Elephant sanctuary that serves a vegetarian buffet with vegan options for visitors. Open Mon-Sun 9:00am-12:00pm, 2:00pm-5:00pm.
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Last update on 05 Jul 2019 by Guest
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Added by MichaelRobinson on 05 Jul 2019
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12 Reviews
First Review by MichaelRobinson
Sara_G
Points +80
Educational, ethical, and well-organized - Edit
For 3000 baht (so roughly 80 USD), they provide transport to and from hotel, as well as all-vegetarian lunch (which included clearly-marked vegan options). So, those are the logistics; they are doing really special work rescuing these elephants that have been used (and frequently abused) as workers for the logging and tourism industries. It was beautiful to see these animals up close, to know that they are finally living a life as close to “natural” as possible after decades of maltreatment for human gain. The workers and guides were all great, and the entire project is committed to educating the public, so that demand for elephant trekking and tourist work diminishes. A very moving experience.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-02-14
Guest
MKorvesis
Points +2328
I felt they took good care of the elephants - Edit
They offer a vegan buffet, just ask them in advance before joining their place. The food was delicious and all you can eat.
Read morePros: Delicious food, Good care of the Elephants, Deep knowledge about the elephants
Guest
dianec1
Points +256
Awesome morning with the elephants + delicious vegan food! - Edit
Had the best few hours of my life here this morning! We were allowed to feed the rescued elephants, bathe them then put mud on them. Half day tour included pick up & drop off from hotel, tour guide & vegan lunch. I had chilli papaya salad, stir fry veg, tofu curry & kind of tofu & veg soup. There were also french fries & fresh fruit. They were very accomodating for a vegan diet. Also some of the money goes to help local schools. Highly recommend!!
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Elephant sanctuary, Knowledgeable & friendly staff
Guest
Kela29
Points +206
life changing experience - Edit
A must go, they collect you from anywhere and drop you home. So ethical and educational! Plus an outstanding dish, let them know ahead you are vegan, if you don’t, all good as they had so much food! The experience was perfect in every way #savetheelephants
Read moreGuest
MelaniePearson
Points +471
Nice experience and tasty food - Edit
We enjoyed our trip here. Despite informing them we were vegan at the outset, unfortunately the guy forgot to tell anyone else so we didn’t get a special pad Thai prepared for us like others have. There were still 3 tasty vegan options for us though which we enjoyed.
Read moreWe also liked our visit to the sanctuary. It still made me a little bit uneasy to have animals presented for photos etc but I assume it costs an insane amount of money to keep these guys fed so they need to charge their entry fee. They said it cost 1 million baht to purchase one of the elephants for rescue from the owners.
Guest
ethank
Points +40
Ethical elephant sanctuary - Edit
We had a beautiful day here. The elephants are rescued from logging / riding operations. You have the chance to prepare food for them and feed them, at which point you can also give them a pet. Otherwise, you tour the sanctuary with a great guide and observe the elephants at peace. We were lucky and saw them have a swim! Highly recommend. The staff prepared vegan food for us included in the price too, a nice pad Thai and fried rice. The only vegan snacks we were sure about were Oreos but they have a big spread of snacks and water also included in the price.
Read moreGuest
Joshua_De_Serres
Points +1155
True Sanctuary - Edit
Elephants are part of Thai culture, unfortunately so many places mistreat the elephants. Samui elephant Sanctuary is truly ethical. The organization is all about protecting the elephants and educating the public about elephant welfare.
Read moreThese elephants are not abused so they will not preform tricks, you cannot pet them unless while feeding them, you cannot swim with them and obviously no riding. You will be able to feed them and observe them in the open jungle.
At the end of the tour, there was a meal at a mountain top restaurant included. The meal is vegetarian by default but they gladly make a delicious vegan meal if you ask.
This sanctuary is doing wonderful things, if you have the means, it’s well worth the visit, you can even buy some Samui Elephant Sanctuary merchandise to further support them in there efforts to help these beautiful creatures. #Veganuary
Pros: The animals are happy
Guest
Audlane
Points +360
Book this!! - Edit
I literally booked this experience after seeing this on happy cow and I’m so glad I did. What an amazing experience seeing the elephants. The food is good too and they prepared special vegan pad Thai for those of us who needed it- everything else was already vegan.😄
Read moreGuest
pauledeluxe
Points +79
Great place, vegan food as an extra - Edit
We went to the sanctuary for the morning tour and first I was kinda disappointed because there was no real breakfast provided - clearly my misunderstanding. They had several different choc bars etc., luckily Oreo cookies amongst them.
Read moreIntroducing herself and the schedule, the team leader of the guides explained that there would be a vegetarian buffet and those who have allergies should reach out. I did afterwards (for vegan) and they prepared a pad Thai and some stir fried rice with vegetables for me.
It was good and clearly enough but rather western-spiced.
Looking back I would rather not ask them for vegan food as there also were fries vegetables and white rice as well as a lot of fruit on the buffet what would’ve been enough for me.
Pros: Great people, Elephants!!!!, Vegan options
Cons: Quite expensive (the whole tour), But totally worth it
Guest
Ktully
Points +17
All vegetarian by default, able to take dietary restrictions - Edit
I didn’t realize food came with the elephant visit, but when they announced there would be food provided afterwards, they specified that all options would be vegetarian. If there were any additional limitations, they asked and were able to accommodate whatever was requested. Very impressed with the flexibility of the food options, especially given food prep isn’t a primary function of the institution.
Read moreAll elephants on the premises are also raw vegan it would seem.
Pros: Friendly staff, Tasty food, Flexible and able to make specific accommodations
Guest
veganjazztraveller
Points +431
wonderful experience - Edit
we really enjoyed the afternoon at the sanctuary. we got to know the animals‘ stories, prepared food for them and had the chance to really get close to the elephants.
Read morethe friendly staff is well trained and it always feels like the animals interests come first.
the sanctuary is a role model for responsible and ethical animal care.
the food they provided was very tasty and included vegan curry, rice, fried noodles and fresh fruit.
the money is used to support the elephant care and to expand in the future.
of course it also is a tourist attraction, so there may be a large total amount of people visiting, but they split the big groups to visit the elephants in smaller groups. RI was our wonderful guide!
Pros: they really care about the animals, the money is well spent, friendly and professional staff
Cons: little pricy, more visitors than expected
Guest
MichaelRobinson
Points +3368
Meet The Vegans - Edit
No one ever asks an elephant where it gets its protein. This sanctuary is lovely, with only the animals interest at heart, you cannot swim or ride these giant vegans but you can feed them and stroke their trunks. We were picked up from our hotel and once we arrived and had checked in, we were offered free coffee & snacks plus cold bottles of water. Our guide Guita was amazing, funny, friendly and full of enthusiasm. First we were all watched a short video before we went to feed the elephants pineapple from behind the fence. After this we were split into groups, given a bag of bananas each & then toured the sanctuary hearing each animals tale, the elephants were such gentle creatures. This was an absolutely incredible experience that I can't recommend enough. As a great bonus at the end of the tour was a vegetarian lunch with plenty of vegan options, the food was really tasty, curries, rice, noodles, chips etc. It's not often you go to an event like this and find you are well catered for as a vegan.
Read morePros: Delicious vegetarian buffet, Ethical, Elephants
Guest
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