Elephant Sanctuaries on Koh Samui

The Elephant Sanctuaries on Koh Samui, in Order

All five are no-riding. They're ordered by the welfare lists, then by how hands-on the visit is.

1. 1. Samui Elephant Sanctuary, Bophut and Chaweng Noi

   The one the welfare lists back

   Samui's first ethical sanctuary runs two sites, seven female elephants on about 15 rai in Bophut since 2018 and eight on about 40 rai at Chaweng Noi since 2020. You feed them from a platform and with fruit as you walk the grounds, then watch them forage, swim in the pool and throw mud and sand over themselves. Visitors don't bathe them, mud-bathe with them or hug them.

   World Animal Protection lists it as a high-welfare venue, and Responsible Travel supports it for not permitting bathing. The three-hour half day, 09:00–12:00 or 14:00–17:00, is ฿3,000, or ฿1,500 for children aged 5 to 11, with round-trip hotel transfers and a vegetarian meal. The 1.5-hour encounter is ฿2,000. Pay cash on the day. Chaweng Noi has more land, and Bophut is closer to the north-coast hotels.

   When to go

   The morning session, before the heat.

   

   Samui Elephant Sanctuary Bophut

   4.8(2,190)Daily 09:00–17:00

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2. 2. Samui Elephant Haven, Bophut, north Samui

   Best for a volunteer day

   The sanctuary that Samui's forum threads name alongside Samui Elephant Sanctuary. A three-hour visit starts with a safety video, then you feed the elephants fruit and grass, make rice balls and walk the park to meet the herd. It's ฿3,000, or ฿1,500 for children 4 to 11, with transfers and a vegetarian meal. The 45-minute to one-hour feeding visit is ฿1,000 without transfers.

   Its full-day volunteer program, 09:00–16:00 for ฿6,500, takes six people a day and excludes riding and bathing. It isn't on any of the welfare lists I used, which is why it sits second. Pay cash on arrival, as the sanctuary warns against transferring money in advance. It also runs a site on Koh Phangan, and it shares its Bophut address with Wild Cottages Elephant Sanctuary Resort.

   

   Samui Elephant Haven

   4.9(1,640)Daily 09:00–17:00

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3. 3. Samui Elephant Kingdom, Na Mueang, inland

   Cheapest half day

   A three-hour session of food preparation, feeding and an observation walk, with a buffet lunch, from ฿1,700 with hotel pickup or ฿1,500 if you get there yourself. The one-hour Skywalk Feeding, from ฿650, has you feeding from a raised walkway.

   It states a no-riding, no-hooks policy. It isn't on the welfare lists, and its site doesn't say whether bathing is part of any program, so ask before you book. Sessions run 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:00.

   

   Samui Elephant Kingdom Sanctuary

   4.7(1,341)Daily 09:00–17:00

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4. 4. Samui Elephant Home, Na Mueang, inland

   Best for the museum

   A care and education center for elephants retired from logging and tourism, with what it calls Samui's first elephant museum. The half-day visit is feeding, watching and walking alongside the herd, and there's a shorter supplement-feeding program, a museum and jungle walk, and a coconut culture tour.

   It holds a TAT license and isn't on the welfare lists. Hotel pickup covers the whole island, from 07:45 in Bang Rak, Mae Nam and Bophut. Prices aren't published, so ask when you book.

   

   Samui Elephant Home

   4.9(2,324)Daily 10:00–16:30

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5. 5. Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Samui, Mae Nam, north coast

   Shortest feeding visit

   Elephant Jungle Sanctuary pays to sponsor listings on this site. That doesn't change where it sits here, which follows the same criteria as every other sanctuary.

   There's no riding. Feed Me is an hour of hand-feeding from ฿900, or ฿1,500 with a transfer. The Half Day Visit, three hours from ฿3,000 with hotel transfers, is feeding and watching the elephants play in the pool. Feed & Shower, 1.5 hours from ฿2,200, ends with you walking the elephants into a shower, which is the kind of contact the welfare lists advise against.

   It sits fifth because it's on none of the welfare lists, it's the only Samui sanctuary here selling a shower program, and Responsible Travel doesn't support the company's Chiang Mai and Phuket camps (it hasn't assessed Samui). If you book it, Feed Me or the Half Day is the visit I'd choose. It doesn't collect from piers, villas or Airbnbs, and same-day bookings aren't accepted.

   

   Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Samui (Soi 1 Branch)

   4.8(472)$$$$Daily 09:00–17:00

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