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Tree & raft house jungle adventure in Thailand

COUNTRY:
Thailand
LOCATION:
Khao Sok National Park
PRICE:
From Baht 7,200 - Baht 14,650 (4-5 days) excluding flights. Prices are per person depending on itinerary & room type. Includes: all activities, accommodation, meals and transfers, as specified in itinerary.
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VOUCHERS:
Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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Tree & raft house jungle adventure in Thailand
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Tree & raft house jungle adventure in Thailand

How this holiday makes a difference

Environment
We use local long tail boats and boat drivers to ensure we are putting some money back into the local community. We also employ local guides who have a wealth of knowledge of the area they were brought up in and who are happy to impart this knowledge and experience to our guests.

Our guests are usually travelling as couples, families or small groups so we avoid uncontrollable mass tourism in the area.

Our new air-conditioned tree house and tree high rooms are concealed amongst the trees and are constructed of man-made materials whilst still retaining that “jungle feel”. The rooms are built carefully up, on and around the trees without damaging the centre core. Most rooms have the tree growing through the room at some point. The electric supply to the rooms is controlled by a key sensor, so when you remove the key on leaving the room, the electricity will automatically cut off, thereby saving energy.

We visit Wat Pantoorat, Khao Soks’ local Buddhist Temple. The head monk often likes to talk with guests and he can be very informative about the local community; as well as the role of the Temple and monks as part of that community. Donations are always welcome to the Temple, though they are not expected.

Our Confirmed Booking Vouchers, Invoices and Travellers Code of Conduct guidelines are sent by email to all guests who confirm their bookings. Amongst other things the Code of Conduct suggests ways to reduce the negative impact on the environment and the community, including minimising damage to flora and fauna and appropriate dress code for certain situations.


- Wilderness Adventure - This tour includes a two night stay on Chiew Larn Lake in Khao Sok National Park. We pay Park Entrance Fees to visit the Lake, the proceeds of which go towards maintaining the ecology of the National Park area.


- Jungle Escape - This tour includes a two night stay on Chiew Larn Lake and a trek in Khao Sok National Park. We pay Park Entrance Fees to visit the Park and the Lake, the proceeds of which go towards maintaining the ecology of the National Park area.

Community
The majority of our staff are from the local area and we source our supplies of food, drink and equipment from local businesses where possible.

The basic style tree house rooms and our raft houses are constructed of bamboo and thatch obtained from self-sustaining resources of locally grown bamboo.

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Tree & raft house jungle adventure in Thailand

Tree & raft house jungle adventure in Thailand

Reviewed 29 Apr 2010 by Sarah Brigden4 star rating

1

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


The trip out to the floating raft houses were excellent, its basic accommodation but the location is well worth the lack of TV and modcons!

Also the elephant trek was excellent, there are amazing animals.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Take a hat on the canoe trip as its very hot and there is not much relief from the sun.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Yes, all the activities we did we used local operators and we used local markets and stalls to buy drinks etc.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


It was excellent, the staff really looked after us and the food was really good and plentiful. The activities were well organsied, with very knowledgeable guides.

I would book and do the same trip again.

Reviewed 16 Aug 2010 by Jacki Pepper3 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


We enjoyed the fantastic locations and saw parts of Thailand that you wouldn't normally see on a package deal. The activities were really enjoyable and well organised, but be aware that there doesn't appear to be any health and safety regulations.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Travelling to and from the resorts in a back of a truck took along time and was not very comfortable.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


All guides appeared to be local and food seemed to be sourced locally.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


Staff were extremely helpful and nothing was too much trouble. The food was lovely and plentiful and the activities were great fun and well organised. Although we expected basic accommodation as described on the website, I did feel that the room was not particularly clean. The Treetops resort generally looked old and in need of some TLC. However, we enjoyed the experience.

Reviewed 30 Dec 2009 by Keith Chapman1 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


The long tail boat ride out to the bamboo raft houses.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Expect very rustic accommodations and facilities and a limited amount of wildlife. There is likely lots of wildlife in Khao Sok NP but there are limited ways to see it. The guide was not very interested in wildlife - we had two great chances to see a flock of horn-bill birds - but the guide made no effort to take a minute or two to check them out. We had a 'program' or itinerary specified prior to our visit by the tour company. Much of it was not delivered. In the end, it felt quite over priced relative to the experience (or lack of...). We had paid extra to have transport to and from the dock to the raft houses. The transport to the raft houses was hair raising. The driver squealed the tires of the SUV at least 4 times around sharp curves in the road and locked up the brakes once in town so as to not rear end cars stopped at a traffic light. After the raft house stay, they flagged down a Songteauw (a pickup truck with two bench seats in the back) and loaded us up for the hour trip to Surat Thani.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


It benefited a few local people (I count a driver, a cook, a boat captain, the main guide/host, another boat captain and some staff at the resort). Impacts to the environment could have been minimized. The vast amount of concrete in the resort was staggering. The half burnt garbage in various piles at the raft houses was a bit of an eyesore and issue as well. We found some fresh bags (i.e. still floating) of garbage dumped in the lake not far from the raft houses where the guide/host later told us not to paddle.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


I would rate this part of our holiday as fair. There was some spectacular scenery, interesting accommodations, good food and some wildlife. On the negative side there was quite a bit of garbage around, the guide was not at all into wildlife viewing or trekking. The transport arrangements were not very professional or safe.

Read the operator's response here:

We seem to have had a problem recently with a particular lazy guide at our raft houses and he is now being dealt with accordingly, unfortunately we were not aware of the issue until we received a number of complaints around the same time so I'm sorry that the experience had during this stay was not as it should have been.

The transfers in from Phuket and out to Suratthani were not actually paid extra for but were included in the itinerary price as part of a special promotion; the transfer in from Phuket would have been done by an outside taxi company and we will not be using that particular driver again, in view of this experience. We often use songthaew transfers to Suratthani though, so that transfer would have been usual.

The walkways are constructed of concrete for safety reasons; we are in the rainforest and to have natural earth walkways would mean you would be covered in mud most of the time and it would be very slippery; otherwise the reception building is constructed of concrete - a building of that size to be constructed of wood would not be very safe from a fire hazard point of view, or from a sustainable resource point of view - so the impact to the environment is actually less by using concrete. The resort has only recently finished being re-built so soon the vegetation will grow up and the building will blend in more with the landscape. The landscape is limestone karst mountains and the inside of our reception building has been constructed to complement this. There are also a lot of natural rocks within the building and also outside in the grounds around the nature pool - these are not imitation rocks made of concrete but are the real thing!

The issue regarding rubbish at the raft houses is unacceptable and the matter is being addressed as a matter or urgency, again it is a staff issue and the staff responsible are being dealt with.

Our trips do not only benefit the people you see. Park fees and taxes go towards maintaining the ecology of the National Park; we employ local people as guides and general staff and buy produce from the local shops and markets.
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Accommodation Reviews

We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!

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Tree & raft house jungle adventure in Thailand
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