Private Tour | 3-days/2-nights private tour on Cheow Lan Lake
Situated between Khao Sok National Park and Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Cheow Lan Lake has one of the most beautiful scenic views in Thailand.
While a 2-day/1-night stay leaves less time for various activities due to check-in and check-out times from the floating resorts, a 3-days/2-nights tour gives a much better opportunity to enjoy more of the attractions and activities around the lake.
Activities
With the 3-days/2-nights tour at Cheow Lan Lake you will be able to see scenic rock formations, hike to a viewpoint, visit a cave, hike in the jungle, canoe and drive around at the vicinity of your resort for wildlife watching. The tour includes two nights stay at a floating resort (floating bulgalows/floating raft house) 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.
Floating resort at Cheow Lan Lake
500 Rai Floating Resort (high-end)
500 Rai Floating Resort is one of the best floating resort on Cheow Lan Lake, with 15 houses/units of various sizes. It is located at the far end of the lake, between Phupha Waree and Krai Son raft houses, with one of the best views at the lake. It is the only option at the lake providing electricity 24 hours/day (deluxe option with only 12 h/day a/c powered, others 24 h/day).
Following are the room types;
| Deluxe (4 pax) | 36 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with two mattresses. 1 canoe, 5 life jackets. A/c from 6 pm to 6 am. Check-in 2pm, check-out 9:30am |
| Villa (4 pax) | 42 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with two mattresses. 1 canoe, 5 life jackets. A/c 24h/day. Check-in 2pm, check-out 9:30am |
| Family Villa (8 pax) | 72 ㎡ - 2 connecting villas, 2 master bedrooms with double-size bed, 2 lofts with 4 mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 canoes, 8 life jackets. Check-in 2pm, check-out 9:30am |
| Deluxe Suite (4 pax) | 72 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with 2 mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 canoes, 7 life jackets (2 sofa beds for additional 2 pax if needed). Check-in 4pm, check-out 1pm |
| Family Suite (10 pax) | 86 ㎡ - 2 master bedrooms with double-size bed, 2 lofts with 6 mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 canoes, 7 life jackets (2 sofa beds for additional 2 pax if needed). Check-in 4pm, check-out 1pm |
| Honeymoon Suite (4 pax) | 92 ㎡ - Master bedroom with double-size bed, loft with two mattresses, a/c 24h/day, 2 canoes, 4 life jackets, private swimming pool, jacuzzi. Check-in 4pm, check-out 1pm |
Important: 500 Rai Floating Resort may apply BAR price (Best Available Rate) when they have only a few rooms available. This means, an eventual additional charge may add on top of the quotes we will give.
360° Issara Floating Resort (high-end)
360° Issara is the a brand new high-end resort opened in January 2025.
360° Issara is located at Khlong Long tributary of Cheow Lan Lake, around 40 minutes boat ride from Cheow Lan Pier, somewhere between Sai Chon and Laguna Cheow Lan.
The floating resort has;
- 10 deluxe rooms for couples
- 10 triple deluxe rooms with a queen-sized and a single bed
- 4 villas with a king-sized bed and a sofa bed (for 2 adults and 2 smaller childs or 3 adults)
While the deluxe rooms will be a/c powered from 6pm until 6am, the villa rooms will be powered 24 hours/day.
The 360° Issara Floating Resort offers three seasonal pricing tiers: the lowest rates are available from May to June, higher rates apply from July to October, and the highest rates are in effect from November to April.
Important: The 360° Issara Floating Resort may apply BAR price (Best Available Rate) when they have only a few rooms available. This means, an eventual additional charge may add on top of the quotes we will give.
Panvaree The Greenery (high-end)
The resort is located at the entrance of Khlong Long tributary. Compared to other optiong on the lake, Panvaree The Greenery has fewer cabins/houses which makes it a relatively quiet place even when the place is fully booked, ideal for people avoiding crowds. Quality wise it is no doubt one of the best and most popular floating resort on the lake. Electricity is provided from 5pm until 9am.
Following are the room types;
| Superior room (2 pax) | For couples or 2 adults + small child (child to share same bed as parents but quoted half price). Rooms can be with either a double bed or twin beds, unfortunately can't be chosen, either one can be booked depending on availability and other circumstances. |
| Family section (4 pax) | For families up to 4 pax, 2 storeys, 2 rooms, 1 bathroom, 1 king size bed in each room. |
The price for the rooms varies depending on week-day, week-end day or holidays.
