The best in the island - This sanctuary embodies the ethical way on how to rehabilitate elephants and then natural habitat, and also learning as to why it is dangerous to have these animals working and abused in the entertainment industry. I had an up close encounter with the elephants and it was a great time ! We are habitat.

Highly recommend! - The sanctuary is beautiful and peaceful with happy and well loved elephants who were rescued. It was a great time feeding the elephants, making their meals, and also very educational. The elephants don’t look stressed and are happy souls there. The meals they provided were excellent! It really is a humane sanctuary for elephants!

Memorable day spent with gentle giants - The sanctuary was hot, sticky and magnificent. The elephants—old and disabled—are well cared for. There is a carer for every animal and these regal beasts are free to roam the sanctuary with their best friend. Visitors are numerous but the sanctuary is big enough to accommodate the tourists. The guides are friendly and knowledgeable. It was an honour to spend a day at the sanctuary—gathering fresh bamboo shoots, making dietary supplements, feeding the elephants, and observing these magnificent animals. Add this day to your Phuket stay. It's worth every bahrt.

A new core memory. - My husband and I were absolutely blown away by Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, our full day experience will be a core memory of mine for the rest of our life. The sanctuary itself is beautiful and well looked after and all staff members and volunteers are joyful to be around. I was incredibly happy to purchase this experience and help fund the sanctuary into buying more elephants out of the mainstream abusive tourism trade which is throughout Phuket. If you are in Phuket, this is a must do experience!

A real sanctuary for elephants! - 100% what they say they are! No riding, no bathing and happy elephants doing what they choose to do! We had a whole day there and found it great value for the price. Our guide was knowledgeable and very enthusiastic and the whole staff were very friendly. The food was very good! I can't recommend it highly enough!

A bitter-sweet but heart warming experience. - A memorable day which was bitter-sweet. The organisation from the pick-up at my hotel to the sanctuary was very organised. My day was a bit 'stretched out', I felt I spent time sitting & waiting. The introduction informative video was very emotional, I couldn't watch it but I could hear the commentary 😢 💔 😞 Learning about each elephant throughout the day was very heart-warming, my guide Rita, certainly knows her role & clearly loves the elephants. The sanctuary is a wonderful place for these special animals who deserve all the love, care & attention they fully deserve.

A place where love and rescue injured elephants 🐘 - This place and all the team are amazing. Our experience was outstanding. Every elephant was rescued for exploitation (spectacles, rides, construction) and they live in freedom and they do what the elephants do, enjoy eating, taking a mud bath alone, walking around. We did one day option: we fed some of them, we prepared special rice-banana-pumpkin balls for older elephants with special needs, we cut some bamboo for them. We learn a lot about their stories, how they communicate each other, their behavior, etc We will come back for sure, all was perfect. If you really love elephants come to see them here, being elephants and having the life they deserve. Thank you for this wonderful experience. We recommend 100% Phuket Elephant Sanctuary 🐘💫

Life-changing experience - Be prepared to have your heart stolen in the best possible way. This place has changed my life. My friend and I participated in the 7-day volunteer program which exceeded our expectations. My wish is that all animal sanctuaries are modeled off PES which is 100% ethically run with the purpose to provide a final, spacious and nurturing home for (currently) a dozen elephants who have spent their lives enduring exhaustive, abusive treatment in the tourism and entertainment industry. What a privilege and honor to roll up our sleeves and help care for these majestic creatures alongside the PES staff whose hearts are unquestionably dedicated to the wellbeing of these animals. Volunteers are treated like family and accompanied by a guide the entire time (shoutout to Rita, Rudy, Jaffy and Ice!!). We worked hard and were also encouraged to take restful breaks to recharge throughout the day between activities. Meals and breaks were spent in private, magical little huts overlooking a watering hole and in our spare time we walked the impressive canopy to watch the elephants being themselves. Volunteer activities included: making elephant food balls from rice, bananas and pumpkin; venturing into the jungle to chop down bamboo and feeding them to the elephants; cleaning elephant poo and leftover pineapple leaves (more ele food!) from their bedrooms; chopping and planting sweet grass on sanctuary grounds for elephant food (see a trend here? Elephants eat a LOT:); removing vegetation to make room for sand mounds and fresh plants; digging mud pits so they can frolic and enjoy themselves when it rains; helping morning and afternoon visitors feed the elephants; and lastly… getting to know the stories and personalities of each and every elephant resident. Housing, 4 meals a day and transportation to and from the sanctuary were all included in the program cost, which also is invested directly into caring for the elephants. We stayed in private rooms at the Dee Homestay (just a few minutes down the road) which was clean and comfortable and has AC! The staff greeted us with big smiles when picking us up for work in the morning and dropping us off around 5pm every evening. There are a few local markets and fruit stands nearby the volunteer accommodation which are neat to explore. Our guide Rudy even brought us a special fruit surprise one day after hearing about my friend’s love of fresh papaya! We loved learning about the surrounding landscape (rubber trees!) and the culture of the warm Thai people. One of the highlights and upsides of doing a longer volunteer program is the quality personal time spent with the guides who are super knowledgeable about elephant rescue and conservation. Questions of all kinds are welcomed and highly encouraged and wow, did we talk their ear off with plenty of those! The discussion with the staff throughout the week was rich and helped us understand in depth why and how a sanctuary like this is run. And, importantly, why more dignified and respectful sanctuaries like this are desperately needed. We walked away knowing that 1) we will absolutely be back; and 2) we’re ready to do our part to help spread educational awareness about the need by investing in PES to keep up the incredible work. To the PES guides: Your kindness, enthusiasm, patience and big hearts will always be remembered. To the kitchen staff: We felt the love in that fresh, delicious food! Thank you for accommodating our dietary restrictions and doing so with kindness. To the gift shop staff, bathroom attendants and wellie boot helpers: we see your hard work and appreciate all you put into making guest and volunteer experiences memorable. To the mahouts who spend their lives giving these elephants the respect and love they deserve: you inspire me. Thank you for sharing your heart and passion. And to Mr. Todtane: Thank you for choosing courage and compassion. We’re honored to join you in this journey of saving elephants. Until next time, khap khun kha!

Fantastic day out - I booked the full day tour and was treated to the most amazing experience with my guide Aoum. The morning was in a small group which was informative and relaxing and then after a delicious lunch being the only day tour participant I had a 1:1 experience. Making food and feeding the elephants was magical watching them swim was delightful but the highlight was seeing all those graceful ladies moving freely around and learning to build friendships.

Outstanding day! - Had a wonderful time and fulfilled a dream. The best part was making the food for the elephants and hand feeding them up close and personal. Trepidation at the start of the day, by the end of the day, we were best friends.