Elephant Jungle Sanctuary: Half Day Afternoon Program

Worth the visit.

The elephant sanctuary was an awesome family trip. We did the afternoon tour. We had a chance to feed and wash/play with the elephants. The staff were helpful with organising transport to/from the sanctuary.

Elephants

Excellent set up elephants the priority, no riding, chains or those awful sticks insight. Informative and a lovely experience

Elephant

Nice afternoon spent with the elephants they seem very happy we feed them and washed them made elephant poo paper We even done some tie dying and hade some nice food at the end

Ethical Paradise made with Love ♡

This idyllic sanctuary set in the heart of a vast jungle that provides a natural and safe haven for rescued elephants who have spent their lives being abused. This is an ethical sanctuary that follows "saddle off model" which means they do not force these majestic and peaceful creatures into giving rides forcefully with hooks. We learned that one of the elephants suffered a devastating injury to her hip following a hook penetrating her pelvis, another suffered a huge scar to the front of her head where a hook was Stabbed into her skull, all in the name of Tourism... This is a heartfelt reminder that as tourists, we should avoid supporting activities like elephant rides or shows, as they often involve mistreatment of these gentle giants. Instead, visiting sanctuaries like this is a meaningful way to connect with and support rescued animals. Here, you can walk alongside the elephants, feed them, and even enjoy playful moments in the water with them, all with no riding involved at all and in THEIR habitat. Each elephant has a keeper who lives on Site with their elephant and allows us tourists to share this unforgettable experience all in tranquility and at peace. Currently the sanctuary has 4 elephants; 3 femals (Somkid born 1967, Thangtai 1978, Pang 1986 and the newest addition rescued 2024) and 1 male (Frank who is the baby at 10 years old!) They are currently saving money to rescue a pregnant female from the floating market.. so please remember the torture that these babies suffer and support the no riding and use of no hooks. We booked directly with the sanctuary and paid when we arrived, we highly recommended for animal lovers and families alike, the elephants are free to roam the site after the feeding/bathing - it was a very special moment and one we shared on our wedding day. We wouldn't have wanted to have been anywhere else! Hot food/water was provided as part of the ticket cost and drinks/tourists bits available for purchase. Showers also available post elephant bathing, don't forget your insect repellant but don't spray anything on your hands the elephant skin is sensitive. The guides also take all your photos free of charge which was unexpected - but please respect the elephants and treat them with care. Thanks to Miss A for making us feel so special and welcome, to Abba the lead keeper, to Takk our guide and too all the staff for giving us an experience of a lifetime, you are all beautiful people and we are proud to have supported a good cause.

Incredible! Don't miss out if you love animals

Amazing trip! Got picked up in a van and upon arrival, the elephants walked around freely and seemed very happy and well taken care off. The employees were very friendly and helpful. We fed and bathed the elephants and I had a water fight with one! I'll never forget that. At the end we got a tasty meal, a tote bag, paper made from elephant poop (yeah) and a napkin we tie-dyed. Very well worth the money!

A big tick !

This was on my wife’s lifetime bucket list - to bathe an elephant. This and other lovely experiences were achieved. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Unforgettable experience

Visiting an elephant sanctuary was one of my top priorities while in Thailand, and I’m so glad I chose this tour—it exceeded all my expectations. Being up close to elephants was a truly surreal experience, unlike anything you encounter every day. Each elephant had its own personality, and it was heartwarming to see the mutual respect between the elephants and their caretakers. The tour was packed with unique activities. We met and fed each elephant bananas, made paper out of elephant dung (surprisingly odourless!), prepared a vitamin mixture to feed them, and even covered the elephants in mud to help cool them down. The highlight for me was rinsing them off in the water. A key aspect that stood out was how the elephants were free to come and go as they pleased—if they decided they’d had enough, they simply walked away. After the activities, we enjoyed a meal that my friend said was “some of the best Thai food” they’d had on this trip. Unfortunately, I experienced a mild reaction to something I ate, but I was incredibly well looked after. The staff checked on me constantly and made sure I was comfortable before taking us back to our hotel. (A huge thank you for the care and attention!) Overall, this was an unforgettable experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Thailand. The chance to interact with these magnificent creatures in such a respectful and ethical environment is something I’ll cherish forever.

pretty complete experience

A full experience in an afternoon with 7 elephants who all seemed to enjoy our company as long as the food, mud and water bath lasted. It seems obvious that they are intelligent with senses of humor. The one who slapped me in the face with her muddy ear seemed pretty amused by it. I know I was.

Amazing

Something absolutely stunning, 😍 one of the best experiences you can imagine. Highly recommended for everyone

Excellent ethical elephant experience

Great experience! Would definitely recommend and do it again. We had so much fun interacting with the elephants at this ethical sanctuary. All of the staff were kind and welcoming. Lunch was great Thai food as well.

Fun for the Family

Professionally run Sanctuary and care for the elephants is excellent. It's a 30 minute from Central Pattaya. Prepare accordingly. Owner is very supportive, service oriented and understanding.

Elephants

I had such an amazing time. I love elephants and was super excited to feed and bath them. The staff was very kind and gentle with the elephants definitely a great experience I would do all over again :)

Fun tour, elephants are super ADD.

