After our three days in Hanoi, Vietnam and an overnight layover at the Bangkok Airport, we made our way from Bangkok to Khao Sok National Park, where we’d be staying the night on a floating bungalow!
I sort of stumbled upon Khao Sok when researching places to visit in Thailand, as it isn’t a well-known tourist destination. And, as it turns out, Khao Sok National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Thailand! The pictures online were gorgeous, and I got my heart set on seeing Khao Sok Lake, locally known as Cheow Larn Lake, and the surrounding rainforest in person.
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Picking a Khao Sok National Park Tour
Finding the right tour company for Khao Sok National Park took some effort. We ultimately booked the two-day, one-night Khao Sok Lake Overnight Superior Group Tour through Khao Sok Lake—and we’re happy we did!
Upon arriving and talking to the owner, we learned that the majority of overnight Khao Sok National Park tours are operated by major hotel chains. This means that the money spent on your stay doesn’t make it back into the local community.
At the time of our visit in July 2019, Khao Sok Lake was the only local tour operator in the area (and had been for 8 years), and our drivers, guides, and chefs were all locals. We had a great experience with Khao Sok Lake and highly recommend them!
How to Visit Khao Sok National Park
We flew into Surat Thani International Airport, where a driver from Khao Sok Lake picked us up. This made getting to Khao Sok National Park simple and safe, especially since this area isn’t as easy to navigate as some of the larger cities in Thailand.
Since our Khao Sok National Park tour started at 10:15 am, we had to arrive at the airport by 8:30 am. If you arrive later than 8:30 am, you’ll have to take a taxi or some other form of transportation to Khao Sok National Park.
A Broad Recommendation: Khao Sok Lake also provided transportation from Khao Sok National Park to our hotel on Karon Beach in Phuket after our overnight stay in Khao Sok National Park. It’s around a three-hour drive from Khao Sok National Park to Phuket, so we were very impressed by this service!
After we were picked up from the airport, we stopped at the Khao Sok Lake office in Ban Ta Khun to drop off our luggage. Since we’d be staying We’d be staying overnight on a Khao Sok National Park floating bungalow, we were only permitted one ‘lake bag’ each. See recommendations for packing your bag here.
Though Khao Sok Lake had a secure space to store our luggage, we locked our bags with these TSA-approved cable luggage locks just in case.
Is Khao Sok National Park Safe?
While we were at the office, I called my parents to let them know that we’d made it and wouldn’t have much, if any, cell service for about 48 hours. For some reason, this was the only part of my eight-week-long trip to India, Thailand, and Vietnam that made my dad nervous. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him that I was going into a jungle without giving him additional information—oops!
To ease his mind, I asked the owner if there were any major safety concerns with Khao Sok National Park. He shared that there’d only been one ‘injury’ since they started operating, and it was a wasp sting. We also learned that the limestone karsts throughout the lake ward off any mosquitos, which was a relief.
Khao Sok National Park Entrance Fee
When we arrived at the Rajaprabba Pier, we each had to pay a Khao Sok National Park entrance fee. This isn’t included in the price of the tour, and you have to pay with cash, so be sure to have some handy! At the time of our trip, it was 300 Baht, which is about $9.60 USD.
A Broad Recommendation: If this is your first time traveling to Thailand, these Thailand travel tips can help you navigate your visit. We’ve included information about what you need to do before traveling to Thailand, things to keep in mind while you’re in Thailand, what to pack for your trip to Thailand, and more.
Getting to Khao Sok National Park
At the Khao Sok National Park entrance, we had a chance to use the restroom and to buy some last minute items. Then, we boarded our longtail boat that would take us out on Cheow Larn Lake then to our floating bungalows!
The ride out to our floating bungalows took around 45 minutes, and the views were absolutely breathtaking along the way.
A Broad Recommendation: Any time that we were on the boat, we each had a life jacket. Though, most people in our group took theirs off while we were just sightseeing around the lake.
