10-Day Thailand Rain Forest and Beach Escape
Bangkok, Khao Sok National Park, and Khao Lak Tour
This tour will take you through the diverse cultures of Thailand’s capital city to the beautiful shores of Khao Lak. From the holy temples and celebrated palace in Bangkok to the dramatic jungle and mountains of Khao Sok National Park as well as the unspoiled beaches of Khao Lak, you will have an opportunity to discover some of Thailand’s hidden areas, getting away from the established tourist trails.
Journey route
Highlights
- Discover the magnificent palace and temples of the capital, Bangkok.
- Explore the world’s oldest evergreen jungle in Khao Sok.
- Have an amazing elephant experience and interact with these lovely creatures.
- Watch the sunset behind the towering mountains from the deckchair in front of your tent in the rainforest.
- Relax on the peaceful beaches of Khao Lak.
Itinerary in detail
This sample itinerary provides inspiration yet your preferences design the real journey. Following our Tailor-made Guidelines to create a wonderful Thailand holiday in your own way.
Day 1 Bangkok Arrival
Your private guide will be waiting for you in the airport arrivals area. A comfortable vehicle (non-smoking) with an experienced driver will transfer you directly to your hotel. Your guide will help you to check in.
The rest of your day is free to spend at your leisure.
Day 2 City Exploration and Visit Bangkok’s Top Attractions
A Palace and Temples
Your day will commence with a visit to the magnificent Wat Pho, which houses the sacred Reclining Buddha. A holy ceremony is held there every day and locals visit to offer worship. As the morning light shines on the orange robes of Buddhist monks, they solemnly begin their daily chanting in the hall.
Hop on a tuk-tuk and head to the imposing Grand Palace. After your visit to the magnificent royal palace, take a longtail boat ride across the Chao Phraya River to the iconic Wat Arun, one of the oldest temples in Bangkok.
Conclude your day with a visit to the bustling Chinatown area.
The Wat ArunDay 3 From Bangkok to Phuket
breakfast
Get up late, have a leisurely breakfast, then you will have a private transfer to the airport and catch a flight to Phuket. Upon your arrival at Phuket International Airport, your private tour guide and driver will welcome you in the airport and then transfer you to your selected hotel in Surin. Enjoy a free afternoon.
We specially arrange an overnight stay in Phuket so that you don’t need getting up very early to catch the morning flight and then connecting a transfer to the Elephant Hills Camp in Khao Sok National Park.
Enjoy your day in PhuketDay 4 Discover the World’s Oldest Evergreen Jungle at Khao Sok
breakfast, lunch and dinner
An Amazing Elephant Experience and Canoeing
In the morning, the staff from Elephant Hills will meet you in your hotel lobby, and then transfer you and other guests to Khao Sok National Park. It takes about 3 hours’ drive from Phuket to Khao Sok.
First, enjoy a Thai-style buffet lunch upon your arrival at the Elephant Camp at noon. After that, take a jungle canoe trip down the Sok River past stunning limestone karst mountains. Then, meet the elephants and learn more about these magnificent creatures. You will have the opportunity to feed and bathe them.
Intimate contact with elephants...Dinner will be served at 8pm in a unique location beside the rain forest.Enjoy an overnight stay in a luxury tent, surrounded by the rain forest.
Day 5 Marvelous Mangrove Swamps
Speedboat Trip and Canoeing
Wake up to the sounds of nature and birds calling from the bushes next to the tent. After a leisurely breakfast, board a speedboat to explore the mysterious maze of channels in the mangrove forest. Our well-trained guides will keep an eye out for wildlife that might be spotted along the way, such as mangrove snakes, reticulated pythons, or red-tailed racers.
After cruising through the channels, you will board a classic Burmese junk.
Later, you can paddle in a canoe and enjoy a silent journey into this dense green world that’s full of natural wonders just waiting to be appreciated. Finally, on the way to Elephant Hills, you will stop at a local market before you are safely transferred to the camp.
Enjoy a silent journeyDinner will be served at 8pm as usual. Enjoy an overnight stay in a luxury tent, surrounded by the rain forest.
Day 6 Spectacular Cheow Larn Lake
A Long-Tail Boat Journey
Another beautiful morning begins in Khao Sok. After breakfast, you will explore Cheow Larn Lake on a local long-tail boat. The man-made lake is surrounded by limestone mountains and cliffs covered in a tropical rain forest that rises up from the shore of the lake and disappears somewhere in the far distance. The area’s unique environment is well preserved. You can enjoy the spectacular scenery from the boat and will have time to take a dip in the lake’s emerald water.
Spectacular Cheow Larn LakeDinner will be served at 8pm as usual. Enjoy an overnight stay in a luxury tent, surrounded by the rain forest.
Day 7 From the Fabulous Rain Forest to an Idyllic Island
breakfast and lunch
A Gentle Trek in the Jungle
In the morning, after a wholesome breakfast, take a jungle trek by foot. You will have an excellent opportunity to explore the ecology of one of the world’s oldest rain forests and to see a great variety of exotic plants and tropical hardwood trees with huge roots, such as orchids, palms, ferns, bamboo, and mosses. Birds, such as the hornbill, live high up above the canopy, gibbons can often be heard calling to their mates, a macaque or a leaf monkey may be swinging through the branches, and beautiful butterflies flutter around.
A gentle trek in the jungleIf the weather allows, lunch will be served in the rain forest. It will be cooked in bamboo, which was an old tradition of jungle explorers from past centuries. Return to Elephant Hills and, after a refreshing shower, transfer to your next hotel in Khao Lak. Located just an hour’s drive north of Phuket Island on the gorgeous Andaman seaboard, Khao Lak is one of Thailand's most peaceful resort destinations. Check-in at your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure.
The peaceful and beautiful beach at Khao Lak Day 8 Khao Lak
You are free to relax. In addition to the beach, there is plenty to do in Khao Lak. The nearby Similan Islands are one of the world's top dive sites and there are great snorkel trips out to the Surin Islands, which can be arranged from your hotel.
Day 9 Khao Lak
This day is also for you to spend at your leisure. You may like to consider heading out on a boat to visit the famous James Bond Island or take a day trip to Pung Chang Cave to marvel at its karst rock formations — the cave is accessed via a bamboo raft. These trips can be booked locally.
Day 10 Khao Lak to Bangkok for Your Departure
After breakfast, your driver will transfer you to Phuket International Airport where you will take a morning flight back to Bangkok and connect with your international departure flight.
Asia Highlights handpicked hotels
Thailand never goes short of hotel choices. Only one category of hotels is used in this itinerary yet it can also be tailor-made to your own preferences.
- #9 and granted Certificate of Excellence on TripAdvisor.
- Centrally located in Sathorn, subway stations and malls nearby.
- Superior Sky Room, 32sqm, higher floors and better city views.
Trip Notes
Every element of the tour above can be tailored. Feel free to tell us your ideas and we will be happy to make adjustment for you.
- Customizing the Tour — According to Your Needs This tour is very flexible. We are happy to alter the itinerary with you, to extend or shorten it to suit your schedule. Feel free to tell us your requirements, and we will be happy to help you arrange a tour using our professional knowledge and experience.
- About the Tour in Khao Sok National Park All the included activities in Khao Sok National Park will be with an experienced tour guide in a small group. And the transfer from your hotel in Phuket to Khao Sok National Park as well as the transfer from Khao Sok to Khao Lak are also in a small group.
Local guide
Mini van
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