Laguna Cheow Lan Raft House
Also called The Laguna Chiewlarn, Laguna Cheow Lan Raft House is located in Khlong Long tributary, in the middle of the lake in 35-40 minutes boat ride from Cheow Lan Pier. The floating resort has total 31 regular rooms and 8 panorama/see view rooms with better view.
Each room features a king-size bed and a single bed, an en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, and a private balcony, accommodating up to three guests. Electricity is available from 6pm to 6am. However, daytime electricity can be provided at an additional cost due to generator usage. Complimentary amenities include blankets, pillows, towels, shampoo and soap.
Nearby attractions and activities, all within a 30-minute boat ride, include:
- Hiking and bamboo rafting to Coral Cave
- Khao Sam Kloe (The Three Rocks)
- Diamond Cave
- Khlong Ka Peat Swamp Forest Trail
Attractions over an hour boar ride, include;
- Bang Hoi Waterfall
- Kri Sorn Viewpoint
- Nam Thalu Cave
Tours with Laguna Cheow Lan
Activities
With the 3-days/2-nights tour in Cheow Lan Lake you will be able to see scenic rock formations, hike to a viewpoint, visit a cave, hike in the jungle, kayak and drive around in the vicinity of your raft house for wildlife watching. The tour includes two nights stay in a raft house (floating bulgalows/floating resorts) of your choice, a private guide and a private boat with driver.
Why to book a private tour?
While the group tours in the lake are conducted with larger boats shared by up to 18 people and has a fixed itinerary, no others will share the guide or the boat with you during our tours. Our tours are strictly private and flexible, our guests can decide their day-to-day activities with the their guide.
Itinerary
There is no strict itinerary with our lake tours, the following itinerary is just an example. Depending on the location of your raft house, weather conditions, your preferences the itinerary may be much different. Example; you may decide to do more kayaking, skip some activities for the other, or simply just decide to relax and spend some time with friend(s)/family at the raft house.
Day 1
- 10 am, Board your long-tail boat at Rajjaprabha Dam (Cheow Lan Lake Pier) enjoy the scenic tour of limestone karst formations on the way to floating bungalows
- Check in to the raft house. Enjoy a traditional Thai lunch
- Depart for a guided hike to a nearby viewpoint which has a breathtaking view over the lake
- Return to the raft house for a swim, relax and enjoy the scenery
- Afternoon wildlife safari by boat
- Enjoy your dinner
Day 2
- Breakfast
- Board long tail boat for a morning wildlife safari by boat
- Return to the rafthouse for free time
- After lunch, guided jungle hike
- Return to the raft house for a swim, relax
- Enjoy a traditional Thai dinner
Day 3
- Rise before breakfast for the morning mist safari, the best time to gibbons, macaques and dusky leaf monkeys
- Alternatively explore the surrounding area by kayak
- Return to raft house for breakfast
- Depending on the raft house and it's location the tour ends around 9:30 to 10 am at the pier
Where & When?
The tour starts at Cheow Lan Lake Pier (Rajjaprabha Dam), 65 km from park headquarters. We can arrange transfer from/to Phuket, Khao Lak, Krabi, Ao Nang, Surat Thani and Khao Sok village straight to tour start in the morning or transfer to the mentioned towns after the tour.
The nearest airports are Surat Thani (~1h), Krabi (~2h) and Phuket Airport (~2.5h), you are recommended to arrive to the area a day before the tour start. This tour is not recommended to start the same day when arriving from the islands or the airports.
This tour is available throughout the year.
When to book?
High seasons periods in the lake are November to mid April and mid July to end of August. Bookings for these months should be done well in advance, earliest possible. For the some high season dates Laguna Cheow Lan should be booked at least 3-4 months but for most dates rooms may be available even if booked in the last minute.