Our Khao Sok National Park Floating Bungalow
When we got our rooms, we had time to change and to rest before lunch was served.
Our room had two twin beds, a shower, and a toilet, and there were sinks right outside our room that we shared with our ‘neighbors’. In between our beds was a glass floor, through which we could see water—so cool! We also had a private deck right outside our door with kayaks ready to use at our leisure.
Khao Sok National Park Overnight Itinerary
There are lots of things to do in Khao Sok National Park, and our Khao Sok Lake Overnight Superior Group Tour had a structured itinerary for us to follow, which also included plenty of leisure time and meals. Here’s our Khao Sok National Park itinerary (some of which I already touched on):
Day 1 in Khao Sok National Park:
- Arrive at the Khao Sok Lake office in Ban Ta Khun by 10:15 am
- Take a quick ride to Rajjaprabha pier passing by the scenic Cheow Larn Dam
- Board your longtail boat
- Traditional Thai lunch at your floating bungalow
- Easy hike through the jungle to a cave or nature trail
- Free time for swimming and kayaking
- Traditional Thai Dinner at your floating bungalow
Day 2 in Khao Sok National Park:
- Morning mist wildlife-spotting boat safari
- Breakfast at your floating bungalow
- Free time for one last swim or kayak
- Check out at 9:00 and return to the pier
- Return to the Khao Sok Lake office by 12:00
- Enjoy a free packed lunch
- Head out to your next destination
Traditional Thai Lunch
All of our meals were included with the tour, and our lunch was a traditional southern Thai meal, which we enjoyed while sitting on the dock, overlooking the lake.
The amount of food provided could’ve easily fed a small army. And, Sara said that the green curry was the best thing she ate on our entire Southeast Asia trip! Unfortunately, it wasn’t vegetarian, so I didn’t try it.
A Broad Recommendation: Khao Sok Lake will accommodate any dietary restrictions. Just be sure to communicate these before leaving Rajaprabba Pier, as not everyone at the floating bungalows speaks English. I’d forgotten to mention that I was vegetarian back at the office. So, I had to track down our tour guide to ensure my food was vegetarian.
Boat Ride to Khao Sok National Park Rainforest
After lunch, we got ready to head out for our first tour of the day: hiking through one of the largest and oldest rainforests in the world! In fact, it’s believed to be older and more diverse than the Amazon.
A Broad Recommendation: Sara packed this drawstring backpack and these Northside Women’s Burke II Sport athletic sandals for our hike. She did quite a bit of research before choosing these sandals. They’re lightweight, waterproof, and breathable, which was perfect for the humid weather at Khao Sok National Park in July.
Traveling anywhere from our floating bungalows required a longtail boat ride. And, at the beginning of this excursion, our guide spent more than an hour stopping at various viewpoints around the lake.
He was a pro at stopping the boat in just the right places for the perfect photo opp. And, he gave everyone a chance to take photos and to soak up the fresh air and amazing views.
A Broad Recommendation: When you aren’t using your phone, keep it in a waterproof cell phone case or put it in a sealed, waterproof bag or in your backpack, so it doesn’t get wet.
Khao Sok National Park Rainforest Hike
When we got to the trailhead, our guide tied up the boat, and we began our hike. Despite the various wildlife that lives in the rainforest, the trail felt very safe. The trail was well-defined, and our group of about twelve people wasn’t the only one out hiking that day.
Walking through the forest was incredible! At the beginning of the trail, there was a warning sign to beware of wild elephants. Despite my deep love for elephants, as you might remember from our day at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, I didn’t particularly wanted to bump into one here.
Our guide pointed out spots where there’d clearly been an elephant, and at one point, we could even hear one in the distance. Thankfully, we never ran into it!
When we got through the first part of the hike, we ended up at a private inner lake, where we waited in a covered area and read the descriptions of the various animals that live here.
