The drive out west
Private minivans from Bangkok into Kanchanaburi, with a leg-stretch at the Bridge over the River Kwai before the road climbs on towards the lake.
Khao Laem Lake · Kanchanaburi, Thailand
A raft house that unties and takes you with it.
Six hours west of Bangkok, the Khwae Noi river backs up behind a dam into a lake 55 kilometres long, most of it inside a national park. You spend two nights on a wooden raft moored out on that water. On the second day the whole raft is towed north to a Mon village, and then towed back again.
A Go Beyond signature journey · 3 days, 2 nights · Bangkok to Bangkok
The signature journey
The plainer raft on the same enormous lake.
This is the straightforward version of a night on Khao Laem. A simple private room, a wide wooden deck, cold drinks and Thai snacks within reach, and a lake you can jump straight into. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in movement: over three days the raft covers more of the national park than most visitors ever see.
- 3 days
- Bangkok · Kanchanaburi · Khao Laem
- 2 nights
- aboard Phayom Raft House
- Up to 15
- in private rooms
- ~6 hrs
- from Bangkok by minivan
Khao Laem National Park
A lake with room to get lost in.
Khao Laem is what happened when the Vajiralongkorn dam closed and the Khwae Noi valley filled up. The water rose into every side valley it could find, which is why the shape of it is all fingers, bays and drowned ridgelines rather than anything you could call a lakeshore. Most of it sits inside Khao Laem National Park.
The far end reaches almost to the Myanmar border at Sangkhla Buri, more than fifty kilometres from the dam wall. Very little of that is built on. You swim off the deck, paddle a kayak into a bay nobody is using, and hear an outboard maybe twice a day.
Three days on the water
What the three days actually hold.
Board and cast off
Check in at Phayom Raft House on the shore, take a welcome drink, and then the raft unties and moves about an hour downriver to where you sleep.
Straight off the deck
Swim whenever you feel like it. Kayaks are there to take out on your own, and the karaoke works, which on a raft in the middle of a national park turns out to be the correct decision.
Towed to Bo Aung
Day two moves the whole raft two and a half hours north through the park to Bo Aung, with time ashore in the village and at the Phra That Bo Ong pagoda.
Lunch on the water
A boat runs you across to Malai Raft, a floating restaurant, for lunch at your own expense before the raft is towed back to its mooring.
Mon sweets, if you want
Back at the mooring there is an optional hands-on session making thong yo, a Mon sweet. Skipping it in favour of the deck is also a valid plan.
Day by day
How the three days run.
- 1
Day 1
Bangkok to the mooring
An early breakfast, then private minivans west out of Bangkok towards Kanchanaburi and the Myanmar border. It is about six hours, broken by a stop at the Bridge over the River Kwai. You reach Phayom Raft House on the shore of Khao Laem in the early afternoon, drop your bags in your room and step aboard with a welcome drink. Then the raft casts off and rafts gently downriver for an hour to the overnight mooring. The rest of the day belongs to you: swim off the deck, take a kayak out, sing something regrettable, or sit and watch the light move on the water. Dinner is served on the deck once the lake has gone quiet.
- Bangkok → Khao Laem by private minivan
- Stop at the Bridge over the River Kwai
- Phayom Raft House, private room
- Dinner on the deck
- 2
Day 2
North to Bo Aung and back
Breakfast comes out as the mist lifts: rice porridge with a fried egg and sausage, coffee, milk and fruit juice. Then the raft is towed onward towards Bo Aung village, two and a half slow hours through the middle of the national park. You get roughly two hours ashore for the village and the Phra That Bo Ong pagoda, which is the part of the trip where Mon culture stops being a line in an itinerary. Around midday a boat carries you over to Malai Raft, a floating restaurant, for lunch at your own expense. Early afternoon the raft is towed back to its mooring, an hour or so. From there you can join an optional cooking session making thong yo, a Mon sweet, or take a kayak out, or do very little. Dinner on the deck again as the sun goes behind the hills.
- Towed 2.5 hrs north through the park
- Bo Aung village & Phra That Bo Ong pagoda
- Lunch at Malai Raft, at your own expense
- Optional thong yo cooking session
- 3
Day 3
A last morning, then Bangkok
One more quiet morning on the water after breakfast, then the raft is towed back to shore while you gather your things and settle anything you owe. At the pier a minivan is waiting for the run back to Bangkok, dropping you at your hotel, the train station or the airport in the late afternoon.
- Breakfast on the raft
- Towed back to the pier
- Khao Laem → Bangkok by private minivan
- Hotel, station or airport drop-off
Where this is
Fifty-five kilometres of lake, and you are on it.
