With Panda Phuket Tour, you choose between an elephant sanctuary in Phuket with bathing and one without. Either way, you feed the elephants and we pick you up at your hotel. The difference is the level of contact: at one, you bathe them in the water and join them for a mud spa; at the other, you don't bathe with them or touch them.
Which sanctuary should you choose: with or without bathing?
With bathing and mud
At Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket, you spend half a day, in the morning or afternoon: you feed the elephants, join them for a mud spa, walk alongside them, and bathe them in the water. Afterward, there is a Thai meal with seasonal fruit. It's a good idea to bring a swimsuit, a towel, and clothes you don't mind getting wet or dirty.
No bathing or riding
Under its own rules, this sanctuary does not offer bathing with the elephants or riding them, and it does not allow touching them either. You feed them under the supervision of their guides and caretakers, watch them up close, and learn about their history. There are three programs. Nature and Elephants is a half-day program with a Thai lunch or dinner. The other two last an hour and a half: Walk and Feed, where you make rice balls with fruit for the elephants, and the short version of Nature and Elephants.
If you want to be with them in the water and the mud, choose Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket. If you prefer to see them without getting in the water or want a shorter visit, choose the no-bathing sanctuary.