Panvaree Resort (high-end)
Located right next to Panvaree The Greenery, Panvaree Resort has similar quality and price level with different type of bed settings, it too has less cabin/houses. The rooms gets a bit cheaper at Panvaree Resort for groups of 3 people or more.
Following are the room types;
|
Garret house king (4 pax) |
Semi-detached to a garret house queen, with a king size bed and a loft area with 2 single mattresses on the floor. |
| Garret house queen (4 pax) | Semi-detached to a garret house king, with twin beds and a loft area with 2 single mattresses on the floor. Max 4 people |
| Private garret (4 pax) | Solitary unit (not semi-detached), with twin beds and a loft area with 2 single mattresses on the floor. Max 4 people |
The price for the rooms varies depending on week-day, week-end day or holidays.
Laguna Cheow Lan
Laguna Cheow Lan is located at Khlong Long tributary, on the middle of Cheow Lan Lake. Each room have a king size and a single bed, private bathroom, a/c, balcony and can accommodate up to 3 people. The beds are on the floor. Electricity is provided from 6pm until 6am.
5 of the rooms called "see view rooms" are charged at a higher rate, they are the rooms with best views, facing the mountains on the opposite coast.
Phupha Waree Raft House
Phupha Waree Raft House is set back in a private alcove just inside Klong Pey, compared to most basic raft houses in the lake it is considered a bit better option. The rooms are equipped with 2 joined queen size beds, a private bathroom, a/c, balcony and can accommodate 2-4 people. While the smaller rooms will be booked for up to 3 people, the larger rooms will be booked for 4 people. Electricity is provided from 6pm until 6-7am.
Sai Chon Raft House
Sai Chon Raft House is a cheaper alternative. While being a very basic raft house, it is still a better option when compared to most other basic options in the lake mostly because the rooms have ensuite private bathroom. The raft house is located on Khlong Long tributary of the lake, not too far from the pier. The quality is somewhere between bamboo and average options. While the smaller rooms have 1 king size bed, the larger rooms have 2 king size beds. The rooms are equipped with fan only, electricity is provided from around 6pm until 6-7am.
Unlike the other raft houses, canoeing is not free at Sai Chon Raft House, rental will cost 200 Baht per canoe. The canoe fee is optional, not included in our listed prices for Sai Chon Raft House.
Itinerary
There is no strict itinerary with our lake tours, the following itinerary is just an example. Depending on the location of your resort, weather conditions, your preferences the itinerary may be much different. Example; you may decide to do more canoeing, skip some activities for the other, or simply just decide to relax and spend some time with friend(s)/family at the resort.
Because the lake is surrounded by steep cliffs/mountain slopes, there are no long hiking options. Alternatives hikes are quite short.
The time spent between visiting attractions and boat safaris needs to be balanced. Although the boat will be at your service throughout the tour, it cannot be used for continuous wildlife safaris. Like elsewhere in the world, wildlife is generally less active during the middle of the day, with most activity occurring in the early morning and late afternoon. For this reason, safari trips are scheduled for early morning and again before sunset.
Important note; Either the viewpoint trail or waterfall can be visited from Sai Chon, Laguna Cheow Lan, Panvaree resorts, 360° Issara area, not both. From the mentioned resorts, the Swamp Forest Trail can be visited
Day 1
- 10 am, Board your long-tail boat at Rajjaprabha Dam (Cheow Lan Lake Pier)
- The first stop is a scenic tour of limestone karst, also called 3 rocks or Khao Sam Kloe, then to Diamond Cave
- Check in to the resort. Enjoy a traditional Thai lunch
- Depart for a guided hike to Kri Sorn Viewpoint or Bang Hoi Waterfall
- Return to the resort for a swim, relax and enjoy the scenery or late afternoon wildlife safari by boat
- Enjoy your dinner
Day 2
- Start the day with a hearty breakfast
- Set off on a morning mist/wildlife safari in long-tail boat
- Return to the raft house for some leisure time, swim, canoeing, relaxing
- Lunch
- Depart for a guided hike to Kri Sorn Viewpoint or Bang Hoi Waterfall (from Phupha Waree, 500 Rai)
- Swamp Forest Trail (from Sai Chon, Laguna Cheow Lan, Panvaree T. G., Panvaree Resort, 360° Issara)
- Unwind at the raft house—swim, relax, go canoeing or late afternoon wildlife safari
- Conclude the day with a delicious traditional Thai dinner
Day 3
- Rise before breakfast for an early morning mist/wildlife safari by long-tail boat
- Alternatively explore the surrounding area by canoe
- 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 for 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. Even if some of the raft houses may still have rooms available days/weeks before, guide availability is more of a concern. The guides may get fully booked months in advance for the busiest times of the year.
