The new parks fees, issued by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), were posted on the DNP official Facebook page last Friday (Sept 30).
The post, showing only the new order, evidenced that the new fees were quietly signed into immediate effect on Sept 19 by DNP forestry officer Monchanok Wongwijit, on behalf of DNP Director-General Rachada Suriyakul na Ayutthaya.
The new fees have yet to be announced on the official DNP website.
The latest park entry fee announcement notes only prices for foreigners. Under the order, entry fees for Thai nationals to all national park areas remain unchanged.
The order marked that entry to Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand’s first national park and third largest national park in the country, will cost foreign adults B400 and foreign children B200 each to enter.
In the Gulf of Thailand, national park areas near Koh Samet and the Ang Thong Islands now cost foreigners adults B300 each for entry, and foreign children B150 each.
Entry to the Haad Nopparat Thara Beach - Phi Phi Islands National Park, including areas on Phi Phi Don Island, Phi Phi Lei Island and Bamboo Island (Koh Maipai), will cost foreign adults B400 and foreign children B200.
Under the order, the new entry fees have now been expanded to affect access to national park areas in the Koh Lanta area, including Koh Rok island, Koh Ngai island and Koh Ha Island, as well as the popular dive sites at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. Access to DNP protected areas at these locations will now cost foreign adults B400 and foreign children B200.
The latest announcement for national park entry fees follows the DNP in June announcing a slew of price rises for foreigners entering national park areas.
In the June announcement, which announced the restructuring of parks into categories according to entry fees charged, the Similan Islands National Park and the Surin Island National Park, also both popular destinations for Phuket tourists, were placed into a category of their own.
Foreign adults are now charged B500 each time for entering the park and foreign children charged B250 for each visit. Thai national adults are charged B100 and Thai children B50 each.
To download the full schedule of fees (in Thai), click here.