Day Or Overnight Trips From Phuket

[petercallen]

Anyone interested in a very interesting trip should go to see the Khao Sok National Park.

I suggest you go by taking the route via Phangnha and head towards Surat Thani.

at the tee junction at Ban Ta Khun you turn left and head back towards Ko lak.

Be aware there are at least 2 entrances to the park which have large signs and

are no longer operating.

The entrance to the park is approx 2/3 of the way to Ko Lak on a hilly section of road.

Guess what entrance to the park is free to everyone it is well set up with all facilitys

there are 3 waterfalls, You can camp overnight and there is a fee for that i did not ask how much.

IF you want to stop overnight there are Resorts(guesthouses) right at the entrance to the park.

The scenery from the main road is excellent and by going the way i suggest you will be going

downhill on quite a long stretch of road heading towards Ko Lak on your way back to Phuket.

If you have the time do it you will have a pleasant surprise.

[grumpyoldman]

good call, sounds great

[petercallen]

One thing i forgot to mention should anyone go, take personal insect repellent with you there is no shortage of mosquitoes there.

[keeniau96]

Been there and you are right, great spot and easy from Phuket.

[petercallen]

Another place worth seeing is about 40kms before Ranong, if you look up Wasanas resort Ranong on Google

you can get the details, magnificent scenery and i was told very good beaches , we didnt arrive until after 4pm

and looked for accommodation after 6pm and found it was all booked out by people from the Phillippines.

Its apiece of unspoiled Thailand and we will be returning but booking our accommodation before we go.

There are no bars there but its a great place to go and relax and everyone is friendly .

[grumpyoldman]

Another place worth seeing is about 40kms before Ranong, if you look up Wasanas resort Ranong on Google

you can get the details, magnificent scenery and i was told very good beaches , we didnt arrive until after 4pm

and looked for accommodation after 6pm and found it was all booked out by people from the Phillippines.

Its apiece of unspoiled Thailand and we will be returning but booking our accommodation before we go.

There are no bars there but its a great place to go and relax and everyone is friendly .

Hi Peter,

once off the island how long of a drive is that? Also, you take the road to Khao Lak and just keep going, yes?

[petercallen]

Another place worth seeing is about 40kms before Ranong, if you look up Wasanas resort Ranong on Google

you can get the details, magnificent scenery and i was told very good beaches , we didnt arrive until after 4pm

and looked for accommodation after 6pm and found it was all booked out by people from the Phillippines.

Its apiece of unspoiled Thailand and we will be returning but booking our accommodation before we go.

There are no bars there but its a great place to go and relax and everyone is friendly .

Hi Peter,

once off the island how long of a drive is that? Also, you take the road to Khao Lak and just keep going, yes?

We didn't drive straight there by the main road which is the one to Ranong.

We were taking our time and traveling a lot on the side roads on the beach side and stopping every time

we saw something of interest so it took us all day to get there.

Looking at the map its about 240 km to a small town called Kapoe( that's from Phuket town ) You turn

left there and its about 8or 10km in its in the Laem Son National Park.

[keestha]

Quickest way to go to Khao Sok from Phuket is I think just going straight on after crossing the bridge, passing through Khao Lak and Takua Pa. A few KM after Takua Pa there is a junction where you follow the sign for Surat Thani, the other road is going to Ranong. Then it is another scenic 40 KM before you get to the well signposted turnoff to Khao Sok. If you want to stay overnight there is no need to book anything in advance, there is an overabundancy of resorts and guesthouses just outside the park boundary. If you fancy it, you can stay in a treehouse. There are also plenty of restaurants, minimarts,internetshops,bars,an ATM, and so on.

Khao Sok has a lot of walking trails, two of which you can negotiate without a guide. One is starting from the park headquarters just following the river upstream, and the other one is going north from the same point. Guided treks on less accessible trails can be booked at all the guesthouses and travel agencies.

The Rajaprabha dam and the huge lake are 60 KM east of the headquarters, close to the town of Ta Khun. It is really worthwhile to take a longtailboatride on the lake, which is in the middle of virgin rain forest. Travel agencies in Khao Sok offer this for 1900 Baht, but of course it is cheaper if you make your way to the dam yourself.

Another interesting national park is Sri Phangnga NP 25 KM north of Takua Pa on the way to Ranong.The scenery is similar to adjoining Khao Sok, and there are a few well marked walking trails. No accomodation possibilities though, apart from a campsite.

Edited July 7, 2010 by keestha

[petercallen]

We are going to drive south on Monday as long as its not raining to much.

we have been to Krabi on day trips, this time we are going to take the side roads to have a good look around.

Has anyone any suggestions about whats worth seeing, we have plenty of time and may go as far as Trang.

