This weekend Chad and I decided to drive up to Khao Yai to visit Khao Yai National Park and explore the surrounding area.
Khao Yai National Park is Thailand’s first national park, established in 1961. It is located approximately 2-3 hours northeast of Bangkok (the length of the trip varying greatly with traffic). Khao Yai is located in Nakhon Ratchasima Province and is part of the Sankamphaeng Mountain Range, forming the southwestern boundary of the Khorat Plateau. Khao Yai is known for its waterfalls and wildlife. Unfortunately, Thailand is currently suffering from a drought and so the waterfalls were not as magnificent as they otherwise would have been. Major wildlife found in the park includes wild asian elephants, gibbons, gaur (an animal similar to a water buffalo) and different types of deer. Heo Suwat waterwall was supposedly featured in the move “The Beach.” Neither Chad nor I have seen “The Beach” –so we cannot verify that.
This is the first time we have attempted driving in Bangkok. We rented a Toyota Hilux from a “rental company” down the street. We opted to rent a car this time vice taking public transportation because: 1. we thought having a vehicle would help us get around the national park quicker, and 2. we did not want to rely on joining a tour group in order to get around since we did not believe they would provide adequate time at each location (we are slow hikers with three kids in tow). The car rental cost 100 baht a day (30 USD). It does not take much to rent a car in Thailand–you only need a drivers license and your passport (with visa). Driving in Thailand was about as awful as we thought it would be (traffic far worse than DC) but it was nice to have the flexibility of a car and the safety of car seats!
There are two major entrances to the park: the northern and southern entrances. We stayed at a nice resort near the northern entrance in Pakchong. There is cheaper lodging and camp sites located within the park. We were not able to take advantage of some of the cheaper local or park options because we are traveling with an infant. The campsites looked well maintained and seemed like they would be very manageable for young travelers. You can reserve campsites on the main park website: www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/nationalparks
One thing to keep in mind when traveling to Khao Yai… bring the mosquito spray! This was the first trip where mosquitoes were really an issue for us.
We loved Khao Yai, despite the fact that we did not spot any wild elephants (although we saw many signs that they were there….)
Will Travel with Toddlers 
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