One of our top experiences in Thailand. Mon was an excellent guide - friendly, knowledgeable, and also had a very relaxed demeanor that put my wife and I at... read more ease. We were picked up at our hostel in Krabi and did a half day at Railay. Amazing views and challenging runs.

  I thoroughly enjoyed my top rope climbs and lead climbs/belays. My instructor knew how to pace the course and challenged me in a way that I can accomplish it. Completely... read more recommended.

  Fifteen years ago, my now husband and I came to Thailand. We stayed on Railay, and learned to climb. Our trip ignited a passion, and we continued to return to... read more Railay every year to climb on the limestone rocks progressing from top roping to lead climbing. Leap forward to 2020, and we wanted to bring our children (aged 5 and 7) to Railay to enjoy some rock climbing too. We haven’t done any lead climbing since 2011, so wanted to have a guide for our trip to Railay.
I looked at various guides, and they generally all have the same marketing, so our choice came down to reviews and availability.
Karst Climbing is a fairly new outfit, with good reviews, and they could do our dates. Communicating with Karst climbing was easy, with quick, comprehensive responses to our emails. We booked an initial half day, paid online and were met by Mon at our hotel on the morning of our first session.
He drove us in his truck to his shop, loaded up with gear, and we headed off to the pier to travel to Railay.
He set up a rope on 123 wall and got a feel for our abilities, and worked well with the kids, our daughter was very keen to climb, but found the transition from indoor climbing wall to rock very challenging, and Mon showed great patience and kindness towards her. Our son, who is older and has more experience, got a bit shaky on one climb, so Mon chose another route which was better suited to him, and helped build his confidence back up.
He also set up ropes for me and my husband and was happy for us to belay each other or the kids using his gear whilst he belayed another one of us, enabling us to maximise our time with him.
Our first day was so good, we booked the following morning with Mon, and went up to Diamond Cave for another great few hours of guided climbing. Our daughter didn’t climb on the second day, but was so taken with Mon that she has declared she will climb with him next time we come to Thailand, and was chatting to him all the way back to the long tail.
We have been very lucky to have only had good climbing guides in Railay, but we have witnessed plenty of disinterested guides who don’t support their customers to get the most from their climbing experiences. Mon was a fabulous guide, he knows the climbs well, he was brilliant for our family with our mixed abilities and ages, and I would recommend him to anyone looking to climb in Railay.

  I was very lucky meeting Mon accidentally on the Phra Nang Beach climbing with two other people. So glad, that I talked to him and booked the full day Climbing... read more and Caving tour with his company! Mon is a very relaxed guy, I always felt...More

  This was my first time climbing outside and Mon was very supportive and encouraging! When a climb got difficult for me, he talked me through what my next moves were... read more until I reached the top. It was so much fun and I would recommend Karst...More

  We had a brilliant half day of climbing with Karst climbing. Mon was our guide and he made sure everyone in our group of six was safe and happy. We... read more were able to do a lot of climbing (6 ascents) in that short period of time, which was awesome. There were also difficulties for all skill levels, we have a bouldering background so we were very happy that we could choose climbs that were a little bit harder. Would definitely book here again!

  Thanks to the awesome reviews here, i booked 2 full days of climbing. Communication with Mon via whatsapp was a breeze. The pick up from the hotel was on time.... read more The idea of the 2 climbing days were to do some lead climbs in, but i got too scared. But Mon was ever the patient, & guided me through one lead climb - great motivation skills too! For 2nd day, i was guided by Pon, & i had the opportunity to climb longer routes - different from the first day. I was actually scheduled to climb with Mon for the second part of the day but i jumped in the fun when he said that we can do abseiling & caving. & my hands were so pumped anyway.

Overall, i had an amazing 2 days climb trip with Karst. Got in a good number of climbs im too. Will definitely come back & book with them again when i brushed up on my lead climb skills. I get the honour to lead belay them, i believe that was good for me too! Not to forget, the views up there were amazing, even though i was scared.

  We had an awesome time climbing with Mon from Karst Climbing. We opted for the three day lead climbing course and were joined for a half day with another couple... read more but after that it was just us and Mon. He was a fantastic instructor - the perfect balance of relaxed while also being completely focussed and vigilant the whole time we were climbing. We have a few years experience bouldering indoor but Mon was really patient when teaching us about the knots and techniques involved in lead climbing. We had time to build our confidence too rope climbing in the morning and by the end of the first day we were confidently lead climbing on more challenging routes. He pushed us to our limits (in the best way) and we felt really happy with the difficulty of routes he was choosing for us. Unfortunately I injured my ankle on the second day but Mon was very flexible and allowed us to reschedule to the following week. When we were then unable to do that date anymore he gave us a full refund for the day we missed. Amazing customer service and very kind and understanding. Thanks Mon!

  I stumbled upon Mon’s shop by accident while in Ao nang, and ended up going out with him several times. Mon was a great guide, and a good judge of... read more skill level. He set me up on some routes I didn’t think I would be...More

  My wife and I tried this and it is great fun and not the least bit scary. It is difficult but I am 72 and she is 64, still young at heart.