Private Tour | Birdwatching tours in Kaeng Krachan
Why?
Simply because Kaeng Krachan is not only one of the best birding destinations in Thailand, but in whole mainland Southeast Asia. A combination of altitudes ranging up to 1,500 meters asl and various forest habitats makes this park attractive for around 480 recorded bird species and also for birders. Ratchet-tailed treepie, plain-pouched hornbill, black-and-red broadbill, red-bearded bee-eater, white-fronted scops owl are few of many many rare birds found in Kaeng Krachan National Park.
What?
Birdwatching tours are private and guided by expert birding guides only, the itineraries are flexible. Depending on what type of bird species you are after and length of your stay, our guide will focus on your preferences and take you to various forest habitats on different altitudes. If you don't have any specific preferences, our guide will come up with suggestions and guide you accordingly.
The tour normally starts in early hours around 6 am and continues until the darkness falls, we also offer multi-day trips on request.
Where & when?
Kaeng Krachan National Park lies about 3 hours from Bangkok and 1.5 hours from Hua Hin. Our tours start from Kaeng Krachan town, easily accessible by public shuttle minivans from Bangkok Victory Monument. We also offer private transfers from Bangkok or elsewhere on request.
The birdwatching possibilities in Kaeng Krachan National Park are good all year round. The peak season is from early March when the annual bird migration to the park starts and continues until June/July.
Kaeng Krachan National Park is closed from August to October every year, so our tours are available only from November to July.
Tour details in short:
- Type: Private tour
- Price: 2,000 - 7,200 Baht per person
- Group size: 1 or more people
- Grade: Moderate
- Transport: Safari vehicle
- Start: 6 am
- End: 6 - 7 pm
What to bring:
- Long trousers
- Sweater or light jacket
- Rain clothing
- Hiking or sport shoes
- Flashlight
- Binoculars
- Photo camera
- Insect repellent
- Sunblock lotion
- Hat or cap
How much?
Our birdwatching trips are private tours, the rates listed below are per day, it is possible to book a multi-day trip. Accommodation is not included in the price, please ask us about the hotel options near the park.
| Pax | Rate per person |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7,200 THB |
| 2 | 3,800 THB |
| 3 | 3,200 THB |
| 4 | 2,700 THB |
| 5 | 2,400 THB |
| 6 | 2,250 THB |
| 7 | 2,100 THB |
| 8 | 2,000 THB |
Tour rates include:
- Entrance fees
- English speaking expert birding guide
- Transportation
- Lunch
- Drinking water
- Leech protection socks
Reviews from our guests
By: T Shen | posted Tue 16 Jul, 2024
We had a wonderful 3 days of birding in and around Kaeng Krachan National Park. The booking was easy and Tan was responsive. Our guide, Mong, worked tirelessly with our list to find as many lifers as we could. The driver turned out to be very bird-savvy as well and was responsible for locating a number of birds for us. The open truck and the deliciously bumpy ride to the mountain, complete with Malayan Sun bears, gibbons and snakes, reminded us of an African safari. Overall, a very enjoyable and fruitful trip.
By: Kamonmas Samutratanakul | posted Mon 29 Apr, 2024
Our experience was exceptional in every way. Our assigned guide was Khun Mong, and as a couple of beginner birders, it was brilliant to see him work, and he was very accommodating to our level of experience and wishlist of birds. He's extremely knowledgeable about all types of birds, as well as mammals and reptiles in the national park; without him, we wouldn't have seen so many interesting species and behaviors so clearly!
We had a full day of spotting birds across the national park, with a total of 58 bird species, as well as gibbons, langurs, and a python. Our wonderful driver, Khun Panom, also helped spot many cool species on the drive.
Overall, our guide and driver were very professional, considerate, and friendly, super accommodating to our every need and so knowledgeable. It was worth every Baht spent, and we hope to do another tour here in the future. Thank you to Khun Mong and Khun Panom for the great experience!