Panvaree The Greenery superior rooms should be booked at least 6-12 months in advance for the busier months of the year, family rooms too may get booked far in advance.
Laguna Cheow Lan should be booked at least 3-6 months in advance for the high seasons months.
Phupha Waree can be booked a couple of months ahead, for the high seasons months they may get fully booked for most dates 1-4 months before.
Sai Chon tends to have more availability compared to the other raft houses we offer, sometimes days/weeks before. But for the certain peak dates, they too will eventually get fully booked many months before.
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, ensuring that no other groups will join you while exploring the lake and surrounding areas. The price of this tour package depends on your choice of accommodation and the number of participants. Please refer to the per-person rates listed below.
Note: The prices do not include entrance fees to the national park.
In response to increased boat rates, revised prices will take effect for all bookings from 4th February 2026 onward. For a 3D/2N tour, the price increase will be 2,000 Baht more for smaller boats and 4,000 Baht for bigger boats (8+ people). This amount will be added to the total prices listed below (not to per person prices, but to actual total).
- Phupha Waree Raft House – Lower rates are for the current rooms, higher are for the newly renovated rooms.
- 360° Issara Floating Resort – Offers three seasonal price levels: November–April (high season), July/August/October (mid season), and May/June/September (low season).
- Panvaree The Greenery & Panvaree Resort – Prices vary depending on weekdays, weekends, and public holidays.
- 500 Rai Floating Resort – New, higher rates apply from 1 November 2025 onwards.
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 | Sai Chon | Phupha Waree | Laguna |
| 2 | 10,850 THB | 13,400 to 14,600 THB | 13,700 THB |
| 3 | 8,550 THB | 10,300 to 11,000 THB | 11,200 THB |
| 4 | 7,400 THB | 9,200 to 9,900 THB | 10,100 THB |
| 5 | 6,700 THB | 8,950 to 9,800 THB | 9,400 THB |
| 6 | 6,250 THB | 8,150 to 8,800 THB | 8,900 THB |
| 7 | 5,900 THB | 7,850 to 8,450 THB | 8,500 THB |
| 8 | 6,200 THB | 7,900 to 8,400 THB | 8,700 THB |
| Price per person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pax | 360° Issara | Panvaree Resort | Panvaree T. G. |
| 2 | 15,600 to 21,300 THB | 17,300 to 19,500 THB | 16,800 to 19,500 THB |
| 3 | 13,400 to 19,000 THB | 13,800 to 16,900 THB | 17,100 to 21,000 THB |
| 4 | 12,300 to 17,900 THB | 11,000 to 12,600 THB | 13,000 to 15,800 THB |
| 5 | 11,600 to 17,200 THB | 12,400 to 14,500 THB | 25,000 to 29,200 THB |
| 6 | 11,150 to 16,800 THB | 11,600 to 13,500 THB | 11,850 to 14,600 THB |
| 7 | 10,850 to 16,500 THB | 11,900 to 13,900 THB | 12,800 to 16,000 THB |
| 8 | 11,400 to 17,200 THB | 12,000 to 14,000 THB | 12,200 to 15,100 THB |
| Price per person | |
|---|---|
| Pax | 500 Rai |
| 2 | 32,300 to 63,500 THB |
| 3 | 25,700 to 42,900 THB |
| 4 | 22,300 to 33,000 THB |
| 5 | 28,000 to 29,200 THB |
| 6 | 22,900 to 26,800 THB |
| 7 | 21,500 to 25,000 THB |
| 8 | 20,500 to 23,800 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
- canoeing (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)
- Canoeing at Sai Chon Raft House (the fee is included at the all other resorts we offer)
Reviews from our guests
By: World Wild Hearts | posted Sun 16 Apr, 2023 | Sai Chon
A video review from one of our guests. This clip wasn't promoted by us, nor were we informed in advance about it.
Review by; World Wild Hearts
By: Jono Stuart | posted Tue 3 Feb, 2026 | 360° Issara
The 360 isarra hotel on Cheow Lan Lake is an excellent modern place to stay on the lake. The food was excellent as the accommodation was new, modern and stylish. The service was very friendly but maybe not experienced enough to manage the expectations of working in a 5 star hotel (plates turning up at wrong times etc).
The lake setting is simply breath taking and the range of wildlife is amazing.
