Phuket Elephant Sanctuary: Ethical Wildlife Experience
5.0
36 Ratings
Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve

Discover Phuket’s ethical elephant sanctuary. Experience a hands-off visit and Thai cooking demo. Perfect for animal lovers and foodies alike.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve - Cooking Class/Delicious Thai Lunch
    Briefing & introduction
    Preparing elephants food
    Observation Elephant in the jungle
    Natural water ponds & features
    Elephant education & observation
    Elephant Dung Recycling Center
    Vitamin balls
    Thai cooking session
What's Included
  • Elephant jungle nature observation
  • Meet & feed our elephants with a hands-off approach
  • Making vitamin balls (Half day program only)
  • Lunch
  • Water
  • Experience tour guide
  • Elephant dung recycling center (Half day program only)
  • Insurance
What's Not Included
  • Comfortable shoes
  • Hat & sunglasses
  • Your own water bottle for our water refill station
  • Transport
Additional Information

Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve is a recognized, sustainable, award-winning, and ethical elephant sanctuary in Phuket. We operate as a completely hands-off sanctuary, meaning visitors are not allowed to touch, feed, or bathe the elephants. Only the mahout (the elephant’s caretaker) and the veterinarian are permitted to handle, feed, wash, and provide…

see more
Location
Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve
100/12 Moo, 7 Srisoonthon Rd
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(36 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Passport29840340814
Nov 14, 2025
Very ethical, truly worth it! - Was a complete different experience to what I was expecting. I did not want to ride/wash and overly touch any elephants as I don’t agree with training animals for tourist experiences. This elephant sanctuary was extremely caring and staff were fully trained on their needs and wants. Yes, you can feed but no showers, no riding elephants here. It’s more about observing them in their natural like habitats that were created for them in this sanctuary. There was in total 6 elephants to see and all had different personalities which was great to observe. We were able to chop up fruit and serve it to them, some were greedier than others lol. We also got to walk up into the jungle a little where one do the elephants likes to chill, was greeted by the elephant and it even followed us back to the normal area with others. I found out a fact that Chang means elephant in Thai - so for you beer lovers, yes. There is indeed an element of the elephants used in those beers. I’ll leave the rest for you to find out - but maybe drink a Singha instead eh? Lol.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alberto_s
Nov 13, 2025
This should be normal! Amazing :) - ⸻ A truly unforgettable experience. A unique opportunity to observe these magnificent animals closely, in an ethical and respectful manner, without contributing to exploitation or abuse. This sanctuary welcomes elephants who grew up in contact with humans and who, therefore, cannot live completely independently in nature. The space is spacious and natural — no chains, no riding walks, no elephant baths and no forced physical contact. The visit allows you to observe the elephants at a safe distance, learn about the mission of the sanctuary and participate in the preparation of the food that is made available to them, always without giving them food directly at hand. This should be normal!
Review provided by Viator
Stefany_v
Oct 26, 2025
Fantastic! Fun even though it was pouring down tain - Steve was great at explaining about the elephants and about how this sanctuary believes in the ethical treatment of these gigantic sweet animal
Review provided by Viator
M7141batiffanyb
Oct 23, 2025
My solo adventure with the elephants - I took a solo trip to Thailand, and seeing elephants was at the top of my list. They’ve always been my favorite animals, so getting to spend my birthday with them was an unforgettable experience. Even though it rained all day, I loved every moment—feeding them, watching them interact, and simply being near such gentle giants.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robin_t
Aug 30, 2025
Great experience - Great experience and learned a lot about why it’s important to interact with elephants in a more humane way. They were also very accommodating when we were 30 mins late to the experience. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Hannah_b
Aug 27, 2025
Amazing experience!! - My friends and I absolutely LOVED this experience!! Would 10/10 recommend to anyone. We loved learning about the elephants in a safe and ethical way - because it happened to be raining the elephants came out to play more!
Review provided by Viator
Samantha_a
Aug 11, 2025
Was such a beautiful... - Was such a beautiful sanctuary. Got to get close to elephants in an ethical way. We did a half a day tour and it was amazing. Dong was our your guide and he did an amazing job. If your looking to go see elephants and get close in an ethical way, I highly recommend this place!
Review provided by Viator
Rachid_b
Aug 3, 2025
Great place to see the elephants! - We booked this at the last minute as our other tour didn't pick up from our location. We are so glad we changed to this one. Everyone was super nice, very clean and 90 minutes was a perfect amount of time to visit the elephants. I have done the 3-4 hour tours before and they were killer, especially in the summer heat. We saw many elephants, got to chop and prepare their food and watched them eat. This is a great ethical establishment. Will highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Jana
Jul 20, 2025
Best Elephant Nature Reserve in Phuket - It's wonderful to see an Elephant Nature Reserve that truly cares for the wellbeing of their Elephants. They all looked healthy & relaxed in their environment. Well done for being so ethical. We really loved our 90 minute Elephant experience recently, a highlight of our holiday!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle
Jul 15, 2025
Wonderful experience and so much to learn - We found the sanctuary on You Tube and so glad we made the booking. It was a lifelong dream to see elephants and this was a great place to see them without the trauma of badly kept animals for entertaining tourists! The reserve is small with only 5 elephants but each one had a story to tell and a history and scares to prove it. Now they get to live out their days in safety and well looked after. Many places claim to be safe places for the elephants but many rarely are. Lunch was delicious and the cooking demonstration was good fun too. We were very lucky as there was only a small group today. Our guide today was very knowledgeable and the half day tour was interactive as well as informative - a must do! Absolutely loved it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Check Availability
From $37
From $37
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Select a date
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).