These Thai national parks are now open

[Thailand Explore]

These Thai national parks are now open

By David Luekens

 

Been cooped up for a while? Nature beckons. Starting July 1st, the majority of Thailand’s 150+ national parks are reopening after more than three months of closure due to Covid-19. Read on for the status on ALL national parks and a handful of other natural areas that are spread around Thailand.

 

This post will be helpful if you want to know which national parks are open, which are closed, and what to expect at the parks found in coastal provinces that are only partly open. Of course, you’d need to be in Thailand at the moment to take advantage. Yet even if you’re outside of the country, this article might be worth bookmarking since it lists every national park in Thailand, broken down by region.

 

For a brief summary of each park, check out this PDF guide produced by the Dept. of National Parks (DNP). It’s a few years old, so the newest handful of parks aren’t included and many of the phone numbers no longer work. But it still comes in handy thanks to the maps and lists of key attractions found in each park.

 

I don’t go into detail about what is open in the national parks found in non-coastal provinces (this is Thai Island Times and not “Thai Inland Times” after all). However, you will find a list of all the upcountry parks along with the current status of each. Note that all historical parks are now open nationwide as well.

 

 

How to visit and what to expect

 

Start by downloading the QueQ app to a smartphone. Click the DNP logo on the homepage, and you’ll be sent to a list of national parks after selecting your language (English is now available). From there, it should be a simple process of filling out the dates you wish to visit along with a name, contact number, vehicle type, and number of visitors in your group.

 

Continue reading: https://thaiislandtimes.substack.com/p/these-coastal-thai-national-parks

 

 

 

[dougiemac52]

What a load of garbage

[seancbk]

1 hour ago, dougiemac52 said:

What a load of garbage

 

Why is it garbage? 

I drove down to Kiu Buri last weekend and stayed in a nice resort right on the beach.   Visited Kiu Bui National Park and saw wild elephants and Guar, then went to Sam Roi Yot Natioanal Park and enjoyed a 30 minute climb to the top of a small peak to see the views from the top.  Also went to the Military base at Ao Manao where they have Dusky Langurs.   And of course did a bunch of other things but point being it was a great trip. 

 

[Fairynuff]

Have they done away with the dual pricing like the tourism minister suggested? 
 

[BMW Overlander]

5 hours ago, dougiemac52 said:

What a load of garbage

This comment epitomizes the typical loser member of TVF. Truckloads of them.

[Fairynuff]

6 minutes ago, BMW Overlander said:

This comment epitomizes the typical loser member of TVF. Truckloads of them.

Agree. There are those who see nothing right with Thailand, those who see nothing wrong. Both views are ridiculous, criticism is often valid, nowhere’s perfect right?

[bodga]

3 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

Why is it garbage? 

I drove down to Kiu Buri last weekend and stayed in a nice resort right on the beach.   Visited Kiu Bui National Park and saw wild elephants and Guar, then went to Sam Roi Yot Natioanal Park and enjoyed a 30 minute climb to the top of a small peak to see the views from the top.  Also went to the Military base at Ao Manao where they have Dusky Langurs.   And of course did a bunch of other things but point being it was a great trip. 

 

u  gotta  licence for that drone? anyone  hassle you for  it?

[bodga]

23 minutes ago, BMW Overlander said:

This comment epitomizes the typical loser member of TVF. Truckloads of them.

Hmmm BMW  owner, oh dear.

[bodga]

1 hour ago, Fairynuff said:

Have they done away with the dual pricing like the tourism minister suggested? 
 

For sure in Sam roi  yot  if u wanna  see the caves, take  your own led  torch and go after 5pm, the woman patrolling it  has gone home then = free, their  torches are  rubbish anyway.

[BMW Overlander]

4 hours ago, bodga said:

Hmmm BMW  owner, oh dear.

Another one. Crawling enmass out of woodwork.

[seancbk]

6 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

Have they done away with the dual pricing like the tourism minister suggested? 
 

 

We only had to pay at one place.   It was 50 baht for Thais and 200 baht for foreigners.   Personally I don't have an issue with that, I can afford 200 baht and don't object to Thais being able to see their own country for less.

 

[seancbk]

4 hours ago, bodga said:

Hmmm BMW  owner, oh dear.

 

What is wrong with BMWs? 