Probably bathing the elephants is the best part of the whole tour. Everything else was ok but mediocre since the elephants attention span is apparently 1.5 seconds, difficult to get any pics. Id you just love feeding and seeing elephants though then it's amazing.

Exceeds expectations!

The staff are so incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about their animals. It's such an incredible experience being so close to these majestic creatures and to see them so happy and well cared for. We did some tie-dye and paper making as well! Very cool, very memorable, hands down would recommend to anybody looking for an elephant sanctuary.

Amazing

One of the most amazing experience of my life. Staff are amazing and very pleasant to make sure people have the best day .Food was also great could not fault this and highly recommended for anyone coming to Thailand. ☺️

This experience was incredible

My wife and I had such a great time at this sanctuary! It is really great value for price and we especially loved the mud bath with the elephants! I wish they had cabins there so you could spend a night! this was truly amazing! thank you for having us

Great Encounter

Wonderful encounter with a knowledgeable guidance - to be recommended to everyone without exemptions. Definitely worth the money !

Well run experience to enjoy these wonderful elephants

I usually avoid animal experiences as I don't like the idea of them being for entertainment purposes. However this was a very ethical experience with the elephants being well looked after and not forced to do anything they don't want to. The half day also included lunch and making paper out of elephant dung (not as gross as it sounds)! Would highly recommend this :-)

A Dream Come True

We had an amazing experience! The staff and handlers were engaging and wonderful to listen to. Their knowledge and love for these beautiful creatures was very evident. Being so close to the elephants was incredible. We loved every minute of our experience. I would definitely recommend this for young and old. You can participate with as many or few of the activities. Observing is even amazing. Just do it! You won’t regret it!

Up close and personal to Elephants - well run

We went on a private trip from Bangkok to meet up with others at the site for the afternoon half day tour. Site has good accessibility and help would be offered if needed. Spending the time feeding and bathing the elephants is a unique experience and well worth every penny. Very good toilets and showers on site. You do not have to get wet and dirty but if you want to get stuck in you will have a great time and the shower afterwards will get you clean. Lockers cost 100Bhart but you get this back when you return the key. The lunch provided was of a high quality and enough choice for even a fussy eater. There was water tea and coffee available on arrival. You may need to wait for the morning session to finish before the afternoon session starts so do allow some extra time for your travels. There is a photographer taking pictures throughout the session which are then uploaded to facebook. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed every moment.

Great informative afternoon with elephants.

We were picked up at our hotel promptly. We arrived and everything was organized. It was a very enjoyable and informative experience. The elephants very interesting animals!

Once in a lifetime! So cool!

It was such a great experience. The elephants are just so beautiful and the pick up and drop off was amazing and the staff was so friendly they offer to take photos for you and everything. Highly recommend

Excellent Elephant Encounter

What a great experience ! You get up close and personal with the elephant's- feeding them, making a vitamin supplement for them, muddying them up and washing them down. The staff were great being knowledgeable and helpful and the lunch was good and the pick up and drop off comfortable. A truly memorable experience.

Amazing hotel and Staff

The staff is really amazing, and the service was wonderful. The hotel is located near beaches and shopping centers. 🤩🤩🤩

Amazing

I love this experience so much…life changing moment I miss the Elephants so much. They will always a piece of my heart

Brilly

Absolutely beautiful day. Such a privilege to be able to be so close to these amazing animals. It was a fantastic day.

Spectacular elephant experience

Being up close to the elephants was just an exhilarating experience . The staff who run the sanctuary were just amazing , very committed informative and knowledgeable. Can't recommend this trip enough . Getting to bathe the elephants was as my husband described ' one of the best moments of my life '

Amazinggggg

Went here today and loved it. A truly ethical sanctuary, the Elephants do as they please (of course they get excited when it’s feed time). The staff really care, health and safety is improve at and the food was amazing. I will never forget this experience.

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Pattaya, a must see

This is an incredible experience. You get to interact with the elephants one on one and see these amazing animals up close. Feeding them and letting them and then helping to wash them all make it a memorable experience. The staff are friendly and informative and you learn a fair bit about the elephants.

The best elephant experience!

Great tour! On time pickup. Up close w the elephants... knowledgeable staff...delicious buffet lunch. Learned a lot

Disappointed with staff supervision

The first disappointment was that there were only 3 elephants in total. Then there were no lockers to secure personal items, only small bags left unsupervised (I initially wound up with someone else's wallet as all bags looked the same). I purchased rubbers sandals from them to enter the bathing area, but the sandals broke apart as soon as I entered the water. Our "guide" was no where to be found as guests entered the water. Her one job was to ensure the safety of guests, and she was not there! Others had to assist me to get out. Once, I was able to stand and put together the broken sandals, the activity was over. Overall a very disappointing experience for me.

Brilliant day out

What a fantastic half day out taxi service was punctual and efficient to Elephant experience was 2nd to non the food was amazing a totally brilliant day out I would definitely recommend.

