Khao Sok National Park – Stay on Floating Bungalows in Cheow Lan Lake

Khao Sok National Park is one of the best national parks in Thailand. It is located in Surat thani province, about 2 hours from Surat thani or 2.5 hours from Krabi. In the middle of Khao Sok is a huge man-made lake where you can take a Cheow Lan lake tour. This is one of my favourite places to visit after 8+ years of living in Thailand! I love taking my loved ones to swim in the lake, wildlife spot and always combine a treehouse with the floating bungalows- Thailand adventure at its best!

Why visit Khao Sok National Park?

The main reason to visit Khao Sok is because it is an area of natural beauty. The mountains and karsts and the turquoise lake make it a wonderful place to spend some time during your Thailand trip.

Where to stay

There are two types of amazing accommodation in Khao Sok. One of them is to stay at floating bungalows on Cheow Lan lake and the other is to sleep in a treehouse just outside Khao Sok National park. Even better is to combine the two and spend a Khao Sok 2 day tour here. 

These are the two Khao Sok treehouses I have stayed in and I personally recommend them both and I would stay in them again:

Khao Sok Floating Bungalows or Raft Houses

Khao Sok is home to floating bungalows on Cheow Lan lake where you can spend a night or two. The bungalows are floating on the lake, most of them are basic bungalows with a fan, a small bathroom and no electricity in the evening after 6pm. It is definitely worth spending the night on the floating bungalows in Khao Sok. On a clear night you can see the whole of the milky way because Khao Sok National Park is far from any big cities and light pollution. Most visitors stay at the Cheow Lan Lake floating bungalows as part of a Khao Sok overnight tour. 

Khao Sok Treehouse

Khao Sok is also a great opportunity to stay in a treehouse. There are several options available around the edge of Khao Sok National Park. The most luxurious is Our Jungle House (Agoda) or (Booking.com) which has big beautiful wooden decks and is a great place to spot monkeys from. For a slightly cheaper treehouse version that also offers a pool, then stay at Rock and Treehouse Resort (Agoda) or (Booking.com) which is also fun, a good place to spot monkeys and you can also organise your Khao Sok overnight tour from there. 

Compare prices on Agoda for treehouses in Thailand in Khao Sok by clicking the image below:

Things to Do

There are many great Khao Sok activities and all of them include spending time in nature. 

Night Safari

For the more adventurous, take a night safari into Khao Sok National Park and spot sleeping monkeys, snakes, scorpions, deer and other nocturnal wildlife. 

Waterfalls

Another one of the fantastic Khao Sok activities you can do is Khao Sok trekking up a waterfall. The rocks are naturally ‘sticky’ so that you can walk directly up the waterfall, feeling the fresh, cool water and enjoying the views of the lake. 

Caves

Another really fun activity for the adventurous is to explore inside caves in Khao Sok National Park. You can do this as part of your Khao Sok overnight tour. Your guide will take the group inside a huge cave spotting bats, snakes and spiders as you climb. Headtorches are provided. The stalagmites and stalactites are very impressive inside the caves as well. 

Wildlife Spotting

The Khao Sok overnight tour often offers activities such as an early morning boat ride to spot gibbons and listen to them calling to each other as well as a chance of diving fish eagles preying on freshwater fish inside the lake.  

Swimming & Kayaking

From the floating bungalows or raft houses, you can jump in and swim in the warm, turquoise waters of Cheow Lan lake. A great Khao Sok activity is also to take a kayak and kayak around the edge of the lake, spotting monkeys, gibbons and hornbills as you go. 

Khao Sok Itineraries

Spend 2-3 days in Khao Sok spending time in a treehouse and an overnight on the floating bungalows. You can get to Khao Sok from Krabi or Surat thani. Khao Sok should definitely be on your Thailand destinations to visit and read here for more Thailand bucketlist ideas.

If you would prefer to have everything booked and organised for you then you can book a similar trip here with GetYourGuide. 

Getting to Khao Sok

You can travel to Khao Sok from Surat thani. It is one of the closer options for getting into Khao Sok National Park. 

If you are departing from Bangkok, you have the option to fly to Surat thani if you are tight on time. If you are looking for a more adventurous way to travel then you can take a night train from Bangkok to Surat thani. This is also the cheaper option and you can book your night train with 12go Asia here. Your treehouse accommodation can help arrange a transfer. Please note public transport like buses is limited to Khao Sok and the edges of the park and the accommodation tends to be very spread out along the roadside so this is a time where I recommend getting dropped exactly at your accommodation.

If leaving from Khao Sok and getting to Surat thani airport or train station, it is best to organise your transfer through your accommodation. The journey is approximately two hours. They will have both private and shared minivan options depending on your budget. 

Leaving Khao Sok

From your Thailand treehouse accommodation or hotel in Khao Sok you can organise a shared minivan for approximately 300-350 baht to take you from Khao Sok to Krabi (Ao Nang) for beach time and to get to the Andaman islands. Alternatively you can arrange a private transfer through your Khao Sok treehouse or hotel. Alternatively take a transfer from Krabi into Khao Sok from Krabi airport. It is best to organise transport through your accommodation. The journey is approximately 2.5-3 hours.  For my Ao Nang Guide to Krabi read here