Elephant Experience
Have an awesome elephant experience in stunning rural Thailand
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Group Size: Varies
Trip code: THEE
Duration: 1-4 weeks
Volunteer with elephants in Thailand
Help with hands on care
Stay in the local community
Enjoy an incredible elephant experience in stunning rural Thailand. Enjoy a cultural adventure and get up close to these majestic creatures as you stay at an 'elephant village' and live alongside local people in a Thai village off the beaten track. Help out with hands-on care of these amazing animals and live with the locals at a homestay in a rural Thai village. Spend weekends in sunny Surin and explore more of Thailand or hop across the border into Cambodia in your free time!
Trip highlights
- Spend two days in the buzz of Bangkok
- Stay in stunning scenery off the beaten track in rural Thailand
- Elephants never forget: Bond with these incredible creatures and make a difference as you help enrich the life of up to 35 elephants in a hands-on role, feeding and bathing the elephants
- Spend 3 nights per week in a homestay with local villagers for a true cultural experience and spend the rest of the week in Surin with loads of time off to explore
- Enjoy cultural activities such as Thai cookery and kayaking on the river and as you are close to the Cambodian border you can hop across at your leisure and explore!
Further trip information
Get ready for an amazing and authentic elephant experience in the heart of rural Thailand, as you head off the beaten track and immerse yourself on this unique elephant experience at an elephant village hidden in an idyllic Thai hideaway. Get to know the local villagers and get hands-on with these mighty creatures for an unbelievable, up-close elephant experience!
About the Elephant Project
Elephants were traditionally used in Thailand either in the Army or to help with logging, but once logging was outlawed the elephants lost their purpose and their handlers, known as 'mahouts', are often forced to find other ways to make enough money to feed and keep the elephants, such as begging on the city streets. The elephant project was set up to provide a safe home for the elephants, taking them away from a life of begging and hardship.
Your Elephant Volunteer Experience
The elephant village is set in stunning rural surroundings near Surin, and is home to elephants which live alongside the local villagers. Set among some of Thailand’s most breathtaking and beautiful scenery far off the beaten tourist track, this experience offers not just a unique elephant interaction, but also an amazing cultural exchange in authentic rural Thailand where you will live among the friendly locals in a real Thai village.
Elephant Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Bangkok. You’ll be met at the airport and taken to your hostel.
Day 2: Orientation and optional city tour of Bangkok’s temples and the Grand Palace.
Day 3: Transfer by train or public bus to Surin, in the heart of rural Thailand. Welcome meeting and a guided orientation tour of Surin.
Day 4: Transfer by bus to the rural elephant village (45mins-1hr from Surin)
You’ll spend Monday-Thursday every week living at the elephant village and helping out with the care of the elephants. On Friday, Saturday & Sunday you’ll stay in a volunteer house in Surin, with plenty of free time to explore Thailand or hop across the border into Cambodia. All transfers to and from the elephant village and Surin are included.
Your Volunteer Role
From Monday -Thursday, you’ll get stuck in with the day-to-day care of the elephants by providing food and water, mucking out the elephants and helping to bathe them twice a week. You will learn how to cut and harvest the bamboo which provides the elephants' diet. You can take a walk with the elephants, a wonderful natural experience, as you lead them down to the river to bathe. You will also help out with valuable community work, helping to plant crops and vegetable gardens to provide food for the elephants, and carrying out maintenance and repairs such as building or painting work in the community. You can expect to help out between 9am and 3pm.
Please note that we only support ethical elephant experiences and you will not be allowed to ride elephants at this project.
Booking options
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There may be some start dates with restricted placement lengths. Please note there may be some days when the project will not run due to religious and public holidays for example the project will close for 5-7 days for Songkran festival each year. There is also closure over the Christmas and New Year period.
Online booking is unavailable for this trip
If you'd like to discuss availability or would like us to help you find a similar trip please contact us...Call us on: 01892 527392
Email us at: [email protected]
Arrival information
To begin your Thai travels, you’ll need to arrive into Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok between 6am and 10pm on your start date where you’ll be met and taken directly to your Bangkok accommodation for a two night stay. Airport pickup is included. You will then travel by train (accompanied by a guide) to Surin. Please note that at certain times of the year the train journey may be replaced by coach travel.
You can depart from Surin at any time on your end date. A return transfer back to Bangkok is not included but the local team can help you arrange this. As the journey from Surin to Bangkok takes around 7 hours we strongly recommend you spend an extra night in Bangkok after your programme and fly home the day after your programme ends. Our co-ordinators in country can help you book an extra night in Bangkok.
Accommodation & meals
Accommodation is included during your stay in Thailand. You will spend your first two nights staying in a hostel in Bangkok. While in Surin, you will spend three nights a week staying at the elephant village (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday nights), living with the village elder and his family, and the rest of the week you will stay in a shared volunteer house in Surin. If you are travelling with friends, we can make sure you are placed at the same accommodation.
On the days you are staying in the elephant village you will live as a local villager, staying in the house of the village elder and his family. You will be staying in the house with the rest of your group, and the project co-ordinator will also be staying in the homestay with you. You will be expected to help out with duties such as cleaning and cooking, living as a member of the family. Accommodation in the homestay is very basic but is comfortable, clean and welcoming, and your host family will take wonderful care of you during your stay with them. It's a truly cultural immersion!
During your homestay you will be staying in shared rooms, sleeping up to five per room, on mattresses on the floor. The rooms are clean and there are fans, and mosquito nets at the windows. There is a shared living space with floor cushions and a large shared kitchen where you can help the family prepare traditional Thai meals. The shared bathrooms have warm water and western toilets. You will also have WiFi accessible.
When you are not at the elephant village your group will live together in shared volunteer houses which are rented from the local community in Surin. Each house has several shared bedrooms (sleeping 3-5 people), bathrooms with warm showers and western toilets, functional kitchen, in and outdoor seating areas and WiFi. Rooms include beds, bedding, basic storage, fan, mosquito nets and electric sockets. The guesthouses in Surin are located on the outskirts of the town centre, only 50 metres from the staff office and only 5 minutes from amenities including supermarkets, markets, internet cafes and ATM’s. A laundry service is not included, but you can either hand wash your own laundry or pay for your washing to be done by a local laundry service, for a very cheap price.
Please note: During the busy summer months (June-August) you may stay together in a different, comfortable guesthouse in Surin when you are not at the elephant village.
Three meals a day are included on the days in the week that you are at the elephant village. On your first Monday, breakfast in Surin is not included, but you will arrive in the elephant village in time for an inclusive lunch. On Thursdays, breakfast and lunch are included before you leave and transfer back to Surin.
When you are staying in the guesthouse in Surin meals are not included, but eating out is cheap, easy and tasty in Thailand. Alternatively, you can buy ingredients and prepare your own meals in the basic house kitchen.
Minimum age & eligibility
Minimum age to participate in this programme is 18.
Without a visa, British nationals arriving by land or air can remain in Thailand for a maximum of 30 days. If you wish to stay for longer, you will need to apply for a visa before you depart the UK. If you are not planning on working this will be in the form of a 60 day tourist visa. We can help you apply for this should you require one.