Krabi
The wedding band came off for the climb at Railay and never went back on
Railay is known for climbing on its limestone cliffs, from the end of Railay East to Phra Nang Cave Beach.
Whether a band lost on a climbing day at Railay can be found comes down to where it went: the foot of the route, the sand, and water you could stand in are all places a detectorist can work. What decides it is how well you can retrace the afternoon, from where you took it off to every place your bag was set down after that.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Krabi with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
If yours went missing at Ao Nang, on Ko Phi Phi or at Maya Bay, or on Ko Lanta, the same applies, and each has its own part of this page.
Go through the climbing kit before you leave the peninsula
Empty the chalk bag, the rope bag and every pocket of your pack, then look over the ground where the bags sat at the foot of the route. Before you walk away, take a photo of the rock face you climbed and drop a pin where the bags were.
Railay can only be reached by boat, as steep limestone closes it off from the land, and the boats come across from Ao Nang and Noppharat Thara. If the band could have gone during the crossing, the boat and the landing are part of the search area too.
Places we cover in Krabi
- Ao Nang Beach
- Noppharat Thara Beach
- Khlong Muang (Klong Muang) Beach, near Mount Ngon Nak
- Tubkaek Beach, which looks out to the Hong Islands
- Railay West
- Railay East (Hat Nam Mao)
- Phra Nang Cave Beach
- Tonsai Beach, Railay
- Ko Poda
- Thale Waek, Ko Kai, Ko Mo and Ko Thap
- The Hong Islands
- Ko Phi Phi Don
- Tonsai Bay and pier, Phi Phi Don
- Loh Dalum Bay
- Laem Tong
- Ko Phi Phi Le
- Maya Bay
- Pileh Lagoon
- Loh Samah Bay
- Ko Phai
- Ko Lanta Yai and Saladan Pier
- Ko Lanta Noi
- Kho Kwang, Loh Bara and Phra Ae beaches, Ko Lanta
- Khlong Khong, Khlong Nin and Ba Kantiang beaches, Ko Lanta
- Laem Tanot, Ko Lanta
The beaches and islands around Krabi
The mainland beaches first, then the islands you reach by boat.
Ao Nang Beach and Noppharat Thara
Ao Nang Beach runs for nearly two kilometres, with a limestone mountain at the end towards Railay and a river mouth at the end towards Noppharat Thara. People sunbathe and swim here, and take boats out to Railay and the islands. Noppharat Thara is a 3 km beach of white sand scattered with tiny shells. At low tide the canal there dries out and the beach grows longer.
Railay West and Railay East
Railay sits on a peninsula, and rocks separate its east and west beaches. Railay West has white sand, shallow water and a rocky southern end, and people swim there and watch the sunset. Railay East, or Hat Nam Mao, is a muddy shore that belongs to a larger mangrove swamp. It is no place for a swim, but it is where many people get on and off the boats.
Phra Nang Cave Beach and Tonsai Beach
A short walkway leads from Railay West to Phra Nang Cave Beach, a beach of white sand and clear water with limestone cliffs. People swim, kayak and climb here, and it is full in the morning. Tonsai Beach is one of the Railay beaches as well.
Ko Poda, Ko Kai and Thale Waek
Ko Poda, south of Ao Nang, has white sand beaches on three sides and a high rocky cliff on the west. Ko Kai has a rock shaped like a chicken head. Near it, at low tide, a sandbar called Thale Waek surfaces and joins Ko Kai, Ko Mo and Ko Thap.
Tonsai Bay, Loh Dalum and Laem Tong
On Ko Phi Phi Don, Tonsai Bay, with the main pier, and Loh Dalum Bay face each other, and a path leads from one to the other. Loh Dalum has clear water for swimming. Laem Tong, in the north of the island, has a beach of fine white sand.
Maya Bay, Pileh and Ko Phai
Ko Phi Phi Le is a limestone island whose cliffs drop straight into the sea. Maya Bay is a small crescent of fine white sand ringed by limestone, with water clear enough to see the sand below. Pileh is a large cove with a narrow entrance and a small beach at the back. Ko Phai, close to Ko Yung, has white sand all round and shallow water you can walk in.
