Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is where you want to go in Phuket to witness these gentle giants in nature. The treatment of the elephants and the way tourism is handled at this sanctuary is a fine example of how it should be. Not a parade of throwing water or giving them a mud bath. Elephants are highly sensitive creatures and deserve peaceful treatment once they are rescued. The best experience I have had with elephants bar none!

Spent lots of time trying to find the most ethical sanctuary for elephants across Southern Thailand. Extremely happy that we chose Phuket Elephant Sanctuary! Not only do they provide you with an incredible experience in which you can watch these retired or injured elephants roaming freely and being cared for, but they also provide an excellent educational side to things in which they explain the elephant abuse throughout Thailand. It is definitely something to do not only to experience the elephants but also because the money you spend to visit will be used in order to improve and help the sanctuary so they can help more elephants! Our tour guide was lovely and knew the ages, names and information about each elephant we walked past which showed an individual care for each of these beautiful animals!

Thank you so much for one of the best day of my life, the team was so amazing, the place really is wonderful, the service, the food that you bring us, the place for the elephants, everything was so special! Muchas gracias, fue una experiencia increíble, el lugar esta muy bien organizado, el equipo es grandioso, la comida que ofrecen dentro del tour, todo muy bien organizado! 100% Recomendado!!

This was a great learning experience. The guides personally knew each elephant we came in contact with and gave us history on each. They seem to genuinely care about elephant conservation in general and each individual elephant which was apparent from the interaction. The elephants roam freely the way it should be, and as such, we saw more of their behavior in their natural environment. We had the opportunity to feed and take many pictures of the elephants. This particular tour included a vegetarian Thai lunch. It was delicious. Snacks and plenty of hydration were offered. If you're considering a tour, just do it. You will walk away more knowledgeable and if you're an animal lover even better! I personally left thankful for this sanctuary's efforts to make a positive impact to the elephant and to our world.

This sanctuary is lovely, the elephants are cared for and have a great eco life. They are building a elephant hospital on site which will be amazing. No washing etc which is great as I'm sure elephants don't want to be scrubbed by dozens of tourists each day. Recommend a visit

Was very well organised, picked up and dropped back home. We got to feed the elephants at the very start which was so fun. Then you got to walk around in there enclosure while the guide gives you facts on each one. Then a great selection of food after before going home. The elephants are very well treated here.

Lovely to see the elephnts doing their own thing and being so well cared for. It felt good not to have physical interaction with the elephants, other than being given the opportunity to feed them fruit. We had lunch included which was great and not really made clear at the time of booking. A really good, ethical sanctuary. We really enjoyed our time there.

The Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was just brilliant. The whole set up with the equipment, clean facilities, lovely breakfast and lunch were great and really added to the whole experience. Our guide, Alex, was brilliant and answered everyone's questions and had such a great manner. He was so knowledgeable and really made our visit special! My partner and I were so happy we made the choice to visit this santuary and the highlight was definitely feeding the gorgeous elephant their fruit!

Being able to see the elephants roam freely. The informational video was heartbreaking but very well done.

Visited this sanctuary with friends whilst travelling. We were trying to find an ethical way to see these wonderful beasts and were happy with what we saw. Everything was well organised for us and is a slick operation. Easy to book online and pay deposit I had to cancel one friend who couldn’t travel. We could’ve changed dates but that wasn’t possible. Instead of receiving a refund I asked to reduce the balance payable on the day. No problem with that. Arrived by their van which collected us. We paid and swapped vehicle to be taken to the sanctuary. Saw a safety video. Were taken with a guide to see various elephants and told their story. We took photos at a distance and moved around to see the elephants in the places they wanted to be in. We were able to feed one elephant with bananas. There was a clean place to wash hands and were reminded to do so for the sake of ourselves and elephants. After the tour of elephants we were taken to the buffet to eat. There was a clean area, under cover where the most delicious buffet of all sorts of Thai foods, savoury, sweet, fruits, drinks. The area was kept clean as were the tables etc. The toilets were modern, western and clean. There was a little shop selling lots of things for souvenirs at reasonable prices. The place catered for all ages and if I was back in that area I wouldn’t hesitate to visit again.

We had amazing experience at this place, everything is well organized and safe, the provided lunch was also very tasty. This is the only ethical sanctuary in Phuket.

It was a wonderful experience. Worth every penny. They thought of everything you could possibly need to make this a great experience. We had two small children and a baby who they were happy to accommodate.

Incredibly informative and well run tour and company. I booked directly through the organisation so that all the money would go directly to them. It’s pricey but as explained by our tour guide it costs about 1 million baht to purchase each elephants freedom and visitors money goes to that as well as their food and care. The video and the start was a great way to show visitors why the sanctuary needs to exist. The history of the saved elephants is horrible as are the lives of so many still forced to work and entertain tourists. You can get quite close to these elephants and see them relaxing and eating. We also got to feed two of the elephants at the start of the tour. It was a peaceful beautiful morning. The food supplied before the tour was great and the lunch was excellent. When booking through the organisation they can also arrange your transport. Money and time well spent. I purchased a tshirt and tote bag from the gift shop. They also supplied cute gumboots and socks so your shoes don’t get dirty.

