We spent the night at Khao Sok Smiley Lake House, a private floating bungalow located in a remote area on Ratchaprapha lake (Cheow Lan Lake). Surrounded by untouched jungle and away from reality, this is the perfect way to unwind. No phones, No TV, just me and you and the breath taking views.
Cost
Lake House – 2,500฿ for 1 night per person
National park fee – 300฿ per person (this fee is for the maintenance of the national park)
This totalled up to 5,600฿ for both of us. (£137.63 for 2 people) This price was definitely worth the experience.
What is including?
– Accommodation in the Lake house
– 5 times meals (2 x breakfast, 2 x lunch, 1 x dinner)
– Insurance
– Water, tea and coffee
– Private Kayaking
– Nam Taloo cave trekking
– Morning boat safari
– Evening boat safari
– Minivan transfer from Khao Sok park to the Cheow Lan lake and back
– Local boat transfer to the Lake houses and back (lake house is located about 20 km from the pier and is only accessible by a long tail boat)
– No electricity in daytime, only from 6 pm to 6 am. To charge your phone or batteries you can use changing station next to reception (No Wifi)
– Every room has private shower and toilet inside
Itinerary
DAY 1
08:00 Breakfast at Smiley Bungalows restaurant in Khao Sok
09:00 Minivan transfer to Cheow Lan lake
10:00 Stop at 7/11 shop (ATM available)
10:30 Local boat transfer to Smiley lake houses
12:00 Lunch and free time
17:00 Evening boat safari (optional)
19:00 Dinner
DAY 2
06:30 Morning boat safari (optional)
07:00 Breakfast
08:30 Nam Taloo cave trekking (optianal and depending on the weather)
12:00 Lunch
13:30 Local boat transfer to Cheow Lan lake pier
14:30 Minivan transfer from Khao Sok national park
15:30 Arrive at Smiley bungalows
How to Book?
Step 1 – Head over to Smiley Lake House https://khaosok-smiley.com/
Step 2 – Scroll to the Contact Us section at the bottom of the page.
Step 3 – Contact Phaiwan Rakbauthong, she is the owner of this family run business organising tours and accommodation in the raft house resort at Ratchaprabha lake. The best way to contact her is via E-mail: smileybungalow@gmail.com or Facebook Messenger: Phaiwan Rakbauthong. Its the fastest way to get a response.
Step 4 – Request the dates and which lake house you would like to stay in. Other wise you could end up staying in one of the older lake houses.
Step 5 – When you get a response with all the information and the available dates and you are happy with this, leave a deposit via Paypal. This is a safe way to pay.
Step 6 – When you arrive at Smiley Bungalows make your final payments and then off you go on a long tail boat to the most unique place you’ll probably ever visit.
