When you work so hard for so long, the best thing is to take a break and relax – even better, relax among nature. Escaping the city life and exploring the beauty of nature. So, we are heading to Surat Thani, the southern province of Thailand with lots of interesting destinations. Packing your stuff for 3 days and 2 nights and just a couple of thousands of baht is enough. Take a cheap flight and let’s go!

Travelling from Bangkok – Surat Thani

There’re many ways to travel to Surat Thani from Bangkok. You can take a train, a bus or a plane. This time we decided to buy a ticket and book a cheap flight via Traveloka. As the price is not that different from other vehicles and it takes only about 1 hour. We also got the best price of the ticket from the function Price Alerts, a special function that will notify you about the price from each airline. So, you don’t have to compare the price manually by yourself but just let Traveloka serves you. Go into the app and fill in your destination, date and time – then just wait for the notification and book the flight.

When we arrived at Surat Thani airport, we then headed to Seree Tae Tiam dim sum restaurant. Try the best dim sum dishes of this town. With different kinds of bun and dumpling – eat them hot and fresh! Also fried bun, congee and buk kut the. This place has been running for many years and is well-known to both locals and tourists. So if you are looking for a breakfast place, go to this shop and you won’t regret it!

After we were full with a good breakfast, then the next stop is Ratchaprapha Dam (Cheow Lan Dam). Go for a walk and take a photo before we boarded a boat and head to the hotel. This is a good spot to watch the view, you can see the water in the dam – like a big lake.

Now we went to a place to stay for a night called ‘Nang Prai Raft House’ because the price here is cheap and it delivers the best view, surrounded by mountains, near the famous 3 mountains in the middle of the water.

During the trip to the raft house, we spotted many mountains and lime stones. Inhale the fresh air and touch the cool breeze.

Pack your belongings in your house and hop on a boat to the landmark that you can take a picture of SamKlur mountain which are three lime stones. Another highlight of this dam.

After enough photos, they would take us to Pra Kie Phet Cave to see strange shapes of stalagmites and stalactites in the cave. The landmark of this 100-meters cavern is the walls of the cave that are sparkling like diamond – especially when you light a flashlight.

Now it’s free time! We headed back to the raft house and you can go kayaking, feeding the fish or just swimming in the water is enough. Jump in the water and feel refreshed.

It’s such a good feeling, spending time with yourself or with your loved ones. Surrounded by the mountains, the trees and the peacefulness of emerald water.

In the evening, the raft house prepared dinner for us. A delicious Thai cuisine such as fried fish, stir fried vegetables and omelette – a simple and contented life. After a long day, we slept like a log but ready for the adventure tomorrow.

Day 2 in Surat Thani, eating breakfast and packing our stuff because we will go back to the mainland. But before moving to Khao Sok, we made a quick stop to feed the school of Tinfoil barb, swimming happily in the water.

Now we headed to the pier of the mainland, but we still had time before we went to the hotel. So instead, we went to the Khao Phang Suspension Bridge with a background of heart shaped mountains. One of the attractions in Surat Thani, situated along the river. Walk along the bridge with excitement and breath in fresh air from the forests. You can also watch the sunrise or sun set from this bridge.

After walking and taking pictures for a while, it’s lunch time already. We then drove to Kieng Khlong Khieun Chiew Larn Restaurant to have a delicious meal today. The place is not very far from the suspension bridge. It serves local foods at an affordable price, especially fish dishes that are freshly from the dam. So, order some fried fish or fish soup (freshness guaranteed!)

We ordered 3 dishes and ate them with hot fluffy rice. After our stomachs were full, we went to Nam Rad Forest Headwaters. Another attraction that gains attention from many tourists. As this place is famous for the clean and clear headwaters

After about an hour of travelling, we were at the destination. Looking at the water and realized that it is crystal clear like in the photos. There were a lot of people swimming and relaxing in the water. The place is surrounded by trees and forests, just being here will make you feel refreshed.

If you don’t want to dive all the way in, there is a place that you can sit and put down only your feet in. Relax with nature and feel the breeze in the air, letting you forget all the burden.

When we felt relaxed enough, we went to the camp called ‘Khaosok Boutique Camps’ that we booked for a night. The accommodation is good and the price is only around 1,000 baht.

We arrived at the place in the evening so we decided to rest up and get ready for the last day, a sight-seeing trip in Surat Thani.

We started our last day with breakfast prepared by the camp. Then got ready for checking out and went to Bridge Hill Café, not very far from the place.

This chic and cool café with an amazing view is surrounded by mountains and green forests. Freshen up yourself with cold beverages and take good shots as memorable photos. The place serves different beverages with 80-85 Baht with various bakeries and cakes for you to choose.

Also, there’s many spots in this café where you can take good photos! Prepare your camera and post like a model. The view, the taste of beverages and desserts and the environment will make you fall in love with the place.

After we fueled our stomachs, we went to Wat Tham Wararam or Wat Tham Pla for short. There is a cave in the temple about 100 meters located under the mountain. They have found some historical relics and evidence from ancient times but now they have turned the place into displaying Buddha statues.

Another attraction that we will go to next is one of the most important temples in Surat Thani – Wat Phra Borommathat Chaiya. The sacred place that contains and keep the Buddha's relics

The architecture of this temple is Sri Vichai style, which makes the pagoda stunning and beautiful. This tranquillity temple will give you the peacefulness in your heart and soul.

Now it’s time to go back to reality, we drove to Surat Thani Airport to return our rental car. This trip we went everywhere with the car that we booked beforehand with Traveloka. Just book the car by using the application – easy to use, easy to book with an affordable price! If you are interested, go check >> https://www.traveloka.com/en-en/car-rental

After we returned the car with the officer, we went to check-in with the airline, walk through the gate and take a cheap flight back to live our life.

And that is the city-plus-nature trip in Surat Thani for 3 days and 2 nights. We went to almost every important place. Especially relaxing among the mountains and beautiful nature. Doing a ‘slow-life’ lifestyle without worrying about city life. Surat Thani is another city that is full of interesting things like Phuket or Krabi. Try going there once and you will not forget the experience!