Phuket Elephant Sanctuary: Experience the Ethical Approach to Elephant Tourism

Experience the ethical approach to elephant tourism at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. Support a sustainable and compassionate environment where elephants roam freely and receive professional care.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Phuket Elephant Sanctuary - Skip the unethical elephant encounters in Phuket and visit a sanctuary where the animals are allowed to live their final years roaming freely without being harmed by tourists. Located on 30 acres of lush, tropical land bordering the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park in North East Phuket, visiting the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary helps support their mission of compassionate and ethical elephant tourism.
What's Included
  • Dinner
What's Not Included
  • Roundtrip Transfers - If option is not selected
Additional Information

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is Phuket’s premier and exclusive ethical elephant sanctuary where elephants can freely wander, bathe, and interact in a 30-acre expanse of lush tropical land adjacent to the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park in Northeast Phuket. We exclusively purchase rescued elephants to ensure that they find their permanent home at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, and we also provide expert veterinary care for elderly and wounded elephants. When you choose to visit us, you advocate for an ethical, sustainable, and compassionate elephant tourism model that respects the elephants’ natural lifestyle. Our ethical stance has received accolades from National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and The Guardian.

Location
Phuket Elephant Sanctuary
Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, 100, Moo 2, Paklok, Phuket, Thailand. If you selected Program Only (No Transfer), please meet us at our office in Paklok. Parking is available.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(189 Ratings)
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Drmoa999
Aug 28, 2024
Educational Tour - Wonderful experience both educational and engaging. A thoughtfully planned tour starting with an explanation of how elephants are currently poorly cared for and the foundation of the sanctuary. The tour begins with a video followed by a tour guide walking you around meeting the various elephants that have been freed through purchase or being sent over to them. They have a range of elephants that are retired from a working (circus, riding or other) life into the sanctuary. From the beginning you are offered a change of footwear into wellies including socks as well as water for the tour. There is food available with a good hot and cold choice along with plenty of drinks. This has been one of our highlights in Phuket and we would highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lyd_loves_22
Aug 25, 2024
If I could give 6 stars I would! - The only elephant or even animal experience that should be available in Phuket!! This is a truly ethical experience and not to be missed. Great transfers from the hotel, free snacks and soft drink before and after, the dinner was absolutely delicious! The elephants are able to roam free with their handler constantly watching over them (they rely on humans due to their life in tourism and logging). The guide was very informative and knew the personal traits of every elephant. We were kept at a respectable distance and did not touch any elephants. There was feeling at the end but the elephants were still free to leave at any time. They have enclosures for overnight when the handlers are off duty but they’re large and there are staff there at all times. They’re also currently building a veterinary hospital to further improve the care to these animals. I cannot fault this at all, it was a perfect day out. Anyone looking for a truly ethical elephant experience should look no further.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zarnie
Aug 24, 2024
A must place to go visit when in Thailand - What a magical experience . The company is well organised and all the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Watching the beautiful bond these animals have with their mahouts is second to none , the elephants know that they are loved and safe here . Being able to see these amazing animals up close and personal in their home is a privilege,especially knowing where they came from . So if you are in Thailand come visit here and please do not visit places where they are trained , abused to entertain the tourists , this practice needs to stop . The food provided here was delicious. Being able to feed and be closer to these majestic animals is one that I will remember forever. Once you are here you don’t want to leave . All the staff here do wonderful work everyday putting these animals first and foremost in everything that they do and for that I couldn’t thank them enough for saving these precious animals and giving them a home for life where they are loved , respected and taken care of. Will definitely go back here next time I’m in Thailand ♥️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
J1627ivrobertc
Aug 17, 2024
Amazing, ethical elephant sanctuary - Very well organised and ethical elephant sanctuary. We had the half day, afternoon, experience and it was fantastic. We walked through the sanctuary observing the elephants at a distance with a guide and then got to feed one of the elephants. They also provided us with a very nice meal at the end. Our hotel was 1.5hours from the sanctuary and at a very reasonable additional cost they arranged transport for us. Glad we went here and supported an ethical cause. Recommended for anyone considering this.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shaariq
Aug 13, 2024
Absolutely amazing - Visiting the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was an emotional journey. It was heartbreaking to learn about the cruel abuse these gentle giants endured in the past, but incredibly heartwarming to witness the loving care they not receive. The sanctuary’s dedication to the elephants is incredible and inspiring. For anyone reading this, please do not go to the elephant camps that involve riding or cleaning the animals, as that is a sign of abuse towards the elephants. This tour is created with the elephants safety and peace of mind first, but you still get to be up close to the elephants and learn about each of them. The tour guides obviously care a great deal, as they know every single detail about each elephant. This is in my opinion a mandatory experience when in Phuket.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emmarodgers
Aug 6, 2024
Perfect afternoon ! - Fantastic opportunity to get close to these magnificent elephants in an ethical way . So glad we did our research and came here , elephants are free to roam , contact with visitors is carefully managed and we could get close without causing them any stress or disturbance . Guides were knowledgable and told the back story of each elephant in their care . Lunch was provided and was excellent . We got to give the elephants their snacks at the end of the day . Would definitely recommend .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X8804wvmelanief
Jul 28, 2024
Really good experience with elephants, we see them close and took many pictures and also feed them lovely experience - This tour was amazing we saw a lot of elephants really happy, we give food to them was a really good experience I recommend and the elephants are really safe and feed well here. Food dinner was good and with a lot of choices.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cjh700
Jul 25, 2024
Such a great place to visit. - We had an amazing time at the elephant sanctuary. So well organised, tour was brilliant. Would highly recommend this place. They do brilliant work.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
646fredf
Aug 27, 2024
Nice elephant sanctuary - Very nice retired elephant sanctuary that seem to be happy and surrounded by nature .. welcoming staff with little care .. fresh towel water bottle during the walk even mosquito repellent is provided .. friendly welcome with enough to snack before the visit and delicious vegetarian meal upon return from the visit. Only downside, when leaving at the end of the day elephants were put back in their enclosures like in a zoo .. is this normal?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sara
Sep 1, 2024
Okay, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. - Overall we had a good day but the timings of the tour did not meet our expectations. I have written this review to provide others with more insight into the day and suggest improvements for the sanctuary to consider. We booked the afternoon tour and it went as follows: - pick up from hotel at 12pm, van was lovely and had aircon. - arrived at office sanctuary at 1pm - waited for transfer to elephants and then arrived at 1:40pm - introduction and safety video 2pm-2:20pm - Headed out onto the canopy and walked through the sanctuary for approximately 1 hour. Our tour guide was very good and provided us with lots of information about the elephants. I had hoped this part of the tour would be a longer and we would get to see more of the sanctuary and spend more time with the elephants. (Considering the tour was advertised as 3.5 hours long!) The elephants seemed to be well cared for which was good to see. - We then fed an elephant which had alot of people lining up to fed. This wasn't as good as I had hoped and I'm not sure why a second elephant wasn't brought up for feeding. - A buffet was served at 4pm and we headed back to the office at 4:30pm. The buffet had a range of options to chose from. Overall, we had a good day but wouldn't go back a second time. For the cost of the tour I had hoped that it would be outstanding as we had previously visited Samui Elephant Sanctuary - Chawengnoi which charged a similar fee, but in my opinion Samui was much much better.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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September 2024
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