 

[seancbk]

4 hours ago, bodga said:

u  gotta  licence for that drone? anyone  hassle you for  it?

 

Yes and never been asked for it or hassled about flying anywhere. 

[dave s]

Read the terms and conditions of the QueQ app very carefully. The app wants like every possible permission that Android has, to snoop around at all the data everywhere on your phone, And the author claims the right to do anything he wants with anything he finds: it sounds more like his business is selling data to aggregators than scheduling restaurants.

 

When you install it, it records the hardware identity of your phone, and the serial number of your SIM; if you uninstall it and then re-install it, you must use exactly the same identity, because it remembers forever, at his place, what it has snooped about you.

 

Also read all the reviews: many complaints about the user interface not working, about restaurants not honoring invitations so you have to stand in line anyway, about needing to be very near the place or even right at it to make a reservation -- so you cannot plan your trip from home in advance. It has the feel of an amateur hacking together something in his garage, and wondering why he isn't rich by now.

 

The Thai government has bought into it, though. For more and more things, you have to schedule an appointment in advance, and every department seems to be making its own separate oddball scheduler app. But in this case, it's not a government product, it is third party code from ... some guy in Bangkok. And once you get to the park, you MUST fuss with not only the QueQ app, but also the Thai Chana app, no choice -- it is clear that whatever eventually happens with the virus, Thai Chana is never, ever going away.

 

Inconsistent information at other news sites, such as https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/phukets-sirinat-national-park-to-open-again-from-wednesday

 

[Orton Rd]

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

 

We only had to pay at one place.   It was 50 baht for Thais and 200 baht for foreigners.   Personally I don't have an issue with that, I can afford 200 baht and don't object to Thais being able to see their own country for less.

 

some don't mind being discriminated against, while they have 4x-10x charges based solely on nationality they can stick their national parks.

[Fairynuff]

4 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

We only had to pay at one place.   It was 50 baht for Thais and 200 baht for foreigners.   Personally I don't have an issue with that, I can afford 200 baht and don't object to Thais being able to see their own country for less.

 

I always have an issue with discrimination no matter who the victim is. Many of my Thai friends have far more money than I do but I wouldn’t expect them to pay more than me.

[Mick501]

On 10 July 2020 at 9:37 AM, seancbk said:

 

Why is it garbage? 

I drove down to Kiu Buri last weekend and stayed in a nice resort right on the beach.   Visited Kiu Bui National Park and saw wild elephants and Guar, then went to Sam Roi Yot Natioanal Park and enjoyed a 30 minute climb to the top of a small peak to see the views from the top.  Also went to the Military base at Ao Manao where they have Dusky Langurs.   And of course did a bunch of other things but point being it was a great trip. 

 

Which national park were the monkey pics taken?  Did you need to do a guided tour for it, and if so, please advise the company.  Thanks 

[seancbk]

6 hours ago, Mick501 said:

Which national park were the monkey pics taken?  Did you need to do a guided tour for it, and if so, please advise the company.  Thanks 

 

We saw these Dusky Langurs at two places.   The first was at Ao Manao Beach (not actually at the beach), which is 5km inside a Thai Military Base.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ao_Manao

The second spot was at the visitors center at  Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park.  https://www.thainationalparks.com/khao-sam-roi-yot-national-park   

We did not have to pay anything for entry to either place.    

It's about 35 Km between the two places, so you can do both in one day, but I would say the Ao Manao location was the better one.

We just drove and found the places ourselves, no tour or company.   We drove down from Bangkok which took 7 hours because of the holiday traffic.  

[Mick501]

On 14 July 2020 at 8:41 AM, seancbk said:

 

We saw these Dusky Langurs at two places.   The first was at Ao Manao Beach (not actually at the beach), which is 5km inside a Thai Military Base.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ao_Manao

The second spot was at the visitors center at  Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park.  https://www.thainationalparks.com/khao-sam-roi-yot-national-park   

We did not have to pay anything for entry to either place.    

It's about 35 Km between the two places, so you can do both in one day, but I would say the Ao Manao location was the better one.

We just drove and found the places ourselves, no tour or company.   We drove down from Bangkok which took 7 hours because of the holiday traffic.  

Thanks heaps.  Your pics have inspired me and heading down tomorrow.  One last question -. What's the name and location of that temple?