Khao Yai with kids: two family spots we genuinely loved
A weekend escape from Bangkok with our three-year-old: an organic farm where the animals are genuinely well cared for, and a garden cafe with the best lasagna we have had in a long time.
By May Haas·23 July 2026
Every so often we pack the car, leave Bangkok behind, and point ourselves at Khao Yai. It’s about two and a half hours of driving, and somewhere along the way the air changes and everything turns very, very green. On our last trip we found two places we’d happily drive back for, so I’m writing them down before the details blur.
If you’re planning a weekend escape with little ones, these are the two we keep telling friends about. Neither is a big attraction with a ticket booth and a queue. That’s exactly why they worked for us.
Green Me Organic Farm
This one was such a pleasant surprise. The farm animals looked genuinely well cared for: healthy, calm, and with plenty of space, which is something we always pay attention to. Our son absolutely loved meeting them, and nobody hurried us along.
We easily spent two or three hours just wandering the grounds before lunch at their farm-to-table restaurant, where a lot of what lands on your plate comes straight from the organic farm around you. It’s the kind of lunch where you actually sit for a while.
Green Me is a certified organic working farm in Nong Sarai, just outside Pak Chong. If you want more structure than wandering, they run guided farm tours a few times a day, with a tractor ride, a bit of harvesting, and animal feeding. When we checked, kids under five joined free.
- Where
- Nong Sarai, Pak Chong, on the Khao Yai side of Nakhon Ratchasima
- Hours
- Daily, roughly 8am to 5pm, closed Wednesdays
- Tours
- Rounds at 10am, 1pm and 3pm, around 90 minutes
- Good for
- Meeting the animals, a long slow farm-to-table lunch
Sometimes the best family days aren’t packed with activities. They’re the ones where everyone simply enjoys being outside together.
555 Sunshine
Completely different, but equally special. No farm animals here, just the dreamiest green garden, a peaceful cafe, and honestly one of the best lasagnas and homemade pies we’ve had in a long time. Our son was busy exploring the garden while we slowed down for a proper lunch, and for once nobody was negotiating with anybody.
At heart, 555 Sunshine is a marian plum orchard that happens to have a lovely farm shop and cafe attached, out in Mu Si on the national park side of Khao Yai. The produce is grown to Thailand’s GAP food-safety standard, the menu changes with what the farm has, and they’re relaxed about dogs and slow lunches.
- Where
- Mu Si, Pak Chong, near the Khao Yai National Park side
- Hours
- Roughly 10am to 5pm, closed Wednesdays
- Good for
- The garden, the lasagna and homemade pies, letting everyone slow down
The unhurried version of a family day
Neither of these places hands you an itinerary, and that turned out to be the point. Our son had animals at one and a garden at the other, we had two proper lunches, and nobody spent the drive home overtired and overdone. One practical note: both are closed on Wednesdays, so plan around that.
Back in the city, our weekends look more like toddler weekends in Bangkok, with the occasional rainy day saved by the indoor playgrounds in Bangkok we rotate through. Khao Yai has become the reset button in between.
Have you discovered any hidden gems in Khao Yai? We’d genuinely love to add them to our list. Trips like these are exactly what gets traded in the Travel & Venues group inside The Village, our private WhatsApp community for moms in Thailand. Someone has almost always been there before you, with an opinion on the pie.
Questions moms ask
- Is Khao Yai a good trip from Bangkok with a toddler?
- Khao Yai is about two and a half to three hours by car from Bangkok, so with a toddler it works better as an overnight or weekend trip than a single day. The area around Pak Chong is full of farms, gardens, and cafes where young children can roam without a packed itinerary, which makes the drive feel worth it.
- What is Green Me Organic Farm in Khao Yai?
- Green Me is a certified organic working farm in Nong Sarai, Pak Chong, near Khao Yai. Families can meet and feed the farm animals, join a guided farm tour that includes a tractor ride, and eat at a farm-to-table restaurant cooking with produce grown on site. It is generally open daily from about 8am to 5pm, closed Wednesdays, with tour rounds at 10am, 1pm and 3pm.
- What is 555 Sunshine in Khao Yai?
- A marian plum orchard in Mu Si, Pak Chong, with a farm shop and garden cafe attached. It is known for its large shaded garden, homemade dishes such as lasagna and pies, and produce grown to Thailand GAP food-safety standards. It is generally open from about 10am to 5pm and closed on Wednesdays, and it is pet friendly.
- Which is better for young kids, Green Me Organic Farm or 555 Sunshine?
- They make different days out. Green Me has the farm animals, the tractor tours, and a farm-to-table restaurant, so it easily fills a morning with an animal-loving toddler. 555 Sunshine is the quieter one: a big green garden to explore while the adults have a slow lunch. Many families visiting Khao Yai for a weekend manage both, since they are each in the Pak Chong area.
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