Khao Laem runs north from the Vajiralongkorn dam almost to the Myanmar border at Sangkhla Buri. You join it near the southern end, sleep out on the water, and on day two get towed north into the park. The outline below is the real shape of the reservoir.
- The raft
- Nights one and two, roughly here
- Day 2 tow
- 2.5 hrs north to Bo Aung
- Vajiralongkorn dam
- The wall that made the lake
- Sangkhla Buri
- The far end, near Myanmar
- Thong Pha Phum
- The last town on the drive in
On the map
The raft Nights one and two, roughly here Day 2 tow 2.5 hrs north to Bo Aung Sangkhla Buri The far end, near Myanmar Vajiralongkorn dam The wall that made the lake From Bangkok ~6 hrs by road, via Kanchanaburi 
“The raft unties, moves for an hour, and stops somewhere with no road to it. That is the whole idea.”
Press play
The film is still to come.
We have not filmed this raft yet. The photographs on this page are the real thing, shot on the raft you would be sleeping on.
No film for this one yet.
We are shooting it on an upcoming departure. Ask for your dates and we will send it over as soon as it is cut.
The raft, unedited
Exactly what you get.
Private rooms, a big open deck and a galley. Photographed on an inspection visit rather than a shoot, which is the point.
What’s included
What the price covers.
- Two nights aboard Phayom Raft House on Khao Laem Lake, in a private room
- Two breakfasts and two dinners, served on the deck
- Drinking water, soft drinks, local herbal drinks and ice throughout your stay
- Thai snacks on board: crispy rolled wafers, rice crackers and fried banana chips
- Private minivan transfers, Bangkok to the lake and back again
- All rafting and towing on the lake, including the day-two run to Bo Aung
- Kayaks, free to take out on your own
Good to know
Where the trade-offs are.
- Day-two lunch at Malai Raft is at your own expense, so bring cash for it
- Swimsuit and a quick-dry towel, because the lake is the main activity
- Kayaks are unaccompanied, so you are responsible for yourselves on the water
- A dry bag for phones and cameras on the boat transfers
- Anything you take daily, plus a torch: you are a long way from a pharmacy
Who it’s for
Best for groups of friends and families who want the lake more than they want a mini-bar, and who are happy on a simple mattress in a plain room if the view out the window is a national park. Up to 15 of you fit aboard. If you would rather have a private bathroom and a balcony, ask us about the Floating Lake House instead, same lake, more comfort.
Before you ask
Good questions, honest answers.
Anything we haven’t covered? Ask in the booking form. A real human from the Go Beyond team replies within 48 hours.
How basic is the raft, really?
It is a wooden raft house with private rooms opening onto a big open deck. Rooms are plain: a double or a couple of twin mattresses on a low platform, a window onto the water, a fan. The deck is where everyone actually spends the day, with a long table, chairs and a couple of hanging seats. Power and washing are simpler than a hotel. That is the trade for waking up moored in the middle of a national park.
How is this different from the Floating Lake House?
Same lake, different raft. The Lake House is the more comfortable one: rooms with private bathrooms and balconies, and a Thai cooking demonstration with lunch included. The Lake Raft is plainer and cheaper, and it travels further. Day two tows you two and a half hours north through the national park to Bo Aung village and the Phra That Bo Ong pagoda, which the Lake House itinerary does not include. Ask and we will send you both so you can compare them side by side.
Are all the meals included?
Two breakfasts and two dinners are included and served on the deck, along with drinking water, soft drinks, herbal drinks, ice and Thai snacks for the whole stay. The one meal that is not included is lunch on day two, which you eat at Malai Raft, a floating restaurant, and pay for there. Bring cash.
How many of us fit, and how are the rooms arranged?
Up to 15 people, across private rooms with a mix of double and twin mattresses. Groups usually take the raft as a whole, which is what makes it work. Tell us your numbers and who is sharing with whom and we will set the rooms up around that.
Can we swim and kayak?
Yes, and it is the best part. You can go in straight off the deck whenever you like, and the kayaks are free to take out. They are unaccompanied, so everyone looks after themselves on the water and children need to be confident swimmers and supervised.
When can we go, and how do we book?
The programme is available through 31 October 2027. Send your preferred dates and group size with the form below. There is no payment at this stage: we come back within 48 hours with availability and a quote.
Ready when you are
Request your Khao Laem dates.
Tell us your group and your dates. We’ll come back within 48 hours with availability, a quote and everything you need to know before you go.
Rates
Coming soon
Request dates for a quote · available through 31 October 2027