[LivinLOS]

At Ao Luek (or name similar) crossroads if you take the right turn and head down there a couple of kms theres some waterfalls / stream pools on the left.. Multiple pools, quite scenic, trails through jungle, Thais swimming, limestone shapes etc.. Plus the essential somtam and BBQ stalls. One of the better river / falls places I have visited. Not long / high falls more like many layered pools.

Its national park so you will get hit up for some payment but IIRC they were cool with a Thai DL.

Krabi has a whole selection of stuff..

[angiud]

I agree, beautiful destination to spend also as few days if you like trekking, nature, rivers, etc. But I don't know if now, with the monsoon, is a good time to go there.

[petercallen]

I agree, beautiful destination to spend also as few days if you like trekking, nature, rivers, etc. But I don't know if now, with the monsoon, is a good time to go there.

I agree with you about the weather but as we are not booking are accommodation because

we do not know where we will end up each day its easy to find accommodation at most

places where in the tourist season it would not be.

[petercallen]

At Ao Luek (or name similar) crossroads if you take the right turn and head down there a couple of kms theres some waterfalls / stream pools on the left.. Multiple pools, quite scenic, trails through jungle, Thais swimming, limestone shapes etc.. Plus the essential somtam and BBQ stalls. One of the better river / falls places I have visited. Not long / high falls more like many layered pools.

Its national park so you will get hit up for some payment but IIRC they were cool with a Thai DL.

Krabi has a whole selection of stuff..

WE turned right at Ao luk and visited some interesting limestone caves in a mangroves wetland and went on to

see the local fishing harbour, could not find anything like you described.

[LivinLOS]

Well I was there twice, once about 10 or 8 years ago, once about 3 years ago.

I just checked google earth and the panarimo photo option enabled and it shows a few photos of it calling it Than Bokkaranee tho theres a couple of different spellings of it on different pics.

Looks only about 1km from the junction and a bit less than halfway to the 1002 which would lead you back to the main 4 highway.

[petercallen]

Well I was there twice, once about 10 or 8 years ago, once about 3 years ago.

I just checked google earth and the panarimo photo option enabled and it shows a few photos of it calling it Than Bokkaranee tho theres a couple of different spellings of it on different pics.

Looks only about 1km from the junction and a bit less than halfway to the 1002 which would lead you back to the main 4 highway.

OK thanks, sounds like we where on the wrong road, bought a new road atlas that has the park marked

and in it it shows its a left turn to get to it coming from Phuket.

[LivinLOS]

Was the right turn (from Phuket to Krabi) from the big junction.. Traveling on the main road / highway (the 4) with the 4035 / 4039 crossing. Sorry if I wasnt clear.

I have some time planned to bike tour the north, but after that I am going to spend some more time riding the Phang Nga / Krabi / Etc.. Theres lots of criss crossing roads from Phang Nga to Takua Pa that I havent done. If anyones got places of interest would be good to know.

In fact its really easy to do custom google maps for POIs.. I started the motorcycle POI's for Thailand and thats nicely populated now. Plus it means no more missing them, combo of GPS and smartphone makes for great tools.

[petercallen]

Was the right turn (from Phuket to Krabi) from the big junction.. Traveling on the main road / highway (the 4) with the 4035 / 4039 crossing. Sorry if I wasnt clear.

I have some time planned to bike tour the north, but after that I am going to spend some more time riding the Phang Nga / Krabi / Etc.. Theres lots of criss crossing roads from Phang Nga to Takua Pa that I havent done. If anyones got places of interest would be good to know.

In fact its really easy to do custom google maps for POIs.. I started the motorcycle POI's for Thailand and thats nicely populated now. Plus it means no more missing them, combo of GPS and smartphone makes for great tools.

If you go to the north east of Thailand in your travels south from Burriram near the towns of Nang Rong/Prakhon Chai is the Phanorn Rung historical park, the buildings date from the 11 century AD and are well worth a visit.

[LivinLOS]

Will be north / golden triangle, CR, CM, Mae Hong Son, Pai, maybe over to Nan etc..

[petercallen]

Will be north / golden triangle, CR, CM, Mae Hong Son, Pai, maybe over to Nan etc..

IN Chang Mai there is a temple on top of a mountain where a elephant died which is above the clouds and you

look down on Chang Mai, i cannot remember the name of it but its in the tourist pamphlets which is well worth a

look if you haven't been there before.

[angiud]

Why talk about Chiang Mai in a Khao Sok Thread??

[petercallen]

Why talk about Chiang Mai in a Khao Sok Thread??

It is not a KO sok thread, i started the post about Short trips from Phuket and its expanded into longer trips. I expect a lot of people are like me and can take longer trips from Phuket and are interested in things to see all over Thailand and welcome the information.

[LivinLOS]

Why talk about Chiang Mai in a Khao Sok Thread??

Threads have a way of evolving.. Peter asked me a question, I replied..

Small thing considering Peter is the OP no ??