view over Railay only had enough room for 3 at a time. So if there are several people up there, you may need to have a shuttle round to take turns!
I was worried that the trees being so overgrown would restrict the view, but when visiting in November 2023, I could still see enough to satisfy me!
By the time I reached the top, it had come over a little cloudy. However, I still thought the view was worth it. A couple of other people I passed on the trail did say they were a little disappointed though. Yes the sea didn’t look bright blue, but it’s cool to see the peninsula with the beaches on either side.
Once finished at the viewpoint, you can either follow the trail back and retrace the route, or do the loop through the forest. The loop is slightly longer, at 300m, and is a little more sloped, but still an easy trail.
It then connects back up to the original trail just a short walk from the top of the technical route.
Railay Lagoon
Once you reach the signpost at the top of the technical trail, you can either head back down or continue on to the Railay Lagoon. People swim in the lagoon which is surrounded by cliffs and forest.
This hike has another technical trail, but is much longer, at 245m. It also has a footnote on the map that a rock climbing guide is required.
From my research, the photos of the route look like it has flatter rock faces that you need to scale and is harder than the shorter technical trail. Regular people were heading off along the route independently but I decided not to do it because I was already doing the hike in less than ideal conditions…
(After all, this post is about the East Railay Viewpoint hike…not the hike to the lagoon!)
The Climb Down
You go down the same way you come up. Personally, I found it easier to climb the whole way down pretty much backwards. I treated the rocks and the tree roots like going down a ladder. Doing it this way I felt more stable and I knew the strength in my arms would be stronger when lowering myself down.
The top 2 sections weren’t that bad when coming down. Ironically, it was very first part of the route, the section closest to the beginning, that I struggled with the most. There wasn’t really anything to hold on to and by the time I came down, it was REALLY slippery and muddy.
Some people chose to go down the whole way facing forward. It looked like they were struggling though and were almost sliding down the rocks, rather than lowering themselves down. (They also got COVERED in mud…read below).
By the time I got to the bottom, my legs felt like jelly. Other than being drenched in sweat, I felt OK psychically though, I wasn’t really worn out or anything.
Hiking to Railay Viewpoint in Rainy Season
When visiting Krabi in November, even though it’s the start of peak season, it’s also the back end of the rainy season. I chose a dry day to visit Railay, but unfortunately, it was after 2 solid days of rain.
Along with the trail map at the trailhead, there is a second board that says:
CAUTION! This trail is strenuous. Muddy and slippery when wet. Not recommended after rain. Do not go up after dark.
This was another reason I was a little nervous about completing the climb as a solo traveller. I had the added risk of the trail being wet and slippery.
Personally, I probably wouldn’t recommend doing the trail after rain. I think it would have been much easier when dry as I did slip a couple of times. On one of the slips, I did bang my knee and my wrist, which both bruised. The person I climbed with slipped on the way down and cut their leg, and another girl landed on her butt.
There is a reason I don’t have a huge amount of photos or videos of the hike…I was FILTHY. My hands, arms, and legs were completely orange with mud. I had my phone in my backpack and that’s where it ended up staying most of the time. I knew whatever I ended up touching would be orange too!
As soon as I finished the hike, I walked to Phra Nang Beach and straight into the sea to wash off! Everyone seemed to have the same idea!
What I Wore
Because I ended up deciding to do the climb ‘last minute’, I was just wearing a pair of shorts over my bikini, Teva hiking sandals, and my backpack. Honestly, I’m glad I didn’t stop to put my top back on, because I was sweating by the time I reached the bottom again!
There is a sign at the bottom that says ‘no open-toed shoes‘. My hiking sandals ARE open-toed, but they did amazingly well though and I was very happy with my choice to wear them.
Three reasons: they stayed on great, gripped as well as they could in the conditions, and when they were covered in mud I could walk straight into the sea to wash them off.
People who wore trainers ended up with completely orange shoes. I can’t imagine they would have been easy to clean off.
On the opposite end of the scale, there were people climbing in bikinis and bare feet. I wouldn’t recommend this though and flip flops would have been useless. Most of the barefoot people were climbing HOLDING their flip flops.
Backpacks are good too for keeping your hands free and everything out of the way while climbing.
Other Things To Know
The closest toilets are just around the corner from the trailhead, near Phra Nang Beach. They were 10baht (2x5baht coins needed) but there is an attendant with lots of change. The toilets were fairly clean and had plenty of toilet paper.
For food or drinks, it’s better to head back towards East Railay Beach. There’s a small convenient store/souvenir shop with cold drinks, just as you reach the beach (and another toilet block). Or head to the ‘shopping street’ for a range of restaurants and cafes. I treated myself to a rolled ice cream!
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About the Author – Kylie
My travels have taken me to over 50 countries worldwide (& I lived in USA for 4yrs). I hold a BTEC National Diploma in Travel & Tourism (triple distinction) and have been writing on Between England & Everywhere since 2015.
Expert in: Adventure travel🎢, beach destinations🏖️, and packing light (mid-budget backpacker)🎒
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Last Updated on May 23, 2025
I’m not much of a hiker, but this looks like it would be such a great experience because of the views.
Yes! The views made it worth it! Even though it was quite tough as it was more of a climb, it was quite quick really compared to some hikes!
Nice. It looked like you had a great experience.
I’m not much of a hiker, but this looks like it would be such a great experience because of the views.
Yes! The views made it worth it! Even though it was quite tough as it was more of a climb, it was quite quick really compared to some hikes!
Nice. It looked like you had a great experience.