elephant rides

We are off to Phuket next month and would love to have some info on trips where you can ride an elephant etc., I%26#39;ve read some bad reports and wouldn%26#39;t like to see any elephants ill treated- would rather not go in that case.

Also would it be best to hire a driver or go on an organized trip to see the island?

elephant rides

Olivia, I really like Kok Chang Safari for elephant rides. I have been there many times and I think been on about 6 one hr rides, have not seen any mistreatment etc. The place is beautiful you can go to the top of the summit and the views are spectacular, then if you want you can ride the elephant down yourself.

Heres a link to our photos of Kok Chang

…google.com/CathyandGary/PhuketKokChang2008

If you want to hire a driver theres a list of the recommended ones here, might be cheaper than an organized tour.

cathyandgarystravelpages.com/hiring_a_driver�?/a>

Cathy

elephant rides

Kok Chang looks like the place we went to. Enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to - there%26#39;s just something peaceful and majestic about riding atop an elephant. There was one grouchy old Thai that looked mean and yelled at the elephants - they just ignored him. On the ride, the elephants pretty much did what they liked, they certainly did not look maltreated or scared.

We hired a driver and rocked up, cost us 1,000 baht each for the 1 hr ride. Later on, talking to our friendly tour operator (Fish and Chip tours outside Patong Merlin), I found I could have got it for 750 baht each, including transport, if I%26#39;d booked through her. Definitely worth checking out the tour operator prices.

Hi,

We did the half day one with water-buffalo ride, coconut picking monkey training and elephant ride through Siam Safari:

http://www.phuket.com/safari/index.htm

We%26#39;re planning to go back again with our sons shortly. Book it through a road side vendor and the tour arranges pick-up and drop off from your hotel.

Regards, Donna.

PS - Two sleeps and counting.

Thanks everyone for the info.,getting sooooooooo excited......... now I can say its next month were going on holiday!!!

Been checking how much it cost to eat out there-seen your web page cathy, blimey you tucked away some lovely grub it made my mouth water and so cheap, usually we%26#39;ve gone all inclusive so we weren%26#39;t sure how much money to take for food etc and not to mention SHOPPING so its been a big help checking out how much things cost.

chocolate mud cake