Hong Island is an island off the coast of Krabi! The most magical way to experience Hong Island is by long tail boat. The boys thought they were Vikings sailing around on these boats. From Railay Beach where we were staying, it was easy to hire a long tail boat for the day. I highly recommend hiring your own private long tail boat because you will have your own private tour of the islands. The boat driver will stay as long as you want at each stop along the tour. On Railay Beach, there is a place to book your own long tail boat for the day. It was around $70 to book the boat for the day. You can bring your own lunch or buy from the food stand on Hong Island.

It was about an hour boat ride from Railay Beach. We left early in the morning so we would be some of the first people there. Our first stop was Than Bok Khorani National Park. As we arrived at the beach it was like something out of a movie. With the tall cliffs and beautiful turquoise water, Hong Island was absolutely breathtaking. Once you reach the dock to get off at the beach, there is a small entrance fee of 300 bhat to enter the national park. This was one of the most peaceful and beautiful places we visited in all of Thailand. The beach is great for relaxing and snorkeling. The boys saw a huge pink jellyfish and lots of other colorful fish. There are also several nature trails around the island.

Our next stop on the Hong Island tour was the famous lagoon. We got back on our long tail boat and headed for the lagoon! The passage to enter the lagoon was so beautiful and stunning. You ride though a small opening between huge limestone cliffs to get to the lagoon. The lagoon was breathtaking. We arrived at low tide so the lagoon was filled with starfish!

Our final stop on the tour was a beautiful beach with a swing that the boys had so much fun on! This beach is perfect for a picnic or just to rest and relax! There are a few things I recommend to bring with you to this island..Sunscreen, beach towels, snacks, drinks, hat, sunglasses, and of course your camera!

Our visit to Hong Island turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip! If you are ever in Krabi, Thailand you must take a long tail boat to this magical island!

This was the day I had been waiting for since we first decided to visit Thailand. I could not wait to visit Railay Beach! It was exactly what I had imagined as the perfect Thailand beach with its beautiful turquoise water and massive limestone cliffs.

Railay Beach is a small peninsula off the coast of Krabi and is only accessible by boat so it can be a little bit of a challenge to get there. We left our hotel in Bangkok and hopped on a short flight to Krabi. We flew Thai Smile Airways, and I highly recommend this airline. After we landed at the Krabi airport, we were picked up by our hotel. I had booked the hotel transfer ahead of time, and this made everything so much easier with all the kids. We were picked up by a van and taken to the pier where we boarded a long tail boat. Keep in mind that if you have luggage it is likely to get wet and sandy when island hopping around Thailand. I would not bring really nice luggage with you on this trip. We took the long tail boat all the way to Railay East Beach where a tractor with a trailer came and picked us up in the shallow water. That was definitely a first for me! Once we made it ashore, there were golf carts from the hotel that took us to check in.

There are only a handful of places to stay on Railay. When I first decided to go to Railay, my heart was set on staying at the Rayavadee. However, with such a large family, I usually have to get two hotel rooms, and it was going to be really expensive for two of the villas. We decided to stay at the Railay Bay Resort and Spa, which turned out to be amazing. The two hotels are literally right next to each other. If you do decide to stay at the Railay Bay Resort, I recommend that you stay in the Suite Cottage. You will have your own cottage that is right near the beautiful pool and Railay West Beach.

Before we left for Thailand, Brandon was not feeling very well. By the time we got to Railay Beach, he was very sick and had a high fever. Luckily, there was an urgent care center right there in the resort. He ended up with an IV and had to stay in the center until that evening. He said that it was the best care he’s ever had! While Brandon was getting better and resting, the boys and I explored the beaches of Railay. There are three main beaches…Railay West, Railay East, and Phra Nang.

Railay West

Railay West is my favorite of the three beaches. It is a beautiful stretch of beach surrounded by the stunning limestone cliffs. In the afternoon, the beach is lined with long tail boats waiting to take you to the nearby islands. If you walk down the beach you will come to Walking Street. It is a single street that is lined with seaside restaurants, souvenir shops, and wonderful Thai massage shops. It is the perfect beach to watch the sunset.

Railay East

Railay East is not much of a beach. It has a long wooden boardwalk that connects Railay West to Phra Nang Beach. There are a few shops along the boardwalk. The walk from Railay East to Phra Nang is like something out of a movie with the limestone cliffs and caves towering over you.

