
Learning about this majestic animal and getting plenty of time to hang out with them is a once in a lifetime experience.
Know Before You Go to an Elephant Sanctuary
How to Choose the Right Elephant Sanctuary
- The location. Thailand is a very big country and you want to make sure you visit a sanctuary near where you are staying so the shuttle can come pick you up. Most sanctuaries are hidden away in the middle of nowhere, so they have their own shuttles that will pick you up at your hotel or the main office in the city.
- Are they ethical? This is the big one here! Elephants are not meant for amusement and should never be ridden. The torture they go through just to give you that ride is horrible (look it up if you don’t believe me) and it also hurts the elephants to be ridden (just because they are big, does not mean they can hold your weight on their backs – they don’t have spines!).
- The right experience? You need to know what you want to do before you book your trip to the sanctuary. Each sanctuary is different, but you need to decide if you want to spend the full day there or a half day. Some will have one on one day experiences with an elephant and then some will be a whole group for the morning. Some will involve feeding the elephant or playing in the mud with the elephant and then others will be walking around with the elephants and going for a dip in the water later.
Now you have found your sanctuary, you want to make sure you are ready for your big day!
For everyone’s information, I visited the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Phuket, Thaliand.
I stayed in Patong Beach and the shuttle picked me up and dropped me off. It was about a 45 minute drive each way.
1. It is busy!
Don’t think you will be the only person there. You won’t!
No matter what time of year you go, what day during the week, or what time during the day.
To give you an idea, there was about 40 people in my group and that was specifically for “camp 1” at the elephant jungle sanctuary. I know there are fewer elephants at camp 2, so the group will be just a little bit smaller.
Don’t let the big group size discourage you though, you will have plenty of one on one time with the elephants and does the group size really matter? Your money and their money is going to towards helping more elephants that need rescuing from trekking and amusement.
2. Wear your bathing suit, bring a change of clothes, a towel, and don’t forget the travel size toiletries!
You have the option to go play in the mud and then the water with the elephants. I don’t recommend you wearing your normal clothes to do these activities.
You will get so gross and dirty! Trust me!
After the elephants have had their mud bath and you’ve washed them off, you can take a shower there. They are not attractive showers, so don’t think you’re getting the Four Seasons… they are part of the toilet stalls, there’s no soap or shampoo so you should bring a travel size soap, shampoo, sponge or loofah (trust me on this one, you need it to get ALL the mud off), and a hairbrush if you’re a girl with long hair.
Also, don’t forget the clean undies! I’m not saying get all dolled up because there’s only 10 showers for 40 people, but you’re about to eat food, so do you want to be muddy and gross before you eat? You tell me!
3. Wear lots of sunscreen! (But wash your hands after!)
You will be in the hot Thailand sun for the entire morning, afternoon or day (depending on what experience you choose). If you’ve never been… it’s hot and strong!
There’s no cover while you are in the mud pit or the water hole.
Just make sure you wash your hands before giving food any to the elephants because they don’t have a digestive system to process the toxins of sunscreen. So please be cautious!!
4. Elephants poop… a lot!
This is something that we all know, and it’s all a given, but I never really thought about it until I was there in the water with a ton of elephants and they all started pooping.
We were in the mud pit and the workers were joking about watching what you pick up because it could be elephant poop and not mud, they are correct!!
I know it’s gross to think about but it’s going to happen when you are there. So while you are in the water with the elephants, make sure you are at the side of the elephant or the front and don’t walk around back because you never know!
The workers there also have nets and are in the water with you scooping up the poop. It’s ok, everybody poops, right?
5. Bring a waterproof phone case.
All the activities are surprisingly close to each other. Your hub for the day is a large shack with long tables in it. You can leave your backpack, change of clothes, whatever you want there while you play with the elephants.
That being said, if you don’t bring a waterproof case for your phone then you can leave your phone on the table and still get to enjoy the in water experience, however, if you want to capture the entire day then just bring a dry pack or waterproof case.
A GoPro would be perfect too.
Tips For Visiting an Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand
- Water is included. There are bottles on the tables all day! Please stay hydrated!
- Food is included! I got a mini buffet with authentic Thai food, and let me tell you how delicious the pad thai was!
- There are no lockers, so make sure you don’t bring anything too valuable. While my belongings felt safe being in the middle of nowhere, you never know!
- The shuttle is included with pick up and drop off. If you’re not staying in a hotel (Air BnB) though, you may have to meet at the main office for pick up.
- When choosing between the morning or afternoon shift, always pick the morning! It won’t be as hot!
- They have a photographer there that will take all the pictures you want, just ask! The pictures are available the next day in a DropBox link found on their Facebook page.
- Reserve at least a week in advance to avoid disappointment. You can reserve (and pay) online!
- The people that work there are very knowledgeable and can answer any questions you have about the elephants. There is also a small presentation before you meet the elephants so you can get a little bit more education about where these elephants come from, what they have to go through and how they rescue them.
It really is an amazing experience and I think everyone should go to an elephant sanctuary while in Thailand.
Just remember to educate yourself before you choose a sanctuary because some places will advertise being a sanctuary and you arrive to elephants being whipped and chained up to a post!
The best way to find out if they are ethical is to check out reviews and look on social media at the location tags… if you see elephants tied up or giving rides, then you know to avoid that place.
Here’s the link for the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary I went to and they also have a location in Chiang Mai which is very popular.
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