By: Samuel Hazelton | posted Wed 31 Jan, 2024
We had a great time and saw lots of birds and wildlife. Our guide, Mont, was a real pro. Would definitely recommend and do it again.
By: Jeffrey Sigworth | posted Fri 22 Dec, 2023
We had a good day with our guide. He picked us up on time, had plenty of water and took care of the payment promptly. While he was great with the medium to larger birds, we were disappointed when he told us that small birds weren’t his thing. So, multiple locations with small birds we tended to just bypass. He also indicated that he wasn’t having a great day. Not exactly what you want to hear when it is going to be your only day in the park. We realize everyone has off days, it’s just tough when you have paid quite a bit for your guides “off day”. The lunch was great and the driver very good.
By the end of the day after getting to the entrance and then doubling back to the campground to look around, we were done and were convinced we were not going to see any evening birds. So we told him just to take us back.
Sadly, we should have used the guides at our lodge. They were more reasonably priced and after hearing the services they received at the end of the day, we were a bit disappointed. While we did see 60 birds, many of those we spotted prior to the guide. Overall, we were happy with the day but not terribly excited about the experience for the price we paid.
> Tour operator's response
Dear Jeffrey,
Thank you for your feedback.
I'm sorry to hear that the experience didn't meet up with your expectations.
Our guide may not be a world-class expert birding guide, but he definitely knows a lot about birds. He may have been modest or perhaps I should say honest that identifying e.g., warblers in the field is extremely difficult. Getting clear views is hard enough, and even when you get a clear view, the minute differences between the various species are often very hard to distinguish depending on light conditions etc.
Still, about a third of the roughly 60 species seen on that day were small birds that he may have said that weren't his thing. So perhaps there are some complicated groups, but he can certainly identify a large number of small birds too.
Of course I can't guarantee that you would have seen any nocturnal species if you had decided to continue, but from experience I wouldn't be convinced that you would not see any. But of course it's fine that you decided to finish the trip earlier. It's a long day in the field after all.
With the exception of one, the guides at the lodge you stayed at don't really speak English. For the English speaking guide the rate is not at all that different, but it may appear less because it doesn't include entrance fees, lunch and a separate driver as we have provided for your trip. I can't comment if it would have been much better or not, but at least it's not completely a fair comparison to say it is much more reasonably priced. Also, compared to other birding tours on offer, our rates are not at all that high. But I do understand our all-inclusive private tours are not low budget either. And it's a shame that we didn't manage to set the right expectations for you. We will try to improve on this in the future.
We wish you a pleasant holiday and lots more birds for the remainder of your stay in Thailand.
By: Stacey Peckins | posted Mon 27 Nov, 2023
The guide was exceptional. He was knowledgeable and very considerate. He knew the park and all its animals. Would highly recommend the tour!
By: YICHIA TSENG | posted Thu 2 Nov, 2023
I would like to know the bird guide's name.
If next time we want to go again,can we order the same bird guide??
> Tour operator's response
Your guide's name is mr. Mong.
You are of course very welcome to book again in the future, and as long as you book far enough in advance, it should be possible to get the same guide as long as he is available.
Thanks in advance!
By: Li-Hsin Yen | posted Tue 8 Aug, 2023
We had a wonderful day in KKC NP. Thanks for our great guide Bank. He is the best guide I have ever met. Even though the tour is a "birdwatching tour," we observed not only many bird species but also mammals and reptiles. The tour was relaxing and full of fun. It was like going nature observing with a good friend. We are really glad to have such a good experience and will definitely recommend the tours to our friends who want to visit NPs in Thailand. Thank you for giving us such a great journey, hope we can visit your beautiful nature again soon.
By: celeste | posted Thu 1 Jul, 2021
It was our first birdwatching experience and enjoyed it very much. The guide was very knowledgeable and attentive to our needs and safety. He put a lot of effort in finding birds and explaining things to us. The food was good and the Park is fantastic and well cared (no rubbish, respect for wildlife etc.).