Tour details in short:
- Duration: 3 days/2 nights
- Type: Private tour
- Price: * see the pricing table *
- Group size: 2 or more people
- Grade: Easy
- Transport: Long-tail boat
- Start: 10am (day 1)
- End: around 9:30 to10 am (day 3)
What to bring:
- Rain clothing, specially on the rainy seasons (no rain protection on longtail boats)
- Waterproof bag/cover for all your electronics in case of rain
- Sneakers for hiking, sandals for waterfall/cave visit
- Personal toiletries
- Swimming clothing & towel
- Hat
- Flashlight
- Insect repellent
- Sunblock lotion
How much?
The tour will be led by a private guide which means no others will join you while exploring the lake and surrounding areas. The price for this tour package depends on the choice of accommodation and number of people, please see price per person further down.
The prices below do not include entrance fees to the national park.
Optional charges;
Coral Cave Rafthing
- From 500 Rai or Phupha Waree; 2,900 Baht fixed price and 200 Baht per person entrance fee for Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary
- From Sai Chon, Panvaree Resort or Panvaree The Greenery; 1,400 Baht fixed price and 200 Baht per person entrance fee for Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary
Wildlife oriented tour
Although our tour is more about visiting the attractions, enjoying the scenery and water activities at the lake, our price includes a bit of safari driving around the lake in hope to see a glimpse of wildlife around.
If you wish a more wildlife oriented tour, we can arrange it for an additional 2,500 Baht for on early morning of a late afternoon session a bit further away from your resort area. Please let us know in case. The wildlife oriented tour is only suitable for the 2nd day over a 3D/2N tour and for this price, only one driving session.
| Price per person | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pax | 2D/1N | 3D/2N |
| 2 | 9,000 THB | 15,300 THB |
| 3 | 7,000 THB | 11,900 THB |
| 4 | 6,700 THB | 11,900 THB |
| 5 | 6,000 THB | 10,500 THB |
| 6 | 5,500 THB | 9,600 THB |
| 7 | 5,500 THB | 9,900 THB |
| 8 | 5,600 THB | 9,800 THB |
Displayed prices are per person
Tour rates include:
- Lodging
- Private guide
- Tour around the lake
- Private long-tail boat from the moment of tour start until the tour ends
- Lunch and dinner on day-1, all meals on day-2 and breakfast on day-3
- Drinking water
- Kayaking (not included at Sai Chon Raft House)
- Insurance for incidents during the tour (covering eventual hospital costs)
Tour rates doesn't include:
- Entrance fees to the park
- Transfer to the lake from the nearby hotels/towns
- Parking fee (if you have your own vehicle)
- Kayaking at Sai Chon Raft House (the fee is included at the all other resorts we offer)
Reviews from our guests
By: Terry | posted Sun 9 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
The 3d/2n tour was one of the best experiences of our time in Thailand! We exchanged many messages beforehand with Thai National Parks, and they always responded quickly, helping us plan everything, including transfers to the pier and back. Very well organized.
The trip itself was amazing. We stayed at Phupha Waree, which we highly recommend. The raft houses aren’t huge, but we don’t understand the complaints about Phupha Waree being in bad shape. The mattresses aren’t the most comfortable, and it’s not spotless, but we felt fine and had everything we needed. WiFi was slow and unreliable, but we enjoyed the digital detox. We loved small terrace, private kayak, and the whole area. The food was delicious, and we got to try dishes we hadn’t had in Thailand yet. No issues at all.
The highlight was exploring by longtail boat and hiking though. Our guide, Junn, was the sweetest and most passionate guide we could have asked for. Even after years of doing this, she was just as excited as we were. She went above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed every moment, and took care of EVERYTHING.
We were lucky enough to see many animals, even elephants near our raft house! Wildlife sightings are a matter of luck, but for us, it worked out.
Yes, group tours are cheaper, but having a private guide lets you enjoy the experience at your own pace, in a more peaceful way than in a noisy group. And if you’re wondering whether to do 1 or 2 nights: do 2!
By: Reuven Geldman | posted Sat 8 Mar, 2025 | Laguna
The park is wonderful, the hotel (Laguna) is very poor.