Phra Nang Beach

Phra Nang Beach was absolutely amazing! It is about a 10 minute walk from Railay West. You can also take a long tail boat or kayak to this beach. It was spectacular with its beautiful white sand beach and amazing cliffs. You can even go rock climbing here from the cliffs.

And Finally…the amazing sunsets on Railay Beach! The boys enjoyed the sunset paddle boarding while we enjoyed a fresh coconut on the beach! After the sunset, thousands of bats filled the sky. It was amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before!

If you ever get the chance to visit Thailand, you must go to Railay Beach!

We finally made it to Thailand over Christmas vacation! It has been on my bucket list since we moved to Okinawa! Since we got back from Thailand a few weeks ago, I have had so many questions about our trip so I thought I would give you a complete guide of everything we did. I spent many months researching this trip so hopefully this will save you a lot of time and help make your trip as amazing as ours was!

The day the boys got out of school for Christmas vacation we packed up and headed to the airport. The weather is absolutely perfect in Thailand this time of year, and I was worried that it would be really crowded. After talking with some of the locals in Thailand, we found out that we came at the perfect time to miss the big crowd. So I recommend that if you go in December try and go the week right before Christmas. There is only one direct flight from Okinawa to Thailand so we flew on Peach Airlines. It is only about a 4 1/2 hour flight from Okinawa.

It was the middle of the night when we arrived in Bangkok. Traveling with a family as large as ours I like to have transportation arranged ahead of time. I booked all of my airport transfers with Tours With Tong. It was only 1200 bhat, and the van that they picked us up in was huge. It was actually like nothing I have ever seen before. We called it the party van! I wish I had a picture of the inside! The van was waiting for us as soon as we had our luggage and we were off to our hotel to get a little rest before the next day!

We stayed at the Millennium Hilton which is right on the Chao Phraya River. The rooms have beautiful views of the main river that runs through Bangkok. Many of the temples and tourist attractions are located on this river. The Hilton had a free water taxi that would take you right to the pier to hop on the water taxis. The water taxis were only about 100 to 200 bhat to go up the river. The pool was our favorite part of the hotel!

Early the next morning, we headed for the famous floating market and train market outside of Bangkok. Once again we booked with Tours With Tong. We took the half day tour to the markets so that we could explore more of Bangkok in the afternoon. The half day tour which left the hotel at 7:00 and retuned at 12:30 was 5200 bhat for our entire family in a large van. I highly recommend this tour company, and I would request Lily to be your tour guide. We learned so much from her on the way to the markets. She also knows a lot of the “Mommas” that sell from their boats at the market. The best thing about this tour was that we were some of the very first people to get to the market. We were able to watch as the market came to life.

The unique, beautiful, and colorful floating markets are one of the most famous attractions in all of Thailand. There are several floating markets around Bangkok, but we close to visit Damnoen Saduak, the best known and most visited.

Damnoen Saduak is a large, colorful market packed with longtail boats selling all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and famous Thai dishes. Our “Momma” took us through the canals in search of the best foods to try. Since we got their early, we were just about the only tourists on the canals. As we were leaving, it was getting very busy and a lot more crowded . I highly suggest getting there as soon as it opens. We tried lots of different food, but we loved the Mango Sticky Rice and Coconut Ice Cream!

After we left the floating market, we headed to the famous train market. Our tour guide, Lily, took us around the market and to the best place to watch the train. This was one of the most interesting places. The shop owners have to move their shops each time the train goes through and put them right back up. It was amazing to watch! The train was so close to their shops that it went right over some of their items for sell that were on the ground.

After we returned back to the hotel, we spent a few hours having lunch by the pool and swimming. It was a nice break in the middle of the day before we headed down the river to see Wat Arun.

Wat Arun or “The Temple of Dawn” is my favorite temple in Bangkok! I wanted to head there at sunset to see the beautiful colors as the sun was setting. We took a water taxi from the hotel right to the temple! The temple was just as beautiful as I imagined!

The sunset at Wat Arun turned out amazing! The best part about going to the temple in the evening is that when you take the water taxi back to the hotel all the temples are lit up at night! We had the most amazing day in Bangkok!