Zoos

Sakhu Elephant Care Sanctuary Phuket: Observation, Feeding and Spa Experience

Explore different elephant care programs in Phuket, from short feeding and painting sessions to full-day experiences.

Join a full-day program featuring a jungle walk, planting activity, elephant bathing, and a Thai cooking class.

Choose a morning or afternoon half-day program with rice making and bathing, or focus on feeding and a mud spa.

Enjoy Thai-style buffet lunch, drinks, and seasonal fruits on selected programs, with inclusions varying by option.

Select a program with hotel transfers, an English-speaking guide, a towel, and basic accident insurance where included.

The Sakhu Elephant Care Sanctuary Phuket offers different ways to learn about elephant care, from short feeding and painting sessions to half-day and full-day programs with activities such as mud spa, bathing, rice making and Thai cooking.

Getting started

Choose the program that fits your schedule and preferred activities. Depending on your selection, you can join a morning or afternoon session, spend a full day at the sanctuary, or take part in a shorter feeding and painting program. Hotel transfers are included with the listed options, while the Short Elephant Feeding and Painting Program specifies hotel pickup by minivan. Check the inclusions for your chosen option before setting out.

What to expect

Full-day elephant care and jungle walk

Spend the day learning about elephant care through a combination of outdoor activities and hands-on experiences. The full-day program includes a jungle walk with a planting activity, elephant bathing and a Thai cooking class.

Jungle walk and planting: Take part in the outdoor walk and planting activity included in the full-day program

Elephant bathing: Join the bathing activity as part of the full-day itinerary

Thai cooking class: Participate in a cooking class during your visit

Meals and refreshments: Enjoy a Thai-style buffet lunch, drinks and fruits

Half-day programs with rice making and bathing

The morning and afternoon half-day programs combine rice making with an elephant bathing activity. Both options list hotel transfers, a Thai-style buffet lunch, drinks and fruits, an English-speaking guide, a towel and basic accident insurance.

Rice making: Take part in the rice-making activity included in the selected half-day program

Bathing activity: Join the elephant bathing experience

Lunch and refreshments: Have a Thai-style buffet lunch, with drinks and fruits included

Feeding and mud spa sessions

Choose a morning or afternoon session focused on feeding elephants and a mud spa. These programs include hotel transfers, an English-speaking guide, a towel, basic accident insurance, drinks and seasonal fruits.

Elephant feeding: Participate in the feeding activity

Mud spa: Take part in the mud spa experience

Refreshments: Enjoy drinks and seasonal fruits during the program

Short feeding and painting program

For a shorter visit, choose the elephant feeding and painting program. This option includes a photo session and a magnetic elephant painting souvenir activity. Hotel pickup by minivan from Phuket, along with coffee, tea and a fruit snack, is listed among its inclusions.

Feeding and photos: Take part in the elephant feeding and photo session

Painting activity: Create a magnetic elephant painting souvenir

Refreshments: Have coffee, tea and a fruit snack

Wrapping up

Your experience ends according to the program you select. Before booking, compare the activity schedule and inclusions carefully, especially the meal arrangements and transfer details. The Short Elephant Feeding and Painting Program lists hotel pickup, but does not specify return transfers in the supplied details.

These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.

Visit Phuket Elephant Care Sanctuary in Naithon with ethical elephant programs, hotel round-trip transfers, and flexible full-day or half-day options.

Getting started

Begin with hotel pickup by minivan from anywhere on Phuket, with round-trip transfers included in every option. On arrival at Phuket Elephant Care Sanctuary near Sirinat National Park, check in and meet your professional English-speaking guide. Settle in with coffee, tea, soft drinks, bread, and snacks before an introduction to advanced ECO tourism that frames your time with the elephants.

What to expect

Phuket Elephant Care Sanctuary at Sakhu

Located in a green forest area in Naithon with a big natural lake near the borders of Sirinat National Park, this sanctuary focuses on giving elephants maximum freedom to roam, forage, bathe, socialize, and be observed in a calm environment.

Features

You take part in an elephant sanctuary program that matches your chosen option, which can be a full-day tour, a half-day tour in the morning or afternoon, or shorter feeding and mud spa sessions. Each program starts with an introduction to advanced ECO tourism so you understand how the sanctuary prioritizes elephant autonomy and peaceful, observation-led interactions.

With the full-day program, you walk with the elephants in the lush jungle zone, plant banana trees and Napier grass as their future food, and later join them in a large natural lake for an elephant bath. The same day also includes a traditional Thai cooking class focused on Pad Thai, followed by tasting your own dish.

Morning and afternoon half-day options focus on rice making, preparing fruit, vegetables, and healthy herbal balls, then feeding the elephants with seasonal fruits. These programs also feature scrubbing the elephants' skin with mud clay, joining them in a mud pool or big pond, and rinsing off together with a rain shower.

Dedicated feeding and mud spa programs let you indulge the elephants with nature's bounty by hand-feeding fresh seasonal fruits and then applying a mud spa treatment that supports healing from scratches and skin damage. Afterward, you help rinse off the mud with a rain shower and watch the elephants enjoy the cool water.

A short elephant feeding and painting program is available if you prefer a compact visit, centering on an elephant feeding and photo session where you can capture images with these gentle giants. Hotel pickup by minivan from Phuket and a coffee, tea, and fruit snack are included here as well.

Throughout all options, a professional English-speaking guide explains each elephant's background and habits, and your entry to Phuket Elephant Care Sanctuary is included as part of the experience. You also receive basic accident insurance across programs for added reassurance.

Food and beverages are provided according to the option selected, typically including drinking water, soft drinks, coffee, tea, seasonal fruits, and for longer programs a Thai style buffet lunch with home-made Thai snacks. This allows you to stay focused on the elephants without arranging separate meals.

Every eligible program features an elephant feeding and photo session plus a magnetic elephant painting souvenir activity, where you paint your own small magnetic elephant to take home. A towel is provided for programs with mud spa or bathing segments, and you finish with a healthy fruit snack before your transfer back to the hotel.

Additional information

Hotel pickup: Expect pickup by minivan from your hotel in Phuket as per the time stated on your voucher.

Program duration: Your experience can be a short visit, half-day tour, or full-day tour depending on the option selected.

Location: The sanctuary is in Naithon, near Sirinat National Park, in a green forest area with a large natural lake.

Welcome snacks: Staff greet you with coffee, tea, bread, and snacks before the program starts.

Guided activities: A professional English-speaking guide explains ECO tourism and the elephants' background.

Elephant welfare: Activities focus on feeding, mud spa treatments, bathing, and observation in a natural setting.

Hands-on elements: Some options include rice making, Pad Thai cooking, and planting banana trees or Napier grass.

Souvenirs: Many programs include painting a small magnetic elephant and receiving a keychain to take home.

Meals and drinks: Selected options include a Thai style buffet lunch, drinks, and seasonal fruit snacks.

Insurance: Basic accident insurance is provided for all listed programs.

Your voucher will be emailed to you shortly.

Display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the starting point.

Please check your final voucher for the starting point details & specific instructions.