A Morning With The Elephants At Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

We had an incredible morning at the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary! Knowing that the ticket money goes directly toward rescuing these magnificent animals and giving them their forever home makes supporting them so worthwhile. Everything about the logistics was seamless. The hotel pick-up and drop-off went smoothly, and our driver made sure we arrived right on time and was ready when the tour concluded. The tour itself was deeply moving and well-organized: Education & Compassion: We started with a brief, fascinating history of the sanctuary. While it was sad to learn how "working" elephants are historically trained, it made seeing them finally safe and free all the more powerful. The staff is exceptionally knowledgeable, friendly, and truly cares about the elephants' safety and well-being. The Walking Tour: The facility is extremely well-kept, with very clean restrooms. The catwalks and paths were wide, mostly flat, and easy to navigate. We loved how close we got to the elephants, and because the groups were small, we could easily ask our guide lots of questions. Our guide knew the age, social history, and funny stories of each elephant! (Note: There is strictly no touching or riding, which we deeply respect.) Thoughtful Touches: The team went above and beyond to keep us comfortable. They provided umbrellas for sun protection, handed out cold towels halfway through the walk, and offered cold beverages and snacks both before and after the tour. Lunch: The vegetarian buffet at the end of the tour (honoring the elephants' diet!) was absolutely delicious. If you are looking for an ethical, respectful way to experience elephants in Phuket, this is the place. We left with memories that will last a lifetime!

You have to go! Such a beautiful place where elephants go to retire after many years of working in logging or the tourist industry and so well looked after now in peace

Such a beautiful sanctuary where elephants are able to roam as they please. The canopy walkway was a great way to view the elephants from above and there was plenty of time to enjoy the experience. The morning started with being picked up from our hotel to the sanctuary reception where you then take another shuttle bus to see the elephants. A short video was shown and information given of why the sanctuary exists which was quite emotional! Snacks were provided, lunch was also provided later on with a variety of options (including chips). Umbrella for sun shelter were offered for the walk as well as boots! There was a lovely gift shop where the money supports the sanctuary. The team were informative and friendly and we loved how the elephants came first, no you can’t bathe or touch them as the elephants are allowed to be just that, elephants, not a form of human entertainment! Our favourite place we visited in Phuket.

Great seeing the elephants getting well cared for after a long hard life. Well worth the tour and our guide Jeffy was awesome.

Overall a beautiful experience I would happily repeat! A taxi collected us from our hotel and drove us directly to the sanctuary. There, we checked in and were taken via 4x4 to their meeting point. They played a heart-warming video on elephant welfare and cultural interplay in Thailand. We were then introduced to our individual tour guides and in groups of 8 walked around the sanctuary. We were allowed plenty of time to view the elephants. There was no interaction allowed between visitors and elephants, but we were given plenty of information and photo opportunities. The staff obviously care for and look after the elephants well. We then enjoyed their canopy walk, followed by a visit to their elephant hospital and ended with a delicious lunch. 5/5, only thing I would change is more fans on the canopy walk to help with the humidity!

We had such a lovely time at the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary! We felt all the love and warmth that the staff feels for the elephants who have been rescued after having endured bad treatment from non-ethical tourism and hard labour before. Glad that they have found their forever home where they are so well taken cared of! Everything went well, from the pick up from the hotel and throughout the program. Very informative and our guide Yaya was friendly and taught us a lot. The food was really tasty, especially the banana sambosas! 😋

This trip to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was an awesome experience. Seeing the elephants in their natural habitat, recovering from hard work and abuse in the tourist industry was absolutely amazing. A big thank you to the sanctuary for their hard work to save these giant animals. Thank you for no riding, no bathing, no touching, no tricks and no show! Lunch was very yummy, pick up from and drop off at the hotel very convenient, the little chat with Vincent appreciated. Our guide Jeffry has shown great knowledge and was super friendly, too! Thank you for a great morning with the elephants!

This is an amazing experience without the tourist things that harm these animals. Very educational. One of the best organisations one can support. Let elephants be elephants. Can not recommend more.

This was the most magical experience - it surpassed all my expectations. They have done a great job to create an ethical elephant sanctuary and open the first elephant hospital. You can absolutely see the love a respect they have for these beautiful animals. The lunch was yummy, too. 5 stars!

It was wonderful to see elephants cared for and safe and to wander around and see them in their natural environment happy and relaxed

A highlight of our trip. Our guide was very knowledgeable. It was obvious that the entire staff truly care about the elephants and their mission to protect and provide for them. We were able to get up close to the elephants. We learned so much!

