# Khao Sok from Phuket by Car: Day Trip or Overnight? Page URL: https://kolesio.com/en/guide/khao-sok-day-trip-by-car/ You can drive a rental car from Phuket to Khao Sok, but it is a national park deep inland, and our rule for such places is to stay the night rather than turn round the same day. As a day trip it only works as a very long day: out before dawn, back after dark, with written consent to leave the island agreed before you set off. ## In short - About 2 hours — our sensible limit for one direction on a day trip from Phuket - 1 road off — every mainland trip starts at the Sarasin bridge, there is no other way - Every 90 min — a pause at a large highway station: toilet, coffee, shop - Petrol — beyond the bridge the charging network thins out, so take a petrol car ## Short answer Yes, a rental car gets you to Khao Sok. The park lies off the main highway on the mainland, east of Phang Nga on the way towards Surat Thani. You cross the Sarasin bridge, follow highway 402 off the island and continue across the province on sealed roads. ### Day trip or not? Our own rule for day trips from Phuket by car is simple: if the drive one way takes more than about two hours, stay the night. National parks deep inland fall on the overnight side of that line. We have not measured the drive to Khao Sok, so check it in a map app before you decide, and be honest about the number it shows. Doing it in one day is possible, but it is a long day. You leave before dawn, spend a few hours in the park and drive back in the dark, which is the part of the trip we like least. With a night near the park you see it in the morning light and drive home rested. ## What that means for the car Take petrol, not an electric car. Beyond the bridge the charging network thins out and the distances get long, so a range calculation that works on the island stops working on the mainland. Comfort counts on a long road. For two people a crossover is easy on the back and sits higher among lorries; a family or a group of friends with bags is better off in a minivan, where nobody spends hours with a backpack on their knees. Before you leave, run the air conditioning for a few minutes and test the wipers: mainland rain arrives quickly, and lorry spray blanks the windscreen in a second. Check the fuel grade on the sticker by the filler flap before the first stop. The wrong fuel is paid for separately, and a mistake at a village pump is the kind of problem that ends a trip. Mind the speed on the open highway too. Mainland cameras work, and the fine goes to the rental company, which takes it off the deposit weeks after you have flown home. If you plan Khao Sok, tell us in chat before the rental starts. We agree leaving the island in writing, and the car comes to your hotel or villa at any hour: automatic, first-class commercial insurance, refundable deposit, the total for your dates fixed in chat. Send the dates on WhatsApp or through the booking form. ## Step by step before you go Most of what goes wrong on a mainland trip is decided on the island. These few minutes of preparation matter more than the route. - Get written consent to leave the island — without it the insurance stops at the bridge - Carry passport, national licence and IDP together — the IDP is valid only with the licence, and posts on the mainland check documents - Fill the tank before the Sarasin bridge — do not start the mainland on a half-empty tank - Keep small notes in cash — toll gates and roadside kitchens do not take cards - Stop every ninety minutes — large highway stations have a toilet, coffee and a shop ## Day trip or overnight: how to decide Look at the drive time first. Up to about two hours one way, a day trip is comfortable. Beyond that the hours in the car start eating the hours in the park, and Khao Sok is not a place to see in a hurry. Keep the plan to one destination plus one stop. A park, a waterfall and a lunch halt sound fine on a map, but each extra stop pushes the return later into the evening. On the mainland that means the dark, lorries and scooters on the shoulder. What you lose by rushing is the reason to go. Parks like this are best early in the day, before the heat. Arriving at noon and leaving at three gives you the drive, not the forest. If your dates are short, Phang Nga or Khao Lak gives a full day at a shorter distance. Staying over changes the whole trip: the park in the cool early hours, a daylight drive home, no race against sunset. ## The drive back in the dark Coming back after sunset is the hardest part of any long trip from Phuket. You are tired, oncoming lorries run on main beam, and motorcycles without lights ride on the verge. On winding stretches through the limestone hills the sightlines are short, so sit behind the lorry and wait for the straight. In the cooler months mist settles in the mainland hills, and on bends you may see only a few dozen metres. Dipped beam, lower speed, more distance. Our notes on driving at night cover the island roads for the last stretch home. > Do not push a tired drive back through the night. If you feel sleepy, stop at a large highway station or stay over. Only the drivers named in the contract may take the wheel, and drink driving voids the insurance completely. ## Related questions For a shorter mainland day, see Phang Nga from Phuket by car or our Phuket to Khao Lak day trip. Before any of them, read about the Sarasin bridge and about leaving Phuket in a rental car. ## Cheow Lan lake: driving on to the dam Cheow Lan is the reservoir of the Ratchaprapha Dam, also spelled Rajjaprabha, in Ban Ta Khun district of Surat Thani province. