Staying in a Khao Sok floating bungalow on Cheow Lan Lake is the ultimate bucket list experience!
Covering an area of 165 km2, this huge man-made lake features high-rise limestone cliffs, emerald waters, and a dense rainforest teeming with wildlife from elephants to buffalos, hornbills, and more.
In this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about planning a Khao Sok overnight tour, including how to choose the best Khao Sok floating bungalow, how much it cost, updated entrance fees, how to get there, the best things to do, and other helpful tips.
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Table of Contents
Why Stay in a Khao Sok Floating Bungalow on Cheow Lan Lake?
If you want to be fully immersed in nature, then you should definitely stay in a floating bungalow on Cheow Lan Lake.
This huge lake is surrounded by soaring karst cliffs as far as the eyes can see and provides the perfect opportunity to disconnect from the outside world.
Apart from relaxing, you’ll find plenty of things to do from swimming to kayaking, wildlife spotting, or trekking.
Price of Khao Sok Floating Bungalows
The price of the Khao Sok floating bungalows is 2,500 baht for adults or 1,800 baht for children for an overnight tour (2 days and 1 night).
This includes van and boat transfers from Khao Sok village to Cheow Lan Lake and back, a private bungalow, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast, unlimited water, tea, and coffee, 2 boat safaris, kayaks, and a cave or waterfall trek.
Best Floating Bungalows in Khao Sok
Smiley Lake House
Smiley Lake House is one of the best floating bungalows in Khao Sok, especially for budget-conscious travelers.
Their overnight lake tour costs only 2,500 baht and includes everything mentioned above.
Their bungalows are basic but clean and feature two double beds (well, more like 2 mattresses placed on a wooden platform), fan, private bathroom, and balcony.
While most of the floating bungalows on Cheow Lan Lake have common bathrooms only, each one at Smiley has a private bathroom which is a huge plus considering the low price point.
They also provide towels, water bottles, and toilet paper as well as kayaks free of charge.
Another thing I love about Smiley is the delicious buffet spread which consists of Thai curries (including vegetable and meat options), rice, noodles, and fresh fruits.
500 Rai Floating House
500 Rai Floating House, on the other hand, has air-conditioned villas and suites, some of which feature a private jacuzzi and swimming pool overlooking Cheow Lan Lake. Each bungalow also comes with a free kayak. Check latest rates and availability here.
Panvaree The Greenery
If you’re after something more luxurious, take a look at Panvaree The Greenery Khao Sok Resort. They have only 10 rooms in total so it’s very peaceful. Similar to all Khao Sok National Park floating bungalows, kayaks are provided free of charge. Check latest rates and availability here.
How to get to Khao Sok National Park?
Since most Khao Sok overnight tours already include transfers from Khao Sok village to the floating bungalows and back, you only need to figure out how to get to Khao Sok itself.
Below I’ll explain how to get to Khao Sok from some of Thailand’s main tourist hubs.
From Bangkok
If you’re coming from Bangkok, you can book a transfer on 12go.asia which includes a bus from Bangkok to Surat Thani followed by a mini-van to Khao Sok. The total journey should take about 16 hours.
You can also book a flight or sleeper train from Bangkok to Surat Thani followed by a mini-van to Khao Sok.
BOOK A TRANSFER FROM BANGKOK TO KHAO SOK
From Ao Nang, Krabi
Since I was staying in Ao Nang, I booked a shared minivan and paid about 500 baht. The whole journey took about 4-5 hours. Private transfers to Khao Sok are also available but cost a lot more at around 2,500-3,000 baht.
BOOK A TRANSFER FROM AO NANG TO KHAO SOK
From Phuket
For those coming from Phuket, you can book a shared mini-van for about 900 baht. The journey should take about 3-4 hours. Private transfers are also available and cost about 2,500-,3000 baht.
BOOK A TRANSFER FROM PHUKET TO KHAO SOK
From Khao Lak
The drive from Khao Lak to Khao Sok takes on average 1-2 hours and costs about 600 baht for a shared mini-van or 1,600 baht for a private taxi.
BOOK A TRANSFER FROM KHAO LAK TO KHAO SOK
Alternatively, overnight tours are also available from Khao Lak or Phuket. This includes transfers to and from your hotel in Khao Lak, boat ride on Cheow Lan Lake, national park and pier fees, 4 meals with drinks, safari, cave trekking, and accommodation. Click here to book.
If your time in Thailand is limited, you can opt for a full-day trip instead which includes transfers to and from your hotel in Khao Lak, national park and pier fees, lunch with drinks, and an English-speaking guide. Click here to book.
Khao Sok National Park Entrance Fee
The entrance fee for Khao Sok National Park is 300 baht for adults and 150 baht for children but for some reason, they were only charging 200 baht for adults and 100 baht for children when I visited.
Note that you also have to pay a pier fee of 20 baht for adults and 10 baht for children.
Things to do on Cheow Lan Lake
Guilin Rocks
The first place that you’ll visit on your way to the Khao Sok floating bungalows is the Guilin Rocks. These three limestone rocks are stacked next to each other and are the most popular photo spot on Cheow Lan Lake.
