Khao Sok Itinerary: How many days to spend in Khao Sok

We're giving you a 4, 3, and 2-day Khao Sok itinerary that will help you figure out how many days to spend in Khao Sok and how to best spend your time.
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Arijana & Matej

Croatian-Slovenian full-time travel duo, photographers, bloggers and travel journalists for over 4 years. We write in-depth travel guides about destinations we have personally visited, providing practical travel tips and recommendations.

How many days to spend in Khao Sok: Khao Sok itinerary

Organizing your Khao Sok itinerary and figuring out how many days to spend in Khao Sok can be a challenging task. 

We understand, so we wrote this article to help you plan your Khao Sok trip. We did extensive research before visiting Khao Sok ourselves and had a great time while there, so here is our suggestion of 3 possible Khao Sok itineraries to make the most of your time there.

About Khao Sok

Khao Sok National Park, located in southern Thailand, is a stunning expanse of rainforest renowned for its rich biodiversity and breathtaking natural landscapes. 

When you visit Khao Sok, you can explore its dramatic limestone cliffs and beautiful Cheow Lan Lake with its iconic floating bungalows, go for hikes to caves or waterfalls, enjoy river activities, and observe a wide variety of wildlife, including gibbons and elephants if you’re lucky.

Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - Khao Sok itinerary

How many days do I need in Khao Sok?

To experience the highlights of Khao Sok, you need a minimum of 2 days. However, 3 or 4 days in Khao Sok would be ideal.

While many day tours are coming to Khao Sok National Park, even from Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak, and Surat Thani, we would suggest doing that only if your time on your Thailand itinerary is super limited but you really want to see Khao Sok. Otherwise, it needs more time than just one day.

We spent 3 nights in Khao Sok, of which 2 nights were in Khao Sok Village and 1 night on the Khao Sok Lake in the floating bungalows. And we wish we stayed longer. However, we feel this was a perfect amount of time to see all the main highlights.

Travel tips before visiting Khao Sok

  • Join a jungle night safari a night before heading to Cheow Lan Lake for an overnight tour. That way, the Khao Sok National Park entrance ticket that you need to buy before joining a night safari will be valid for the Cheow Lan Lake trip the next day.

  • Khao Sok NP entrance fee is 300 THB ($9 or 8.5 EUR) for adults and 150 THB ($4.5) for children (ages 3-14). On top of that, when visiting Cheow Lan Lake, you also need to pay the pier service fee which is 40 THB for adults and 20 THB for children.

  • There are many monkeys in Khao Sok National Park, and depending on where you stay, they might break into your hotel. And that’s never good (speaking from a personal experience 😅). Make sure always to close your doors and windows.

  • We recommend booking the Cheow Lan Lake (Khao Sok Lake) overnight tour and your Khao Sok hotel in advance if you’re visiting during the high season (November – April).

  • Buy travel insurance before your trip! Click to claim 5% off your next travel insurance.

River tubing on Sok River, Khao Sok - 3 days in Khao Sok

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Khao Sok itinerary: 4, 3 & 2 Days itinerary

Below are our suggestions for a 4, 3, and 2-day Khao Sok itinerary. We did the 4 day Khao Sok itinerary.

Want to learn more about Khao Sok National Park?

Read these guides next:

4 Days Khao Sok itinerary

  • Day 1: Arrival and river tubing
  • Day 2: Hiking, bamboo rafting, and night jungle safari
  • Day 3: Arriving at Cheow Lan Lake and check-in to the floating bungalow, kayaking, swimming, hike, and sunset boat safari
  • Day 4: Wake up at the floating bungalow, morning boat safari, last swimming and kayaking, leaving the lake and Khao Sok, and continuing your Thailand trip

Day 1: Arrival & river tubing

Check-in to your Khao Sok hotel (read more about our recommended Khao Sok hotels).

We suggest taking it easy today. An excellent activity for the first day is going river tubing. Depending on where you stay, you might do this on your own at your hotel (that’s what we did), or you can go on an organized tubing tour with a guide.

River tubing on Sok River, Khao Sok - 4 days in Khao Sok National Park

If you stay in one of the hotels closer to the jungle and the riverside like we did, you might walk around and have your own night safari. We did that and saw an owl, a snake in the river, and many frogs and insects. 😁 It can’t replace an official safari, but it is fun!

Day 2: Trekking, bamboo rafting & night safari

After breakfast, start the second day of your 4-day Khao Sok itinerary with a morning hike. Khao Sok has many hiking options suitable for all ages and fitness levels. 

