Does visiting a climbing mecca that's located on some of the world's most pristine beaches sound like something you'd want to do? If you like rock climbing and beautiful beaches, Railay Beach is the place for you, and Real Rocks Climbing School is the school to do it with, in my humble opinion, having only climbed with them, but having no real complaints. Real Rocks Climbing School pride themselves on catering for all ages and abilities. They offer a range of courses, so I went for the half day of climbing and this is what I thought:
Real Rocks Climbing School Railay Review
Real Rock Climbing Experience
I was picked up from the door of my hotel in Ao Nang, and it was just a quick tuk-tuk ride and long tail boat ride to Railay Beach. It was exciting approaching Railay Beach by boat because it looks like this:
From the docking station it was a quick walk to Real Rock's shop, where I was fitted with climbing shoes and harnesses. After I'd been given water, I headed on over to the rocks. They were right on the beach and they were beautiful. At this point, and soz for my tmi, the delicious spicy fish (this was before I became vegan) I ate out the night before with friends, decided that right now would be the time to literally jump out of my butt and there was little to no warning. Luckily, there is a toilet on Railay Beach, which costs a few baht. Because I was in such a rush I forgot to grab my toilet roll from my bag, and because I'd used up my last baht on the fee, I had to use the bum gun. No problem, except there wasn't one in my cubicle. So I had to waddle to another cubicle, lol. I thought this was going to go on all day and ruin my climbing experience before it had even started, but luckily the fish seemed to all come out at once and I was able to enjoy the rest of the day without any more butt diarrhea.
My Instructor & Climbing at Railay Beach
My ex and I, Tom, had an instructor to ourselves. His name was Won and he was very friendly and skilled. He taught us how to tie our knot in a figure of eight. He checked it each time and always announced 'knot good' (and each time I thought he meant 'not good'... I'm slow). It turns out, however, that I'm not slow at climbing, and Won agreed with Tom that I was the best (out of the two of us, but still lol). Now the site we were on had lots of other climbers, but as there were a lot of different routes, we didn't have to wait long for our turn.
The rock faces were perfect to climb on, with lots of natural foot and hand holds.
Furthermore, the rock was smooth and soft and felt like the fake climbing walls, despite of course being natural - it's as though nature intended us to climb these rocks! The climbing quickly got higher and harder, but made up for it with more and more incredible views:
The last course was incredibly hard, and I was ready to give up and go home, but Won really encouraged me and kept saying one more try! And when I finally did it, it felt so incredible and I'm really glad he encouraged me - thank you Won!
Tom and I both really enjoyed the rock climbing, partly because of the location, partly because of the challenge and partly because of our super cool guide, Won.
Rock climbing is definitely something I will be doing more of in the future!
Railay Beach
After the climb, my half day still wasn't over and I was unexpectedly treated to a trip to the beach around the corner.
This beach was one of my absolute favourites in Thailand and I'm glad I got a chance to visit. It was the perfect place to relax after a morning of climbing.
I also witnessed an elderly man climb up the rock face with no ropes or harness! According to Real Rocks Climbing and to my neighbour who went on another day, this is a regular occurrence. Whilst I definitely don't recommend that you climb without ropes, I certainly recommend that you check this old guy out - he was very entertaining to watch, and worth the donation he expected afterwards.
Wrap Up & a Short Note about Real Rocks Climbing
I was extremely impressed to discover that Real Rocks Climbing School is very eco friendly. They offer regular support to local beach clean ups, make charitable donations to NGOs and help spread environmental awareness initiatives in the local schools. This is extremely important in such a beautiful place with such a high number of tourists. Furthermore, for the last two years they have had a work-study program for disadvantaged kids which offers internships for teens who would otherwise not have access to such opportunities. For the above, I give Real Rocks Climbing my Weasel of Approval (like a seal of approval, but awarded by me). :)
Unless you've skipped straight to the bottom of this post, you won't be surprised to learn that I loved my half day with Real Rocks Climbing and highly recommend them. The location is great, Won is wonderful and the whole company can definitely be admired for their noble actions. You can find Real Rocks Climbing on their website www.realrocksclimbing.com/ or via email - realrocksrailay@gmail.com. In case you're interested, check out my daily vlog, where I summed my climbing experience up well by saying 'it's perfect, it's kinda soft, but hard...'
Disclaimer: Travelling Weasels were invited as guests of Real Rocks Climbing, Railay. As always, all opinions are our own and we would never recommend anything we haven't personally tried and loved. Because that's not cool.
ABOUTME
We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.
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