Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

We had a brilliant time at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. The elephants are really well kept with space to roam, play and socialise. Visitors are kept at a safe distance and the elephants can go wherever they like. We wanted to do an ethical tour and Phuket Elephant Sanctuary offers just that. Our tour guide, Rudi, was very knowledgeable about the elephants and their care and made sure we had a fantastic visit. To top it off, a lovely vegetarian buffet lunch.

There are pros and cons to this place. Firstly, I want to say, they cannot claim to be fully ethical yet. Some things they do, are ethical and helpful, but there are some things they do that do not meet that standard. Pro: it is a place where old and overworked elephants can receive medical treatment. They have the first elephant hospital in Phuket. Con: there is not enough space for all these elephants. They currently have 14 but the guide told us they have room for up to 25. However, a quick Google will tell you that Asian elephants need between 184-407 square kilometres to live in. The Phuket Elephent Sanctuary boasts they have 30 acres for the elephants to live in. 30 acres = 0.121 square kilometre. So that's 14 elephants living in less than 1 square kilometres. Pro: they buy enough food from farmers to support the elephants appetites, as there isn't enough food here for them to forage. Con: tourists are allowed to feed the elephants. This IS NOT ethical. On the Phuket Elephant Website they have given notice that tourist elephant feeding will end in March 2026, but my question is: why don't they just end it now if they know it is unethical? Pro: there is an aerial walkway above the elephants so that you can observe the elephants without being intrusive, however... Con: ... whilst the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary make it appear on their website that this walkway is a key feature of your visit and interaction with elephants is 'limited', this simply isn't true. We did the half day tour and we spent more time on the ground, within metres of the elephants, being very intrusive in my opinion, and much less time on the walkway observing them. I asked our guide we were being allowed to do this and why we weren't just on the walkway watching from afar and he said they were building more walkway. But there is already lots of walkway, enough in my opinion to end 'on the ground' viewings altogether. We witnessed one group get so close to an elephant while she was eating that she got nervous and tooted her trunk. We know she was nervous because our guide told us she was. Con: 'complimentary snacks and lunch'. First off, it's not complimentary if you've paid for it. Which we did, I'm sure, with our pricey entrance fees. I'd happily do without the snacks and food if it meant more of my money went to the elephants. For half a day visit, I don't need snacks and food other than water. In conclusion, I don't doubt the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is doing some old and abused elephants some good. Certainly it has to be better than the life they were leading before they were rescued. BUT, if you don't have enough land and resources to properly look after these magnificent creatures, should you have opened a 'sanctuary' here in the first place? Furthermore, your practices aren't truly ethical yet, so you cannot and should not claim to be.

This place is incredible. Interact and get close to these beautiful creatures without participating in the exploitation and abusive tourist traps. The trip to their sanctuary was beautiful, educational, entertaining, and left you feeling good that your admission fee and any donation or purchase helps fund such an amazing place. Ice was our tour guide and she was entertaining and informative and you can tell these people really care and enjoy what their doing. If you’re going to Thailand, one million percent recommend!