Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Samui (Soi 2 Branch)

There are four Sanctuary locations in Thailand (Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui). I went to the one on Samui……twice! Once solo and then with my partner a year later it is that much fun! It is so lovely to see the elephants free and roaming the grounds without chains, baskets or being ridden. You could honestly see how happy they are 😊🐘 The day starts with a bus pick-up at your accommodation for the 30 min drive (from Chaweng) to the Sanctuary. After checking in and a debriefing, we were off to see the elephants! We started by helping prepare their meal and then feed them…. fruit, veges and a special “dietary ball” that contained their meds. Talk about hungry…. there were trunks going everywhere! After food, we went for a walk around the complex with our guide (and the elephants 😲) who explained all about how they got there, their personalities and so on. Was interesting as they each had their own stories, the elephants not the guides 😉 My favourite part of the day was getting to bathe the elephants, first in a mud bath then in a pond to wash them off. You must be careful not to get near their feet when they are lying down but being that close to them is something I will treasure always. I was washing one elephant when suddenly, their trunk came out of the water and started sniffing and kissing my head and neck! Was weird at first but wow…. so beautiful at the same time. Something I really liked about the day was that sure, you can take your own photos but there are a couple of photographers following you around the whole time you are there. They are great at making sure everyone gets their photo taken doing different things with the elephants. At the end of the day, you are given instructions on how to download all the pics for free. Most places would charge for this service, but they are happy to give them away. I cannot recommend visiting the Sanctuary enough. The entrance fee stays there, goes directly to the elephants, and helps improve the work the Sanctuary does to protect them. Next time I am back in Samui, I will be going for a third time!

Absolutely loved this elephant sanctuary! Getting to feed the elephants and spend time playing with them was such an amazing, unforgettable experience. There are seven elephants here, all female, with ages ranging from 20 to 53, and they are all incredibly friendly and gentle. You can truly see how well they are cared for and how much love and respect goes into their daily lives. We were the only two people with them for a while, which made the experience feel very special and personal—no big crowds or waiting around to take photos. It was peaceful, meaningful, and so much fun. Highly recommend this sanctuary to anyone looking for a truly memorable elephant experience! 🐘💛

Amazing experience here feeding the elephants. They seemed very chilled and happy with plenty of space for them to roam. The guide told us many of these elephants had been rescued from either the circus or working in logging. We thought the Feeding only ticket for 900baht for 1hour was a perfect way to meet and feed the elephants without spending too long with them and risk them getting distressed (plus we had our 10 month old baby with us). They were very gentle and took the food from us calmly. Really magical experience