Explore Khao Sok with Chillax Khaosok Hostel Tours

A Chillax hostel Khao Sok tour is a lake, river or jungle trip booked at the tour desk of Chillax Khaosok Hostel in Khlong Sok, about 800 m from the Khao Sok National Park entrance. Like most hostel desks in the village, it sells the classic 2-day/1-night Cheow Lan Lake trip (typically ฿2,400–2,800 plus ฿340 in fees), bamboo rafting, canoeing and jungle treks. You message +66 82 484 6473 with your date and group size to check availability.

Chillax is one of several hostels and bungalows running tours in Khao Sok village. Below it's compared with Smiley, Coco, Khao Sok Happy Tour, Secret Hostel and others, using published prices and guest reviews checked in September 2026. We don't take commission from any of them.

Introduction to Chillax Khaosok Hostel

What is Chillax Khaosok Hostel?

Chillax Khaosok Hostel (also written Chillax @Khaosok Hostel) is a budget hostel with dorms and private rooms at 357, 5, Khlong Sok, Phanom District, Surat Thani 84250. It sits in the middle of Khao Sok village (see where to stay in Khao Sok), a 7-minute walk from the national park and about 97 km from Surat Thani airport, which makes it a practical base for southern Thailand's best-known rainforest park.

What sets it apart: it describes itself as "not a party type hostel", with a family-like atmosphere and quiet enough for people who've hiked all day. It has two mixed dorms, one family (quadruple) room and six private rooms, and a tour desk that guests use heavily; Hostelworld's review summary notes that many guests book their Khao Sok tours through the property.

Amenities Offered by Chillax Khaosok Hostel

Free WiFi runs throughout the property, including in rooms. That matters more than it sounds: phone signal on Cheow Lan Lake is patchy, so you'll plan onward travel here. Booking.com guests rate the Wi-Fi 8.0/10.

The paid shuttle service handles airport and onward transfers for a fee; staff are praised for arranging vans to Surat Thani, Krabi and the islands. Other amenities that shape a stay:

• A tour desk, luggage storage (leave your big bag while you're on the lake) and lockers
• Air-conditioned rooms, balconies in some, family rooms with private bathrooms
• A terrace and bar, board games, a pool table, a shared fridge
• Daily housekeeping and 24-hour security
• Reception 07:30–20:00; check-in from 14:00, check-out by 11:00
• Breakfast not included; cash or card (card adds a 3% surcharge)

Tour Offerings at Chillax Khaosok Hostel

Available Tours at Chillax Khaosok Hostel

Current tour offerings, as promoted on the hostel's Facebook page in August–September 2026:

• 2 days / 1 night on Cheow Lan Lake in floating bungalows, with long-tail boat rides, caves and jungle trekking
• Bamboo rafting through rainforest and limestone scenery
• Paddling trips ("no engine, no rush") on the river
• Lake day trips by long-tail boat (compare our lake tour guide)

Schedules follow the village standard: lake tours pick up around 08:00–09:00; river trips run morning or afternoon. How to book a tour through the hostel: message your travel date and number of guests (WhatsApp or Line +66 82 484 6473, or [email protected]), or ask at reception on arrival. The benefits of booking directly with the hostel: pickup from your door, luggage stays safe, and the desk can rebook you if weather changes plans.

Types of Tours Offered

The unique experience each tour provides: the lake overnight is the showpiece; rafting and canoeing are the easy half-days that fill the day before or after. Target audience: mostly backpackers and couples, with the family room making it workable for small families. Details on the overnight format are in our Khao Sok overnight tour guide.

Logistics and Planning for Tours

How to Join a Tour from Chillax Khaosok Hostel

The tour desk's role is simple: it sells you a seat, sets your pickup time and briefs you on what to bring. Steps to join a tour and the necessary preparations:

1. Book a day or two ahead in November–April (the lake's boats and rafts fill); same-day often works in the low season.
2. Confirm the raft or programme name, what's included and whether park fees are extra.
3. Pack a daypack: swimwear, towel, head torch, sandals that grip, a dry bag, cash (฿340 for lake fees plus drinks).
4. Leave your big bag in storage; be ready at reception at the pickup time.