We learned that Khao Sok is home to 48 species of mammals, 311 species of birds, and countless species of bats, reptiles and insects. Included in the mammal species are Asian Elephants, Black and Clouded Leopards, Asian Golden Cats, Tigers, Malayan Sun Bears, Wild Boar, various primates, and more.
Though I didn’t want to see one up close, I was excited about the prospect of seeing one of these jungle cats from the boat! But, for better or for worse, we didn’t see any cats, likely because most are out at night.
Khao Sok National Park Cave
When it was our turn, we boarded a bamboo raft and made our way to Pakarang Cave, aka Coral Cave. This 10,000 year old cave in Khao Sok National Park is full of incredible ancient rock formations. As we walked around, our guide showed us some of his favorites, while also sharing information and history about the cave.
A Broad Recommendation: Always remember to leave no trace when hiking and exploring at national parks (and whenever you’re out in nature in general!). Don’t touch the stalactites and stalagmites and be sure not to make loud noises while inside the cave.
Hike Back Through Khao Sok National Park Rainforest
After exploring the cave, we headed back the way we came, first taking the bamboo raft back to the dock, then hiking back through the rainforest. As far as hike difficulty goes, neither of us had any issues. However, a few people in our group did have some trouble walking up and down to the bamboo rafts, as it was a bit steep.
On our way back through the forest, we got to see some monkeys up close! One of them sort of propped himself on a branch and leaned back looking at us. It looked like he was ready for his photo shoot and was acting like a little monkey model.
Relaxing in Khao Sok National Park
When we got back to our floating bungalow, we jumped in the water to cool off and took the kayaks out for a spin. We decided to stay close by though, as we learned during our amazing overnight cruise to Bai Tu Long Bay that neither of us are particularly strong kayakers.
Note: Cheow Larn Lake is a freshwater lake, which means no sticky, salt water vibes after swimming!
Traditional Thai Dinner
That evening, we had another large traditional Thai dinner overlooking the lake—sorry, I forgot to take pictures!
As we tend to do on all of our excursions, we started talking to one of the couples at table next to us. Funny enough, the woman lived in Maryland just ten minutes down the road from where Sara grew up—what a small world!
After dinner, we read our books out on the deck, overlooking the water, before heading to bed.
A Broad Recommendation: Since we weren’t sure if bugs or anything else would find their way into our room, we slept with our windows closed, and it got pretty toasty in there overnight. In the morning, we asked some of our ‘neighbors’, and they said they’d left the windows open without any issues. Something to keep in mind for next time!
Morning Mist Wildlife-Spotting Boat Safari
The next morning, we set out on our Khao Sok National Park boat safari, during which our guide took us through different parts of the lake to observe wildlife from the safety of our boat. For the most part, we just saw more monkeys and birds, but it was fun being out on the water.
Kayaking in Khao Sok National Park
When we got back, we had some free time to swim and kayak before packing up and heading back to Rajaprabba Pier for the end of our tour.
Several people from our group decided to go out kayaking together a little farther away from ‘home’, and Sara and I were super proud of ourselves for keeping up on this outing! It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water exploring.
Khao Sok National Park to Phuket
When we arrived back at Rajaprabba Pier, we headed back to the Khao Sok Lake office to pick up our luggage. Shortly after that, our driver arrived to take us the three hours from Khao Sok National Park to Phuket. Note: our car was air-conditioned and super roomy for just the two of us.
We were so excited to enjoy a relaxing trip to Phuket, which was the final stop on our Southeast Asian adventure.
Conclusion
Overall, our stay in the Khao Sok National Park floating bungalows was one of our favorite experiences of our Southeast Asia trip!
If I were to plan another visit to Khao Sok National Park, I would definitely stay longer. There are other really cool places to stay—like a tree house, for example!—as well as a wildlife sanctuary and other jungle tours. These definitely may be worth looking into next time.
XOXO Candace at Travel A-Broads
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