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand runs the dam, and the reservoir covers about 185 square kilometres between limestone hills. From the Khao Sok side the road is Highway 401 towards Surat Thani. The turning to the dam is near Ban Ta Khun, and a side road of roughly 15 km leads from it to the dam and the pier, so the lake is a further stretch beyond the park. That is one more reason to plan the lake with a night on the mainland. The boats on the lake leave from the pier at the dam; ask there where cars are left for the day. Agree the trip in chat before the rental starts, as for any drive off the island. ## The drive measured: road, distance, time The usual way from Phuket to Khao Sok is Highway 402 north over the Sarasin bridge, Highway 4 north along the coast past Khao Lak to Takua Pa, then Highway 401 east into the hills to the park entrance. An OpenStreetMap route planner puts the entrance about 125–130 km from the Sarasin bridge, close to 1 hour 45 minutes in clear traffic, driving straight through. From the beach areas, add the island part. The same planner gives about 2 hours 40 minutes from Patong (about 175 km), 2 hours 30 from Phuket Town, 2 hours 50 from Kata and 2 hours 10 from the airport. Every beach base is above the two-hour line described above, which is why Khao Sok works better with a night on the mainland. For Cheow Lan Lake, add about an hour from the park entrance: around 50 km further east on Highway 401, then the side road to the dam. From Patong that comes to about 240 km and close to 3 hours 45 minutes each way at the wheel. ## FAQ ### Can I do Khao Sok as a day trip from Phuket by car? Only as a very long day. Khao Sok is a national park deep inland, and our rule is to stay the night when the drive one way is more than about two hours. A day trip means leaving before dawn and driving back after dark. ### Do I need permission to drive a rental car to Khao Sok? Yes. Many rentals limit the territory, and without written consent the insurance does not apply beyond Phuket. We agree the mainland trip in chat before the rental starts. ### Should I take an electric car to Khao Sok? No, take petrol. Beyond the Sarasin bridge the charging network thins out and distances get long. An electric car suits the island, not a trip inland. ### What time should I leave Phuket? Early. Leaving before seven removes the island traffic and buys you time for the return. For a same-day trip to Khao Sok, leave before dawn. ### Is driving back at night from the mainland a good idea? Not if you can avoid it. Fatigue, oncoming lorries and motorcycles without lights make the dark drive the hardest part of the trip. A night near the park is the safer plan. ### Can I drive a rental car to Cheow Lan Lake? Yes, once leaving the island is agreed in chat. The lake is the reservoir of the Ratchaprapha Dam in Surat Thani province, reached by Highway 401 and a side road near Ban Ta Khun. ### Where do the boats on Cheow Lan Lake leave from? From the pier at the Ratchaprapha Dam, at the end of the side road from Highway 401. Ask at the pier where cars are left while you are on the water. ### How far is Khao Sok from Phuket by car? About 125–130 km from the Sarasin bridge to the park entrance and about 175 km from Patong. A route planner gives about 2 hours 40 minutes from Patong in clear traffic. ### Which road goes from Phuket to Khao Sok? Highway 402 to the Sarasin bridge, Highway 4 north past Khao Lak to Takua Pa, then Highway 401 east to the park entrance. ### How long is the drive from Phuket to Cheow Lan Lake? From Patong, close to 3 hours 45 minutes and about 240 km in clear traffic: the drive to Khao Sok plus about an hour further east to the dam. ### For a drive from Phuket to Khao Sok, is a small hatchback enough or should I get a 4×4? A small hatchback is enough for the road itself: the route runs on Highway 402 to the Sarasin bridge, Highway 4 to Takua Pa and Highway 401 to the park. A 4×4 adds nothing on that asphalt; over a long drive space matters more, so a crossover is easier on two people and a minivan suits a family with bags. Leaving the island is agreed in chat before the trip. --- Source: kolesio, https://kolesio.com/en/guide/khao-sok-day-trip-by-car/. The canonical version of this page is the HTML at this address.