Transportation options include the tour's own minivan (included on lake tours) and the hostel's paid shuttle for airport runs and onward travel. After a lake tour, shared vans from the lake to Surat Thani (about ฿400 on Smiley's list) save a trip back to the village.

Planning Your Travel Itinerary

Tips for integrating a hostel stay with tours: book the first night in the hostel, the second on the lake, and a third back in the village (or straight onward). Your bed isn't needed on the lake night, so don't pay for it twice.

Sample itineraries for different lengths of stay:

• 2 nights: arrive, trail walk and night safari; lake overnight; leave from the lake by van.
• 3 nights: arrive; bamboo rafting; 2-day lake tour; last night back at the hostel.
• 4 nights: add a full-day guided trek or a spare rain day.

Transportation and accommodation coordination: tell the desk your onward plan when you book the lake tour, so they can line up a van from the pier. Arriving? See how to get to Khao Sok National Park.

Exploring Local Attractions

Local Attractions Included in Tours

The key attractions in Khao Sok National Park that hostel tours include:

• Cheow Lan Lake: limestone pillars, the "Guilin" rocks, emerald water, floating bungalows.
• Diamond Cave: a dry cave with stalactites, on many first-day itineraries.
• Nam Talu Cave: a wet river cave (December–May only).
• Bang Hoi Waterfall: the day-two trek on Smiley's tour.
• Sok River: bamboo rafting, canoeing, tubing.
• Ton Kloi trail and waterfalls: the park's main trail from the headquarters.

How tours incorporate them: lake tours string the lake, a cave and a waterfall trek together over two days; river tours stay near the village. For the full list, see what to do in Khao Sok National Park.

Comparing and Evaluating Tours

Comparing Chillax Khaosok Hostel Tours with Others

Tour offerings in southern Thailand range from hostel-desk trips in Khao Sok village to hotel-desk tours from Phuket, Khao Lak and Krabi (the same lake, plus 2–8 hours of driving and a higher price). Within the village, the main hostel and bungalow desks compare like this:

Advantages of choosing Chillax Khaosok Hostel tours: central location, a desk that guests say is genuinely helpful with tours and onward travel, and one place to sort everything. Customer reviews and feedback: staff and location score best (8.2–8.7); some recent reviews complain about cleanliness, mould, hard beds and dorms without curtains. Coco wins on dorm privacy; Smiley wins on running its own lake house; Khao Sok Center Tour publishes the clearest day-tour price.

Cost and Value of Tours

Pricing structure of different tours in the village (per adult, September 2026 listings):

• 2D1N lake tour: ฿2,400–2,800 at hostel desks; one traveller paid ฿2,400 at a Khlong Sok hostel desk, plus the park fee
• 3D2N lake tour: about ฿400–500 more than the 2-day
• Night safari: ฿600–800
• Tubing: ฿300–500; guided canoe around ฿800; bamboo rafting around ฿1,200

Value for money and what is included: the tour price normally covers transfers, boat, raft bed, meals and guide; the ฿300 lake fee and ฿40 pier fee usually aren't included (see the entrance fee page). Special offers or discounts: Chillax doesn't publish tour discounts; ask about low-season rates (May–October), and remember cancellations must be made 7 days ahead for rooms. The honest truth about hostel tours in Khao Sok: most desks resell the same boats and a handful of rafts, so compare the raft name, the group size and the inclusions rather than the logo.

Sources, checked September 2026: Chillax Khaosok Hostel, Chillax on Facebook, Booking.com, Hostelworld, Smiley Bungalows, In Between Travels, Erika's Travel Ventures, Agoda.