However, what’s probably the most important is your guide and we were lucky to have a private guide and boatman for our 3 days/2 nights on the lake. Kitcha’s knowledge of the lake, as well as his passion for all things flora and fauna was what made the tour. We saw monkeys, tapirs, elephants, great hornbills, falcons etc etc. Nuu, the boatman, was quiet and efficient (but with a great sense of humour) and they worked beautifully in tandem to move the boat into the right position for us to witness some amazing wildlife.
Thai National Parks, who arranged the trip, were excellent throughout the process.
By: Timo Lange | posted Sun 1 Feb, 2026 | Phupha Waree
We booked the tour 3d/2n with a private tourguide and stayed at the phupawaree rafthouse. The phupawaree had some renovated floating bungalows and some older ones. The stay was good, the food aswell.
I want to point out the excellent service provided by our tourguide Su, who is a local from the countryside close to the Khao Sok Nationalpark. Her knowledge about local plants, animals and the environment is extraordinary. She was very kind, caring and dedicated, we had some amazing experiences and saw many special animals because of her knowledge. Our boatdriver, who took us on the drive through the nationalpark in these days was excellent aswell. We would recommend to stay for 3d/2n and get in touch with the nature and see as many animals as possible at the early morning and late evening safaris.
By: Fabian R | posted Wed 28 Jan, 2026 | Panvaree T. G.
We had an incredible time in Khao Sok! Our booking was easy, communication was excellent, and everything was organized super well, including transfers to and out of the park. We booked as a group of 4 and stayed at Panvaree the Greenery, which exceeded our expectations in every single way. Beautiful hotel, friendly staff, and really high quality food every day, much better than what we were expecting. Our guide Lek and assigned boat driver were both fantastic - both really friendly and clearly super passionate & knowledgable about the wildlife, pointing out so much wildlife we'd never have spotted on our own, including wild elephants on our first day. 5* experience!
By: Benny | posted Tue 27 Jan, 2026 | 360° Issara
Hej
Tack för en upplevelse som vi alla i sällskapet tyckte mycket om. Vår guide och båtförare var trevliga, kunniga och försökte hela tiden att tillgodose våra önskemål och att vi skulle få uppleva så mycket som möjligt.
Vårt hotell var också väldigt uppskattat, vackert beläget och med en hög och jämn servicenivå. Maten var extremt bra, speciellt med tanken på att vi befann oss en bit från närmsta samhälle.
By: Peter Lewis | posted Fri 23 Jan, 2026 | 360° Issara
Excellent experience from start to finish! Very well organised trip. The guide Junn and our boat driver were both excellent and friendly. Junn was so friendly and added so much to our boat trips with her in depth knowledge of the area and its animals. Also, the accommodation was brilliant and food and staff there excellent too.
By: Sandra Fausch | posted Tue 20 Jan, 2026 | Phupha Waree
Excellent Communication and well organised (fast, clear, fully information)
With June we had a great, kind and local Guide with humour and with good english skills. We enjoyed the time a lot.
By: Isabell Frank | posted Mon 19 Jan, 2026 | Laguna
Our trip was really awesome! We had a grate time and enjoyed every second of it.
Our Guide Bee was also wonderful - his English was great, he told us many things and his goal was to make us satisfied and happy. We told him at day 1 that we would love to see some Elefants - we saw some this night! Also our Captain - Son - was great. We used to call him “eagle eye” because he has seen animals from far away which he showed us.
The tour was worth every penny and we are glad we booked this tour with Thai National parks.
By: Anneke Geller | posted Mon 19 Jan, 2026 | Phupha Waree
Our Guide Au was Great! Always friendly, supportive, helpful and protective.
The national Park itself is just amazing and a once in a lifetime thing to see. Fingers crossed
The Park will continue to be spared by all the crowds of tourists. Accodomation was terrible though. We had to change our room 2 times. First time window was broken, second time toilet wasnt working. There was mold everywhere, visible on one of our pillows, even on the chairs outside. This is harmful to our Health. Just no words for the bathroom, pictures would speak for itself. Sleeping was Not possible because of loud noises from the Generator and the Air conditions from our neighboor rooms.
One positive thing: food was very good.
All in all accomodation waaaay overprized and not worth the money.
By: Lina Vasquez | posted Fri 16 Jan, 2026 | Sai Chon
The nature was great, the guide was the best (very friendly, explained so many things and we even saw and elephant) and we loved the food. The little house was fine, the only bad thing is the bathroom, it was way to dirty, the tiles next to the sink have not been clean in years. Many thanks for a fantastic experience.