Laguna Cheow Lan Raft House
Also called The Laguna Chiewlarn, Laguna Cheow Lan Raft House is located in Khlong Long tributary, in the middle of the lake in 35-40 minutes boat ride from Cheow Lan Pier. The floating resort has total 31 regular rooms and 8 panorama/see view rooms with better view.
Each room features a king-size bed and a single bed, an en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, and a private balcony, accommodating up to three guests. Electricity is available from 6pm to 6am. However, daytime electricity can be provided at an additional cost due to generator usage. Complimentary amenities include blankets, pillows, towels, shampoo and soap.
Nearby attractions and activities, all within a 30-minute boat ride, include:
- Hiking and bamboo rafting to Coral Cave
- Khao Sam Kloe (The Three Rocks)
- Diamond Cave
- Khlong Ka Peat Swamp Forest Trail
Attractions over an hour boar ride, include;
- Bang Hoi Waterfall
- Kri Sorn Viewpoint
- Nam Thalu Cave
Tours with Laguna Cheow Lan
Activities
With the 3-days/2-nights tour in 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 in the vicinity of your raft house for wildlife watching. The tour includes two nights stay in a raft house (floating bulgalows/floating resorts) 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.
Itinerary
There is no strict itinerary with our lake tours, the following itinerary is just an example. Depending on the location of your raft house, 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 raft house.
Day 1
- 10 am, Board your long-tail boat at Rajjaprabha Dam (Cheow Lan Lake Pier) enjoy the scenic tour of limestone karst formations on the way to floating bungalows
- Check in to the raft house. Enjoy a traditional Thai lunch
- Depart for a guided hike to a nearby viewpoint which has a breathtaking view over the lake
- Return to the raft house for a swim, relax and enjoy the scenery
- Afternoon wildlife safari by boat
- Enjoy your dinner
Day 2
- Breakfast
- Board long tail boat for a morning wildlife safari by boat
- Return to the rafthouse for free time
- After lunch, guided jungle hike
- Return to the raft house for a swim, relax
- Enjoy a traditional Thai dinner
Day 3
- Rise before breakfast for the morning mist safari, the best time to gibbons, macaques and dusky leaf monkeys
- 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 in 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. For the some high season dates Laguna Cheow Lan should be booked at least 3-4 months but for most dates rooms may be available even if booked in the last minute.
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 | 2D/1N | 3D/2N |
| 2 | 9,700 THB | 15,800 THB |
| 3 | 7,400 THB | 12,100 THB |
| 4 | 6,900 THB | 12,000 THB |
| 5 | 6,100 THB | 10,600 THB |
| 6 | 5,600 THB | 9,600 THB |
| 7 | 5,600 THB | 9,850 THB |
| 8 | 5,900 THB | 10,050 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: Naama Zehavi | posted Thu 27 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
we highly recommend the 3 days 2 night tour !
And especially our guide Bee and the long-tail boat catain Son !!
Bee have very good english, extensive knowledge about Thai nature , flora and fauna in the park , history , rural life of thai people and their culture.
He lives near the park and his familly lived in the park before it has been constructed.
Bee and Son had lots of good will to show us every animal and plant and make our stay great and exciting .
We saw pig tail macaque , long tail macaque, Langur monkey , Gibbon monkey , Bisons , wild bores , many birds and a wild elephant !!
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.