Khao Sok, Thailand: Top 4 Things to Do and More
Khao Sok National Park is a stunning and unique part of Thailand for the outdoorsy types. It’s very lush and green and there’s wildlife all around– you’re in the middle of a rainforest. The national park is situated in the south of Thailand just north of Phuket. Khao Sok’s main town is very small, and serves as a jumping off point for the different tours here. It has one main street with restaurants, bars, and little shops. If you’ve forgotten your wet sack or water shoes, don’t worry because there are plenty of places that sell water activity gear here. Also, don’t forget to pick up some bug spray! We traded in our Eau de Parfum for Eau de Off (you might even want to consider Deet strength bug spray for this area of Thailand).
I suggest staying here for 3-4 nights depending on whether you do the Cheow Lan Lake stay (more info below), which I highly recommend!
Getting There
We started our time in Khao Sok on the wrong foot, unfortunately. We took a bus from Koh Lanta to Khao Sok, which is supposed to be a 4 ½ hour journey. The journey took 8 hours – queue eyeroll. We bought the ticket for the journey from our hotel (Popular Lanta Resort), and were first picked up in a very nice Mercedes minibus, which we thought would take us the entire way to Khao Sok. We quickly realized that this minibus was picking up several other tourists going to different places, and would merely bring us across to the mainland via ferry and drop us off at the bus station in Krabi. Upon arrival at the bus station we were given our tickets for the next leg to Khao Sok, which involved another minibus and were told to wait an hour for that bus to come.
Public Transportation Tip: some public buses are large charter-like buses, while others are minivans that are usually silver or white. The minivans appear to be private vans that are meant to take you directly to where you need to go, but they are truly public buses. They take frequent stops, picking up and dropping off locals along the way. That aside, we had the bus driver from hell. Instead of taking the direct road that would get us to Khao Sok in 4 ½ hours, he took the long route along the coast, going through Khao Lak (which appeared to be a cute town itself). On top of that, the driver picked up his family (which is maybe why he went this route because he didn’t pick up many other locals), including a screaming child for whom the driver had to stop again in order to get the child food. The majority of the bus comprised travelers who were trying to get to Khao Sok like us, and we were all close to starting a mutiny at the 7th hour. Mike was even mulling over the idea of commandeering the vehicle. The joys of travel, huh? So be forewarned – make sure that you account for frequent stops on your bus trip, and add a few hours to any time estimate given.
Once we finally arrived at Khao Sok, we were unceremoniously dropped off about a mile outside of the main area with angry screaming from the driver of “Khao Sok, Khao Sok!”, while tossing our bags on the ground. Although we later realized this was the normal drop off point, at 8:00 at night it seemed like the middle of nowhere. In the confusion, the other tourists we were with were contemplating how to get to their accommodations. Fortunately, we had made friends with a Russian couple on the bus, who were staying at a hotel fancy enough to pick them up. Noticing the opportunity, Mike offered the driver some additional money (about 60 THB; $3) and he dropped us off at our accommodation as well.
Accommodations
Fortunately, the anxiety and frustration wore off once we arrived at Nung House, our resting place for the next few nights. It exceeded our expectations, as it was $11 USD a night and we were therefore not expecting much. We anticipated a very rustic cabin in the forest, but the accommodations included simple bungalows with our own bathroom. Pop, one of the family members who owns Nung House, was fantastic, and she even gave us a free upgrade to a better bungalow (thanks Pop!). She always greeted us with a smile and took the time to help us figure out your tours and answer any questions we had. The food was also excellent and affordable. I had one of the best dishes in Thailand – you can’t go wrong with the basil chicken dish with rice, which cost around 100THB (roughly $4).
