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If you are planning to visit Railay Beach and hoping to see monkeys, you’ve come to the right place. In this short and concise article, we will tell you exactly how to see monkeys in Railay. We will also provide a little background information to help you understand the area and make the most of your trip.
If you’re planning to visit Krabi, we highly recommend a visit to Railay Beach and the surrounding area. These are genuinely some of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen, and we’ve seen many beaches over the years.
The most popular and busy beach in the area is Railay West Beach and this is the best place to see monkeys in the area. Find out more about the BEST beaches in Krabi and also learn about how to get around the Railay Beach area.
How do you get to Railay Beach?
Don’t miss our FULL GUIDE – How to get to Railay Beach
If you’re hoping to see monkeys in Railay, the first step is getting to the area. This is a little more challenging than it sounds. Railay Beach and the surrounding beaches are very remote and cannot be accessed overland from Krabi or Ao Nang. The only way to get to these beaches is to take a boat. You can take shared taxi boats from various locations in Krabi or Ao Nang. There is a fixed standard price of 100 baht per person each way. They use the iconic longtail boats for these taxi boat rides, making it a very fun and photogenic journey. You can then take taxi boats back again for the same price.
What type of monkeys can you see in Railay?
There are two main species of monkeys living in the area: macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and Dusky leaf monkeys (Trachypithecus obscurus).
The macaque monkeys are generally more confident and can be prone to territorial and aggressive behavior. Fortunately, you don’t generally see macaque monkeys around Railay Beach. However, they do live in the area, and wild animals are unpredictable. If you do see macaque monkeys around, we recommend keeping a safe distance. These monkeys often attack people, stealing bags and food.
There are some dusky leaf monkeys living around Railay Beach area. These monkeys are naturally a lot more timid and cautious than macaque monkeys. They tend to spend a lot of time in the tree canopies and are very unlikely to approach humans. Dusky Leaf monkeys have beautiful black fur and white eyes, making them very good at looking adorable.
What is the best location to see monkeys in Railay?
If you’re hoping to see monkeys in Railay, it’s important to pick the correct location and wait around for a while. We recommend going to the south side of Railay Beach. Dusky leaf monkeys can often be seen playing in the trees in the Railay Bay Resort & Spa close to the beachfront. They also like to feed in this area, primarily eating the soft flesh around the seeds of sea almonds and then dropping the hard seeds on sunbathers below. These monkeys are reasonably used to human beings and will sit in low branches feeding, so you can often get a good view of them.
Will you always be able to see monkeys in Railay?
Some areas of Thailand provide very reliable monkey encounters; however, this is not the case with Railay Beach. We have already mentioned that the monkeys living in this area are dusky leaf monkeys, and they are a little more shy of human company. They also tend to move around the area, so you cannot always see them hanging out by the beach. If you are really keen to see these monkeys, we recommend staying around the south of the beach and keeping a careful eye on the canopy.
A few things not do around monkeys in Railay
With any wildlife encounter, it is important to follow a few rules and guidelines to keep yourself and animals safe. The dusky leaf monkeys generally remain in the treetops. However, if you do see a monkey on the ground, always give it a reasonable distance and avoid encroaching on their space. Never feed wild animals. Avoid physical contact with these monkeys.
Is it safe to see the monkeys in Railay?
Compared to macaque monkeys, the dusky leaf monkeys on Railay Beach are very safe. They have a calm and timid temperament and generally avoid contact with human beings. If they are feeding in the trees, we do recommend watching out for falling fruit and seeds. If the monkeys are playing in the branches, branches can occasionally fall. This actually happened when we were watching them play, so be careful standing in the trees underneath the monkeys.
