GR
Grace R.United Kingdom · December 2025
★★★★★
“The raft house is basic and I would not change a thing about it. Waking up on the lake with mist on the water and gibbons calling is the single best hour of any trip I have taken.”
Private tour
Khao Sok & the South
Rainforest and lake first, then the Andaman: two nights on Cheow Lan Lake, three on Railay and a final night in Phuket.
Khao Sok & the South is an 8-day private trip through Khao Sok, Krabi and Phuket, from $1,420 per person. It puts one genuinely wild stop in the middle of a beach holiday, which is the combination most southern itineraries miss.
Duration8 days / 7 nights
From$1,420 pp
GroupPrivate · 2–6 travellers
StylePrivate tour
Rainforest and lake first, then the Andaman: two nights on Cheow Lan Lake, three on Railay and a final night in Phuket.
Best for: Travellers who want one wild stop among the beaches. The route runs Khao Sok · Krabi · Phuket. Everything below is a starting point: hotels can be upgraded or simplified, days can be added, and any element can be removed.
The lake at Khao Sok is the part people do not expect. Two nights in a raft house on Cheow Lan Lake, reached by longtail, with limestone cliffs on three sides and gibbons at dawn, is as far from a beach resort as Thailand gets — and it sits two hours from the Andaman coast. Putting it between Krabi and Phuket breaks up what would otherwise be a week of sand.
The rest of the trip is the southern circuit done properly: Railay for the cliffs, the four islands by private longtail, and three nights in Phuket at the end for the airport and a last swim. It is a good route for travellers who have done a beach holiday before and want something with more texture.
Day by day
Day01
To Khao Sok
Transfer from Phuket or Surat Thani, jungle lodge.
Day02
The lake
Longtail to the raft house, afternoon cave walk.
Day03
Morning on the water
Canoe at dawn, hike, then back to the mainland.
Day04
To Krabi
Drive to Ao Nang, afternoon free.
Day05
Railay
Boat to the peninsula, sunset at Phra Nang.
Day06
Four islands
Private longtail circuit.
Day07
To Phuket
Drive south, last night on the west coast.
Day08
Depart
Transfer to Phuket airport.
How the days are paced
Four hotels, one of them a raft house with no air conditioning and generator electricity. The lake section has no schedule beyond two boat trips. The beach sections are deliberately loose.
What changes the price
$1,420 per person is based on private · 2–6 travellers sharing a room for 8 days, with mid-range four-star hotels as standard. Nothing is added locally: the entrance fees, boats and guiding are already in the number.
Deposit is 20% to confirm, balance 30 days before arrival. Free changes up to 45 days out.
What’s included
Included
- 7 nights including 2 on the lake
- Private vehicle and guide
- Longtail boats
- National park fees
- All meals on the lake
Not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Diving
- Tips
Good to know
From $1,420 per person, based on private · 2–6 travellers, 8 days and 7 nights. The quote includes the hotels, guiding and transport listed under “What’s included”; international flights and travel insurance are not included.
Yes. Every itinerary on this site is a starting point. Days can be added or removed, hotels upgraded or simplified, and the route reordered around your dates — we re-cost it as many times as you need before you commit.
Not included: international flights, travel insurance. Everything else listed under “What’s included” is in the quote, and we do not add local payments on arrival.
Three to six months ahead for the best hotels, and by September for travel over Christmas and New Year. Green-season trips can usually be arranged with six weeks’ notice.
Basic rather than luxurious — a mattress, a mosquito net, a cold shower and a generator for a few hours. It is the setting that makes it, not the fittings. We can book the upgraded raft houses with en-suite bathrooms.
Yes, and it saves a day. Krabi has direct flights to Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
What you will see
Lake & national park
Cheow Lan Lake, Khao Sok
An emerald reservoir under 200-metre limestone cliffs, with floating raft houses and longtail boats to caves and…
Khao Sok · 1–2 nightsFrom THB 3,500 (raft house, meals, boat)
Beach
Railay Beach
A peninsula cut off by limestone cliffs, reached only by longtail, with three beaches and world-class rock climb…
Krabi · Full day or 1–2 nightsLongtail THB 200 return
Island hopping
Krabi Four Islands
The classic Krabi boat circuit: Chicken Island, Tup Island, Poda and Phra Nang, linked by sandbars at low tide.…
Krabi · Full dayFrom THB 1,200 (longtail)
Nature
Emerald Pool & Tiger Cave Temple
A spring-fed emerald pool in the jungle, with the 1,260-step Tiger Cave Temple nearby for the view.…
Krabi · Half dayTHB 200 + temple free
Temple
Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea)
1,260 steps to a golden Buddha on a limestone outcrop, with a 360° view over Krabi's karst landscape.…
Krabi · 2 hoursFree
Islands
Hong Islands
A small archipelago west of Ao Nang with lagoon-like hongs, a viewpoint and a beach that only exists at low tide…
Krabi · Full dayFrom THB 1,400
Experiences on this trip
Reviews for this trip
HV
Hugo V.Belgium · February 2026
★★★★
“Khao Sok was excellent. The Phuket section felt like an afterthought after the lake — next time I would end in Krabi instead, which they suggested and I ignored.”
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