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Cheow Lan Dam
Cheow Lan Dam
4.5
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Duration: More than 3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles609 reviews
Excellent
463
Very good
133
Average
9
Poor
4
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carlosmbcn
30 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Family
Take a boat and go arround the dam is amazing experience. The boats if you do t want go with big groups are little expensive for just 2 or 3 hours. And you have to pay for go inside the national park too, so finally is expensive place for be in the middle of national park.
Written February 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BangkokJock
Bangkok, Thailand500 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
"Guilin of Thailand", these words don't do justice to the breathtaking beauty of this place. The lake is actually a man-made reservoir in the middle of dramatic limestone mountains. You can access at the reservoir dam which is an hour's drive from Surat Thani city. There are a number of tour operators there, offering from short 2-3 hour boat rides to overnight stays in one of the floating resorts on the lake. We took a short boat tour by Chieolan Holiday, their desk is near the pier opposite the ticket area. The owner's son was our guide and boatman, and really good at taking photos too! When we started the boat ride it was drizzling and a bit misty, which added to the atmosphere. Our stops included the สามเกลือ ("3 buddies") rock formation and a short stop at a floating resort and fish farm. Once the boat engine stops, the silence in this huge lake with towering mountains around is very peaceful.
Written September 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Barbara C
Minneapolis, MN445 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Friends
A highlight of our trip! We decided it was worth it to get a private Longtail boat to experience this beautiful place. We arrived early, before all of the tour boats set out. It felt like we had the whole lake to ourselves. Beautiful, peaceful, serene, and oh the color of the water!!! Didn't have to take photos around other people in the boat, could decide our own plan (we did 3 hour, with stop at raft house to swim, skipped caves). The scenic overlook after your excursion is definitely worth a stop!
Written March 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ani 🌸
London, UK109 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Couples
Such an amazing experience. We had such a lovely tour group of a mixture of people from all over the world. And our tour guides were also very great, friendly and informative.

The boat ride was around 40mins, it was beautiful, great footage to capture. We stopped at the tourist point to learn some history about the dam, which was so interesting. Then got some pictures before heading to the smiley lakehouse

Overall this was such an unreal experience, I would definitely recommend anyone visiting near Khao sok to do this. My favourite day in Thailand
Written May 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

fitzcarraldo
Ko Samui, Thailand246 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Absolutely magical place. We drove from Surat Thani to the marina and hired a private boat for 2 hours. Prices were all set and clearly displayed so no need to haggle. 2 hours was plenty to see the beautiful rock formations and still have time for a quick swim in the water. Unmissable.
Written February 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

S&O
Zurich, Switzerland29,139 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
A fantastically beautiful trip on a rented longtail boat with a skipper across this huge reservoir. Rock formations, bays, flying fox colonies, simply worth seeing. It feels like you are on the sea.
Google
Written December 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Badenhorst339
Johannesburg, South Africa58 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
The views are breathtaking and the newly done huts are clean and comfortable at Sai Chon Raft House. We saw wild elephants just canoeing on our own around the houses and thereafter had many more great wildlife sightings. We recommend at least 2 nights and 3 days to experience all it has to offer.
Written May 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

backpacker_society_A
Halong Bay, Vietnam31 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2018 • Solo
We had a great time trekking around Ratchaprapa Dam. It was amazing to see virgin forests and try to do water bike trip around the lake.The view from top of the mountain is breathtaking! Well worh a visit when you are in Ban Ta Khun, Surat Thani .
Written November 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chin-Mie
Jakarta, Indonesia211 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2014 • Family
This place is well worth the time and effort to go there. About the karsts and scenery, there were so many reviews before and I definitely agree with them. It resembles Halong bay IMO.

