Half Day Elephant Home Sanctuary in Samui
Recommended by 99% of travelers
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Koh Samui, Thailand
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Get acquainted with the elephants of Samui during this half-day sanctuary tour. A local haven, this sanctuary is a place where anyone can come and see elephants freely roaming in the jungle. Immerse yourself in their history and learn how to care for these large creatures alongside your passionate instructors. Plus, you can feel good patronizing a venue that helps to nurture and protect Asian elephants.
- Observe as the elephants roam freely in the jungle in the local sanctuary
- Learn the history of the elephants and how to take care of them
- Have some vegetarian set of food after exploring the sanctuary with a guide
- Roundtrip transportation to and from hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle
What's Included
- Roundtrip transfer from the hotel
- English speaking guide
- Full insurance
- Welcome drink
- Vegetarian food after the program
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
What To Expect
1
Ko Samui
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
rinawelles
We loved our unique and special time in the elephant sanctuary learning about and interacting with multiple very well taken care of elephants. The guides were fun and did a great job coordinating our interactions feeding, walking with and watching bathing elephants. We even got to make elephant food and sling shoot treats into the bush the elephants could enjoy on walks in the beautiful surroundings. We loved how the guides personalized each elephant story! Highly recommend and would definitely repeat this experience.
Reviews
4.9
based on 755 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Hani_E, Jul 2026
Highly recommend. It’s a great experience, the guides clearly genuinely care about the elephants and are hugely knowledgeable. The experience was thorough and informative, with close-up encounters with the elephants both in feeding them and in just watching their behaviour.
Derek_M, Jul 2026
Really a great half day tour that won’t take up your full day, excellent experience to be so close to these majestic animals with such caring staff
Thomas_R, Jun 2026
It is a highly interactive experience where you will be taking care of the elephants and experiencing them in their natural habitat. I recommend wearing lightweight clothing and close-toed shoes or hiking boots due the nature of the jungle.
Patricia_K, Jun 2026
I highly recommend this tour. I learned a lot about the hardships elephants endure in Thailand. It was great to make the food and then feed them. I also loved using a slingshot to help plant food for the elephants.
Frank_D, Jun 2026
It was a transcendent experience , Nana was incredible and the food delicious well themed on love, keep up the good work
Alejandro_E, Jun 2026
One of the best and humbling experiences we’ve ever experienced. We were a family with 4 adults and 2 kids. There was also another family of 5. It was nice only having a small group , it made the experience personal. Everyone was so accommodating especially to my children. We learned a lot about the elephants and they seem very well taken care of. I liked that the whole tour was very interactive while being ethical that included getting to make food for the elephants, watching them bathe, and just observing them in the jungle. The lunch was also delicious and thoughtful. Overall, this was a 100/10 experience and was well worth it.
RebeccaHelen_H, May 2026
Loved this afternoon trip.
What a special place, contact with the elephants in a caring and respectful way,
all elephants are rescues
The staff were passionate about ensuring the welfare of the elephants were the priority.
Jennifer_M, Apr 2026
What an absolutely amazing experience!
The staff here clearly care and respect the elephants so much, everything they do is for their wellbeing. It was great making the food for the elephants and then getting to feed them, and a privilege to walk amongst them in the wild. Truly special experience and would highly recommend.
Greg_P, Apr 2026
At Samui Elephant Sanctuary, elephants that once worked hard in logging or tourism, (some for 40 years) are given a second chance at life.
Rescued from difficult pasts, they now live peacefully on forested land where they are free to roam, socialise, and simply be elephants again.
Samui Elephant Sanctuary
Visitors don’t ride or control them—instead, they gently connect by feeding them, walking alongside them, and quietly observing as the elephants eat, play in the mud, and swim.
The sanctuary’s purpose is simple but powerful: to protect these animals, give them dignity and freedom, and show people a more ethical way to experience elephants—one based on care, respect, and letting them live naturally.
This was the highlight of our week and a day we will never forget 🐘❤️
Would highly recommend everyone visit this amazing sanctuary and see the wonderful work the dedicated staff have accomplished.
Paulina_R, Mar 2026
It was a great experience feeding the elephants and watching them free. I hope the rescue Center can continue rescuing more elephants.
Richard_S, Mar 2026
This was a wonderful experience. The facility was well run, the staff was efficient and friendly and the elephants were treated with love and respect. We had lots of opportunities to observe and interact with the elephants and extra activities like preparing snacks for them and hosing them down. The lunch was delicious and the video is very much appreciated. This tour exceeded all our expectations. Thank you for a wonderful time!
Keith_D, Mar 2026
A fantastic experience, very well organized, the Elephants are so well treated. It was so much fun making the food for the elephants and then feeding them. Very efficient staff, wonderful Thai Lunch. All in all a most enjoyable day.
Jennifer_S, Mar 2026
This was a great way to see and interact with the elephants. Staff was amazing. Learned alot about elephants
Michael_M, Mar 2026
The Elephant Home in Ko Samui is wonderful place to visit. All of the elephants have been rescued and receive the best of care. Each has its own caregiver. This is a truly remarkable rescue facility and I learned so much about the plight of many elephants.
