All you need to know to visit Khao Sok
Southern Thailand
731 km from Bangkok
Province of Surat Thani
Practical guide to go and visit Khao Sok
Located in Surat Thani province in southern Thailand, Khao Sok is neither a city nor an island but one of the most famous and beautiful national parks in the country. To give it the visibility it deserves and facilitate your research, I decided to add it as a destination and not as a simple visit to do from Surat Thani any more.First you should know that often when peoople talk about Khao Sok, they talk about its lake, the Chiew Lan Lake and its sublime landscapes that is reminiscent of Halong Bay in Vietnam but do not confuse the lake with what I call the 'Land Entrance' of Khao Sok National Park (where local buses and passenger minivans from Surat Thani, Khao Lak, Phuket or Krabi will drop you), both are quite distant. Access to the lake is possible from Ratchaprapha Dam. The 2 days / 1 night excursion with one night on a floating bungalow on the lake is often one of the most beautiful memories of travelers during their stay in Thailand. And to organize it, you can contact one floating hotel but the most practical way is to organize this with a local agency like Khao Sok Lake Tour. Other agencies offer it obviously, I'm talking about this one because I know they are reliable and their customers are satisfied. Otherwise you can also go to the ''land entrance'' of the park and spend a night there after having booked the 2 days / 1 night on the lake excursion for the next day at one of the travel agencies in the street or directly at your hotel. It cost 2500 THB per person. The bungalows on the lake will be much more basic, without air conditioning and without electricity except 2-3 hours per night but you will not find cheaper and except a very basic accommodation but in a beautiful setting, the rest of the excursion will be equivalent. Note that agencies also organize survival treks in the jungle around the lake and it is also possible to spend 2 days in immersion with a Khao Sok local family.
Accommodations in Khao Sok
Most accommodations in Khao Sok are either concentrated near the small street that leads to Khao Sok Park's "land entrance" or are scattered on Chiew Lan Lake for the floating hotels. The most basic floating hotels have very basic bungalows with just a mattress on the floor and a small basic bathroom. There is electricity only 2-3 hours per night. So no air conditioning obviously and even no fan (because no power), a good part of the night. If you want more comfort, the prices will rise significantly but in both cases the setting will be superb!Find accommodation in Khao Sok
My recommandations
Practical information about Khao Sok
If you come to Khao Sok with local public transport or passenger minivans, you will arrive at the 'land entrance' of Khao Sok National Park. This is where the local buses between Surat Thani and Phuket drop passengers. If you want to go directly to the lake and do not have to sepnd one night near the land entrance, you will have to arrange your transfer with the floating hotel you have booked or with an agency like the one I mentioned upper. This is the only way to get directly to Ratchaprapha Dam. And in general, it's better to buy an excursion than to go to the dam by yourself and privatize a longtail boat. It will cost you more for a simple boat tour on the lake thanthat you will pay for a full tour with treks, cave tours ect ...How to go to Khao Sok ?
If you come to Khao Sok with public buses or passenger minivans, you will be dropped off at the beginning of the street that leads to the 'land entrance' of Khao Sok National Park. This is where buses between Surat Thani and Phuket stop. From Phuket, buses leave from Terminal No. 2. The land entrance is located tens of kilometers from the Ratchaprapha Dam gateway to Khao Sok Lake (Chiew Lan Lake). To reach the lake directly, it is better to privatize a transport or organize your transfer with a lake hotel or a local agency.Weather & climate in Khao Sok
Khao Sok has a tropical savanna climate. Temperatures are fairly stable throughout the year, although the pre-monsoon months (March-May) are ga little warmer. There is a short dry season from January to April, followed by the rainy season from May to December. The strongest rains occur in October and November.The best time to come to Khao Sok is from January to April. November is particularly rainy and therefore not a good time to come to Khao Sok.
When to go to Khao Sok ?
How to ask in Thai to go to Khao Sok ?
I want to go to Khao Sok / Yak paï ti Khao Sok.Where is Khao Sok ? / Khao Sok you ti naï ?
All COVID-19 restrictions for coming to Thailand lifted from October 1 !
We have been waiting for it for months, hoping it will happen on July 1, but it will finally be October 1, 2022, when Thailand will lift the last COVID restrictions to enter the country. From this date, it will no longer be necessary to show...
