# Elephants or Cheow Lan Lake: Choosing a Land Day from Phuket An elephant day stays close to Phuket, in Phang Nga, and fills every hour — bathing, a ride, rafting, a waterfall. Cheow Lan lake is a landscape day in Khao Sok national park: around two and a half hours on the road each way, then a longtail across a jade lake with cliffs up to 960 metres. ## Tours and prices in Thai baht - [Khao Lak safari: jungle, waterfalls and elephants](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/kao-lak-safari-1-day) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/kao-lak-safari-1-day.md) — One day, around ten hours · Adult 1,650 THB · Child 4–9 1,450 THB - [Rafting and the elephant spa](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/rafting-spa-1day) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/rafting-spa-1day.md) — One day, nine hours or more · Adult 1,550 THB · Child 4–9 1,350 THB - [Elephant beach, Samet Nangshe viewpoint and Mantra Spa](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/elephant-beach-samet-mantra-spa) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/elephant-beach-samet-mantra-spa.md) — One day, 07:00–18:00 · Adult 3,400 THB · Child 4–9 3,000 THB - [Cheow Lan lake and the Samet Nangshe sunrise](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/cheow-lan-lake) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/cheow-lan-lake.md) — One day, 06:00–17:00 · Adult 2,600 THB · Child 4–9 2,200 THB Prices come straight from our booking system. Children under four join free on most trips — each tour page says so. ## What do the elephant days involve? Plenty. The Khao Lak safari picks up at 06:50 and keeps moving: Suwan Kuha cave temple, a small local zoo, the elephant spa with bathing and a ride, bamboo rafting or a canoe on a jungle river, Thai lunch, a turtle farm, a waterfall, a fruit market. You head back at 16:50, tired in the good way. Which of our jungle days gives you a bath, a ride or both is listed on [elephant bathing on the rafting and ATV tour](https://phukeo.com/en/faq/elephant-bathing-included). Which of the two jungle days suits you, the Khao Lak safari or the Avatar world, is the subject of [this side-by-side](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/khao-lak-safari-or-avatar-world). The safari's case for and against is on [is the Khao Lak safari from Phuket worth it](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/khao-lak-safari-worth-it). Rafting and the elephant spa also starts at 06:50 — five kilometres of river before lunch, elephants after, a waterfall to finish. The elephant beach day is the slow one: you feed the elephants, they walk into the sea with you, lunch is at Samet Nangshe and the afternoon ends at Mantra Spa. The [Avatar world day](https://phukeo.com/en/tours/avatar-plus-hangdong) puts an elephant bath into a longer day with bamboo rafting, ATV trails and hot springs at sunset. For families with young children, [is the Avatar world tour suitable for children](https://phukeo.com/en/faq/avatar-world-tour-with-children) goes through it hour by hour. Prefer to stay off the sea for a day? See [land tours from Phuket](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/land-tours). Elephants also come with the Phang Nga and Samet Nangshe day, which we compare with the James Bond island boat trip on [Samet Nangshe or James Bond island](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/phang-nga-samet-or-james-bond-island). Which would I pick? With kids under ten, the Khao Lak safari — something new every hour. With teenagers, rafting. For a couple who has seen elephants before, Cheow Lan, no contest. Cheow Lan also starts at Samet Nangshe, at 08:00; [Samet Nangshe at sunrise or in the afternoon](https://phukeo.com/en/faq/samet-nangshe-sunrise-or-afternoon) compares the viewpoint times. For the case for and against the Avatar world day, see [Avatar world tour from Phuket: is it worth it](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/avatar-world-tour-worth-it). The Khao Lak safari, with its elephant spa and ride, is described on [Khao Lak from Phuket](https://phukeo.com/en/guide/khao-lak). ## What is the Cheow Lan lake day? A long drive for a very big view. We leave at six, stop first at the Samet Nangshe viewpoint over Phang Nga Bay, then head north for about an hour and a half into Khao Sok. The drive back starts at 17:00. It's the open viewpoint, not Beyond Skywalk; [Samet Nangshe or Beyond Skywalk](https://phukeo.com/en/faq/samet-nangshe-vs-beyond-skywalk) sorts out the names. At 11:20 you step into a longtail and cross a jade-green lake between limestone walls up to 960 metres high, jungle hanging off them. Lunch on a floating restaurant. Then tilapia fishing, a swim, a short walk in the rainforest, and Bang Tong temple, where one of the monks paints. Up to thirty people. Is Cheow Lan worth five hours on the road? [Is the Cheow Lan lake day trip worth it](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/cheow-lan-lake-day-trip-worth-it) answers that honestly. ## Which one is more tiring? Different kinds of tired. Elephant days are physical — mud, water, rafting, walking from stop to stop — and you come home wet. Cheow Lan asks nothing of your body and a lot