Must Visit in Pattaya

**Bring a bathing suit, change of clothes, sandals and a towel!** This is a beautiful sanctuary. We got to feed the elephants, wash them and bathe with them. The volunteers here will tell you all about the elephants and what they are doing to create a healthy environment for elephants in Thailand. I highly recommend visiting this place if you are in Pattaya. We tried to get a taxi to get there, but we could not find the location on google maps. Someone from the Sanctuary was able to pick us up and drop us back to our hotel, free of charge.

Would do it again!

I checked off my bucket list of wanting to get close to elephants. I enjoyed every bit. My mom and I loved feeding the elephants and she loved taking photos of me getting filthy bathing them. Wonderful organization, very adequate facilities. Would do it again!

Perfect day trip

A fascinating visit, up close and personal with the elephants and their keepers. Charming! The meal served was amazing and one of the best we’ve ever had in an excursion.

Wonderful experience

Of all the places I have visited in Pattaya. I loved this experience the most. It felt amazing to be with these animals and be part of their routine.

We had a wonderful day...

We had a wonderful day with the staff who were very welcoming and informative. They made our stay memorable as we were educated on handling of the elephants.

Great experience up close...

Great experience up close with the elephants. Staff was awesome and very knowledgeable of elephant behavior. Took incredible pictures.

Ok

The tour was well organised, and the elephants were well treated, but they were trained to entertain the tourists. You are offered a leisurely walk with the elephants where I imagined they would be able to do as they please while you watch them, but actually they were forced to pose so our endless group of tourists (30 people) could take picture after picture. Even bathing them was a circus, where they performed tricks and blew water at you. It was still a nice opportunity to get to know the elephants and I assume they have a much better and easier time than if they had to work elsewhere, but these elephants are working. The carers did seem to care for them, and my kids had a great time, but it was not what I Imagined. They claimed difficult to believe things such as ‘the elephant loves hugging people’, sure he loves it when he gets a treat and is forced to do it so people can take a picture.

Fabulous afternoon out and very good value

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the elephant sanctuary. The elephants are so well looked after and it was great to see their wellbeing being the priority. Lots of lovely surprises such as the time we had to feed the elephants, bathe them and making their vitamin balls. Really appreciated the free photos available after our visit of pictures taken by the photographer. Delicious home cooked food too. Thank you all for a wonderful time.

Awesome

Excellent tour. The driver was very punctual. The elephants activities including feeding and washing them. It was a very fun experience. A very good lunch was provided as well.

bangkok trip

Fun activity. a must if youre in bangkok. thfood is great and the facilitator are all professional. i will recommend this tour

Great Time

The staff was outstanding. Food was good. Overall great time. Thanks again Viator for completing my vacation

Fantastic Once in a Lifetime Experience

Elephants were spoiled and pampered after suffering terrible abusive conditions. They are now living a well deserved happy life being fed well and pampered by generations of families devoted to their care and rescue.

Highly recommend this tour

We thoroughly enjoyed visiting this elephant sanctuary and all the activities they provided as part of the program. The program was conducted in English, and the tour guides and all involved were very polite, friendly, and helpful. You could clearly see that they truly love the elephants that are in their care. The information was so interesting, and the activities included feeding the elephants, giving the elephants mud baths, and giving them baths and scrubbing them in pools of water. It was great fun. Just be sure you bring swim wear and a change of clothes. They have shower facilities, because you will get dirty and wet. They also served us a delicious meal, had complimentary water, coffee and sweets throughout. You can buy other drinks for a small fee. The last acitvity after the meal was learning how to make paper out of the elephant poop. Sounds weird, but it was really interesting and fun. You get to take home a samples of the paper, and they give you a very nice canvas tote bag as souvenirs. We highly recommend visiting this sanctuary. They do offer free hotel pick up if you are in Pattaya. They also offer transportation from the Laem Chabang cruise port for a fee (which is what we did). They were also very good about communicating about the transportation arrangements and answering any questions prior to the tour. It was made very easy via the Viator "Contact the tour Operator" option.

Great afternoon

This was an amazing afternoon getting close up to the beautiful elephants. Such fun getting in the mud bath and showering them off afterwards. Make sure you take a change of clothes! The guides were really helpful and informative. We had a superb lunch to finish off a wonderful afternoon!

WOW, What and amazing experience !!!

WOW, What and amazing experience !!! From the moment we were picked up we were looked after by the team at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. The interaction was a brilliant experience, where we had lots of time and were able to feed all the Elephants Pineapples and Banana's, before giving them a mud bath and then washing them down. The elephants are really well cared for, and free to roam and only interact if they are happy to be fed or bathed. Hopefully we will be able to return one day to meet the elephants again. Thanks to all the team @ Elephant Jungle Sanctuary

Awesome!!!

This place was awesome!!!! You get to feed the elephants and become friends. Then you give them a mud bath finish with a nice water pool and scrub where you will definitely get wet.

Fantastic Opportunity

I would recommend this trip to anyone. A once in a lifetime opportunity to get close with the elephants.

Unmissable wholesome, amazing and fun day!

What an amazing day with the elephants. Staff were friendly, knowledgeable and lovely throughout. The visit we had was even better than we’d expected and the elephants were adorable and playful. Thank you for an amazing trip!