Phuket Elephant Sanctuary Canopy Walkway Tour

A fantastic treetop tour you also get to walk around below respectfully among these gentle elephants but never getting to close. Yaya our guide was very passionate and made the experience fantastic. The educational video at the beginning is very informative. The staff cannot do enough to help you. The only sanctuary in the area that is actually ethical

Amazing experience with the elephants. They are all disabled in some way after being mistreated and are now living at the sanctuary. Each elephant has a mahout who looks after the elephant every day. The guide was very knowledgeable and provided background on the elephants. Highly recommend this sanctuary for the ethical treatment of elephants and a tour in a safe and welcoming environment.

We had an amazing experience in this ethical elephant sanctuary.

Lovely experience and a beautiful place for the elephants to retire in a healthy environment. Loved this 🌸 Thanks to our guide Anny, she was lovely.

Amazing experience full of empathy and feelings by our your guide Weddy. It has been a great place to be and happy to support this amazing project. 11 female elephants finally enjoying their lives supported by the right side of humanity

We really enjoyed the tour. We did a lot of research beforehand as we wanted to make sure we went somewhere ethical. They truly care about the elephants wellbeing and they also educate the visitors. It was a really nice experience to observe the elephants in their natural habitat without disrupting them. Our tour guide Jeffy was very knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was organized really well. Highly recommend.

Visiting this sanctuary was an incredibly moving and unforgettable experience. Our guide - Woody- was fantastic, shared so many deep insights, and left absolutely no question unanswered. It was beautiful to see that animal-conscious tourism is truly possible when the animals’ well-being comes first. A huge highlight for me was the fact that they completely stopped all feeding interactions in April 2026 to become 100% hands-off. This just proves how seriously they take their mission and the dignity of these beautiful elephants. Our small group of five originally only booked the Canopy Walk, but our guide unexpectedly took us onto the massive 30-acre grounds. Witnessing the respectful bond between the mahouts and the elephants from a safe distance was breathtaking. The elephants always had the right of way, and we were constantly reminded that WE are the guests in their home. I truly hope this incredible place becomes the new standard for elephant tourism everywhere. Thank you so much for this eye-opening experience!

This is a must do experience if visiting Phuket. We found it extremely eye opening learning about the elephants and how they were rescued. Also knowing that it was an ethical experience made it so much more special. Our guide Patty was excellent! If you have an opportunity to request her as a guide you will not regret it!!

An amazing experience, took our toddler who was well looked after. They have thought of everything and the elephants and so wonderfully looked after. A beautiful place filled with beautiful people doing amazing work.

A great experience from pick up,transported to the elephant sanctuary, abundant snacks and drinks. We had a knowledgeable,passionate and friendly guide (Mini). We got cooled with umbrellas and ice facecloth throughout our walk and a beautiful touch with the souvenir 🥰

Wonderful experience! Very Vegan friendly, almost everything was vegan except like 2 options (and both were vegetarian). Can’t speak just how lovely this experience was. We did the half day experience (highly suggest, it’s the best option unless elephants are your main reason for visiting or extended trips). We were picked up, watched a video about the sanctuary and elephants, then toured the elephant hospital (only one in Phuket and its free for any elephant). Then we walked the grounds and were awe struck from being up close (very ethical, no touching, bathing, riding, etc, just observing). Many elephants walked right by us and each has its own caregiver that lives with the elephant (almost 24/7). They gave us water, and cool washcloths at strategic points in the tour, and then we ate and were able to walk the sky canopy thing and observe them from above. 10/10

A wonderful, worthwhile place to visit, and our guide Woody was friendly, kind, knowledgeable and patient.

Great afternoon well organised afternoon. Very organised from when we were picked up,got there and has complimentary tea,coffee,juices,water and snacks. The best part was seeing the elephants up close from both the walkway as well as the canopy. The work the team here do is so impactful. Our guide Minnie was fantastic and funny and so knowledgeable.

This sanctuary is a legitimate ethical sanctuary where all you get to do is look. Which is exactly what we were looking for. We got up really close though. About 2 meters from the majestic creatures. Our tour guide was very nice and informative about the different elephants and their respective background stories. We had a very nice and refreshing soda when the tour was over and even received cute elephant teddies as souvenirs, which our kids, 5 and 7, really liked. We can highly recommend this sanctuary.

Patty, our tour guide was knowledgeable, kind and friendly. The elephants are so well cared for and living their best life

This experience was dedicated to introducing the life of elephants in the sanctuary “after retirement”. It’s really touching to see how people are trying to make amends for the civilization encroachment over their natural habitat. I highly recommend this tour as the tickets profit goes to maintaining the sanctuary and operating the elephant hospital.