Timothy_H, Mar 2026
This sanctuary takes very good of orphaned elephants. It was such a joy to interact with and see them in as natural habits possible. The staff is very efficient, lunch was great and the elephants were perfect!
Alan_M, Mar 2026
What an amazing experience we had at the elephant home sanctuary.
We were warmly greeted and given information on the rescued elephants with an explanation of each of their histories. We got up close to the elephants when we fed them food treats we had prepared and also in the plantation where they roam freely. All the while a video of our visit was being made and there were plenty of photo opportunities with the elephants. It’s clear that the staff running the sanctuary really have the best interests of the elephants at heart. A vegetarian lunch and drinks were provided to round off a really fantastic visit. Not to be missed.
eierman, Mar 2026
In 30+ years of traveling this is one of the best days we've ever enjoyed. A chance to truly interact with the elephants amongst a team of incredibly high energy wonderful people. You must must must go on this trip.
MelWhicher, Mar 2026
Wonderful experience from start to finish. You hear about the stories of the elephants they’ve saved and about their habits. Everything was superb- from making their supplementary food to feed to them, to the seed bombs to grow more food which you catapult into the jungle. Watch them wallow in the mud and take a bath then finish off with a bath. A delicious lunch rounded it off nicely. The staff were amazing and so passionate about the elephants- it was hands up a magical experience. Can’t recommend it more highly. A must do if you visit Koh Samui
Sarah_B, Mar 2026
Great day!!! The whole experience was fantastic with ani.al welfare at the heart of the experience. X
Lindsay_W, Feb 2026
One of the best experiences of my life! As other reviews have said, the team showed so much care to the elephants as well as the guests and it was such a fun afternoon. Highly recommend for any animal lover to book this tour if they have the chance
Bruce_P, Jan 2026
A great team of enthusiasts people provided a good understanding of each elephant and where it had been rescued from.
The elephant feeding experience is great where you get to meet them up close before following them out in the local environment.
The food was also great and plenty of drinks provided.
Albert_L, Jan 2026
The staff are very knowledgeable and helpful. This tour was the highlight of our trip. Hearing the back story of the rescue elephants created a greater sense of connection.
Kelly_M, Jan 2026
If you care about elephants and want them to be cared for rather than exploited, this is the tour for you. I could spend a lot of words describing the enjoyable experiences like feeding and bathing elephants, or seeing them just living in a natural environment. However, the best part of the tour was seeing the love for and the joy of caring for the elephants in all of the Samui Elephant Home personnel, from the leadership through the staff, caretakers and volunteers. It was inspiring.
(But seriously, feeding the elephants was very cool!!)
This is a great tour and so worth your time.
Glen_R, Jan 2026
This was a fabulous experience. Throughout the whole time you move from activity to activity, alternating from learning about the elephants to engaging with them. Their focus on respect for the elephants and animal welfare carries throughout. The guides are friendly and you feel the animals are respected. They also take great care of you as a guest. Would highly recommend for an authentic and respectful experience.
Samantha_C, Nov 2025
This tour was perfect in every way.
Firstly, they were very accommodating and kindly accommodated us changing our booking due to food poisoning.
On the day itself the experience was insane - we made the elephants food, learned about their back stories, fed them, saw them out in 14 acres of land where they’re free to wonder and then helped hose them down. It was beautiful seeing these magnificent animals rescued and respect and admired how much the sanctuary deeply cared for the elephants. We could only touch them when feeding them and they made it very clear you do not play with their food or tease the elephants. They also have 24hr care for the elephants and only bring the elephants for feeding if they’re in the mood that day - it’s all clearly with the welfare of the elephants in mind and we loved that.
maryross2, Nov 2025
We visited Ko Samui on a cruise and we booked this tour last minute. It was such a great experience and one of our favorite memories from Thailand. There are a number of Elephant Rescue programs in Thailand which is commendable. It was educational and heart warming. You have the opportunity to make elephant appetizers, feed the elephants, walk with them in the fields, practice a little sling shot, bathe the elephants and have lunch. The team at Samui Elephant Home is gracious, kind and very loving to their nine elephants. It's a wholesome, informative experience in Thailand. It was definitely a highlight on our tour of Southeast Asia.
Debbie_S, Nov 2025
Fantastic experience and elephants beautifully cared for. Learnt lots and staff keen to share. Would recommend.
Ross_W, Nov 2025
We spent a magical afternoon with the elephants and wonderful staff. A must see trip. It was a real treat to understand and learn about the elephants.
Dean_S, Oct 2025
The day flew by! We learned so much about elephants and all the activities with them were great. The staff was very kind, educational and so caring for the elephants. The food was also delicious!
Joseph_R, Oct 2025
I did this experience as a family with 2 girls 9 and 12 and absolutely loved it.
The staff where super friendly and answered all my kids questions with a smile, the activities where great and the interactions with the elephants left ever lasting memories.
Cannot recommend this enough!!
From $91.35
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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