I would like to share with you on my recent trip to Khao Yai. Khao Yai is known for its national park which is a UNESCO world heritage. However, I didn't visit the national park but other places in Khao Yai instead.
I did a one day trip from Bangkok to Khao Yai in January. Khao Yai is northeast from Bangkok and is approximately 2.5h drive from Bangkok. Temperature was lower in Khao Yai than Bangkok, about 20+ deg C in the day. I booked a full day taxi service from Taxi Bangkok on Facebook and paid 3800 Baht for the day. If you are keen, you can send them your itinerary and get a quotation. Alternatively, if you drive, you can do a road trip which would be a cheaper option.
Our taxi driver picked us up at our hotel at Bangkok punctually at 7.30am and we began our journey to our first top, GranMonte Vineyard. At about 10am, we reached GranMonte Vineyard and began the tour. There are a few vineyards in Khao Yai and the popular ones are GranMonte and PB Valley. The tour took about 1h and cost 300 Baht and included wine tasting.
Personally, I feel that the wines at GranMonte are not as rich, sweet and favourful as the European or Australian Wines, which could be attributed to the weather at Khao Yai. As the weather in Khao Yai is warmer and not as suitable for grapes cultivation, the grape plants cannot survive as many years as those in Europe or Australia, leading to more expensive wine in GranMonte.
We had lunch at GranMonte and after that we went to Primo Piazza. Primo Piazza is modelled after Tuscany in Italy and the highlight of the visit was feeding of Alpacas and Merino sheep. Entrance fee was 100 Baht.
Next, we went to a sunflower field. Entrance fee was 30 Baht and the entire field was field with sunflowers!
My last stop was The Chocolate Factory, a popular cafe that sells not only chocolates but also other snacks as well. I love the ice chocolate drink there.
We left Khao Yai at 3+pm and reached our hotel in Bangkok at around 6pm. Typically, the full day taxi service will end at around 6pm at Khao Yai, after which you would be taken back to Bangkok.
If you are looking for more than shopping and eating in Bangkok, I would recommend a trip to Khao Yai.