Here is an honest sanctuary for elephants. Not a 'sanctuary' where elephants are taken there to continue to be a tourist attraction and to have no, or limited choice in how they live their lives. No bathing with them, no riding , not penned in to feeding stations. Very informative video at the start and the guide we went round with....Alex had excellent English and a huge amount of information to give you about each elephant we met. The elephants just roam around where they want with their 'minder'. It was a moving experience. We were offered refreshments at the start and an amazing vegetarian lunch, hot and cold choices at the end of the tour. There are several 'ethical' elephant sanctuaries on Phuket but this one, in my opinion, is the only honest sanctuary. I don't get how the others can be branded as ethical.

Was a great day out. Included being collected and dropped back to my hotel. The staff at the sanctuary were lovely and hospitality was great. Feeding the elephants was amazing.

This was an amazing experience and unlike other sanctuaries that claim to be 'ethical', this one meets TA animal welfare standards. If you just book the walkway, you can only see the elephants from up above. I'd recommend paying a bit more and doing a morning or afternoon. First you get to watch a video on how the sanctuary came about and what practises are cruel and how at this sanctuary, the elephants are controlled using food as a reward - no stick or hooks. Then you move on to feed the elephants and then a guide will take you around to meet them - you do not get to touch them at all (bathing with elephants is not considered ethical) but instead you get to enjoy watching them in the closest they have to a natural environment. You finish the tour with a walk along the walkway and a decent Thai style lunch with soft drinks and water also provided. They even brought ice cold towels to us whilst walking due to the heat. All guides are extremely knowledgeable and this is a safe, fun and ethical way to see elephants. Note:, you are only allowed to feed them, no riding, no bathing.

We visited the sanctuary as a family in April 2024. We booked directly with the sanctuary and were picked up on a transfer from our hotel. We absolutely loved this sanctuary. The work they are doing is incredible and I cannot recommend a visit enough. The elephants are so well cared for and the guide was brilliant - he had so much information on the individual elephants and really got their story and the work the sanctuary is doing across. I cried during the introductory video due to the stories of the animals prior to coming to the sanctuary and it really brought it home how important the work they are doing is and how well cared for the animals are. The stories of how they were helping each elephant overcome their individual circumstances were amazing. Aside from that the sanctuary itself is absolutely beautiful. The tranquility of sitting with a coffee overlooking the jungle and seeing the elephants walking past is something I will never forget. We were provided with cooling towels halfway through our tour (much needed) and there were plenty of opportunities to hear about each elephant and a photo opportunity at a distance with them. On arrival we were offered our choice of fresh juices, coffee and so many snacks that we could help ourselves to. We were also provided with lunch and they catered specifically for me being gluten free, which was amazing. They were so generous with the lunch that I wasn't able to eat it all even though it was delicious! The gift shop was a good price and had lots of souvenirs. I'm only sad now that although I purchased a bag and a lamp, I'm jealous of my daughters t-shirt and wish I'd bought one of those too! Everyone should visit this sanctuary and I know if I return to Thailand, it'll definitely be on our list. I'll be keeping an eye on how the sanctuary develops and watching all their stories as well. Thank you so much for what was the best day of our entire 3 week trip! Loved it and thank you for all the work you are doing.

The work of this rescue and rehabilitation sanctuary as well as the tour were both laudable. The guide was quite knowledgeable and the facility was more than we expected. The elephants and their caregivers gave us a a great learning experience. Did not even realize that lunch was included and it was a wonderful surprise with fresh juices and nice Thai food. This is a tour you should do.

The sanctuary itself is fantastic, it’s so great to see the elephants being cared for and allowed to enjoy their lives without being harmed or forced to work. The canopy is great to walk across seeing the elephants below, and the views across the park are a joy. But I didn’t like the tour. Simply put, there’s too much hanging around and too much talking - and not enough seeing elephants. Let me explain - We picked the morning half-day tour. We were picked up at 8am from our hotel and arrived at the checkin for the sanctuary about 840am. The driver was great. After resolving the outstanding payment due on the day we were bused into the sanctuary - merely five minutes away. This is still not 9am yet we were then we were just left for an hour until the tour was due to begin at 10am. Yes there were snacks available but we had already had breakfast before leaving the hotel. So it was an hour sat around doing nothing. An absolute waste of my families time. Then we had to watch a video which felt far too long, about 15 minutes total, when it was clear everyone was eager to get out. Some of that information would be better fed to people on the tour, not whilst watching the TV! Our tour group was the last to leave the reception area because the tour guide (ironically named Tour) liked chatting far too much. Finally we were on our way about 1025am but we were back into the reception for lunch at 1130am - the second group back. So all this faffing around for barely an hour. Yeah it was great to see the elephants but there was a distinct lack of information from the guide, too much talking about food. This isn’t what I came here for. Then just to compel the misery, we left the sanctuary and sat in the waiting area for approx. 20 minutes waiting for the bus back to Karon. No coordination at all. It would make far more sense for those who travelled together to stay together…apparently no such sense is applied here, though. It’s a very expensive tour by Thai standards for a very short visit to see actual elephants with far too much waiting around. I’m very disappointed and disappointed to have paid so much for the displeasure especially with other sanctuaries to choose from.

Great experience. Knowledgeable group doing very good work. Great elephant interaction. The lunch buffet afterwards was really amazing. A must do when on Phuket