By: Jonathan Griffiths | posted Fri 7 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Excellent tour! We loved the safaris and our guide, Dam, was excellent. We learned so much about the history of the park and the wildlife within it. The food at the resort was great and we felt very well looked after. Plenty of time for relaxation as well as wildlife spotting - perfect balance.
By: Leni Urbaszek | posted Thu 6 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Khao Sok Nationalpark war eines der schönsten Erfahrungen und Momente die ich je erlebt habe. Wir hatten Guide Bee und er war der beste! Er kann super gut Englisch und hat uns alles erklärt und bei Fragen weitergeholfen, außerdem war er jederzeit auf Augenhöhe und hat mit uns gespaßt das war super lustig.Wir hatten die 3 Tage-2 Nächte Tour und es hat sich mehr als nur gelohnt. Die Aussicht war mehr als nur atemberaubend. Abends ging es dann weiter mit der Abendboottour, wo wir sogar Elefanten sehen konnten. Auch bei der Morgensafari sahen wir Gibbons und Makaken und andere wundervolle Tiere. Die Unterkunft war wunderschön, auch wenn es nur Strom von 17-09:00 morgens gab. Zum Abkühlen konnte man vom Zimmer direkt im Wasser schwimmen gehen. Wir würden jedem empfehlen hier her zu kommen.
By: Vadim Mihaila | posted Sun 2 Mar, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Awesome experience
By: Angela Schneider | posted Tue 25 Feb, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Ganz tolle Übernachtung auf dem See, zwei Tage reichen aber völlig aus, zu viele Pausen zum Essen, zu wenig Wandermöglichkeiten, aber tolle Landschaft, einige Affen gesehen, sonst leider kaum Tiere in Sicht, viel zu viele Touristen überall laut in großen Gruppen unterwegs
By: Roberta Medugno | posted Sun 23 Feb, 2025 | Laguna
The national park is simply stunning. And the organization for the accomodation and the food was the best. We loved their lunch and dinner. Our guide was lovely, caring and funny. In the end, we would have loved it if our guide had given us more information about the history of the park or the culture of the tribes living near the area. We didn't see many wild animals on the excursion but there were quite a few around our floating house.
By: Adam Milata | posted Wed 19 Feb, 2025 | Phupha Waree
Our experience was great. Our guide was very kind and trying to help but certainly would be better if we would be able to understand more as Thai English is quite difficult to understand. Cooking in a hotel was perfect, very fine die dishes, but the staff was not very quick. so for example, when my son had some stomach problems in restaurant, it took more than 15 minutes to clean the mess.and when we need to change the linings on the bed, we had to do it ourselves.
By: Andrea Russ | posted Wed 19 Feb, 2025 | Phupha Waree
The tour organization, the tour, the guide Tong and the boater were great.
The location of the accommodation too, but the accommodation itself is catastrophic!
It needs an urgent renovation!
The fan on the ceiling is not to be used, as shortly before the fall, in the bathroom the mirror has fallen off and has never been replaced, the faucet totally loose. The mattresses are on the floor and are a preparation! Ancient and no more upholstery, you lie directly on the metal springs. The room as a whole makes a very neglected impression! If necessary, we can send you pictures.
Tong and the boater and the organization have earned 5 stars, the accommodation at most 1 star!
Many greetings
Andrea and Hagen Russ
By: Kyle Porter | posted Tue 18 Feb, 2025 | Sai Chon
This experience was fantastic. Au and Me were amazing guides, and ensured that we were well taken care of.
We stayed in the Sai Chon Rafthouse, which is as warned a fairly economical choice. That said, it was fine for what it was if you adjust your expectations. The food was actually great, there was lots of it and it was very tasty. The room was basic, but we did have our own bathroom. The one thing to note is that during the day the rafthouse is quite noisy due to the waves on the lake, however it quiets down at night (luckily!).
We saw a lot of wildlife, and the hike up to the viewpoint was very worthwhile, incredible views. The Coral Caves are also a worthwhile detour if you have the time.
Overall, this was one of the cooler experiences of our trip.