Basecamp Tonsai — Attraction in Krabi Province

We stayed with Basecamp in one of their bungalows and climbed with them, so I'll be reviewing both experiences here. We stayed in one of the rooms they call "Forest Fan" room. Its a small bungalow with a mosquito net around the sleeping area and a toilet & shower head. It's elevated and has a cute little porch. The bed was really more of a sleeping mat than a bed but I found it plenty comfortable. The fan was helpful for falling asleep in the heat but it will turn off as most of Tonsai only gets electricity for part of the night. It's a step up from camping and for around $12.50 a night USD you have to set your expectations and mine were met. They provide toilet paper, shower towels, and blankets. I also had booked the transport from Phuket to Tonsai via cab and long tail boat with them as I was new to the area and heard that it can be hard to get someone to take you in the evening time when my flight got in (also opt to fly to Krabi rather than Phuket if you can, its a lot closer). This didn't work out as I accidentally sent them the wrong date (whoops - my bad) though I did also send them my flight confirmation per their request and it was clear they didn't check it since they didn't catch the error until I was waiting at the airport. It was really hard to track down Elke, the owner, during our stay (a Western white woman, so you're not supporting a locally-owned business but that's neither here nor there) to ask for a refund, but when we did catch her she agreed to give us a refund talking to us briefly while walking away saying that she needed to take care of her cat. The refund did come through though! After doing this myself I would recommend you don't book transportation with them beforehand, it ended up being cheaper and less hassle to just pay day of. Try to arrive to Ao Nang by 3pm or so so you don't get gouged with Long Tail prices (800 baht if you don't have 8 people going to the same place - otherwise 100 baht per person). If you do have to arrive later it is still possible to get a boat around 6pm or so. As for climbing we took a beginner top rope course with Ahmir (I'm not sure of the spelling of his name). I had done a lot of indoor gym climbing but not as much outdoor climbing and my partner is a complete beginner so I thought this class would be appropriate for us. The climbing for me was easy (in the gym I can climb 5.10 pretty consistently but that's not really impressive) and my beginner partner was able to get up 2.5 of the 4 walls he took us on. I found him to be knowledgeable and friendly and felt safe throughout our time with him. It takes a half day class to do 4 walls. My only critique for him would be too much beta. Perhaps he would've given less for a more advanced class but I personally like the challenge of figuring out a wall and am confident in my ability to do so. I don't mind actual climbing tips on occasion "match your hands here" "put weight in your left foot" and the like, but constant "left hand on that hold just above you, good now right foot" for every move kind of kills it. All of the other staff we encountered at Basecamp were super friendly and made sure to say hi whenever we saw them...

This place offers climbing equipment for rent as well as some guided trips or courses. I took an introductory course with a group and had an amazing climbing experience. As far as I know this is also the cheapest place in Tonsai for such a course. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. The equipment is well maintained and organised.

Information about the introductory climbing course: Price in March 2025: 1200 Baht p.P. (includes all gear) Time: from 09:30 - 13:30/14:00 bring water and energy

The course starts at around 09:00-09:30 by meeting at the Basecamp location. First you are introduced and then you try on the climbing gear. When everyone is ready you walk down to the beach towards the first climbing locations. You will be asked about your rock climbing experience and depending on your level go towards different spots. Intermediate or experienced climbers will be in Tonsai Bay. Beginner climbers will walk onto Railay Beach to the other side of Tonsai Bay. The way can be a bit tricky as you have to trek through some jungle parts (if you have other shoes than flip flops, I would recommend those!). The whole walk will take around 30-45 minutes. At our climbing site there were already many different climbers and it seemed to full. We had two ropes for 6 climbers. After seeing this, 2 of our group left. At the site we were only briefly introduced to the gear, the knots and climbing techniques. Also we did not have any helmets (we were always secured and it seemed extremely unlikely that we would injure ourselves). If you ask, they will likely give you a helmet. Also when asking we were given more information about the gear and knots.

In total we had a great climbing day and were able to complete a few difficult routes (we were 4 climbers with two guides). If you have never climbed before, this might be a little too difficult for you. If you are interested you should ask about everything beforehand. We would have liked a bit more communication. All in all we can...

We were at Basecamp Tonsai for their rock climbing. We did 2 different half day top rope guided course and 1 day deep water solo. It is definitely run in Thailand time, but once you get going the going is good. The guides were enthusiastic and most provided good direction in the walls. You need to be very clear when you're booking about your climbing ability and what type of walls you are looking for and they will cater it to you. You do need to be very direct about this however.

Even though the walls were busy, they were good about getting you onto the right wall.

The deep water solo was expensive for what you got (1500baht). This is due to the national park no longer allowing them to use the best wall. The starting difficulty of their replacement walls is 6a in the French and 5.10 in the American and there's only really 1 route at that level. The particular locations caused some difficulty in getting onto the wall with the rope ladder provided as well. The provided lunch was exceptional though.

Overall we had a great time with these guys, the gear that we used was old but in good shape. Make sure you go try the shoes on before the deep water solo as those are in the worst condition. (As the salt water would just destroy the shoes anyways). There are decent shoes to be had but it's best to try them first.

We would definitely go back and recommend them to others as they seemed to be the most reputable group and they keep their groups to a manageable level. This is not true with the other tours we saw, which were sometimes 9 climbers of various skill levels and courses being taken with a single guide.

Note that their hours fluctuate, go a day or two ahead and they generally there in the morning (8:30) and...