Private Tour | 3-days/2-nights private tour on Cheow Lan Lake
Situated between Khao Sok National Park and Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Cheow Lan Lake has one of the most beautiful scenic views in Thailand.
While a 2-day/1-night stay leaves less time for various activities due to check-in and check-out times from the floating resorts, a 3-days/2-nights tour gives a much better opportunity to enjoy more of the attractions and activities around the lake.
Activities
With the 3-days/2-nights tour at Cheow Lan Lake you will be able to see scenic rock formations, hike to a viewpoint, visit a cave, hike in the jungle, kayak and drive around at the vicinity of your resort for wildlife watching. The tour includes two nights stay at a floating resort (floating bulgalows/floating raft house) of your choice, a private guide and a private boat with driver.
Why to book a private tour?
While the group tours in the lake are conducted with larger boats shared by up to 18 people and has a fixed itinerary, no others will share the guide or the boat with you during our tours. Our tours are strictly private and flexible, our guests can decide their day-to-day activities with the their guide.
Floating resort at Cheow Lan Lake
500 Rai Floating Resort (high-end)
500 Rai Floating Resort is one of the best floating resort on Cheow Lan Lake, with 15 houses/units of various sizes. It is located at the far end of the lake, between Phupha Waree and Krai Son raft houses, with one of the best views at the lake. It is the only option at the lake providing electricity 24 hours/day (deluxe option with only 12 h/day a/c powered, others 24 h/day).
Following are the room types;
| Deluxe (4 pax) | 36 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with two mattresses. 1 kayak, 5 life jackets. A/c from 6 pm to 6 am. Check-in 2pm, check-out 9:30am |
| Villa (4 pax) | 42 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with two mattresses. 1 kayak, 5 life jackets. A/c 24h/day. Check-in 2pm, check-out 9:30am |
| Family Villa (8 pax) | 72 ㎡ - 2 connecting villas, 2 master bedrooms with double-size bed, 2 lofts with 4 mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 kayaks, 8 life jackets. Check-in 2pm, check-out 9:30am |
| Deluxe Suite (4 pax) | 72 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with 2 mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 kayaks, 7 life jackets (2 sofa beds for additional 2 pax if needed). Check-in 4pm, check-out 1pm |
| Family Suite (10 pax) | 86 ㎡ - 2 master bedrooms with double-size bed, 2 lofts with 6 mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 kayaks, 7 life jackets (2 sofa beds for additional 2 pax if needed). Check-in 4pm, check-out 1pm |
| Honeymoon Suite (4 pax) | 92 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with two mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 kayaks, 4 life jackets, private swimming pool, jacuzzi. Check-in 4pm, check-out 1pm |
360° Issara Floating Resort (high-end)
360° is the a brand new high-end resort opened in January 2025.
360° Issara is located at Khlong Long tributary of Cheow Lan Lake, around 40 minutes boat ride from Cheow Lan Pier, somewhere between Sai Chon and Laguna Cheow Lan. When at full capacity, the floating resort has total 10 deluxe rooms for couples, 10 triple deluxe rooms with a queen-sized and a single bed. 4 more villa rooms will be ready later this year with a king-sized bed and a sofa bed (for 2 adults and 1 child).
While the deluxe rooms will be a/c powered from 6pm until 6am, the villa rooms will be powered 24 hours/day.
The 360° Issara Floating Resort offers three seasonal pricing tiers: the lowest rates are available from May to June, higher rates apply from July to October, and the highest rates are in effect from November to April.
Panvaree The Greenery (high-end)
The resort is located at the entrance of Khlong Long tributary. Compared to other optiong on the lake, Panvaree The Greenery has fewer cabins/houses which makes it a relatively quiet place even when the place is fully booked, ideal for people avoiding crowds. Quality wise it is no doubt one of the best and most popular floating resort on the lake. Electricity is provided from 5pm until 9am.
Following are the room types;
| Superior room (2 pax) | For couples or 2 adults + small child (child to share same bed as parents but quoted half price). Rooms can be with either a double bed or twin beds, unfortunately can't be chosen, either one can be booked depending on availability and other circumstances. |
| Family section (4 pax) | For families up to 4 pax, 2 storeys, 2 rooms, 1 bathroom, 1 king size bed in each room. |
The price for the rooms varies depending on week-day, week-end day or holidays.
Panvaree Resort (high-end)
Located right next to Panvaree The Greenery, Panvaree Resort has similar quality and price level with different type of bed settings, it too has less cabin/houses. The rooms gets a bit cheaper at Panvaree Resort for groups of 3 people or more.
