Thailand beta and partner finding

Headed to Thailand in November. Chances are I will be solo traveling.... unless anyone wants to join me ;) 

 I'm looking for the best destination / hostel for me to stay to partner find. If there's any suggestions please let me know. Open to all areas of Thailand. I'm also looking at Laos. 

I haven’t been to Thailand in a while (back in 2005), but when I was there, I climbed in both the north and the south and had an amazing time. In the south, the area around Krabi is a must—Tonsai and Railay Beach are world-famous climbing spots. Just walking along Tonsai Beach, it’s super easy to meet climbing partners, Doesn't really matter where you find to stay.
Up north, near Chiang Mai, there’s Crazy Horse Buttress, which also offers some great climbing.
Wherever you go, just don’t forget to pack some mosquito repellent. Have an awesome trip!

Check out Climber Kitchen on youtube. Dude does a ton of route development in Krabi and is very responsive to comments

Thailand and Laos are both excellent destinations for a solo climbing trip. I’ve spent the last two winters there on extended solo trips and had zero trouble finding partners.

In Thailand, Tonsai is probably the most popular destination. Stay in any of the bungalows near Tonsai beach and you will have no trouble finding partners. Tonsai has a big party vibe, which can be a plus or minus depending on your personality. You’re also definitely going to get food poisoning there, but that’s just part of the experience.

Crazy Horse in the north is another good spot, but is smaller and less popular. I stayed at Jira’s Homestay last winter and had good luck finding partners there, I think there’s another climbing hostel nearby as well. I wouldn’t go to Crazy Horse as the only destination on a climbing trip, but it’s a worthwhile stop if you’re traveling around the area. Chiang Mai is an amazing city nearby if you’re looking for non-climbing things to do as well. FYI you should probably be comfortable driving a scooter in order to get the most out of Crazy Horse.

In Laos, the spot to go is Green Climbers’ Home. It’s harder to get there than the places in Thailand, but imo the climbing and the vibes are better. More secluded and less of a party scene. It’s pretty far from anything so not much to do beyond climbing.

It’s not on your list, but Huu Lung in Vietnam is probably my favorite climbing spot in Southeast Asia. Great climbing, beautiful area, and really good people every time I’ve gone. Much less touristy than all the areas above as well. If you go, stay at Mao’s Homestay (book through VietClimb gym in Hanoi). Another spot where you really need to drive a scooter though.

Ko Yao Noi is a great if you want sea with your climbing but with out the hordes, partying and stomach illness common to Railey

Thanks everyone for the amazing response. I'm feeling much more confident solo traveling there. If anyone else finds themselves considering going to Thailand or Laos during these times feel free to message me.

Jacob Brunettewrote:

Thailand and Laos are both excellent destinations for a solo climbing trip. I’ve spent the last two winters there on extended solo trips and had zero trouble finding partners.

In Thailand, Tonsai is probably the most popular destination. Stay in any of the bungalows near Tonsai beach and you will have no trouble finding partners. Tonsai has a big party vibe, which can be a plus or minus depending on your personality. You’re also definitely going to get food poisoning there, but that’s just part of the experience.

Crazy Horse in the north is another good spot, but is smaller and less popular. I stayed at Jira’s Homestay last winter and had good luck finding partners there, I think there’s another climbing hostel nearby as well. I wouldn’t go to Crazy Horse as the only destination on a climbing trip, but it’s a worthwhile stop if you’re traveling around the area. Chiang Mai is an amazing city nearby if you’re looking for non-climbing things to do as well. FYI you should probably be comfortable driving a scooter in order to get the most out of Crazy Horse.

In Laos, the spot to go is Green Climbers’ Home. It’s harder to get there than the places in Thailand, but imo the climbing and the vibes are better. More secluded and less of a party scene. It’s pretty far from anything so not much to do beyond climbing.

It’s not on your list, but Huu Lung in Vietnam is probably my favorite climbing spot in Southeast Asia. Great climbing, beautiful area, and really good people every time I’ve gone. Much less touristy than all the areas above as well. If you go, stay at Mao’s Homestay (book through VietClimb gym in Hanoi). Another spot where you really need to drive a scooter though.

With Hulu Lung being less touristy did you find partner finding to be a challenge? Same question for green climbers? 

Thank you for all the tips

I think the Green Climber's House is definitely sounding like where I want to begin my trip. I have been to Krabi, but didn't climb. So I am familiar with the striking landscape. So I might stop in some areas around there for a couple days.

