What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Incredibly rude guide & very poor experience.

  Anonymous,,Feb 11, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  I have been travelling thoughtout SE Asia for more than 15 years, and have been on countless tours. Funny that I had the best and worst tours ever on consecutive days on this trip in Chiang Mai. Unfortunately, this tour was the worst. The pick-up was late and the food provided on the lower scale of what one can expect on these tours, but that wasn't a big deal. What was simply unacceptable and shocking was the person at the sanctuary who lead the group. She told us her name was Siri, and from the very first minute, she started to scream at us to hurry up, fill out the insurance forms, etc. She also insisted that there were 8 people in the van in which we arrived, but there were only 7. We were on the van, so we should now, right? But she didn't believe us and keep looking for the right person and was not interested in our feedback. After about 20 minutes of her acting like a drill sergeant, I had to finally tell her to stop screaming at us. She did, but then she basically checked out. I have never in my life experienced such a rude and unpleasant guide. And especially in Thailand, this is very unusual, as people tend to be incredibly friendly and helpful. So basically she ruined the experience for the entire tour group. Of course we talked about her afterward, and we all felt the same. She also didn't offer to take photos of us with the elephants, which is also very unusual. I will contact Viator and request a refund. The only good thing to say about this tour is that the elephants seemed to be taken care of very well. Skip this one and take the 4 in 1 Elephants, Long-neck Village, Rafting and Sticky waterfall tour instead, also offered on Viator in Chiang Mai. This was the best tour I have ever been on.

• A little disappointment

  Marek H,,Feb 10, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  Rate 3. For this kind of money I would expect smaller people groups. We were like in 15 to 20 people. They have around 5 to 8 elephants that you feed with grass and fruits. In the whole are the groups of 20 people are changing stations and feed the same elephants. The elephants seems to like it, but taking the photo was sometimes to much disrespectful from my point of view. Our guide was kind of funny but spoke not good level of English and a lot of times we just could understand the meaning and connections between solar system and elephants and so on. So it was nice see the animals from near and feed them, but would be nice if they do it not so obviously digging the money from the whole thing.

• Great tour

  renealfonso,,Feb 5, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Excellent tour and value. Highly recommend it. The elephants were well taken care of. The morning had great weather

• Pay more for a better experience

  Julie H,,Jan 31, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  Getting up close to elephants anywhere is amazing but this was a disappointing experience. The ride took 2 hours in a gross old bumpy crowded van with a maniac speeding driver. When we arrived there were other tour groups there, so each elephant is crowded around by at least 10 tourists so the other people are in the background of all your pictures and the experience feels very touristy. there is a lot of sitting around while other groups are with the elephants, and our tour guide spoke abysmal English so it was impossible to understand him which was a missed opportunity to learn about these amazing animals. On my last visit to Chiang Mai 10 years ago I did the elephant keeper for a day at Patara, it's 3x the price of this experience but it's worth it. you get your own elephant and a very special unique un-touristy experience and you're bathing the elephant in a river in a beautiful setting, not the dirty water with the parking lot in the background here. If you're price sensitive go with this one but lower your expectations.

• Good experience but uncomfortable at times

  Paradise51994791290,,Jan 27, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  We have really mixed feelings about this experience. We did have a nice time and good experience however there were times we felt a bit uncomfortable. Everything was included: transfers, clothes, lockers, boots, lunch etc. It was also really magical being up close with the elephants however we question how ethical this sanctuary really is. The description states the sanctuary meets ethical standards however we were able to wash, feed and touch the elephants. The elephants were being encouraged by the handlers to do what the tourists wanted. The guide was encouraging us to lean on the elephants and lift their tails and trunks for photos which we felt completely uncomfortable with. Some of the elephants were also locked away in pens as they were ‘aggressive’. The transfer was also over 30 mins late to pick us up and I didn’t receive any updates to inform me of this.

• elephantsanctuary.org IS A HUGE SCAM, PLEASE READ

  annecJ8432SU,,Jan 27, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  elephantsanctuary.org is a huge scam I wish I had looked up the reviews. The website promised such an ethical experience but instead you go to this place where there’s 100 or more tourists. The elephants aren’t chained down but they might as well be. Tour guides asking the elephants to perform in return for sugar cane and repeatedly asking you to touch the elephants even though these animals are not wired for constant human touch and phone cameras staring at them for multiple hours. They also lock up the “naughty” male and only keep him around so they can mate more elephants once the male is old enough. So sad to see this and wish I had looked up reviews here, it made me sick that I was scammed like this and once we were way out there dropped off, we were stuck. Really hoping I save others from paying for this unethical circus.

• Morning with Elephants

  Jane M,,Jan 26, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  It was an amazing experience from the minute we drove into the sanctuary. This is something that we had never experienced before. I still can’t believe that I fed, walked around with and got into the water with the most amazing animals I have ever seen. “Slightly” out of my comfort zone (to say the least😂). I would highly recommend this experience and also, it helps to give these amazing creatures a better life. Yes, I’m using the word amazing a lot… it can’t be helped.

• Top experience

  J8651WKleonardoa,,Jan 25, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The experience was very interesting, constructive, beautiful and sweet! The people who work there are very polite and kind, the elephants are very sweet. Also fundamental is an ETHICAL place, not to be underestimated! I highly recommend it 😉

• Half day with the elephants.

  FionaH1195,,Jan 25, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We did the half day tour as we just wanted to see the elephants. We had a fantastic time. Being able to be so close and feed the elephants was absolutely wonderful. Our guide was so knowledgeable and made sure we all had lots of photos taken. The dinner afterwards was very tasty. Overall I would highly recommend this tour.

  

  

• Great experience for my husband and I.

  BoardingPass495609,,Jan 24, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The elephant sanctuary was a great experience. If felt very peaceful—not rushed. Our guide Terry was awesome! They provided clothes, boots, showers, towels, and a meal. We were able to feed the elephants and shower them, too.

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