Floating cabins, the best Khao Sok National Park Tours, Thailand

When I visited Thailand a while ago there was something I really wanted to do. That was to spend a night in these overnight cabins floating in the middle of a beautiful lake in the forest. I did not know where this was exactly, but I had to try it. After doing some research and reading most of my Lonely Planet, I found out! These were floating cabins in Khao Sok! I will tell you a bit more about these and about the best Khao Sok National Park tours!

Where is Khao Sok National Park and how to get there

Khao Sok National Park is a beautiful rainforest located North of Krabi. Because I came from Krabi and visiting Railay Beach, the best option for me was to get there using a minivan service. It took us about four hours to arrive to Khao sok, although we did do a couple of extra stops. On the other hand, after my visit, I also left to Bangkok via Surat Thani Airport. And it was only a couple of hours away so it was not an unpleasant trip. The landscapes were the definition of a magnificent rainforest, and it was truly beautiful! I highly recommend it!

Plenty of taxi and minivan services are available. Of course, you could also drive yourself but if you have been in the countryside of Thailand you will know that isolated roads usually don’t have any pavement. In a few cases Khao Sok National Park Tours also include this transportation so make sure to ask what is included in your pack!

All of these will take you to Khao Sok town, where you can find multiple options for accomodation. These can range from very basic rooms to ecological tree houses and much more. The tree house was my choice, and except for a massive toad I found in the shower, it was not a bad experience.

From the town to the floating cabins

Even though the town is mostly a long street with hotels on the sides, Khao Sok town has a wide offer of floating cabins. You can book these directly in your hotel or walk through town and book whatever offer suits you the best. They will take care of your transportation to the cabins. In most cases, these packages will include one or two nights in the cabins combined with a few excursions or treks. Even though I had a couple of choices to decided which one of the several Khao Sok National Park Tours available was the most interesting, I ended up selecting a 2-day-1-night type of deal with the company Smiley. I do not recommend them though.

What to expect from a tour to the floating bungalows with Smiley

So, in the tour I decided to take, there was one night included at the bungalows. Don’t expect anything fancy here. The cabins are bare except for a couple of mattresses laying on the floor and a small bathroom. There is no internet connection (and I am not talking about wifi) and the very dim light available at night is supplied by a generator. It is really the perfect place to disconnect. There are some areas with hammocks and a general cantine. But to be honest, you will only sleep in the bungalows. You will spend the rest of the day out under the sun or the rain. And the best of it all, you can step from the cabin directly into the lake. If you are looking for something fancier, there are many more options to do as many providers offer “Khao Sok National Park Tours”.

Now, about the lake, named Cheow Larn Lake. Interestingly, this is not a natural lake. The damp was built in the early 80s in an effort to produce hydraulic power. Unfortunately, this had a strong effect on the local population of animals and plants. Nowadays, when you travel by boat through the lake, you can still see some of the trees still thriving underneath the water.

As a result of the combination of all of these factors, this park houses unique flora and fauna as well as beautiful natural caves and landscapes.

What else can you do in Khao Sok

Although normally arranged, there are several very interesting trails in the area. Back then, we did a 4h trek through the jungle, passing through rivers and never-ending mud. Honestly, it has been more than two years and I still have a scar from that trek. I was about to fall, and I grabbed the nearest branch. It had long and painful spikes that hurt quite a bit. Anyway, it was a fun trek.

Another option if you are staying in the floating cabines in Khao Sok are the caves. There are many caves in the area conforming an amazing underground maze. We visited one cave that had an entrance of about 50cm behind a waterfall and that it had another waterfall inside. And it was fantastic. In case that you decide to do something similar, just remember to carry with you a nice (waterproof) torch! Another cave that we could have visited was filled with snakes and bats. But I decided to skip that because of a bad experience I had with bats before… (I will explain you later on…).

BONUS TIP: if you choose to do any of these excursions, beware of leeches. They are many and common during the wet season!

Some options for Khao Sok National Park tours

Once you are in Khao Sok you will find, on town, several options to visit the National park with a tour. The majority of the options will be there and in most cases you can book them through your hotel. Also, by getting the tours on site you will often find better prices that if you book ahead online. And I am not talking 10€ or dollars, I am talking about maybe doubling the price… In any case, here you have some of the options for Khao Sok National Park Tours (and none of these are affiliated) ranked from the utmost Luxury to the simplest choice: 500 Rai Floating Resort, Panvaree The Greenery, Praiwan Raft House, KhaoSokLake (with multiple options) and Smiley Bungalows. In these options you go from luxury to a mattress in the floor. You can choose!

Some curious and spooky history about

So it turns out that Khao Sok hosts some of the oldest trees in the world. Many of them are actually older than the Amazonas. The reason behind this is that this region was affected with an epidemic in the early 1940s. The few survivors left behind decided to flee and abandoned the town, leaving behind a Ban Sop or “Village of the Dead”. Later on, it was known as the Corpse Mountain, or Khao Sop. Finally, It is believed that after many years, this evolved into the current name “Khao Sok”. Because the town was avoided for many years by the locals, the area remained mostly untouched.

Have you visited Khao Sok or are you planning to go? Do you know which one of the many Khao Sok National Park Tours will you do? Let me know what you think of it in the comments below!
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