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Arriving by public transport is also possible, but will incur some expense. From Bangkok take a bus to Petchaburi from the Southern bus terminal. From Petchaburi one must charter a songtaew to the National Park which should cost in the region of 600 baht one way. Finding a songtaew will take a little effort but walking around the bus station asking to go to Kaeng Krachan National Park should get the right response. Taxis/songtaews for charter also wait at the town clock tower and the Petchaburi Rama theatre. If communication is a problem show the songtaew drivers the Thai script for the park: Kaeng Krachan National Park Thai Script.

At park HQ, or the park gate, permits and entrance fees can be sorted out and at weekends there are drivers who offer a taxi service up and down the mountain and I'm sure the staff at HQ can contact some of them during the week. These drivers charge 1200 baht from HQ to Bang Krang campsite and back or 1800 baht from HQ to the campsite at Km 30 and back (2004 prices). If this is not possible continue with your songtaew charter to the campsite (it will cost extra though).

For those wishing to head to the campsite at Km 30 (Panoen Tung) timing is important. From Bang Krang campsite the road is narrow and in poor repair and certain times are allotted for ascent and descent. Times for going up are 5.30-7.30 am and 1-3 pm. Times for going down are 9-10 am and 4-5 pm. These times are important for those with limited time. Driving up the road to Panoen Tung is best done in a vehicle with good ground clearance, not a standard saloon car. Whilst the state of the road does vary from time to time and one may read in some trip reports that driving to the top in a saloon car was possible, it is best to assume that the road will be fairly poor quality and loose stones on corners in particular can make it difficult to get enough traction. Even the dirt road to Ban Krang can be quite rutted and a car with good ground clearance is advisable, whilst attempting to cross the streams past Bang Krang campsite should be done with caution even in vehicles with good ground clearance as the entry and exits from the fords are quite steep - quite a number of visitors have ripped parts of their cars' bodywork off at these streams.

For those driving in and out of the park every day the gate opens at 5.30am and closes at 7pm, although it is advisable to be out before that due to the potential danger of elephants on the road.

Such is the quality of the habitat at Kaeng Krachan that a large number of interesting birds will be seen anywhere in the park, however, there are few special locations for a few particular species.

Ratchet-tailed Treepie can only be seen at the highest altitudes and has often been spotted near the Royal Lodge a short walk from Panoen Tung campsite, close to the restaurant at Panoen Tung and in the vicinity of Km 27 to Km 29. It has also been seen at Km 24.

Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Pittas and Partridges are most often found in the gullies and clearings in the forest within a few kilometres of Ban Krang campsite and the streams in this vicinity are a good place to search for some of the rarer Kingfishers. All these species are really hard to find and on a short visit one would do well to see more than 1 of these species.

It is worth noting that the majority of the birding is from the road and at weekends constant traffic can make birdwatching quite unpleasant, dusty and difficult. The park is to be completely avoided on public holidays.

Access Road: This road passes through open-country at first and then enters disturbed forest which is worth spending some time in for the more common birds. In the early morning there is usually a lot of bird activity along this road and it offers a good opportunity to see Thick-billed Pigeon, Black-naped Oriole, Greater Flameback, Greater Yellownape, Hill Myna and Golden-crested Myna. Black-thighed Falconets can often be found at a couple of points along this road - look out for them nesting in old woodpecker holes. Fruiting trees along here are home to various Barbets, Oriental Pied and Great Hornbills, Black-and-red Broadbill to mention but a few and when a tree which is bearing fruit is found it is worth waiting some time to see what turns up.

Headquarters: Although this is not the main reason to visit Kaeng Krachan, a decent number of wetland and open-country species can be seen around headquarters and it is worth exploring a little if waiting for transport up the mountain or there has been some other delay. Egrets, Pond Herons and Pipits can all be seen here and colourful birds such as Indian Roller and White-throated Kingfisher are typical residents. Black-collared Starling hangs around here too and is quite a handsome character.

The stretch of forest approaching stream 1 up to and beyond stream 3 is very productive for Broadbills in the breeding season with Silver-breasted being common and Banded, Dusky and Black-and-yellow Broadbills all quite findable by their calls. Orange-breasted Trogon is a beautiful and exciting species which is fairly common along here and birds such as Rufous-fronted Babbler, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Chestnut-breasted Malkoha are nice additions to the day list.

White-fronted Scops Owl: Kaeng Krachan is one of the few places where birdwatchers have a chance of seeing this species. Reportedly, it can be heard uttering its strange drumming call near to the river crossings Km 16.5 and Km 16.9 within walking distance of Ban Krang campsite, starting shortly before dark. The location for finding these owls is illustrated below. More information on this species is available here: White-fronted Scops Owl at Kaeng Krachan, 15-19th February 2007. Those wishing to find the owl must stay at Ban Krang campsite as one cannot exit the park after dark due to the danger of elephants on the road. In fact local birders and park rangers state that it is foolish to go looking for this bird because of roaming elephants and I have to say that whilst they may overstate the potential danger I believe it is just a matter of time before one unfortunate birder hunting for White-fronted Scops Owl gets crushed by an elephant in the dark. If you wish to look for this bird it is probably better to drive up the road in the light and stay out until dark, staying close to the car.

Panoen Tung Campsite: Some magnificent views over the forest from this altitude and lots of birds too. Ratchet-tailed Treepie is the star bird here but plenty of others are here. Great Barbet is fairly easily seen calling noisily from treetops and plenty of other interesting birds can be found such as the attractive White-hooded Babbler, Grey Treepie, White-browed Shrike-babbler, Dark-sided Flycatcher and Orange-bellied Leafbird. There are a couple of trails up here that are rarely explored by birders, so there is plenty for visitors to discover and a couple of days at this altitude would be well-spent if time allows.

The restaurant here has a nice view over the forest at the back of the shop and sitting here whilst having lunch can provide views of White-browed Scimitar-babbler, Vernal hanging Parrot and perhaps Crimson-winged Woodpecker.

The road continues past the campsite for a few kilometres to a trail to TorTip waterfall. The trail goes through some nice forest where Pin-tailed Parrotfinch, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Banded Kingfisher, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Banded Bay Cuckoo and Grey-headed Fish Eagle have all been seen by a few lucky birders.

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