If you want to see a side of Thailand that foreign visitors almost entirely miss, Chanthaburi is a very good place to start — and Phlio Waterfall (น้ำตกพลิ้ว) is the easiest introduction to it.
Set inside Namtok Phlio National Park, it’s a wide, gentle waterfall in thick jungle, with a clear pool below full of hundreds of soft-shelled turtles and fish. It is not the most dramatic waterfall in Thailand. It might be the most pleasant.
Why it works
It’s easy for everyone. A flat, shaded, paved path of about a kilometre runs from the entrance to the falls — genuinely suitable for young children, older visitors and anyone who doesn’t want to scramble over wet limestone. Very few Thai waterfalls can say that.
The pool is the point. The lower pool is safe, cool and clear, and swimming there among the turtles is a strange and lovely experience. A bag of vegetables from the entrance (฿20) brings the fish in a swarm — a local tradition and reliably the highlight for children.
There’s a pyramid in the jungle. A stone chedi built by King Rama V in 1876 in memory of his queen, who drowned in a boating accident and had loved this place. A small temple stands beside it. It’s an unexpected, quiet, rather moving corner.
Chanthaburi town — the real surprise
Half an hour away, and the reason to make this an overnight rather than a day trip.
The riverside old community is a preserved street of French-colonial and Sino-Portuguese shophouses along the Chanthaburi river, from the period when this area was under French occupation. Cafés, small museums, and an atmosphere you won’t find elsewhere in Thailand.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the largest Catholic church in the country — Gothic, gently improbable, and built by Vietnamese Catholic refugees in the 19th century.
The gem market runs at weekends on Si Chan Road, and it is not a tourist attraction. Thailand’s ruby and sapphire trade still happens here, with dealers examining stones on white paper at café tables and cash changing hands in the street. You can watch, and nobody minds.
The fruit. Chanthaburi is Thailand’s durian capital, and in May and June the whole province smells of it. Mangosteen, rambutan and longkong all come in at the same time, and the orchards run buffets where you pay a flat fee and eat as much as you can.
Practical notes
- Bring cash — ฿100 park entry for foreign adults, and the food stalls are cash only.
- Water shoes if you have them; the rocks by the pool are slippery.
- Food stalls near the entrance thin out in the afternoon. A picnic is a good idea.
- Weekends are busier with Thai families, which is arguably when the place is at its best.
Where it fits
Phlio sits naturally on an eastern seaboard route: Bangkok → Pattaya → Rayong → Chanthaburi → Trat → Koh Chang. That week sees almost no foreign visitors and is one of the more rewarding things you can do with a car in Thailand.
Make it easy
Chanthaburi rewards exploring at your own pace, and public transport here is slow and awkward. We arrange a private van and English-speaking driver from Bangkok or Pattaya, plan the route, and get you to the falls before the afternoon.
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