of your patience: the card says around two and a half hours of road each way, and most of the lake time you are sitting in a boat or at a table on the water. Cheow Lan suits children from about three, the card says; rafting needs them to be six. And both kinds of day stop at temples, so bring something for shoulders and knees. - Busy day with animals and water — Khao Lak safari - River rapids plus elephants — Rafting and the elephant spa - Elephants in the sea and a spa — Elephant beach and Mantra Spa - Scenery and quiet — Cheow Lan lake ## What does each day include? Cheow Lan lake includes transfer from anywhere on Phuket, a guide, insurance, lunch at the floating restaurant, the boat trip, entry to the Samet Nangshe viewpoint, fishing on the lake, the temple and the jungle walk. Bring a light layer, since it can be cool on the water. The Khao Lak safari includes transfer, a guide, insurance, Thai lunch, national park fees and the full elephant programme with bathing and riding; drinks with lunch and a rain jacket are not included. Comparing the lake with a sea day instead? See [Cheow Lan lake or James Bond island](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/cheow-lan-or-james-bond-island). ## How does the Cheow Lan day run? The morning stop at Samet Nangshe gives time for photographs over the limestone islands of Phang Nga Bay. The drive north then runs through the jungle into Khao Sok national park, and at 12:00 the longtail reaches the limestone walls rising almost a kilometre out of the water. Lunch at 13:00 is served at a floating restaurant in the middle of the lake. At 14:00 there is fishing for red tilapia and a swim, at 15:00 a short trek through the rainforest, and at 16:20 Bang Tong temple, with its painter monk, before the drive back to Phuket at 17:00. It is two of the best landscapes of southern Thailand in one day, and neither of them is a beach. ## How do I book? If the sea is rough, either one works as a replacement for an island day, because neither depends on boats at sea. If you can only do one land day, choose elephants for activity and Cheow Lan for landscape. For the elephant beach day that ends in Mantra Spa's pools, see [is the elephant beach and spa day worth it](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/elephant-beach-and-mantra-spa-worth-it). Booking happens in the chat. Children aged 4 to 9 pay the child price. Every tour in our catalogue runs with an English-speaking guide. Pickup times depend on your hotel and are confirmed in the chat the evening before. Either way, pickup times depend on where you stay; we confirm them the evening before. The Cheow Lan day also collects from Khao Lak, as do the Similan boats; [Similan Islands from Phuket or Khao Lak](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/similan-islands-from-phuket-or-khao-lak) covers that side. ## Worth knowing Cheow Lan lake is a long day in a vehicle: plan a quiet evening after it, and do not book it the day before an early flight or a sunrise trip. ## FAQ ### How far is Cheow Lan lake from Phuket? Around two and a half hours by road each way, according to our programme. Pickup is at 06:00 and departure back from the lake area at 17:00. ### Are there elephants on the Cheow Lan tour? No. The Cheow Lan day is the lake, the viewpoint, a temple and a jungle walk. For elephants, choose the Khao Lak safari or a rafting day. ### Which is better with children? Both can work. Cheow Lan suits children from about three; the elephant days are more active, and rafting has a minimum age of six. ### Can you swim in Cheow Lan lake? Yes. Swimming comes with the tilapia fishing after lunch at the floating restaurant. ### Which land day is less tiring? Elephant beach and Mantra Spa is the slowest elephant day; Cheow Lan is physically easy but long because of the drive. ### Do these tours run when the sea is rough? Yes. Neither depends on boats at sea, so they are the usual choice when island trips are cancelled. ### Is hotel pickup from Patong, Kata and Rawai included in Cheow Lan Lake day tours? Yes. The Cheow Lan lake day includes transfer from anywhere on Phuket, so Patong, Kata, Rawai, Cape Panwa and Phuket Town are all covered. Pickup is at 06:00, because the Samet Nangshe viewpoint is the first stop. ## Compare with - [Elephant Tours from Phuket: Bathing, Feeding or Riding](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/elephant-tours) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/elephant-tours.md) - [Phuket Jungle Tours: Rafting, Elephants and ATV](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/jungle-tours) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/jungle-tours.md) - [Samet Nangshe Viewpoint Tours from Phuket](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/samet-nangshe-viewpoint) · [md](https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/samet-nangshe-viewpoint.md) - [All tours](https://phukeo.com/en/tours) ## How to book [Ask about dates on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/66619490349?text=Hello!%20I%20found%20you%20on%20phukeo.com%20and%20I'd%20like%20to%20book%20%22Elephants%20vs%20Cheow%20Lan%22.%20My%20dates%3A%20) --- Canonical: https://phukeo.com/en/excursions/elephants-or-cheow-lan