Khao Lak from Phuket: What to Expect on a Tour

The Khao Lak safari, stop by stop

It's a day that changes scene every hour or so. After the 06:50 pickup the first stop, at 09:20, is a monkey cave and the Suwan Kuha temple, with its stalactites and bats. A small zoo follows at 11:20. At 12:05 comes the elephant spa: a mud treatment, bathing and showering the elephants, a baby elephant show and a ride, all in the price.

The afternoon is gentler. Bamboo rafting or canoeing down a jungle river at 12:50, a drive past fruit and rubber plantations with the guide explaining what grows where, Thai lunch at 13:50, then a turtle farm, a waterfall stop at 15:00 and, at 16:20, the Sarasin bridge viewpoint and a fruit market where the guide gets you tasting things. You leave for the hotel at 16:50.

What the safari price covers

Hotel transfer both ways, a guide, insurance, Thai lunch, national park entrance fees and the full elephant programme, bathing and riding included. You pay for drinks with lunch, souvenirs, extra food and snacks, photo and video if you want it, and temple clothing hire if you arrive in shorts.

That last one is worth planning for. The card asks for shoulders and knees covered at the temple, and cover-ups can be hired there for a small fee. Bring a towel and swimwear, and a change of clothes: the card is unusually firm that this one isn't optional, because the raft and the elephants get you wet.

Khao Lak and the Similan islands

Both our Similan trips include transfer from hotels on Phuket and in Khao Lak. So if you're staying in Khao Lak you can join the classic big-boat day or the early speedboat without coming down to Phuket first.

From Phuket, the classic boat's card has you driving about an hour and a half to Tablamu pier before departure at 07:30. The national park closes for the monsoon from mid-May to mid-October, so the Similan side of Khao Lak only works in the other half of the year. The jungle safari runs in both halves; the card only asks you to bring a rain jacket in the wet season.

• →Elephants, a raft and a waterfall in one day — Khao Lak safari
• →Reefs and white beaches, mid-October to mid-May — Similan islands: the classic day trip
• →First boat to the Similans — Similan islands, early departure

Is the safari right for you?

If you want variety and animals without a sea crossing, yes. It's a good pick for children who get bored, and for anyone who gets seasick, since nothing on the route goes out to sea. Less so if you'd rather spend an hour at one place than ten minutes at ten; the day is built for variety, not depth.

One thing to know before you book: the elephant programme here includes a ride. If you'd rather swim with elephants than ride one, look at our elephant beach day instead. The whole question is worked through on is the Khao Lak safari worth it, and Khao Lak safari or Avatar world compares it with the other long jungle day.

Booking

Send the tour, the date, your hotel and everyone's ages in the chat; we confirm the pickup time for your hotel. Children under four travel free, without a separate seat or meals, 4 to 9 pay the child price and ten and over the adult one. Payment by card online is agreed in the chat once the booking is confirmed.

Every tour in our catalogue runs with an English-speaking guide. On a ten-hour safari that matters more than you'd think: there's a lot of road, and a lot to ask about on it. How to book either Similan day is on how to book a Similan islands tour. Surin, further north, is covered on Similan or Surin Islands from Phuket. The Similan boats board at Tab Lamu pier, a short drive from Khao Lak hotels.

Questions people ask