If you have time, better to stay one or two nights, you can choose one of the floating houses from the very basic to the luxury one. You can then go kayaking as long as you want, swim in the warm water lake, etc. The water maybe has some degree of alkali thus no fishes there.
Up to now, I think the most “luxury” floating houses which have aircon are 500 Rai (further from pier) and Panvaree (about 30 mins from pier), but it comes with “luxury” prices too, much more expensive compared to other 5 star in the area.

Other than the package tour, you can get there by yourself, especially if you have / rent your own car. The package tour off course will ease your job, but we went by ourselves because : 1. We want to see the weather first as we went in rainy season. 2. We went there along the way from Khao Lak to Krabi.

For those who want to drive by yourself, here's a few tips :

First, head down to the pier. I do not recommend a motorbike because the pier is quite far from Krabi, Khao Lak or even Surat Thani. The driving is very easy and if you are from Khao Lak the scenery along the way after Khao Sok is very beautiful.

We did manage it by ourselves with the help from map by mr Google, driving from Khao Lak for about 2 hours. Please note : if you use Google map, after Phanom Hospital and Argriculture Centre, DO NOT turn left as command from Google Nav (dead end, wasting your time). Go straight follow the main 401 rd for about 7-8 mins (9 km) until Ban Ta Khun, and then there will be a clear big sign to go left to Ratchaprapa. The rest is just follow the sign, or most likely you will see buses or mini vans from Travel Company, just follow them.

After about 30 mins, you will arrive at security (army?) check point, and 1 mins later arrived at the pier’s office inside the Khuihlin Minimart. If you intend to stay overnight, you can park your car in the designated area (with fee, car = THB80 overnight, see pic). There’re security guys there, it seems quite safe but not sure. For prevention, please store your luggage in back baggage if possible n hide your valuable.

In the “office” (actually very basic office with 1 small desk :)), if you are haven’t book your accommodation, they have albums with pictures, n will show you the map with each bungalow marked. You can choose depend on your budget n your preferred location (the nearer only 30 mins long vs the furthest maybe up to 1.5 hours boat – ie. Panvaree 30 mins vs 500 Rai more than 1 hour)

About the cost, there are 3 separated cost : Accommodation (pay directly at the hotel), Boat (pay at the ticket booth, varies depend on the house’s location, range THB 1500-3000), and National Park’s fee (pay at the office. THB 200 for adult, THB 100 children).
There are some small souvenir shops in the pier, and off course the Minimart to stock up your snacks.

In conclusion : which one better, package tour or independently? Depend on one, for me : I like my free time :). More economic? I did ask some of the hotel and travel company before, only slight difference.

Tips :
- Buy the poncho at the ticket booth, you might need it. (Sorry I forgot the price)
- Bring your waterproof camera (sadly mine was broken)
- Best time : sunny n clear for sure :). In the rainy time, the hiking and cave exploring may not available.
- Swimsuit and spare clothes off course.

Hope this helps.
Written September 27, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Leslie L
Montpellier, France25 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2018 • Couples
If you are on a tight budget, despite what the agencies tell you, you can easily have a nice 2 or 3h trip on the lake independently.
- Rent a motorbike for 300 bath
- Get to Cheow Lan Lake Ratchaprapa pier parking on Maps Me 80 bath petrol
- 300 bath entrance fees
- Once there, if you haven’t made up a group yet (which it quiet easy in any bar or restaurant the day before), you’ll meet plenty of people at the pier waiting for you.
You have a choice between a 2 or a 3 hours trip. The price is 2000 bath for the boat (either you are 2 or 10 people) for 3h. So we were a group of 6, met 2 others when we arrived, for a total of 8 people 250 bath per person.
Didn’t check really but I think it was more or less 1h one way, 1h chilling at the bungalow area - swimming, 1h return. The boat driver was nice, didn’t rush, slowed for the pictures, pointed out some monkeys,...

We had a really good time for a total of 640 bath person if you share the motorbike.

The lake is not to be missed, so impressive !! For those who like to compare it with cat ba/halong bay, we found it much more wild and quiet !
Written February 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Cheow Lan Dam - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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