Very well run from start to finish, great seeing elephants being cared for by such a caring team. Highly recommend

What an amazing morning we had walking amongst Elephants in their natural habitat. Our guide Yaya was very informative and professional. Fantastic to see such success story and tourism used for the nurture of these wonderful creatures during their retirement years.

What an experience one that Tania and I full enjoyed. We are so happy that we did this experience

Wonderful close expérience with the éléphants, the guide was extremely good at answering all questions.definately worth the money and time. We loved it!

What a truly memorable day. The work they are doing here is just amazing and you need to go to support them. It’s all done very nicely and you can walk close to elephants and hear the stories of them and watch them feed and bathe. Lunch after is excellent as well. Magical and memorable is the words to describe

Exceptional!! Highly recommend! Just book it! Beautiful people doing good work for the elephants:) Rescuing (not painting & bathing) I learned so much on this tour! Appreciate everyone & the food was excellent too! Great communication everything was superb, get close photos with the elephants too!

Fantastic ethical experience with the elephants, we had specifically chosen the option with a visit to the hospital as my partner is a vet tech and the visit was a 2 min thing, that and the hour wait in the cafe was exceedingly boring hence a less than 5 star review

The experience is well organised, allowing small groups to get very close to the elephants without invading their space and peace. Our guide, Yaya, was very knowledgeable and was able to guide our group of nine ivery close to the beautiful elephants. A delicious lunch was provided. All staff encountered seemed happy to be involved in this fantastic sanctuary. Definitely a highlight of my trip.

What a beautiful experience seeing these retired ladies! So happy to have picked a truly ethical elephant sanctuary. We will NEVER forget our time here!

I loved my morning at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. The team's care and respect for the elephants felt genuine. You could see it in the way they carried themselves throughout the visit. The elephants' wellbeing seemed to come first, which made the experience especially meaningful. I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone looking for a thoughtful elephant experience in Phuket.

Thank you so much for a life changing experience. I had the most amazing morning and was moved to tears hearing the awful stories of the beautiful rescued elephants. Our guide Siri was so kind and informative, and you can tell everyone deeply cares about the wellbeing of the elephants. It was extremely sad and disappointing when two tourists in my group demanded a refund for not being allowed to ride the elephants, but Siri handled this with such grace and said this unfortunately happens all the time. I Please continue rescuing elephants and giving them the life they deserve. Thank you!

An incredible experience! I thoroughly enjoyed the educational video before the tour. The guide was incredibly friendly, full of energy, and hilarious. He had an impressive knowledge of elephants and shared amusing stories about each one. All the employees were great and welcoming. The lunch buffet was incredibly delicious! I felt like I gained a deeper understanding of elephants, developed a greater respect for them, and am so glad we chose an ethical sanctuary. I highly recommend this place; it was an unforgettable 11/10 experience.

Sometimes it doesn't take grand words, but simply the right people in the right place. 🐘✨ Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is a home for animals in need and a gathering place for all those whose hearts are in the right place. This is where kind-hearted people come together, doing exactly the right thing for animal welfare day after day with full commitment, love, and dedication. 🤍 Thank you to everyone who makes this place so special! 🙏 Real heroes don't wear capes, they care for elephants.🐾

This was an excellent experience with very friendly staff. Would recommend this trip for anyone considering it.

We had a great experience on our half day program. We recommend this half day trip.

One of the best tours I have ever done. Before looking at the tours in detail we didn’t really know some of the poor conditions that elephant populations were living it was really great to see some of great work they are doing for elephants not only in phuket but the rest of rhe country The awareness they have done for the community is excellent

This was an unbelievable experience. The guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The elephants were beautiful.

One of the life changing experiences... this facility does not sugarcoat the issues but allows you to be a part of what is good on this earth.

I highly recommend this sanctuary for its ethical standards and genuine care for the Elephants. You get to learn about the issues in the Tourism and Logging industries and have beautiful encounters with Elephants from a respectful distance.

Absolutely amazing experience. Please give to this sanctuary. They buy the elephants who have been working very hard all their lives and give them the life they deserve.

An amazing experience. This tour is actually ethical. If you are looking to visit the elephants in a responsible and ethical way then this is the tour for you.

Woody was very informative and knowledgeable about the elephants. We very much enjoyed our experience and had a wonderful full time. Thank you for all PES does

Lovely place, it’s impressive to see the elephant, walking freely, the respect they get from the human operators, the tour is informative We are a family of four, and the kids enjoyed the place and were really excited. It is very hot, but they do provide umbrellas for the sun and cold water. I would consider come in light long sleeves outfit due to the mosquitoes. Also, their gift shop and mostly the shakes in the end of the tour (regular thailand cost) are great, which makes me think the full tour with lunch should be worth it (although we didn’t take it)

Early start but so worth it, our guide, Ice, was very knowledgeable about the individual Elephants at the Sanctuary and was able to answer any questions the group had. A morning well spent with these wonderful creatures and to be able to support the Sanctuary is the added bonus. Only 8 people in our group, no rush just wandering around with the guide at a nice pace. All round a good day and money well spent for a wonderful experience.