Depending on the season you visit, you might want to head on a waterfall hike, a hike to find the biggest flower in the world, Rafflesia, or a hike to some of the caves. We went on a guided hike to Kaew Cave, which was about 45 minutes one way.

TRAVEL TIP

Many hikes in Khao Sok require guides.

For guided trekking, you can check guided tours like this one or find more information on what’s currently available at your accommodation or the park’s headquarters. And then choose between different itineraries.

After the hike, relax on a peaceful bamboo raft ride. You’ll see some stunning Khao Sok scenery and stop for a short coffee or tea and swim break. For us, this was a perfect activity after the hike.

Bamboo rafting on Sok River, Khao Sok, Thailand - Khao Sok itinerary

At the end of the day, go on a jungle night safari in Khao Sok National Park. This is only possible on a guided tour, which you can book here.

You’ll get to see snakes and lizards, frogs, spiders (like tarantulas), birds, and some amazing animals like civet cats or slow loris.

Mangrove snake, Jungle Night Safari, Khao Sok National Park - 4-day Khao Sok itinerary

Day 3: Cheow Lan Lake overnight tour

Day 3 of this 4-day Khao Sok itinerary brings you to the highlight of Khao Sok National Park,  Cheow Lan Lake (Khao Sok Lake). 

The best way to experience Cheow Lan Lake is on an overnight tour where you get to sleep in floating raft houses. You won’t regret it!

Floating bungalows Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - how long to stay in khao sok

You’ll have an early start from Khao Sok Village to drive to Khao Sok Lake. It takes about an hour.

After that, you’ll catch a boat ride to your floating bungalow and do a bit of sightseeing while on the boat. The ride will be stunning! 

Once you check in at your floating hotel on Cheow Lan Lake, you’ll get lunch and then head to the first activity of the day. The activity varies between the tours, but it’s usually a hike to a cave or a viewpoint. The hike to Coral Cave (which we did) is usually the most popular since it’s the most suitable for all ages.

Note: A hike to Coral Cave has a separate fee from Khao Sok National Park, which is 200 THB (5.8 USD / 5.6 EUR) per person.

After that, you’ll return to your floating bungalows, where you’ll have some free time to swim and kayak. 

To end the day, there’s a sunset boat safari where you might be lucky to see wild elephants!

Day 4: Last Khao Sok Lake activities & leaving Khao Sok

On your last day of the 4-day Khao Sok itinerary, you’ll still get a chance to go on a morning safari boat tour and enjoy some last kayaking and swimming on the lake.

Elephant at Cheow Lan Lake - Khao Sok itinerary
If you’re lucky, you might see an elephant on your boat safari! We, unfortunately, didn’t.

Afterward, you’ll pack your bags and head back to Cheow Lan Lake Marina. From there, you can continue your journey to some other place in Thailand, or you can first get back to Khao Sok Village and then continue your journey from there. Check all the transfer options here.

We first returned to Khao Sok Village and then continued our way to Krabi. Read our Krabi itinerary.

3 Days Khao Sok itinerary

  • Day 1: Arrival, bamboo rafting and night jungle safari
  • Day 2: Arriving to Cheow Lan Lake and check-in to the floating bungalow, kayaking, swimming, hike, and sunset boat safari
  • Day 3: Wake up at the floating bungalow, morning boat safari, last swimming and kayaking, leave the lake and Khao Sok, and continue your Thailand trip

* As you might have noticed, days 2 and 3 of a 3-day Khao Sok itinerary are the same as days 3 and 4 of a 4-day itinerary.

Also, check out this preorganized 3-Day Khao Sok tour package.

Day 1: Arrival, bamboo rafting, night safari

After settling in your hotel, an excellent activity to start your 3-day Khao Sok adventure is bamboo rafting. It’s a short and peaceful activity on the Sok River. You’ll see some stunning scenery, some animals like monkeys, and have a pit stop where you’re served coffee or tea and can go for a swim. 

For the end of day 1 of the 3-day Khao Sok itinerary, join a night jungle safari in Khao Sok National Park. This is only possible on a guided tour, which you can book here.

You’ll get to see snakes and lizards, frogs, spiders (like tarantulas), birds, and some amazing animals like civet cats or slow loris.

Slow loris, Jungle Night Safari, Khao Sok National Park - 3-day Khao Sok itinerary
Slow loris in Khao Sok National Park

Day 2: Cheow Lan Lake overnight tour

On day 2 of this 3-day Khao Sok itinerary, you’ll visit the highlight of Khao Sok National Park,  Cheow Lan Lake (Khao Sok Lake). The itinerary for this day is the same as on day 3 of the 4-day itinerary.

