Incredible experience, easiest 5 star review I've ever given! It was vitally important to me that I visited a sanctuary where there was no mistreatment of elephants of any kind. Hug Elephant Sanctuary provided me with just that, all at such reasonable prices too! I did the full day tour which started with a really early morning pick up, from my hotel. It is worth noting that I was picked up in an open backed truck which did not bother me, but some people may not enjoy this. Also worth noting it takes a couple of hours to get there from pickup so bear this in mind. The sanctuary itself was great, really nice and open, good facilities, the staff were really knowledgable and friendly. The experience included feeding the elephants, trekking through the jungle with them, mud spa and swimming in a river with them. I cannot describe just how incredible this day was! The freedom the elephants have and the interactions you get with them is unrivalled. It truly is a hands on experience! To top it all off you get a meal included and transport back to your hotel after. I cannot recommend Hug Elephant Santuary enough!

Our recent excursion was somewhat underwhelming, to be honest. Imagine our surprise when a red pickup truck taxi showed up to pick us up. A two-hour drive in that vehicle amidst the fumes, zooming down a busy highway – it felt a bit unsafe and uncomfortable, especially compared to the air-conditioned vans with seatbelts we've been used to on other tours in Thailand. We had anticipated a 45-minute trip, but the reality was quite different; it took us over 2 hours to reach our destination for the afternoon tour - we were picked up at noon and didn’t arrive until 2pm. On the bright side, we were fortunate to share the pickup truck with a lovely family, and their company made the journey more enjoyable. The highlight of the excursion was the elephant experience itself. Spending time with four elephants, engaging in activities like feeding, mud bathing, and river interactions for about an hour was a unique experience. (Just a heads-up, the mud bath did have a distinct aroma of elephant poo!) The elephants appeared to be well treated, had a large and natural habitat, and if you choose this company you don’t seem to be contributing to the mistreatment of elephants. Following that, we went on a 20-minute walk to a waterfall. While the tour description had us expecting a swim, the waterfall was intense due to the recent rain, and we could only view it from a distance. The return journey brought us back to where we started, where we ate some pad Thai and fried chicken before hitting the road again. Meeting the elephants was the highlight, but based on our experience, I'd hesitate to recommend this specific afternoon tour with the company.

This was an amazing experience! We had three people in our group and when the transportation came to pick us up there was one other person in the truck. While this was not a private tour, our group got the entire day ended up just being us 4. The ride up to the mountains was about 1hr 30 minutes total in the bed of a covered pickup truck. As we were arriving we could see elephants walking ( they belonged to different sanctuaries) with their mahouts( an elephants personal caretaker) once getting to the Hug sanctuary they very clearly gave us instructions and a layout of our day. We also had the opportunity to put our belongings in a locker and were provided with free water, and coke and Chang beer which was 30 baht. They also provide free sun hats and covers if wanted. There are 9 elephants in this sanctuary and our group had access to 4. First we got to feed the elephants, which was great to see how each elephant has their own personality. We then make the trek to the waterfall which take elephants joined us on. In addition to feeding them , this journey up to the waterfall is a perfect photo opportunity. On this tour you are completely on the elephants time. For example, our elephants chose that they were done eating and started the way up the mountain on their own and we followed. They also went off to eat some more halfway up the mountain and we continued to the waterfalls on our own. Their is a small cafe by the waterfall were they have bathrooms, but it is cash only. On the way back from the falls we got to see elephants in their natural states, far up in the mountains eating. We had phad tai (veggie/ with tofu) and fried chicken, it was great ! After lunch we made medical paste for them and then fed it to the elephants before the mud bath and washing , the mud bath can be a bit gross if you think about it but I personally didn’t and it was great. Now as we were booking this trip , i happened to mention that it was my birthday and apparently it was mentioned to our guide. She was super sweet and brought out a cake and made everyone sing happy birthday, she even gave me a gift! All in all our guide was amazing and knowledgeable the entire staff was friendly and the overall trip was such a positive experience. These photos and videos were all taken on my iPhone, though they do have a photographer that takes photos with his phone . BUT those photos are such good quality AND they don’t charge you extra for photos , they send them directly to your WhatsApp

Really amazing day with the elephants! We got to feed three elephants bananas and sugarcane, give them a mud bath, and then go for a swim with them! The day was capped off with cliff jumping at a waterfall, where we also played with kittens and had coffee at the nearby café. Finally, the pad Thai lunch was delicious. Our guide, Phone, did a fantastic job! We did the morning half day tour and felt we got a great amount of time with the elephants.

We had such a wonderful day with the elephants. It’s a small sanctuary and there were only 2 whilst we were there which was perfect for us as there were only 5 in our group and we felt like we got to know the elephants. The food was fantastic and our tour guide Sunshine went above and beyond with information and photographs for us. Thank you so much!

I love how the elephants get to roam freely in the jungle and come back for meals. we took the half day AM package. picked up from our hotel and went to Hug Elephant Sanctuary where we met our 4 friends of the day with their caregivers. we were asked to feed them some sugar cane in a way to "make friends" with the elephants. after which we will be able to pat and hang out with them. we walked to the mud bath area while the elephants went by the mountain trail, they are very fast. played mud with them and then wash them in the river. our guide was very friendly to explain all our questions to us. we end off the tour with a delicious lunch prepared for us before the driver send us back to hotel.

The whole experience was very rewarding, the living conditions of the elephants is loving and genuine. The food served with the package was delicious and Rambo the man who led the tour for our group was a great guy with great spirit and a lovely personality, beautiful experience all round.

We had an amazing time. We can truly see that the elephants are loved and taken care of. It was an incredible heartwarming experience. Thank you to the whole team for the delicious pad thaï, the beautiful pictures we recieved and thank you a million times Fon for your smile, your welcome, your energy and your kindness. I will never forget this day, thank you again.