All Wildlife Safaris in Thailand
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Love letters from our guests
4.6
|
536 reviews
What a fantastic experience, 5/5 from me! We managed to do so much but without it feeling hurried. Itinerary was slightly changed to the one advertised, but only I think so we could get another long tail boat ride in to view some wild elephants, which of course was incredible. The tree tops camping site was wonderful and the food really good. The floating bungalow was more of a 3/5 to be honest in terms of amenities (we did choose the luxury glamping option for this trip) but the location was unbeatable. Overall a true once in a lifetime experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.
Tim
This resort is in a beautiful setting in a secluded spot on the lake and is in a prime position for seeing wild elephants (AMAZING!) and monkeys. It’s great for swimming and kayaking, with drinking water readily available and hearty portions of food served too. I think it’s a solid choice for a stay on Chew Lan Lake. This resort could easily be outstanding, however its disorganisation sadly lets it down.
There is very little information given by the staff and you only hear what’s going on through word of mouth, which makes it really unclear on where you should be. As there is no phone reception there, I had screenshotted the itinerary from Seek Sophie beforehand and this turned out to be incorrect. For example, we showed up for a 4pm boat trip and were told by another guest that it was actually 5pm. Guests were often asking each other what time meals were too. A simple chalk board with timings would solve this completely, as the staff don’t inform people of what’s going on!
On our first day we were due to embark on a jungle trek, bamboo raft and cave trip. Unfortunately, there were elephants on the trail so we couldn’t do that route, and they said they were taking us elsewhere. They ended up dropping us right outside a different cave to go in and that was it. I completely understand that schedules change for safety, but I was only really going for the jungle hike and rafting as I don’t love caves due to claustrophobia. We were told we could join the jungle trek & rafting tour the next day instead by our guide which was great. The next day our guide was not there and we were told flat out by staff that we weren’t allowed to join the rafting as “we’d already had our trip yesterday” - even though the boats were going there anyway and they wouldn’t be making a special journey for us. That was really disappointing. Later that day, we heard a different guide telling a guest that she should have joined the bamboo rafting today if she’d missed it yesterday, and we chimed in that we were told we couldn’t do that and he said “YOU can’t as you are only staying 2 nights, SHE can because she is staying with us for 6 nights.” So it seems you are only given gestures of goodwill if you are paying more.
A couple of other things to note:
- There are sheer curtains in the lodges, giving little privacy and if you are a light sleeper you might struggle as some people leave their porch lights on at night.
- The rooms are locked by padlock which you must pay a 500THB deposit for. However, the shop to get a padlock from only opens at 5pm and you arrive and go out on a trip at 2.30pm so you have to leave your belongings unsecured until the evening (when you are back anyway)! The easiest solution is to bring a padlock with you - if the tour operator had told us this before that would have made life way easier.
I would recommend a stay here, but hope management take on board my feedback as the experience could be made so much better with a bit more clarity.
Rose
We loved our stay here! We are so happy we joined in on the cooking class as well. The scenery is absolutely stunning and Mr Yoo is hilarious. Could have easily stayed here longer. Bring layers if you get cold during the night and earplugs as the chickens will wake you up very early!
Lori
It was overall a wonderful experience we were there for 3d2n because of this we had plenty of time to chill and do things on our own. The people were lovely and the food was excellent with good variety. The cabins were bigger then expected and comfortable for sleeping on the water. Would recommend!
Kevin
A magical experience surrounded by elephants, monkeys, and birds! Tucked away about an hour boat ride from civilization, this was the nature escape I wanted and more! Take advantage of the kayaks if you want the best opportunities for spotting wildlife. You will be disappointed if you only go on the boat safaris and don’t explore on your own. The boat safaris all go out at the same time and crowd around the wildlife and you won’t be able to see anything through all the boats in front of you. My partner and I spent an entire day in a kayak and saw so many elephants all to ourselves. The raft house is so cozy and everything you need for your stay in Khao Sok, and the food was quite good as well and our dietary restrictions were accommodated. Stunning views, perfect weather, a peaceful and serene 2 days.
Hannah Powless
What a great place. Scenery, guides (especially Dom), wildlife, food, Kayaking etc. We were lucky enough to see a family of 7 wild elephants feeding and bathing by the lake.
Ann
Had such an amazing stay at Rungfah Farm- Mr Yu and his family were so accommodating and helpful at organising everyone’s luggage storage/onward transport!
The farm tour and cooking class was so informative and interactive- it was so rewarding to eat the delicious meal that we prepared at the end too in a social setting at the table together!
I have already recommended this experience to family members travelling to Khao Sok soon, thank you all for a great experience :)
Gill Sherwood
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