Does anybody have experience going to Lop Buri and climbing? Central Bangkok but it looks like there's some multi-pitch and I wouldn't mind adding on to my trip if it's a good area. However, my experience multi-pitch climbing areas can sometimes be harder to find partners.

Amy Climbmorewrote:

With Hulu Lung being less touristy did you find partner finding to be a challenge? Same question for green climbers? 

Thank you for all the tips

For Green Climbers, there will be no issues. The camp will have 50-100 people on any given day during the winter, and they are all climbers looking for partners.

For Huu Lung, I have always been able to find a partner, but it’s much smaller so I could imagine days where you couldn’t. The homestay only houses about 12 people max, so there’s fewer options. In my experience, people are always happy to group up, but you might have to settle for a larger group or a partner that’s at a different grade range than you. If you start at Green Climbers, you could always make some friends and travel to Huu Lung as a group.

Hi Amy, I will be in Ao Nang Tonsai all November, feel free to contact me. I spent my last 3 end of the year around SEA. Also going to Green Climbers Home in Dicember January where I also work for the las two year.

I leave you my Instagram if you want to message me @hernan.cf or @fc.nanreh

Good luck 

PS: Jacob I ❤️YOU

Hernán CFwrote:

Hi Amy, I will be in Ao Nang Tonsai all November, feel free to contact me. I spent my last 3 end of the year around SEA. Also going to Green Climbers Home in Dicember January where I also work for the las two year.

I leave you my Instagram if you want to message me @hernan.cf or @fc.nanreh

Good luck 

PS: Jacob I ❤️YOU

Sounds fantastic. Dealing with my trip to Italy and then Greece. Afterwards I'll start focusing more on heading to Thailand/Laos. You'll definitely be hearing from me. Thank you

Nice, well I'm now in Sardinia, and heading in September to Bosnia and October to Leonidios Greece if you are around 

If you're going to Tonsai/Railay, I've been there twice. Railay is where most tourists are. I liked the food/bars on Railay better than Tonsai, so I preferred to stay there. There are a lot of fun classic climbs in Railay too but Tonsai does have 2-3x more routes. The trail from Railay to Tonsai is 15min but sometimes not crossable in high tide. If you're finding partners in-person, perhaps Tonsai is better, as everyone there is likely a climber. I lived in Blanco hostel on Railay, but it can be a bit noisy. For $40/night, I found a cheap room with AC, which offered me much better sleep and recovery. If you do live in Railay, take the airport shuttle to Ao Nam Mao and then boat to East Railay, as both places has a pier and you can avoid hopping into shallow waters with your luggage.

Hello,

I am not sure of your timeframe, but I will be traveling solo and arriving in Asia mid-October.  I will be beginning my trip in Yangshuo and travel west with intentions of being in Laos and/or Thailand towards the end of November /December.  If you (or anybody in this thread) are in the area, I will be looking for climbing partners. Cheers! 

2tenttimmywrote:

Hello,

I am not sure of your timeframe, but I will be traveling solo and arriving in Asia mid-October.  I will be beginning my trip in Yangshuo and travel west with intentions of being in Laos and/or Thailand towards the end of November /December.  If you (or anybody in this thread) are in the area, I will be looking for climbing partners. Cheers! 

This might work. What I've come up with is booking my flight into Bangkok during November and going to Laos first. I figured I'd hang out at the Green Climber's house and see who I met and venture off from there. With no real plans set in stone after the green climber's house.

Hey just wanted to say we’ll be in Chiang Mai around the time of the lantern festival (5th November) if you were interested in climbing Crazy Horse Buttress?

Hi Amy - I'm planning to be traveling solo in the area around the last week or week and a half of November. I'm leaning towards Laos (Green Climber's Home), but also still considering Thailand. If you (or anybody else reading this) is looking for partners, feel free to reach out!

Hi Andrew, I ended options to go mid-December through mid January. I'll be starting at the GCH. If your still in SE Asia let me know.

Tonsai used to be the place covid put a hurt on it. starting to have a come back. Cheap places to stay plus you have the beach. Used to be easy to find partners. Not sure now.                   cheap places to stay Dream Valley they have a pool, Base Camp. I think Chill out is open also. The price is better when you are there and can look around.                           They do have Deng gue fever there sometimes. They also have a great diet plan.      The climbers ranch in Laos is awesome. there is a river a person can swim in near by what is amazing the water is cold not Wyoming cold. Not sure about partners.