Following are the room types;
|
Garret house king (4 pax) |
Semi-detached to a garret house queen, with a king size bed and a loft area with 2 single mattresses on the floor. |
| Garret house queen (4 pax) | Semi-detached to a garret house king, with twin beds and a loft area with 2 single mattresses on the floor. Max 4 people |
| Private garret (4 pax) | Solitary unit (not semi-detached), with twin beds and a loft area with 2 single mattresses on the floor. Max 4 people |
The price for the rooms varies depending on week-day, week-end day or holidays.
Laguna Cheow Lan
Laguna Cheow Lan is located at Khlong Long tributary, on the middle of Cheow Lan Lake. Each room have a king size and a single bed, private bathroom, a/c, balcony and can accommodate up to 3 people. The beds are on the floor. Electricity is provided from 6pm until 6am.
5 of the rooms called "see view rooms" are charged at a higher rate, they are the rooms with best views, facing the mountains on the opposite coast.
Phupha Waree Raft House
Phupha Waree Raft House is set back in a private alcove just inside Klong Pey, compared to most basic raft houses in the lake it is considered a bit better option. The rooms are equipped with 2 joined queen size beds, a private bathroom, a/c, balcony and can accommodate 2-4 people. While the smaller rooms will be booked for up to 3 people, the larger rooms will be booked for 4 people. Electricity is provided from 6pm until 6-7am.
Sai Chon Raft House
Sai Chon Raft House is a cheaper alternative. While being a very basic raft house, it is still a better option when compared to most other basic options in the lake mostly because the rooms have ensuite private bathroom. The raft house is located on Khlong Long tributary of the lake, not too far from the pier. The quality is somewhere between bamboo and average options. While the smaller rooms have 1 king size bed, the larger rooms have 2 king size beds. The rooms are equipped with fan only, electricity is provided from around 6pm until 6-7am.
Unlike the other raft houses, kayaking is not free at Sai Chon Raft House, rental will cost 200 Baht per kayak. The kayak fee is optional, not included in our listed prices for Sai Chon Raft House.
Itinerary
There is no strict itinerary with our lake tours, the following itinerary is just an example. Depending on the location of your resort, weather conditions, your preferences the itinerary may be much different. Example; you may decide to do more kayaking, skip some activities for the other, or simply just decide to relax and spend some time with friend(s)/family at the resort.
Day 1
- 10 am, Board your long-tail boat at Rajjaprabha Dam (Cheow Lan Lake Pier)
- The first stop is a scenic tour of limestone karst, also called 3 rocks or Khao Sam Kloe, then to Diamond Cave
- Check in to the resort. Enjoy a traditional Thai lunch
- Depart for a guided hike to Kri Sorn Viewpoint or Bang Hoi Waterfall
- Return to the resort for a swim, relax and enjoy the scenery or late afternoon wildlife safari by boat
- Enjoy your dinner
Day 2
- Start the day with a hearty breakfast
- Set off on a morning mist/wildlife safari in long-tail boat
- Return to the raft house for some leisure time, swim, kayaking, relaxing
- After lunch, embark on a guided jungle hike
- Unwind at the raft house—swim, relax, or go kayaking
- Conclude the day with a delicious traditional Thai dinner
Day 3
- Rise before breakfast for the morning mist/wildlife in with long-tail boat
- Alternatively explore the surrounding area by kayak
- Return to raft house for breakfast
- Depending on the raft house and it's location the tour ends around 9:30 to 10 am at the pier
Where & When?
The tour starts at Cheow Lan Lake Pier (Rajjaprabha Dam), 65 km from park headquarters. We can arrange transfer from/to Phuket, Khao Lak, Krabi, Ao Nang, Surat Thani and Khao Sok village straight to tour start in the morning or transfer to the mentioned towns after the tour.
The nearest airports are Surat Thani (~1h), Krabi (~2h) and Phuket Airport (~2.5h), you are recommended to arrive to the area a day before the tour start. This tour is not recommended to start the same day when arriving from the islands or the airports.
This tour is available throughout the year.
When to book?
High seasons periods for the lake are November to mid April and mid July to end of August. Bookings for these months should be done well in advance, earliest possible. Even if some of the raft houses may still have rooms available days/weeks before, guide availability is more of a concern. The guides may get fully booked months in advance for the busiest times of the year.
Panvaree The Greenery superior rooms should be booked at least 6-12 months in advance for the busier months of the year, family rooms too may get booked far in advance.
Laguna Cheow Lan should be booked at least 3-6 months in advance for the high seasons months.
Phupha Waree can be booked a couple of months ahead, for the high seasons months they may get fully booked for most dates 1-4 months before.
Sai Chon tends to have more availability compared to the other raft houses we offer, sometimes days/weeks before. But for the certain peak dates, they too will eventually get fully booked many months before.
