PB
Peter B.Canada · January 2026
★★★★
“Excellent guiding and a beautiful route. One hotel was below the standard of the others and they refunded the difference without argument.”
Small-group tour
Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary Day
A full day at a small ethical sanctuary: feed, walk and observe, with no riding and no bathing shows.
A small-group day at an ethical elephant sanctuary north of Chiang Mai, capped at 10 people, from $110 per person. No riding, no bathing shows — you observe, feed and walk with rescued elephants, and the price includes transport and lunch.
Duration1 days / 0 nights
From$110 pp
GroupSmall group · max 10
StyleSmall-group tour
A full day at a small ethical sanctuary: feed, walk and observe, with no riding and no bathing shows.
Best for: Families and animal lovers. The route runs Chiang Mai. Everything below is a starting point: hotels can be upgraded or simplified, days can be added, and any element can be removed.
The difference between sanctuaries in northern Thailand is not the leaflet, it is whether the elephants are worked. On this trip they are not: there is no riding, no painting, no forced bathing. You walk with the herd through the forest, feed them bananas, and watch them decide where to go, which is less photogenic and considerably more interesting than the alternative.
The group is capped at ten, which matters because the elephants are not restrained by fences at every point and small groups keep the interaction calm. The day includes a talk on the rescue histories of individual animals, which is usually the part people remember.
What happens
- Small herd, small group
- No riding, no hooks
- Vegetarian lunch cooked on site
- Rescue stories from the staff
7:30 pickup, morning walk and feeding, lunch, river walk, back by 5pm.
How the days are paced
Eight hours including 1.5 hours of driving each way. Two walks with the herd, one feeding session, and lunch. No early start.
What changes the price
$110 per person is based on small group · max 10 sharing a room for 1 days, with mid-range four-star hotels as standard. Nothing is added locally: the entrance fees, boats and guiding are already in the number.
Deposit is 20% to confirm, balance 30 days before arrival. Free changes up to 45 days out.
What’s included
Included
- Transfer
- Guide
- Lunch
- Sanctuary entrance
Not included
- Drinks
- Tips
- Photos
Good to know
From $110 per person, based on small group · max 10, 1 days. The quote includes the hotels, guiding and transport listed under “What’s included”; international flights and travel insurance are not included.
Yes. Every itinerary on this site is a starting point. Days can be added or removed, hotels upgraded or simplified, and the route reordered around your dates — we re-cost it as many times as you need before you commit.
Not included: drinks, tips. Everything else listed under “What’s included” is in the quote, and we do not add local payments on arrival.
Three to six months ahead for the best hotels, and by September for travel over Christmas and New Year. Green-season trips can usually be arranged with six weeks’ notice.
No. If you want to ride an elephant, this is the wrong trip and we will tell you that before you book.
From about six, with a parent. The elephants are large wild animals and the sanctuary asks that children stay close.
Experiences on this trip
What travellers say about trips like this
HL
Hannah L.New Zealand · May 2026
★★★★★
“Three weeks is a long time to be organised. Nothing fell through, and the one thing that did — a cancelled flight — was rebooked before we reached the airport.”
MK
Michael R.Germany · February 2026
★★★★★
“Three drafts of the itinerary before we paid anything, and every change was answered the same day. The guide in Chiang Mai was worth the whole trip.”
Reviews are from travellers on comparable itineraries, not this exact departure. All 2,400 are on the reviews page.
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