We used Booking.com for our accommodation – use our referral link so that you can get a $25 reward! https://www.booking.com/s/43_8/roxyba87
Top 4 Things to Do in Khao Sok
1. Elephant Bathing
Elephant bathing had been on our top list of things to do while in Asia. While this was our first experience, I’m sure it won’t be the last. We booked the activity through Nung House and they offered transportation to and from our hotel. There were two elephants at this elephant sanctuary – Banchu and Bantraup. They were such magnificent creatures. We spent 1½ hours feeding them bananas, giving them a bath, and walking with them through the forest. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Note: we couldn’t really tell if this elephant sanctuary was legitimate. There are many elephant sanctuaries in Thailand and South East Asia, and it is difficult to know which ones treat the elephants well. If you already know of an ethical sanctuary, perhaps skip this one and plan your elephant bathing elsewhere.
2. One Night (or two if you prefer) Stay at Cheow Lan Lake
On the second night, we went to Cheow Lan Lake, which is a popular tour from Khao Sok and in the national park. This trip is a must-do. The massive man-made lake was created after the construction of a hydroelectric dam, and it is a beautiful sight of mostly untouched forest sprawled out over mountains. We stayed at Smiley Lake House, which had houses that literally floated on the lake. It couldn’t have been more picturesque. The cost of the stay was 2500 THB ($78) per person and 300 THB ($9) for the entrance fee into the park for two days and one night, and all meals and transportation to and from our hotel was included.
The lake houses looked out onto the lake and mountains and had kayaks parked out front for your enjoyment. Don’t expect luxury – the bungalows are very rustic and consist of a mattress on the floor with a fitted sheet, a small blanket and a fan. However, each bungalow came equipped with its own bathroom, which was a pleasant surprise. You can also borrow kayaks and row on the lake at any given time, another pleasant surprise.
The great thing about this trip is that it is like an adult sleep-away camp. There are about fifty 20 and 30 somethings who spend the night, so you can get the chance to make friends. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the best group to socialize with since it was overtaken by Dutch who ended up being pretty cliquish. Ah well.
Smiley had a few planned excursions while staying at the lake. On the first day, we took a tour of the jungle to Nam Talu Cave. Make sure to bring tennis shoes or water shoes that you don’t care about getting wet and muddy. Smiley offers rubber “cleats” that you can rent for 50THB ($1.50), which is worth it because you will be trudging through A LOT of mud, pools of water, and creeks for about 3km. Also, make sure to wear your swimsuit if you’re interested in going into the cave since the water is high. It’s a fun trek and a good workout, but we were definitely in need of a shower at the end of the 2-hour trek.
On the second day, we had an early wake-up and took the long tail boat out at 6:30am to get our chance at seeing a tiger.
Unfortunately, no tigers were spotted, but we did see some beautiful hornbill toucans, cute gibbons, and an iguana. Not sure if there are even any tigers or if they just say that to make it sound more exciting. Before departing the lake and national park, we stopped at a cave for 15 minutes to admire the stalactites and stalagmites. We then boarded the long tail boat for a 45-minute ride back to land to get our bus that took us back to our hotel.
3. Hot Springs
The hot springs is another excursion advertised through the hotel. We recommend skipping it. We imagined natural hot spring set in the mountains, but it was a small “water park” that consisted of a few swimming pools of hot water. If you’re okay with that, then make the trip.
The upside is that we met a great American couple and had some nice relaxation time. You don’t necessarily have to book an excursion; you can rent a scooter and ride out there yourself at a fraction of the cost.
4. Book Numerous Other Outdoor Activities
Book one of the various other outdoor activities offered through your hotel like canoeing, kayaking, a night safari, tubing, etc. We booked all of our excursions through Nung House, and transportation was included to and from the hotel, which was convenient. You can book any of Khao Sok’s activities through your own hotel or the many booking agencies located on the main street. It doesn’t matter where you book because all of the prices are the same and I think the community works in collaboration so as not to undercut each other on price.
Our Key Takeaways and Tips
Khao Sok is a natural oasis that provides many things to do for the outdoorsy types. It was a nice change of scenery that showed us the diversity of Thailand’s geography.
- If you love the outdoors or want to escape the more crowded areas of Phuket and Bangkok, then build Khao Sok into your itinerary
- Make time to stay at Cheow Lan Lake
- Make sure to wear bug spray because you’re in a rainforest where there are lots of bugs