Tour details in short:
- Duration: 3 days/2 nights
- Type: Private tour
- Price: * see the pricing table *
- Group size: 2 or more people
- Grade: Easy
- Transport: Long-tail boat
- Start: 10am (day 1)
- End: around 9:30 to10 am (day 3)
What to bring:
- Rain clothing, specially on the rainy seasons (no rain protection on longtail boats)
- Waterproof bag/cover for all your electronics in case of rain
- Sneakers for hiking, sandals for waterfall/cave visit
- Personal toiletries
- Swimming clothing & towel
- Hat
- Flashlight
- Insect repellent
- Sunblock lotion
How much?
The tour will be led by a private guide which means no others will join you while exploring the lake and surrounding areas. The price for this tour package depends on the choice of accommodation and number of people, please see price per person further down.
The prices below do not include entrance fees to the national park.
Optional charges;
Coral Cave Rafthing
- From 500 Rai or Phupha Waree; 2,900 Baht fixed price and 200 Baht per person entrance fee for Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary
- From Sai Chon, Panvaree Resort or Panvaree The Greenery; 1,400 Baht fixed price and 200 Baht per person entrance fee for Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary
Wildlife oriented tour
Although our tour is more about visiting the attractions, enjoying the scenery and water activities at the lake, our price includes a bit of safari driving around the lake in hope to see a glimpse of wildlife around.
If you wish a more wildlife oriented tour, we can arrange it for an additional 2,500 Baht for on early morning of a late afternoon session a bit further away from your resort area. Please let us know in case. The wildlife oriented tour is only suitable for the 2nd day over a 3D/2N tour and for this price, only one driving session.
| Price per person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pax | Sai Chon | Phupha Waree | Laguna |
| 2 | 11,900 THB | 13,400 THB | 15,800 THB |
| 3 | 9,300 THB | 10,000 THB | 12,100 THB |
| 4 | 8,000 THB | 8,750 THB | 12,000 THB |
| 5 | 7,200 THB | 8,400 THB | 10,600 THB |
| 6 | 6,700 THB | 7,500 THB | 9,600 THB |
| 7 | 6,300 THB | 7,150 THB | 9,850 THB |
| 8 | 6,800 THB | 7,400 THB | 10,050 THB |
| Price per person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pax | 360° Issara | Panvaree Resort | Panvaree T. G. |
| 2 | 16,200 to 21,100 THB | 17,800 to 19,800 THB | 16,700 to 19,300 THB |
| 3 | 13,200 to 15,200 THB | 14,300 to 15,900 THB | 16,800 to 20,700 THB |
| 4 | 11,600 to 16,500 THB | 11,300 to 12,600 THB | 12,800 to 15,500 THB |
| 5 | 10,700 to 13,900 THB | 12,600 to 14,400 THB | 14,900 to 18,800 THB |
| 6 | 10,100 to 12,100 THB | 11,600 to 13,400 THB | 11,700 to 14,400 THB |
| 7 | 9,700 to 13,400 THB | 10,300 to 11,900 THB | 12,600 to 15,800 THB |
| 8 | 10,100 to 12,800 THB | 10,300 to 11,700 THB | 11,700 to 14,400 THB |
| Price per person | |
|---|---|
| Pax | 500 Rai |
| 2 | 28,700 to 58,500 THB |
| 3 | 23,300 to 39,500 THB |
| 4 | 20,700 to 31,500 THB |
| 5 | 19,100 to 26,700 THB |
| 6 | 23,700 to 24,500 THB |
| 7 | 22,100 to 23,000 THB |
| 8 | 20,900 to 22,000 THB |
Displayed prices are per person
Tour rates include:
- Lodging
- Private guide
- Tour around the lake
- Private long-tail boat from the moment of tour start until the tour ends
- Lunch and dinner on day-1, all meals on day-2 and breakfast on day-3
- Drinking water
- Kayaking (not included at Sai Chon Raft House)
- Insurance for incidents during the tour (covering eventual hospital costs)
Tour rates doesn't include:
- Entrance fees to the park
- Transfer to the lake from the nearby hotels/towns
- Parking fee (if you have your own vehicle)
- Kayaking at Sai Chon Raft House (the fee is included at the all other resorts we offer)
Reviews from our guests
By: World Wild Hearts | posted Sun 16 Apr, 2023 | Sai Chon
A video review from one of our guests. This clip wasn't promoted by us, nor were we informed in advance about it.
Review by; World Wild Hearts
By: Katja Stang | posted Mon 24 Mar, 2025 | Sai Chon
Very good Guide!!
