How to get to Kaeng Krachan National Park
Opening hours
It is important to know the opening hours into the national park before planning your trip as people to often seen arriving to the entrance of the park too late and not allowed to continue. Please check on the map for locations of Sam Yot Checkpoint, Ban Krang Campsite and Phanoen Thung Campsite. The bit of road between Baan Krang and Phanoen Thung is very narrow and steep, the traffic is scheduled one way between certain hours;
- Sam Yot Checkpoint (main entrance point into the hart of the national park) opening times are to 5 am to 5 pm
- Heading to Phanoen Thung from Baan Krang campsite; 5:00 am – 8:00 am and 1 pm – 3 pm
- Heading out from Phanoen Thung; 9 am – 11:30 am and 4 pm - 5 pm
It is possible to arrange transportation to Phanoen Thung from the HQ area. The price is 1,800 Baht for one way or same day round trip, alternatively 2,500 Baht that includes return the next day.
Public transport services
There are no public services into the heart of Kaeng Krachan National Park from Kaeng Krachan Town, Bangkok, Phetchaburi or Hua Hin. The only options are renting a car, paying for a guide or hiring a local driver from the headquarters outside the park (standard 1,200 THB to Ban Krang Campsite). The headquarters is located 5 km further away from Kaeng Krachan Town. The minivan end stop is normally the town, but they operate all the way to the headquarters on request.
Hitchhiking from headquarters is possible but there are several junctions and getting there will be very tricky. The final kilometers before the checkpoint have very little traffic. Don't try hitchhiking late in the afternoon. If you decide hitchhiking, bear in mind to follow signposts to “Phanoen Thung” which is the most remote campsite inside the park.
From Phetchaburi
There are two locations where the minivans pickup passengers from (see map). The main spot is a roundabout on the main road near the city center, recommended to drop off if you are coming from the north, the second spot is on the opposite side of the road from the only Big-C supermarket on center/south of the city. When coming from nearby cities (Bangkok/Hua Hin), telling the drivers to drop you at "Big-C" will do fine. Once you are on any of these spots, just ask people around about "Kaeng Krachan" and they will direct you to someone who will give a call to incoming minivans towards Kaeng Krachan. It could take up to an hour before a minivan passes, since passing by minivans almost always drops some passengers in Phetchaburi, there should be enough seats towards Kaeng Krachan.
From Bangkok
The best way to get to Kaeng Krachan Town from Bangkok is with hourly minivan services that operate from Old Southern Bus Station (Pin Klao) in Bangkok to Phetchaburi and from Phetchaburi change to a second minivan to Kaeng Krachan Town. The minivan station is located 5 km east from the New Southern Bus Station. It costs around 250 Baht per person (pre pandemic prices), the trip takes nearly 2 hours to Phetchaburi and another 45-60 minutes to Kaeng Krachan. Please see on the map the location for Old Southern Bus Station. The operating company name in Southern Bus Station is Piya Tours, their phone number is 084 464 6586 (Thai only), their minivans leave from platform 1/lot 11.
Another option is bus services from Southern Bus Station to Phetchaburi several times an hour. Blue-white express busses 72 and 977 depart from platform 6, tickets can be purchased from counter nr 89. See above how to get to Kaeng Krachan from Phetchaburi.
There is also a train route from Hua Lamphong train station in central Bangkok to Phetchaburi, but it is a very slow option compared to the bus, which could take up to 4-5 hours. Train option is not recommended as the minivan station in Phetchaburi operating to Kaeng Krachan is too far from the train station.
From Kanchanaburi (Erawan National Park)
Minivans from Kanchanaburi to Phetchaburi operate 5 am until 6 pm daily from the Kanchanaburi Bus Station. Once arrived at Phetchaburi, minivan drivers normally help to change to Kaeng Krachan Town minivans.
To Bangkok
Minivans are the best option to get to Bangkok in one go. It is best to take minivans out from Kaeng Krachan latest around lunch time, minivans operate very irregularly, sometimes the last minivan leaves 1 pm, but often enough up to 3 pm or 4 pm.
Driving
There are only two roads into the interesting spots in Kaeng Krachan National Park, one that starts 19 km form HQ at Dan Khao Sam Yot Checkpoint which is 35 km west, and one on the south side of the park, route 3219 to Pala-U Waterfall area.
To get to Khao Sam Yot Checkpoint (Baan Krang and Phanoen Thung campsites), enter the following coordinates to a satnav (enter into the search field); 12.810018, 99.556096 and follow the route.