Was a great experience to see elephants in a natural habitat, got to see them up close with a very knowledgeable guide, highly recommend this as a thing to do while in Phuket

We really enjoyed the tour, we had a chance to feed the elephants. The meals provided at the location was also great. The team also very sweet, they were genuinely happy when the new elephants arrived.

It was a great moment with Luna !!

Came here today for my 30th birthday whilst out in Thailand. We came at the 10am slot which I think was perfect for the heat! Beautiful Ethical Sanctuary, you can see the elephants roaming freely around from above. Oum our guide was lovely and really informative. The refreshing drink and elephant gift at the end was also really nice. Would highly recommend!

We had a wonderful morning at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary! We saw even more wildlife than expected and we were able to walk amongst the elephants at a respectful distance. Minnie was a fantastic guide and was able to answer every question. Thank you for a fantastic experience!

Very nice to see elephants in Thailand that aren’t forced to work, clearly enjoy their time here and don‘t interact with people on cue, but only if they want to. It is obvious the people here care deeply for the animals with the elephant hospital being free for all patients. Our guide Woody was very informative and answered all our questions. We really enjoyed our afternoon here!

Just an experience to understand more of elephants other than the tourism performance. So happy they can enjoy rest of their life at the Phuket Elephants Sanctuary.

Great experience, transfer was easy with good communication beforehand about timings. The sanctuary is beautiful and all the staff friendly and responsive. Our guide for the walkway tour was knowledgeable about all the elephants and great at her job, friendly and engaging. Opportunity to go down to the forest to get a closer view of some elephants was unexpected and a nice surprise. 90 minutes was perfect timing for us especially in the heat. At no point did we feel like we were invading the elephants space and felt like a positive ethical solution to seeing these fabulous animals whilst also supporting their care after enduring such sad treatment before coming into the sanctuary. The story behind the bull elephant being treated for a broken leg left me with mixed emotions knowing that he will go back to logging if successfully treated, felt counterintuitive to what the ethos of the sanctuary is about. Nice to know that the sanctuary is evolving though and has recently stopped tourists hand feeding for the benefit of the elephants. Would recommend to others 🙂

This trip is as ethical as they come. The Mahout that cares for each animal, comes with them from wherever they are rescued from to look after them. The whole family lives at the sanctuary and gets involved supporting the sanctuary. Our guide, Yaya, was so knowledgeable and lovely as well. She shared stories about every animal and knew them all by name. We had to wear awful wellies but they were clean and so were the socks we were given. The refreshments were lovely and plentiful. We were given cold water and they let us use an umbrella to keep off the sun or rain. We got to walk on the same level as the animals which was breathtaking and unexpected. Yaya described some of the injuries they treat in the elephant hospital. Their current resident broke his leg falling down a mountainside fighting another bull during mating season! I would suggest this trip to everybody... fantastic!

Tour exceeded expectations. We were picked up from our hotel. Our tour guide Woody gave a lot of interesting information and got us up close to the elephants, which was a surprise. Special enhancements, such as cool towels, flavored sodas, snacks, and a special gift made it extra special.

We only had 90 mins available before catching a plane but the San teary was really helpful in squeezing us in. It was well worth it! A great environment yo see rescued elephants at peace in a natural setting from above and close up. The guide was very helpful and knowledgeable.

The tour was wonderful, very informative and our guide was lovely. Plenty of opportunities for some stunning photos while seeing the elephants enjoying themselves in a safe environment. This is a truely ethical sanctuary and worthy of your money and time 💖

Amazing people doing great things here. Our world needs more places like here!

10/10 highly recommend!! This was an amazing experience! The elephants are well taken care of! All of the tour guides are knowledgeable!

This was an excpetional experience! You will not be disappointed! The elephants are well taken care of. After hearing the background on the elephants, I now understand the need for a sanctuary for these gental giants! 10/10 highly recommend!! Our tour guide Woody was amazing 👏🏾... If you are visiting Thailand I recommend this sanctuary ❤️

It really opens your eyes to how animals are treated in the industry. Feels like money well spent

The place is wonderful and we really enjoyed the ethical treatment and respect of the whole staff for the elephants, and the way they teach us how to respect them as qell

Beautiful morning spent at the sanctuary learning about the history and lives of the elephants. Our guide Ice Cream was outstanding- so friendly and lots of info about each elephant and their personalities. Recommend 100 percent!!

I was able to book the tour only about an hour in advance and everything went smoothly. It was beautiful, well kept, and everyone was friendly. I did not expect to get so close to the elephants and was blown away when one walked up to me. The guide was excellent and knowledgeable about anything I asked. This is the only sanctuary in Phuket I found ethical enough to go to and recommend this one to anyone who wants the most ethical experience.