By: Daniel Cassidy | posted Sun 23 Mar, 2025 | 500 Rai
Bee was an incredible tour guide!! We had the best time and enjoyed the wildlife viewing and hiking. He gave us options to do this or that and was very accommodating. We learned so much on the tour and were so grateful for Bee’s knowledge and experience in this remote area. He knew what dangers to look for as far as animals on the hiking trail and kept us safe. He and his boat operator were always very prompt on schedule and also had excellent communication with the drivers before and after. His boat operator, Son (not sure about the spelling), had superb eyes for spotting wildlife on land and in the water. We loved their positive attitude and eagerness to show us the incredible beauty out on the lake. Also, their camaraderie with other guides and unity they all had to help one another was very refreshing.
Scheduling drivers before and after the tour made everything so easy. We loved our driver that picked us up from the lake and drove us to Phuket so much that we also used her driving service to take us a few days later to the airport. She is adorable and I hope Thai National Parks will give her more business.
Thank you for providing such a top notch tour service. We will definitely recommend it to everyone!!
By: Helena Berlamont | posted Wed 19 Mar, 2025 | Panvaree T. G.
The 3D/2N Khao Sok private tour was incredible! Everything was perfectly organized, great communication, great resort (Panvaree The Greenery), great guide (Nid), and perfect combination of boat safaris, jungle hikes, and spare swimming/kayaking/relaxing time. We’ve seen 9 wild elephants (!), different monkey species (pigtail macaque, langurs) and a great hornbill. It’s expensive but it’s private and it’s really a unique experience so totally worth it!
By: Sarah M | posted Mon 17 Mar, 2025 | 500 Rai
We did a private 3 day/2 night tour in Khao Sok (staying at 500 Rai) and had the most amazing time! The communication before our trip with Rushen was really clear, helpful and fast. We were very fortunate to have Junn as a guide who was incredible! We’re so grateful to have gotten to hear her knowledge and have her point out so much wildlife to us throughout the tour - we even got lucky enough to see wild elephants one evening :) 500 rai itself was clean and comfortable, and we were happy to have stayed there. We would 100% recommend this tour to anyone, and would love to do it again in the future!
By: Gemma Cheeseman | posted Fri 14 Mar, 2025 | Panvaree T. G.
Amazing tour, the accommodation and meals were excellent. The staff were so welcoming. Our guide Nit was fantastic!! We saw wild elephants, gibbon, monkey's and birds. We enjoyed trekking with Nit and the amazing view was worth the climb!
Thank you to all involved with our stay, we were so well looked after.
By: Tim Hurley | posted Sun 9 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Khao Sok was a beautiful place! We did the phupha waree raft for 2 nights. I think the program lacked sufficient activities for the 2 nights that we did. The first day we got there and toured the lake on the way in and it was one of the most beautiful sceneries I’ve seen. We stopped at a few spots and finally arrived to the raft area (~12:30pm). We were checked in and had lunch and were told we had no activity planned for the rest of the day. This would have been fine but the rafts don’t have power until 5pm. It was just unbearable sitting inside the raft when it was 95 degrees & humid. I would’ve rather had another activity planned to get me through the day. Overall - one night is all that is needed here. The rafts were very dated so be aware when booking. This is a down & dirty place but the beauty of Khao Sok makes up for it. Sort of.
By: Terry | posted Sun 9 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
The 3d/2n tour was one of the best experiences of our time in Thailand! We exchanged many messages beforehand with Thai National Parks, and they always responded quickly, helping us plan everything, including transfers to the pier and back. Very well organized.
The trip itself was amazing. We stayed at Phupha Waree, which we highly recommend. The raft houses aren’t huge, but we don’t understand the complaints about Phupha Waree being in bad shape. The mattresses aren’t the most comfortable, and it’s not spotless, but we felt fine and had everything we needed. WiFi was slow and unreliable, but we enjoyed the digital detox. We loved small terrace, private kayak, and the whole area. The food was delicious, and we got to try dishes we hadn’t had in Thailand yet. No issues at all.
The highlight was exploring by longtail boat and hiking though. Our guide, Junn, was the sweetest and most passionate guide we could have asked for. Even after years of doing this, she was just as excited as we were. She went above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed every moment, and took care of EVERYTHING.
We were lucky enough to see many animals, even elephants near our raft house! Wildlife sightings are a matter of luck, but for us, it worked out.
Yes, group tours are cheaper, but having a private guide lets you enjoy the experience at your own pace, in a more peaceful way than in a noisy group. And if you’re wondering whether to do 1 or 2 nights: do 2!
By: Reuven Geldman | posted Sat 8 Mar, 2025 | Laguna
The park is wonderful, the hotel (Laguna) is very poor.
By: Jonathan Griffiths | posted Fri 7 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Excellent tour! We loved the safaris and our guide, Dam, was excellent. We learned so much about the history of the park and the wildlife within it. The food at the resort was great and we felt very well looked after. Plenty of time for relaxation as well as wildlife spotting - perfect balance.