Elephant Retirement Park Phuket — Attraction in Choeng Thale

Okay, to get something out of the way first. If you are an animal lover, and we definitely are, you know that there are plenty of organizations/businesses that take advantage of these magnificent creatures. We, like so many other folks, like to think we’ve become quite enlightened over the years. While as kids we might have had a great time at the circus, for instance, we now realize as more educated adults that the elephants (and most all of the other animals for that matter) were definitely not having the time of their lives. In fact, most were very mistreated even if their handlers truly cared for them. This could range from the cramped living space or the necessity of chains in a city environment, hopefully you see where I’m going. And while I realize some might think that, with our visit, we were subsidizing the mistreatment of these elephants I want to assure you dear gentle reader that this isn’t the case. Yes, there absolutely are tour companies in the area that clearly mistreat the animals in their care. But we did our homework and now, after our visit, I’m comfortable that we found one of the ‘good’ organizations that truly, dearly care about the welfare of the animals we visited and put that above all else.

But now for a little bit of reality. Rescuing animals, especially ones this big that need room to roam, that eat a LOT of food, well that takes money to fund. And the reality is that in order to draw tourists to fund these operations you have to find a balance between just letting the elephants roam freely all day or giving the guests some time to interact. So before you think badly of us or any other tourists that visit the more humane rescue organizations please keep that in mind. And at this particular operation we never witnessed, not one single time, an elephant forced to interact or perform for the guests. Any coaxing the elephants received was no different than what we saw when, for instance, the baby tried to go somewhere he wasn’t allowed (i.e. near machinery he could get hurt by or damage). Yes, there were obviously tons of photo opportunities but these were done around regular elephant feedings as well as the mudding and washing sessions that not only help maintain skin health and keep down ticks, but also that they genuinely enjoy. These guys love to cool down and frolic in the water just like anyone else and they had no qualms about hitting the pool after a good meal!

The short story is that no, they aren’t roaming freely in a large open paddock of their own free from interaction with people. But nobody is going to pay to see that and these rescues - not captures from the wild but rescues from other commercial operations that don’t put the animals first - would not be nearly as well off as they are today were it not for those tourist dollars. A balance for sure but one we feel that is about as good as you, or they, can get.

But now that hopefully you see that we tried our best to go the ethical route let me tell you just how much fun this was!!! While I was looking forward to it I wasn’t exactly gaga over the prospect of hanging with elephants for a few hours. I could not have been more wrong in how much I underestimated I was going to enjoy this experience. I’ve seen plenty of elephants, most of us have. And I may have had an opportunity to touch an elephant at a zoo at one point or another. But to truly hang out with and interact with these gentle giants was just incredible! They are so very, very gentle for their size. There is, of course, a danger of getting crushed or stepped on accidentally but these big guys & girls do their best avoid hurting anyone.

During the course of the day you'll get to feed the elephants, help wash them, and generally hang out with them for a few hours. We found our visit to be well structured once the program got going and our pickup and drop-off by the provided shuttle was flawless. Cannot recommend this place highly enough!

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This is a relatively new venture. I felt that the owner is trying really hard to help the elephants and discourage exploitation of such a wonderful animals. It's a fine line between conservation and tourism and I hope this venture continues to put the welfare of the animals first rather than profit first.

The elephants were free from chains and seemed to want to go where their mahout went. The mahout seemed to have a good relationship with their elephant and spoke gentley to them to guide them.

It did seem like a little bit of a free for all at times with lots of people wanting to give the elephants a mud pack, a bath and then the shower. However, none of the elephants seemed at all stressed by it.

I did feel that it's important that the numbers visiting per day are limited, especially during the height of the tourist season as I think on the morning we went there were around 60 & we were split into 2 groups of 30. This meant the elephants had 2 lots of mud patted on them 2 lots of baths and two lots of showers and a scrub down. Therefore I can only assume that if the same numbers went in the afternoon this would mean this happens 4 times per day - multiply this by 7 days per week, that works out at 28 times. It just seems a lot to me. However, as the herd grows, this might ease a little for each elephant to have more time in the jungle.

The elephants seemed to have a variety of food and it all looked fresh. We got to see where they sleep at night in their pens opposite where their Mahout also stays.

We were told that first thing in a morning the elephants freely roam in the jungle out of the back of the complex and come back because they know when the tourists come its breakfast/ meal time.

The set up for tourists looks well made & out of local bamboo. The toilets were very well maintained and there were enough for such a large group. However I felt that more showers were required for afterwards. The food that the humans ate was freshly prepared, tasty and there was plenty with fresh fruit and drinks available. All the staff presented as helpful.

If you go you need to know, wear shorts and a tea shirt or swimwear, something on your feet that you dont mind getting muddy and wet. Take a towel, sunblock and a hat. You won't really need to take your own camera or mobile phones as there are on site photographers who will download the photos they take of you into a drop box on Facebook, plus your own camera they could get wet & muddy.

There are secure lockers that are suitable to put your personal belongings in.

Single use plastic is a big thing now and Phucket is trying to reduce their own consumption so please think about this when you drink water out of the small bottles.

I hope this venture is successful for the elephants to remain loved & safe in their...

We had the half day tour for the afternoon. Most of the time we were a bit confused about what is happening next, the schedule was unclear and our guide spoke English very fast and her accent was hard to understand. Lunch was served very late at 17:00, after everything else. A lot of waiting around as our group was way too big (20+ people). We were instructed to leave our stuff to the lunch table and were told that we are gonna be back. This happened 3 times, the last tour was maybe 1,5 hours, I was very thirsty when we got back. I would have wanted to know some timeframes so that I could have prepared better.

Tour organization was severely lacking. At the end the 2-hour tour group was still there waiting for their ride home (it had been at least 4 hours by then), and when we were waiting for lunch, our hotels were being called and there was confusion among the drivers and tour guides because we hadn't even eaten yet. Eventually we got food and a ride to our hotels, but this was a stressful ordeal and longer than I was expecting (mainly because of all the waiting around).

About the sanctuary; elephants did not roam freely, someone was always next to them when they were out of the small pen. No chains like the ads promises, but every elephant had a rope around their neck that was used to guide them to the desired direction. I'm sure the elephants are better off here than they were in their past, but I did not enjoy watching the elephants listen to the commands and being used to take photos with tourists. I'm not sure how the elephants spend their time when there are no tourists around, but I do not think they get to do what they want. Maybe the Green elephant sanctuary next to this one has more ethical way of doing things, at...