Day 3: Last Khao Sok Lake activities & leaving Khao Sok

Your last day of the 3-day Khao Sok itinerary is the same as day 4 of the 4-day itinerary.

Sunrise in a floating bungalow, Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - Khao Sok itinerary
Sunrise on Cheow Lan Lake.

2 Days Khao Sok itinerary

For the 2-day Khao Sok itinerary, you need to choose whether to base yourself in Khao Sok Village and only do a day trip to Cheow Lan Lake or go on a Cheow Lan Lake overnight tour and not visit Khao Sok Village at all.

While we loved Khao Sok Village and everything it offers, if you only have 2 days for Khao Sok, we suggest going on the Cheow Lan Lake 2-days-1-night tour, a true highlight of Khao Sok National Park.

Assuming you listened to our advice, this is what your 2-day Khao Sok itinerary would look like.

  • Day 1: Arriving at Cheow Lan Lake and check in to the floating bungalow, kayaking, swimming, hike, and sunset boat safari
  • Day 2: Wake up at the floating bungalow, morning boat safari, last swimming and kayaking, leaving the lake and Khao Sok, and continuing your Thailand trip

Day 1: Arrival to Cheow Lan Lake Marina + activities

A great thing about choosing to do an overnight tour to Cheow Lan Lake (Khao Sok Lake) is that there are lots of tours that take you here from places like Phuket, Khao Lak, Krabi, or Surat Thani, so you don’t have to organize anything yourself. Check out this tour.

On day 1 of this 2-day Khao Sok itinerary, you’ll arrive at Cheow Lan Lake Marina (Ratchaprapha Marina), where you’ll catch a boat ride to your floating bungalow and do a bit of sightseeing while on the boat. The ride will be stunning!

Beautiful landscape of Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - itinerary for cheow lan lake
Khao Sok Lake views

Once you check in at your floating hotel on Cheow Lan Lake, you’ll get lunch and then head to the first activity of the day. The activity varies between the tours, but it’s usually a hike to a cave or a viewpoint. The hike to Coral Cave (which we did) is usually the most popular since it’s the most suitable for all ages.

Beautiful nature of Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - itinerary for khao sok national park

After that, you’ll return to your floating bungalows, where you’ll have some free time to swim and kayak. 

To end the day, there’s a sunset boat safari where you might be lucky to see wild elephants!

Kayaking on Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - itinerary for khao sok

Day 2: Last Khao Sok Lake activities & leaving Khao Sok

Your last day of the 2-day Khao Sok itinerary is the same as day 4 of the 4-day itinerary: last Khao Sok Lake activities before leaving for your next destination in Thailand.

Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - khao sok lake itinerary
Cheow Lan Lake at sunrise

Where to stay in Khao Sok?

Khao Sok has two main areas, Khao Sok Village and Cheow Lan Lake (Khao Sok Lake), which are about 1-hour drive away from each other.

In Khao Sok Village, we suggest staying in Our Jungle House or Our Jungle Camp (sister hotels), both stunning properties tucked away in the rainforest at the river. We stayed one night in a treehouse and one night in their earth house.

Treehouse in the jungle at Our Jungle House, Khao Sok - itinerary for khao sok national park
Our treehouse – the best hotel in Khao Sok.

How to visit Khao Sok?

Flight

The easiest way to visit Khao Sok is to fly to Surat Thani, the closest airport to Khao Sok National Park. From there, you can catch one of the buses to Khao Sok Village (check bus lines here) or even an affordable private taxi.

Bus

Otherwise, the cheapest way to get to Khao Sok is by bus. Click to find buses to Khao Sok.

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Drive

You can also rent a car and drive to Khao Sok if you’re driving.

But before that, read our guide for Driving in Thailand as a Tourist.

Is Khao Sok worth visiting?

Khao Sok is worth visiting if you love nature and wildlife. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to experience something a bit different from temples and island hopping while in Thailand.

Khao Sok is perfect for travelers of all ages and families with children, as well as solo travelers and couples usually really enjoy it.

It is one of our favorite places in Thailand.

Sunrise kayaking on Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok National Park - itinerary for khao sok national park
We would love to return one day! ❤️


Thank you for reading our Khao Sok Itinerary. We hope we helped you plan your trip. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below! 🥰

And make sure to read our other Thailand guides to help you with your Thailand trip planning.


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Arijana & Matej

Full-time travelers, photographers, bloggers and travel journalists.

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We're Arijana and Matej, a couple and travel blogging duo from Croatia and Slovenia who thrive while slow-traveling. And we have been doing it for over 4 years.

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