Khao Sok from Khao Lak: the day trip to Cheow Lan Lake — distance, itinerary, price

Khao Sok National Park is about a 90-minute drive from Khao Lak — close enough for a day that is worth it. The day trip "Khao Sok Highlights" starts at 7:30 at your hotel, takes you by longtail across Cheow Lan Lake between the limestone towers, to lunch in a floating restaurant and into a canoe on the Sok River in the afternoon; you are back by 18:00. It costs ฿4,100 (children 5–12: ฿2,500), plus a ฿340 park fee paid on site, and runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

At a glance

• ·Distance: about 90 minutes' drive from Khao Lak · pickup 7:30 · back 18:00
• ·Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday · minimum 4 guests · guide English/German
• ·Price: ฿4,100, children (5–12) ฿2,500 · plus park fee ฿340 (children ฿170), cash on site
• ·Included: hotel transfer, guide, longtail ride, lunch, canoe, water and soft drinks
• ·From Phuket: with a transfer surcharge, on request

What Khao Sok is

Khao Sok is considered one of the oldest rainforests on earth — older than the Amazon — a limestone range with towers up to 900 metres, jungle, caves and Cheow Lan Lake. The lake is young: it was created in 1982 with the Ratchaprapha Dam, and the drowned valley is why the cliffs rise straight out of the water today. That very picture — green water, grey towers, morning mist — is what day visitors come for. They get it.

How the day goes

Hotel pickup at 7:30, then the drive inland via Takua Pa. At the dam you board the longtail for a good hour on the lake, past the three limestone pinnacles known as "Thailand's Guilin". Lunch is in a floating restaurant on the lake, with time to swim in the warm, deep-green water. In the afternoon it is back towards the park and into a canoe on the Sok River: calm water, jungle on both banks, farmland, with luck macaques and hornbills. Around 18:00 you are back at the hotel.

Day trip or overnight?

For the panorama the day is enough. To have the lake in peace — sunrise in the mist, gibbon calls in the morning, swimming off the jetty — book the two-day version with a night in a floating bungalow on the lake; we arrange it on request, with the same pickup times. For families with younger children the Khao Sok Eco Tour is the alternative: no lake, but a certified elephant project (feeding, mud pack, bathing in the river — no riding, no chains), a cooking demonstration, a temple and, to finish, a bamboo raft down the Sok River. ฿3,250, children ฿2,400, dates on request.

What to bring

Swimwear and a towel, sandals that can get wet, sunscreen, mosquito repellent for the river, a waterproof pouch for phone and camera — the canoe splashes. The park fee of ฿340 per adult (฿170 per child) is paid in cash at the gate; bring the exact amount. No hiking boots needed — there is no long walk on this tour.

Khao Sok with children

Yes — the longtail ride is gentle, the canoe is paddled in pairs, and the lake invites a swim (life vests on board). The child price applies from 5 to 12. For children under 5, or if elephants are the wish, the Eco Tour fits better. More ideas for families are in our overview of tours from Khao Lak.