Short answer: YES! No matter if ifs rainy season or peak season the entire experience is 100% worth it. I’ve heard very mixed opinions online, with many comparing it to an underwhelming Ha Long Bay. This is not true, they both simply offer different things, but personally if you’re looking to do one or the other, I would always choose Khao Sok. Here’s why:
No matter the weather, they will always make the absolute most out of a ‘bad’ situation for you
A storm rolled in shorty after we arrived and did not stop until the early hours of the next morning. We initially were gutted because we thought this would mean we would have to miss out on the night safari. When the time to meet came around hardly anyone was there and we were about to give up to head back to the room when the guides started rounding everyone up and onto the boats. Yes, we did get absolutely drenched, but we all had a great time and we still saw a lot of monkeys and some hawks so it was definitely worth it. The next day the weather was a bit better, but to be honest if you’re doing the tour during rainy season, you’ll get fairly soaked during the waterfall hike as it is so the weather doesn’t matter.
Absolutely everything is organised for you
If you book the tour through smiley bungalows like we did, they will arrange everything for you. We were picked up from our accommodation, taken to the tour start point where luggage could be stored if required and at the end of the tour we were taken back to our accommodation. If you were moving on from Khao Sok town after the tour, transport to your next destination could be arranged by them to take you straight from the smiley base. Included in the tour transport is a trip to 7/11 on the way to the National Park for essentials, however water refills were available at the accommodation; coke and Chang beers were also purchasable from the staff and all meals were provided.
Despite being an organised tour you can make it completely your own
Yes, the tour is organised for you but you can do whatever activities you wish once you get there. For example, there are kayaks you can use as and when you like (as long as it’s daylight) and you can swim right out the front of your rooms with floating foam beds a few metres out for tanning or if you really want (they provide a great acrobatics stage!). You also have the choice to join all safaris and the second day excursion, but you don’t have to, they leave it completely up to you. That way you can have an experience that suits you completely.
Depending on the season, there’s always a ‘big’ activity available
When I was booking the trip through smiley bungalows online it only mentions the caving experience in dry season. A lot of the other tours I looked at online said the same and I was slightly disheartened that there wasn’t an activity for rainy season, but this isn’t the case. After a browse on TikTok, I realised there was a waterfall hike in rainy season with smiley bungalows so I immediately signed us up. I don’t know it this is the case with other companies, but I couldn’t find anything online.