How to Get to Khao Sok National Park from Khao Lak

Khao Sok National Park — ancient rainforest and home to the emerald Cheow Lan Lake — is an easy inland trip from the coast. Here’s how to get to Khao Sok from Khao Lak, and what to know before you go.

It’s the closest national park to Khao Lak

Khao Sok lies about 60–65 km inland from Khao Lak — roughly a 1 hour 15 minute drive on a good road through rubber and palm country. That makes it comfortably doable as a day trip, or as a one- or two-night stay on the lake. There is no train or convenient public bus from Khao Lak; the practical options are a private transfer or a guided tour.

Getting there: transfer vs guided tour

If you have your own accommodation booked at a jungle lodge, a private Khao Lak to Khao Sok transfer is the simplest way — one fixed price for the whole vehicle, door to door, and we can drop you at a riverside lodge or at the lake checkpoint for your boat.

If you want the park itself — the longtail boat, the limestone cliffs, the wildlife — a guided day trip bundles the transfer, the boat and a local guide into one. The lake boats leave from Ratchaprapa Dam (also called Rajjaprabha), at the head of Cheow Lan Lake about 95 km from Khao Lak.

Day trip or overnight on the lake?

A Khao Sok Lake day trip gets you onto Cheow Lan Lake and back in a single day — longtail across the water, a swim beneath the cliffs, and a forest walk. To wake up to mist on the water, the Cheow Lan Lake tour with floating bungalows overnight adds a night in a raft house on the lake — the experience most people remember most.

When to go

Unlike the Similan Islands, Khao Sok is open year-round. The rainforest is at its most dramatic in and just after the green season, while the drier months (roughly December to April) make for easier walking and calmer boat trips.

Book your Khao Lak to Khao Sok transfer: The easiest way to get to Khao Sok is a private minivan from your Khao Lak hotel. Book a private transfer to Khao Sok — door-to-door pickup, comfortable air-conditioned vehicle, and no shared shuttle stops. Enter your hotel and „Khaosok National Park“ for an instant price.

What to do in Khao Sok: Once you arrive, read our guide to things to do in Khao Sok National Park — jungle trekking, Cheow Lan Lake, kayaking, and where to spot wildlife.

Prefer a guided day? Our Khao Sok day trip from Khao Lak handles the whole round trip — pickup, park, canoeing and wildlife, and back to your hotel — no self-driving needed.

Khao Sok is about 1.5 hours from the coast — a private Khao Lak transfer is the simplest fixed-price way to get there from Phuket or Krabi airport.