While planning our road trip through Thailand, there was one place we were unsure about if we should go or not: Khao Yai National Park. The park wasn’t exactly on our route, and I had already visited it before, way back in 2004. But… my partner, who was in Thailand for the first time, really wanted to see wild elephants. After some research and tweaks in our itinerary, we decided: we’re going to Khao Yai! In this article, I’ll tell you all about this remarkable national park, whether it’s a good idea to go with a guide, and what you can (and can’t) expect from it.
The oldest national park in Thailand
Established in 1962, Khao Yai National Park covers an area of over 2,000 square kilometers, making it one of Thailand’s largest national parks. Located northeast of Bangkok, the park is best known for its immense variety of wildlife; it is a great place to spot elephants (spoiler: we didn’t see any), as well as gibbons, macaques, and hornbills. It also features a stunning waterfall, Haew Suwat, famous for its appearance in the movie The Beach.
Our preparations for Khao Yai National Park
Right up until shortly before we left for Thailand, we still hadn’t made up our minds about whether to visit Khao Yai National Park independently or with a guide. We even put off the decision after arriving in Thailand. We love hiking, but some of the trails in Khao Yai can only be accessed with a local guide. On top of that, we’d read stories about dangerous animals—like snakes—lurking everywhere. Would it really be wise to venture into the jungle on our own? The last time I was in Khao Yai, back in 2004, I went on a fully organized tour that was fantastic. But then again… you do end up with a fixed itinerary and very little freedom.
In the end, just a few days before our arrival in Khao Yai, we decided to go for an organized tour after all. Through word of mouth, we came across Tontan Travel, which seemed to have good reviews. My partner is a biologist and was primarily interested in wildlife, so we ultimately decided to book a tour with Tontan Travel: the one-day wildlife tour.
We paid a total of 6,000 Baht for this tour in 2025, equivalent to around 160 euros, or about 80 euros per person. We felt this was quite a high price for a tour, but given Tontan Travel’s excellent reviews, we decided it was worth it. Transport to and from the park, entrance fees, lunch, drinking water, an English-speaking guide, and leech-proof socks are included.
Hornbills and snakes
We are picked up from our hotel at 8:00 AM and drive towards the national park, a journey of just under an hour. We have a private guide and are seated in the back of an open-top jeep. After entering the park, we drive to a viewpoint where we immediately spot our first piece of wildlife: a hornbill. Amazing! But… we do have to share the sighting with about 25 other people, mostly photographers.
Our next stop involves a short walk through the jungle, though not before we pause again for a snake. Another guide spotted it; it turns out to be a green pit viper. To be fair, we never would have found it ourselves, as it blends in perfectly with the jungle surroundings.
Khao Yai visitors center and jungle walk
Our next stop is at the national park visitor center, where we will have some time to look around. “Look, a lizard,” our guide shouts as he prepares his binoculars. It’s easy to spot through binoculars, with the naked eye we would have just walked past it. We also get our leech protective socks, which we have to put on.
After this we take a jungle walk of about 1.5 hours. First on a well paved trail, then the trails split and we step deep into the bush. There is a path, but it is clearly rarely used. There are many unofficial trails in this part and I am sure I would not have found my way back here without a guide.
Along the way we encounter several greenpit vipers (they just hang in a tree right next to the trail) and a hornbill flutters above our heads. We also hear a gibbon, but unfortunately we don’t see one.
After about an hour and a half we return to the jeep. It was a very educational walk, we saw many small animals, I even had a leech on my shoulder, but I’m glad I’m out of the jungle again. I don’t like the crawling and tickling of all the insects and other animals…
A visit to Haew Suwat waterfall
After lunch, we make one final stop: at Haew Suwat Waterfall. This 20-meter-high waterfall gained fame from the movie The Beach. To reach the waterfall, you first walk a short distance to a viewpoint. If you are sure-footed, you can continue walking down to the base; this path is a bit more challenging and can be slippery at times.
After visiting the waterfall, which is beautifully full since we are traveling during the rainy season, we walk back to the jeep where our guide is waiting. It’s time to head back to our hotel, and of course, we hope to spot some elephants along the way. We had already heard that October isn’t the best time for elephant sightings (there are about 200–300 living in the park), but who knows we might get lucky…
Unfortunately, we don’t see any elephants in Khao Yai National Park. On the way back, we see nothing but large numbers of macaques all along the roadside. They make for a nice photo, but we are still somewhat disappointed.
Is Khao Yai National Park worth a visit?
Did we find Khao Yai National Park worth the visit? Our answer is both yes and no. It requires a bit more explanation.
First of all, we believe that without our guide, we wouldn’t have seen nearly as much wildlife as we did. He pointed out so many things to us, and his knowledge was excellent. In that respect, Tontan Travel certainly didn’t disappoint. The snakes and hornbills, in particular, made a big impression. If you hike independently, which is only permitted on a few trails, you easily overlook the insects and reptiles often hidden within the jungle.
But… the answer is also “no” because we followed the exact same route as all the other tours. You more or less race through the park in a jeep, just one of many groups. At least, that’s how it felt to us. We were also disappointed, of course, not to see any elephants. We had hoped to stay a bit longer, but the guide was quite firm as we drove out of the park: no elephants today. Had we traveled in our own car, we could have deviated from the organized tour schedules and done our own thing.
Is it worth hiring a guide? Absolutely. Is it worth the price? I can’t speak to your budget, but looking back, we felt it was worth it.
Tips for your visit to Khao Yai National Park
I’ll wrap up this article about our visit to Khao Yai National Park with a few more tips for your visit:
- We stayed at Diamond Hill Resort. It’s quite a remote location and only accessible with your own vehicle. You can check other options for Khao Yai and Pak Chong here.
- We booked our tour with Tontan Travel shortly before departure. They were our second choice; the other provider we tried was already fully booked. Tours fill up quickly, especially during peak season (November – December).
- Book your tour before your accommodation; the availability of nature guides is limited.
- You can also visit Khao Yai National Park on a day trip from Bangkok. Check availability and rates here.
- There are seven different hiking trails, some of which require a guide. View all options on on the website of Khao Yai National Park.
- Most tours take place in an open-top jeep. Although it is warm during the day, the wind chill can make it feel quite cool, so bring a jacket or sweater. We also found it very practical to wear long trousers to protect against leeches.
- As for footwear, I recommend wearing simple hiking shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Flip-flops are not a good idea.
Book your trip!
Below you will find the possibility to book your trip
- We flew with Qatar Airways from Stockholm to Bangkok. Check rates and availability here.
- We booked all our hotels in advance via Booking. We traveled in low season (October and November) so it wasn’t super busy, but didn’t want to waste time looking for accommodation once in Thailand and this saves us a lot of time to enjoy the natural beauty.
- Find rental car rates here.
- Tours to Khao Yai National Park can be found here.
Conclusion and further reading
In the end, we were glad we visited Khao Yai National Park, even though we didn’t see any elephants. Would I do it again? Not with a guide, if I go back again, I would like to tour in our own car, looking for elephants. This does not alter the fact that the guide was excellent, but for snakes, macaques and hornbills we don’t have to go back anymore…
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