Kayaking
Another best thing to do on Cheow Lan Lake is kayaking. Most floating bungalows will provide kayaks and paddles free of charge so you can fully explore the lake at your own pace.
Safari Boat Ride
Cheow Lan Lake is teeming with wildlife from elephants to buffalos, hornbills, monkeys, wild boars, and more. I even saw some “wild” chickens roaming around the lake!
The Khao Sok overnight tour with Smiley included 2 safaris – one in the evening and one in the morning. We didn’t see any animals during the evening safari but were able to see hornbills and monkeys the next morning.
The animals are the most active in the morning so I recommend the morning safari if you’d like to skip one of them.
Swimming
During the tour, you’ll have plenty of free time to swim in the lake. Just note that it’s mandatory to wear a life jacket when swimming although I saw some people swimming without any.
The lake is extremely deep with an average depth of about 40 meters so it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Waterfall Trek
There are a few waterfalls scattered around the lake like Klong Yee waterfall or Bang Hoi waterfall. I’m not sure which one we visited during the tour but it was one fun adventure!
The waterfall we visited looked a lot like the sticky waterfall in Chiang Mai. We literally hiked up the waterfall and didn’t slip at all due to the “sticky” surface of the rocks.
Just be sure to wear close-toe shoes and long pants as this area is prone to leeches.
We took a 30-minute boat ride from the floating bungalows to the waterfall and the hike lasted about 1 hour.
Keep in mind that this activity is only available during the rainy season (around May to November). If you’re visiting Khao Sok during the dry season, you’ll visit a cave or viewpoint instead.
Kri Sorn Viewpoint
Kri Sorn viewpoint offers unparalleled views of Cheow Lan Lake and takes about 2 hours to hike. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to visit due to lack of time but if you’re staying for 2 nights, you can make arrangements with your host to do the hike.
Cave Trekking
Another activity to do here is cave trekking. There are two main caves to visit in Cheow Lan, namely Nam Talu Cave and Pakarang Cave (coral cave).
To get to Pakarang Cave, you’ll have to hike through the jungle and then take a bamboo raft. The cave isn’t too big so it won’t take long to explore.
Nam Talu Cave, on the other hand, is slightly more challenging as it’s filled with water year-round and can only be visited during the dry season when the water level is lower.
Honestly wading through waist-length water inside a pitch-black cave isn’t my idea of fun so I was glad when our guide took us to the waterfall instead.
My Khao Sok Overnight Tour Experience
I booked my Khao Sok overnight tour with Smiley Bungalows which cost 2,500 baht per person.
They picked me up at 8.30 a.m from my accommodation in Khao Sok (I stayed at Coco Hostel which I highly recommend) and brought me to Smiley Bungalows where I made the payment. They had free coffee and tea available.
After a briefing, we took a minivan to a local market and 7/11 where we could stock up on snacks. If you wish, you can also buy waterproof shoes for the waterfall trek for about 100-200 baht.
When we reached the pier, we paid the national park fee and pier fee before jumping on a longtail boat.
The boat ride from the pier to the floating bungalows on Cheow Lan Lake took about 1.5 hours.
It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful with uninterrupted views of the giant limestone cliffs. I was in awe during the whole ride!
We stopped halfway through to the Guilin Rocks for photos and arrived at the floating bungalows at around noon just in time for a buffet lunch.
We then had free time to swim and kayak around the lake. At 5.30 p.m, we went on a safari and had dinner at 7 p.m.
The next morning, we woke up early for another safari at 6.30 a.m and then had breakfast at 8 a.m.
The checkout time was at 9 a.m so we brought our bags to the reception and then our guide took us on a longtail boat to a waterfall. The whole activity lasted about 3 hours including the boat ride and trek.
Lunch was served at noon and we had more free time to swim and kayak before it was time to leave at 2 p.m.
We got back to Khao Sok at around 4 p.m and I decided to stay another night at Coco Hostel before transferring back to Ao Nang the next day.
More things to know about Khao Sok floating bungalows
- The Khao Sok floating bungalows normally have electricity between 6 p.m and 6 a.m but when I stayed at Smiley Lake House, we had electricity all day. If needed, you can charge your phone inside the bungalows or at the reception.
- The phone signal on Cheow Lan Lake is poor and wifi isn’t available, so it’s the perfect excuse to fully disconnect from the outside world.
- Cheow Lan Lake can only be visited with a guide.
- Luckily there are no mosquitoes on the lake. I also didn’t come across any during the waterfall trek.
- It’s best to only take a day bag with all your essentials when going to the lake. You can leave your luggage at your accommodation in Khao Sok or with the tour operator you booked with.
- The overnight tours are all-inclusive with non-alcoholic drinks only but you can buy beer at the floating bungalow restaurant for about 100 baht.
Best time to visit
Khao Sok can be visited year-round but some activities like the waterfall trek can only be done during the rainy season (May to November) while the Nam Talu Cave can only be visited during the dry season.
For the best weather, I recommend visiting during the dry season (December to April).
I hope you found this guide to the Khao Sok floating bungalows helpful. If you have any questions, just let me know in the comments below.
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