Heartwarming to see how well the elephants are treated. It's a beautiful big park full of Thai vegitation. We could also see some wildlife and were safely guided through the experience. Very informative and friendly guidance. It's unlike other animal tourist attractions a very ethical sanctuary and we need more of these. Worth the money!

My friends and I had the best time at the elephant sanctuary. We arranged our own transport to meet up, and had an easy time checking in. We were given boots to keep our feet clean, then we grabbed some juice and breakfast which was included. While we enjoyed this, we watched a 10-15 minute video which was very educational and helped us learn more about the elephants, the organization, and where our money was going. We met our guide and started on our experience of the canopy tour. To our surprise, we were able to go down on the grounds and see the elephants closer, where they actually got pretty close to us (so awesome!). Our guide even took some pictures for us. The guide was very knowledgable to answer our questions and share the story of each elephant. I loved this activity way more than I expected, and I was happy to know I was supporting an ethical practice. We finished with a free beverage and light snacks, where we were given the cutest elephant stuffy as a parting gift. 10/10 recommend.

Amazing. Great experience for the whole family.

This experience was amazing! The tour of the sanctuary was thorough and the tour guides were very well knowledged on each elephant being cared for. Length of the tour was perfect also - not too short that we didn’t get money’s worth but also not too long that we didn’t fry. Transport to the sanctuary was also good. Driver was nice and steady despite all of the bumps and mounds in the gravel roads. Great experiences for all ages! Well done PES

This activity was such a fantastic tour and experience! Our guide, Patty, was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was not only educational but also a lot of fun to watch the elephants interact with their trainers. We learned so much! I highly recommend it. They have a ground walk-in, which is a must-do, especially since my wife was a princess and didn’t want to get her feet dirty. They provide boots to help with that. This tour was a great value, not only because you get to see elephants, but also because you’re contributing to elephant preservation. We were picked up from our hotel an hour away, and they provided snacks, drinks, lunch, and a cute souvenir. You feel good about being a good human being. Five stars.

Amazing experience. There are so many things they did right I don't want to ruin the surprises for you. However, I'll just say that as parents taking kids along I really appreciated the attention to detail and the care they provide everyone (not just the elephants). The overall sanctuary was purpose built to be centric for elephants. From the hospital with top notch medical care to the land features that give elephants the silence and peace they deserve the sanctuary is purpose built to rehab and offer retirement of elephants. This place allows surreptitious approach at all times and gives the elephants a chance to engage or keep their distance. Any sanctuary that allows you to engage with elephants (even under the halo of caring for them) is focused on entertaining you as a customer over their health and peace. So if you're after riding them, bathing with them, petting them, etc. this isn't the place. But going to those places perpetuate the abuse of these animals. Rethink your plans and go here instead. Once you see how well cared for these animals are here you'll be glad you did.

Lovely experience! Tranquil setting, well designed with good respect for the elephants and the environment! Highly recommed!!

The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was one of the highlights of our trip to Thailand and a place I would recommend to anyone visiting Phuket. From the moment we were picked up at our hotel until we were dropped back off, everything was exceptionally well organised and professional. A special mention to Thomas, our guide, who was knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about the sanctuary and its mission. What makes this place truly special is its commitment to ethical tourism. This is not a place where elephants are made to perform tricks or entertain tourists. The focus is entirely on the elephants and their wellbeing. As visitors, we are simply privileged to observe these magnificent animals living peacefully in a natural environment, free from exploitation. The sanctuary itself is outstanding. Seeing rescued elephants roam, socialise, bathe, and simply be elephants in their natural habitat was both moving and inspiring. The hospitality was excellent throughout the visit. Drinks, umbrellas, boots, and a delicious meal were all provided, making the experience comfortable regardless of the weather. If you’re looking for a genuine, ethical elephant experience in Thailand, this is it. The team has created something truly special, and the welfare of the elephants is clearly at the heart of everything they do. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this gem. It’s an experience you’ll remember long after your holiday

Appreciate the work they are doing for these elephants and giving them the best care possible. They picked us up from the hotel and dropped us off. I loved that each of the elephant had a story and how they build friendships. Also love the fact that is sanctuary is ethical in terms of its treatment of animals.

I thought it was a great tour. Excellent guide and the experience was amazing.

We got also closed to the elephants, but in a good way. The whole tour was really good organised and the guides seemed to do this with fully heart. Highly recommended - Just do this tour!!!

This was a great experience. We walked on the canopied walkway but spent most of our time with the elephants at ground level. Ice cream, our tour guide, was very knowledgable and took lots of great photos of us with elephants. I feel it was a good amount of time. The snacks were a nice touch too.

Very informative and organized way to present the mission of the sanctuary, hence raising the awareness of the participants on improving the quality of life of elephants in the retirement stage. Highly recommended!

Great experience on the canopy walk and still got up close and learned so much from our very knowledgeable guide Patty about each elephant.