Trekking or jungle tour

Hi, I m planning to go to Thailand for 3 weeks and will spend half of my time in the south around Ko samui and krabi. Does anyone know if there is any national park there and if there is a tour group that I can join to stay in the jungle for a few nights? Reply to this

Ko Sok national park isd close to Krabi. You can do jungle tours through a lot of bungalow operators in and around the national park. Check out wikitravel for ideas.

When you get to Thailand there will be tour operators all over the country offering group tours to many national parks - you don't need to plan it from home.

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Depends on if you are after shopping and nightlife (Phuket) or nature and relaxing (Krabi province). The Khao Phanom Bencha National Park and the Khao Pra-Bang Khram Parks have good trekking, theres always lots of one day or half day tours closeby out of Krabi.

In a day you can do a lovely trip out to the Emerald Pool and the Hot Springs comfortably in a day or Elephant trekking through an outfit in Ao Nang who have very happy elephants and often combine elephant trekking with kayaking or visiting Sra Keaw Cave - I did notice their elephants are genuinely happy elephants and didnt show any signs of swaying or stressed behaviour.

Also nice in Krabi is going out to Railay and taking in Phra Nang beach - worth the walk. Have fun 😊 Reply to this

Id stay in Ao Nang, Krabi itself as a town is quite industrial..Lanta is nice as are many of the beaches and islands in the province but given the length of time you have I would suggest Ao Nang (OK, I admit I love the place) - When you are looking for accomodation dont rule out Noppharatara because it is really just the continuation of Ao Nang beach and only a few minutes by songtaew or scooter. Noppharatara is the more locals end of the beach which is a good thing in a way, the restaurants and shopping strip is up the other end so its quieter if thats what you are after. Also the longtails and boats to Phi Phi (and Railay etc) leave from Noppharatara so if you want to throw in a day island hopping its not a bad place to stay. There are also some lovely little islands which are fantastic to walk out at low tide and watch the sun setting from.
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When will you be in Thailand? Reply to this

They also have national park in the south, so I will be able to do some trekking there, so need to go that far up for trekking,right?

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Hal is right (as always!). Check out Attitude travel for links to the budget airlines in SE Asia. Flying often works out cheaper than taking the train anyway.
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"Yeah, I know train takes longer but I also heard the train ride is quite scenic. Worth a try? "

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I have used trains in Thailand a few times. I like them but keep in mind they are noisy and even dirty, especially in the regular seats. I used a train one time from Bangkok to Singapore and felt grubby even with an overnight hotel stop in Butterworth.

Bring some books to read because you don't see that much from trains at nighttime and during the day hours often you are passing freight yards and even dumps. Occasionally you do pass through scenic areas but you won't see them if at night!

If you want a sleeper car get the request in as soon as possible because sleepers go fast.

Seat 61 has info on various classes of train seating. Keep your bags locked. If you use a bus booked in the Khao San Road area never put any valuables in your checked in bag! Most of the trouble with bus ride theft and breakdowns have been with buses booked in the KSR area. Use a real bus station for any long distance bus rides.

Good luck

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