Had a really great morning, up close and personal with the elephants. We had a great guide, KT, who told us all about the residents and their stories. Very worthy cause. Loved every minute. Thanks.

Lovely half day trip. I found it educational and uplifting to see these elephants living out the rest of their lives Roaming freely and being looked after. There was way more food provided for us than we thought.

This was a most beautiful experience being with these beautiful animals. The sanctuary is ethically caring and they look after all the retired elephants that have been used for tourist traps and work. The staff knew all of the elephants by name and history and you could tell they were there for the right reasons. Well organised with breakfast and lunch provided

This was an experience that we will remember for many years. We were collected from our resort and taken to the sanctuary in Paklok, North East Phuket. A sumptuous breakfast was on offer, but it did'nt attract us as we had eaten at our hotel. Following an informative video which detailed why these Asian elephants need protection, we were taken on a guided walking tour of the sanctuary's tropical bushland, enabling our small group to have an up close experience with these beautiful animals. There is no riding, bathing or feeding of the elephants, making it a purely observational experience, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Our tour guide was able to provide details about each elephant. Watching the elephants from the overhead canopy walkway was a bonus. Our last stop was the sanctuary's elephant hospital, Phuket's first. There we saw a suspended elephant, being treated for a broken leg, and another being given antibiotics for septicaemia. The sanctuary purchases elephants which are sick, injured or have been abused or overworked. They will never return to their previous lives. At the conclusion of the tour we were returned to our resort. We will definitely return to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary on our next Phuket holiday.

Overall, I don’t feel the experience was worth the price. You see maybe 10 elephants, but for each one, you essentially stand there for 15–25 minutes watching it stand around. There was also very little information provided beyond basic facts, such as the elephant’s age. After that, you continue walking, have lunch, and then wait for the shuttle back. The entire experience felt very slow, underwhelming, and honestly not very exciting. For the price you pay, I expected a much more engaging and informative experience. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t consider it worth the money.

Amazing experience this morning being shown round the sanctuary by our guide Ice Cream 🥰 she was very knowledgeable and looked after us all. Hearing about all the elephants stories and where they came from was very humbling. Would highly recommend this experience for anyone wanting to see elephants in a ethical way

Amazing and an absolute once in a lifetime experience.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was wonderful from beginning to end! 🐘💚 We were picked up and transported from our hotel to the sanctuary, and everything was very welcoming and well organized. Snacks and water were available when we arrived, which was a nice touch. Our tour guide, Ice Cream, was fantastic! She was friendly, bubbly, and very knowledgeable about the elephants and their stories. It was such a wonderful experience seeing these beautiful elephants and learning about the sanctuary and the opportunity it provides them. Lunch was wonderful, and they even have a cute little gift shop to visit before leaving. Overall, this was a truly memorable experience and one I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Phuket! 🐘🌿🇹🇭

Fantastic place and experience. Would certainly recommend for all. A must do if in the area.

I loved the experience and shout out to KT for being so kind and he is a lovely person

This was our second time to visit the Elephant Sanctuary, the last time was 2022 and there have been some additions since then with the nice new checkin area and the new Elephant Hospital. Its great to see the money from the tours being reinvested into the santuary. We had a nice tour with our Guide KT who showed use around the elephants roaming around taking their baths. Our pickup from the hotel was nice and smooth and overall we had a great day,

We chose this particular sanctuary as there is no option to either ride or wash elephants. The elephants are not made to perform in any way at all, instead they are placed above the paying guests in order of importance. We spent 30 minutes learning about the elephants and being shown the correct way to feed and stroke them. Then the group of approx 25 people spent an hour feeding 7 or 8 elephants….bananas, pumpkins and sugar cane. It was an unforgettable hour. I highly recommend this sanctuary above others, as it is based around elephant welfare. Most of them have been rescued from fairly miserable lives, we felt that we were helping other in the future by avoiding some of the other sanctuaries which are more like circus shows

This was such an educational experience. All of the staff took their time to educate us and had a wonderful tour around the park

It was a lovely activity, they really care about the elephants they rescue. The canopy walk is quite easy and provides shade in hot days which is super nice when you are already in the sun most of the time.