Visit Thailand's national parks for trekking, boating, swimming and more

  Khao Yai National Park - copyright Cassandra James

For a westerner to visit a Thai national park, it's not as common as you'd expect. Tourists come from all over the world to Thailand but very few ever leave Bangkok or the usual tourist beaches, so visiting Thailand's national parks isn't usual.

A pity really, as they're not only beautiful but there are tons of things to do too - trekking, mountain climbing, biking, white water rafting, horseriding, golf, bird watching and wildlife watching - it's not like you're stuck out in the jungle with nothing to do. Thailand actually has many national parks so if you like nature and a bit of wildlife, why not eschew the beaches and the big cities and head out into the jungle and visit a national park.

Khao Yai National Park - Khao Yai is one of the most famous national parks in Thailand as it's only a 2 hour drive from Bangkok so easy to get to. Khao Yai is the park I just came back from and it really is beautiful. Eco-tourism is popular in Khao Yai so you'll see a lot of wildlife (elephants, tigers, deer, lemurs), and you can enjoy trekking, horseback riding, golfing, fishing, biking and more. Khao Yai also has some excellent resort hotels that are western standard so you don't have to rough it if you want to visit a Thai national park.

An adventure park in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand - copyright Cassandra James

Mu Ko Surin National Park - Mu Ko is a cool national park in Thailand as it consists of five islands, a bunch of rocks and some 'island's that are nothing more than jungle. You can also see the famous sea gypsies here (Thai tribes that live in a village of floating houses out in the water), as well as lots of wildlife. Rent a boat (with boatman) and go out into the middle of the water, drop anchor and take a swim - beautiful. There is also some park accommodation on a couple of the islands (not high-standard, but good enough for a couple of nights), which you'll love if you like a vacation where you're 'roughing it' a bit and with not many people around.

Tarutao National Park - Made up of a group of 51 protected islands in the Andaman Sea, Tarutao National Park is famous for its marine life, especially dolphins, crocodiles and sea turtles. It's mostly famous though for being used for the 2002 'Survivor: Thailand" television show. Ko Tarutao is the biggest island and has some of the loveliest beaches you'll ever see. Swimming and diving here is amazing as the water is so clear and, because it's the site of healthy coral reefs, the fish you'll see are unbelievable.