Join us on a half day elephant care adventure at Samui Elephant Sanctuary! This park opened in 2018 and is a safe haven for elephants that were rescued from hard labour and circuses all over Thailand. This half day trip includes hotel transfers from any location on Koh Samui, preparing food and feeding the elephants, walking around the sanctuary, meet and greet with them and a delicious vegetarian lunch (morning tour) or dinner (afternoon tour). Please note that this is an ethical elephant sanctuary, which means there is no opportunity for bathing with the elephants. As a visitor you can watch the elephants doing what they naturally do – like eating local plants, swimming in their special pool, getting muddy, and socializing with each other.

The elephants we look after used to have tough lives, working long hours for tourists or in the logging industry. This was very different from the peaceful and respectful life they now have. Samui Elephant Sanctuary’s aim is to provide a happy, natural home for them, where they can behave as they naturally would and get the care they deserve. Since the start in 2018, the sanctuary received many awards, including two consecutive Best Animal Welfare awards from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, UK. The park has also been recognized by the well-known animal welfare charity, World Animal Protection, as a top-notch elephant venue that follows the best practices. Come and join us for a highly rated experience with these majestic creatures on Koh Samui!

What to Expect at Samui Elephant Sanctuary

A trip to Samui Elephant Sanctuary is a way to contribute to the good work this Elephant Sanctuary is doing. This tour is perfectly suitable for families with young kids (kids up to 4 years old can come for free) and persons who care about the fate of these beautiful creatures. Bathing with the elephants is not possible at this location. The reason is that elephants love socializing and bathing, alone or with other elephants. To do this, they need room to splash, roll in the water and cover themselves in mud. When people crowd around them in the water, it stresses the elephants and stops them from acting naturally.

Elephants are very empathetic animals, and when people are close by during these times, they have to change how they act to avoid accidentally hurting anyone. We want our elephants to have a great time just like our guests do, so by reducing human interaction, our elephants can play freely. They get to be themselves, and it’s really interesting to watch. Plus, it offers fantastic chances for taking photos and videos.