Khao Sok to Khao Lak: minivan options (2026)
2 ways to make this trip, from ฿300 one way, and 1h30–2h10 on the quickest, direct. Below: what each costs, who runs it, how often it goes and the pier or station it actually leaves from.
Fares checked 7 September 2026 and quoted as one-way bands per adult. They move with season, fuel and demand — the flight bands move fastest of all.
Our pick for time
Minivan
1h30–2h10 · ฿300–฿600 · Shared minivan operators
Our pick for budget
Minivan
฿300–฿600 · 1h30–2h10 · Shared minivan operators
Same option twice: on this pair the quickest way is also the cheapest, which is rarer than it sounds — it usually means one operator has the route to itself.
All options
| Option | Time | Fare | Operators | How often | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minivan | 1h30–2h10 | ฿300–฿600 | Shared minivan operators | One or two morning departures | Direct |
| Minivan + Minivan | 5h21–8h40 | ฿530–฿1,500 | Phuket Bus and Van Travel, Kanokwan Travel, Andaman Taxi, Shared minivan and airport transfer operators | Several shared departures a day, plus private transfers · Through the day, most timed to Phuket airport arrivals | via Phuket |
Booking notes
Minivan · 1h30–2h10 · ฿300–฿600
The short way in if you're already on the northern Andaman coast. Afternoon departures are scarce — this is a morning leg.
Minivan + Minivan · 5h21–8h40 · ฿530–฿1,500
Khao Sok → Phuket: The bottom of the band is a shared van, the top a private car. Most Khao Sok bookings include the transfer to the lake pier as a separate morning leg — that isn't in this fare.
Phuket → Khao Lak: Khao Lak sits north of Phuket airport, so arriving passengers pass it on the way into Phuket. Book the transfer from the airport rather than from Patong and the leg gets an hour shorter.
Both ends of the trip
Khao Sok
Rainforest national park and the floating raft houses on Cheow Lan lake.
Khao Sok has no weather station of ours; the nearest one we track is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct.
Khao Lak
An hour north of Phuket airport and the departure point for Similan liveaboards.
Khao Lak has no weather station of ours; the nearest one we track is driest Nov–Apr and wettest May–Oct.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get from Khao Sok to Khao Lak?
1h30–2h10 on the quickest option we hold — minivan with Shared minivan operators. The slowest of the 2 options here takes 5h21–8h40, so the spread between them is about 5h11. Times are for the scheduled leg and exclude the transfer at either end.
How much is Khao Sok to Khao Lak?
From ฿300–฿600 one way by minivan, checked 7 September 2026 — and on this pair that is also the quickest way, so there is nothing to trade off. The dearest of the 2 options here runs to ฿530–฿1,500. That band comes from a dated route listing rather than a published tariff, so treat it as indicative.
What else runs between Khao Sok and Khao Lak?
1 other option. The next one after minivan with Shared minivan operators is minivan + minivan with Phuket Bus and Van Travel at ฿530–฿1,500 and 5h21–8h40, changing at Phuket — dearer and slower. All of them are in the table above with their operators and frequency.
Where does the Khao Sok to Khao Lak service leave from, and how often does it run?
The short way in if you're already on the northern Andaman coast. Afternoon departures are scarce — this is a morning leg. One or two morning departures.
Going the other way, or further
The return trip is on the Khao Lak to Khao Sok page — fares are the same in both directions on almost every leg here, but the timetables are not. To string this hop into a longer trip with a pace check, use the route planner, and see the island comparison for which coast is dry in the month you are travelling.
Sources
- 12go.asia route listings (band from what was on sale, not a tariff) — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
- Bookaway Phuket–Khao Sok route listings — aggregator listings, not a published tariff.
Checked 7 September 2026. Every figure on this page is a range, because every one of them moves.
Related guides
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Best of Thailand
https://bestofthailand.org/routes/khao-sok-to-khao-lak
Scan or type the address for opening hours, phone numbers and the map.