Came here with some friends on our way back from Karon viewpoint. It was signposted as most things are in the area with "seaview". There were only four other people there and we decided to go on an elephant trek since there were no queues.

The staff member who greeted us seemed nice (Thai people on the whole are wonderful and welcoming) and charged us 750 baht per person for two people to ride 30 minutes on the back of an elephant.

After that it all went downhill..

We got on the elephant, which was beautiful. The driver didn't acknowledge us despite us saying hello to him three times (he is the young guy with long hair and incredibly long nails) and continued puffing on his cigarette. The elephant walked around 20 metres and then suddenly stopped. The driver smashed a wooden stick on to the face of the elephant and the sound was disgusting. We told him to stop and that we want to go back but he pretended not to hear us and carried on.

We stopped 13 times on the "trek" which is actually just a 150 metre path behind some trees. The view of the sea is underwhelming and is blocked by large foliage. The elephant stopped to pick up some leaves and the driver then picked up his stick again and this time saw that it had a curved blade on it, which he used to strike the neck, ears and side of the elephant's face. We shouted at the driver and were really upset. We insisted to get off but he just wouldn't listen. The other group was left behind us and couldn't see us due to trees blocking their view.

The driver then barked at us "200 baht photo". My friend was crying and I screamed at him to take us back.

After we returned we complained to the staff and they just shrugged it off. Our elephant was hauled off and left in the sun and the driver slid off and hit him again in the face. Our friends arrived a few minutes after us and were visibly upset. They told us that their driver struck their elephant with the blade many times.

We found another couple about to pay for a ride and we warned them of what happened to us and to avoid this disgusting place.

In hindsight we shouldn't have done the trek and merely seeing the elephants should have been enough.

This company advertised a 30 minute trek which was actually 10 minutes with LOTS of stops on the way in the baking sun. The worst part is the animal is made to suffer. I'm a grown, married man and I was reduced to tears after this horrible experience.

Please avoid this company. It's a tourist trap and you definitely won't feel safe going out with their horrible drivers.

Avoid like the plague.