Green Elephant Sanctuary Park — Attraction in Choeng Thale

I want to first say, shame on some of the other reviewers for being so shamefully harsh in their reviews. This sanctuary and their staff is/are doing exceptional work in their conservation efforts, and the negativity that some of these reviews exude is absolutely disgusting and pathetic. To those that mention that there is no elephant riding, you must be absolutely dumb; the idea that anyone whom is going to an elephant sanctuary expects to ride an elephant is idiotic. As someone who ignorantly did a riding tour many years ago I can assure you that this experience is by far much more fun, informative, and most importantly humane to the animals. 100% recommend this tour over the others! Arranged with our hotel tour desk, 2000 baht per person, super easy, told to meet in the lobby at 1PM next day, 1:15PM an air conditioned van picked us up for a hour drive. Checked in, given a locker & were split into two groups. The guides were friendly explaining the whole timeline at the start of what we would be doing. There was 12 elephants that were willing to participate. 9 we were allowed to feed them provided fruit and take photographs with each elephant. Next was where the elephants sleep in large pins at night. This is done for their protection and it also allows their mahouts (caretakers) to rest during the evening as well. The mahouts are one per elephant and are responsible for securing food daily for their elephant, as well as caring for and loving the elephant 24/7– 365 days for the entirety of the elephants life. The elephants habitats appeared well kept and clean. The rest of the acreage is for the elephants to roam freely during the day & evenings when they are not doing the two tours. Guests are taken back to the facilities where you can use the very clean toilets and showers. These are each individual private stalls with locking doors. The large showers all have warm water, and have also provided body wash and shampoo. Towels are not provided, I recommend to bring pool towels from your hotel. After the tour ends the buffet is open for guests to enjoy a plethora of delicious food. Quite frankly this was one of the best meals I have had so far on my trip to Phuket. The food was replenished and allowed for guests to have seconds if they wished. I really loved that everything was truly included and they don’t charge you add-ons like many companies do. Lastly, we were told how to access the photos via Facebook & Dropbox that the roaming photographers had taken of everyone. We were thanked and taken back to our hotel by the same van. This experience gave me such a better understanding of elephant conservation. These are all working elephants that were have lived hard lives doing things that elephants were never created to do. To anyone who is saying that feeding the elephants and this tour is wrong, I ask you this, is this better or worst than the lives they lived before? Also, how do “domesticated” elephants go back into the wild as you suggest when that is not a life they’ve ever experienced? Perhaps listen to the tour guides and understand that releasing them back into the wild equals inevitable death. Yes they encourage the elephants to participate in the tour by motivating them with snacks; but what is the harm in that? You can see by looking at these elephants that they are not starved by any means. They are healthy and appear to be well adjusted as made clear by their demeanor. Also their mahouts will tell you when you are crossing a boundary or if the respective elephant doesn’t like something. For instance Lucy did not like being splashed in her face with water, and when that happened the mahout nicely said something to remind us as such. The money was well worth it for all that you get, and goes towards a wonderful cause. The elephants are amazing and the entire experience from start to finish was truly exceptional. I cannot say enough good...

My trip to the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park in Phuket, Thailand was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will cherish forever. The park's vision of rescuing elephants from abusive working conditions and providing them with a safe and natural environment to live in is truly remarkable. The park has a rich history of rescuing and caring for elephants that have been exploited in various industries, such as logging and tourism.

One of the highlights of my visit to the park was feeding the elephants. It was an incredible experience to be up close and personal with these gentle giants, as they took bananas from my hand with their trunks. It was heartwarming to see how well the elephants were being taken care of and how happy they were.

Another exciting part of the day was the mud spa pool. The elephants were free to roll around and cover themselves in mud, which is a natural way for them to cool off and protect their skin from the sun. It was fun to watch them play and interact with each other.

After the mud spa, we washed the elephants in a fresh water pool. This was a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with the elephants and help them clean themselves. It was also refreshing to dip into the cool water on a hot day.

The XXL Elephant shower was another fun activity. We got to spray the elephants with water, and they seemed to enjoy the refreshing mist. It was a great way to bond with the elephants and cool off at the same time.

Finally, the day ended with a delicious Thai buffet. The food was fresh, flavorful, and perfectly complemented the experience. Overall, I highly recommend the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park to anyone visiting Phuket. The program offers a unique and unforgettable experience with the opportunity to interact with elephants in a humane and...

This is a must do if you visit Phuket.

All the reviews speak for itself. This place is legit. The leader of the tour / experience spoke very good English and was clearly passionate about animal conservation. All the elephants are well looked after (no signs of distress) and living a better life than they have before. You get up front and personal with 8-10 elephants who seemed comfortable around humans, so long as you follow the rules!

I think it’s important to add the facilities are surprisingly very good. Very clean and modern toilets and showers. They provided shampoo and shower gel too. They have lockers for your belongings but encouraging you to bring your phone on the experience. Everyone felt comfortable leaving their phone on the side when your doing the water experiences. They provide free Wi-Fi. They offer cold drinks throughout. Free pick up from your hotel. They also have a number photographers on your experience and all photos are uploaded to Facebook so you can download for free. (None of this trying to sell you a photo at the end). They also were very happy (and encouraged) using your phone to take photos for you.

Lastly the buffet. We were slightly confused because we thought it was a lunch so we went expecting to eat first before the experience. You actually eat after the experience so we were starving by the end. We didn’t eat until around 4pm which messed with our dinner plans a little (such is life)

However, I wouldn’t mark the experience down for this , I am just prewarning people so they can eat before or bring snacks. The buffet was very tasty. The fried spring rolls were the best I’ve had this holiday. They purposely don’t make it spicy for visitors. You can add spice if you want it.

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