Ko Lanta
Ko Lanta is two main islands, Ko Lanta Noi and Ko Lanta Yai. The business centre is at Saladan Pier on Ko Lanta Yai, and beaches line nearly the whole of its west coast, among them Kho Kwang, Loh Bara, Phra Ae, Khlong Khong, Khlong Nin and Ba Kantiang. Laem Tanot, the cape at the southern end, has a lighthouse.
What to expect once you write
Nobody passes you on
Everything happens on WhatsApp with one person, who asks the questions, briefs the detectorist and tells you what comes next.
Your day, in order
The detectorist reads the boat over, the beach, the climb and the walk back as one sequence, with your pins and photos marked on it.
Worth sending early
A map pin, a photo of the spot, a photo of the item or its twin, and roughly what time it went. Anything else can follow.
Costs in writing
We explain the costs before any search is booked, set out in the same chat so you can read them again later.
When the tide is out, and what lies underfoot
Low water, mud, sand and coral all come into it around Krabi.
Low water changes the map
Several places here look different at low tide. At Noppharat Thara the canal dries and the beach stretches out, the Thale Waek sandbar only shows when the water is low, and going in and out of Pileh depends on the tide. For a loss at any of these, the time of day tells us what the ground looked like.
Railay East and Railay West underfoot
Railay East is mud and mangrove. Railay West is white sand and shallow water, with rocks at its southern end. Say which shore it was, and whether you were on the sand or in the water.
Coral round the islands
There is coral along the shore of Ko Poda, in the water around Ko Kai, at Loh Samah Bay and in the shallows at Ko Phai, where most of it is staghorn. If you were snorkelling, name the island and where the boat stopped.
Questions about Krabi, Phi Phi and Ko Lanta
Where would a search start for a wedding band I took off before climbing at Railay?
At the wall you climbed, so name it first: the cliff at the end of Railay East, a route on Railay West, or one at Phra Nang Cave Beach. Then tell us where the bags were put down, which pocket the band went into, and where you walked once you had finished. A photo of the band helps too.
My engagement ring was gone by the time we got back across the mud at Railay East.
Railay East, also called Hat Nam Mao, is a muddy shore within a larger mangrove swamp, and a common place to board and leave the boats. Say whether you were still on the shore or already in the water beside a boat, and mark the way you walked. Mention the metal and the stone.
Ao Nang Beach is nearly two kilometres long. How do I tell you where my watch came off?
Use its two ends. A limestone mountain closes the end towards Railay, and a river mouth the end towards Noppharat Thara, so say which one you were nearer and roughly how far along. Say whether it was a smartwatch or a metal watch, and whether you had been in the sea.
Our room key went missing between Tonsai Bay and Loh Dalum on Phi Phi Don.
The two bays face each other and a path runs from Tonsai Bay across to Loh Dalum, so the key could be on either beach or on the path itself. Pin where you sat on each beach and the route you took between them. If it was on a ring with other keys, say how many.
Can an Oura ring dropped on the Thale Waek sandbar be found once the tide has come back in?
The sandbar only links Ko Kai, Ko Mo and Ko Thap when the water is low, and it disappears again as the tide rises, so a search there has to fit around low water. Tell us which island you walked out from, how far along the bar you got, and what time it was.
I came out of the sea at Ko Poda wearing one earring, not two.
Ko Poda has beaches on three sides, and a small island shaped like a sailboat sits in front of the beach, which makes a useful mark. Say where your boat pulled in, how far out you swam and how deep the water was there. A picture of its pair shows the size and shape to look for.
My bracelet was on my wrist at Maya Bay and missing by the time we were back on the boat.
Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Le, is a small crescent of fine white sand closed in by limestone. Any photo you took from the sand shows the cliffs from where you stood, which helps place you. Tell us roughly where on the sand you stood, and whether it is a chain or a bangle.
My phone slipped out of my hand in Pileh Lagoon.
Pileh is shallow and clear around its edges, deeper in the middle, and has a small beach at the far end. Near the edge or on that beach, a search can be planned from your pin and photos. If the phone went down in the deep middle of the lagoon, it is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Krabi
When it happened matters here too
Around Ao Nang, the tide changes what a beach looks like.
Write on WhatsApp with the beach or the island, roughly what time it happened, and a map pin if you have one. Our first reply asks about that spot and that hour.