15 Rafting and Elephant Sanctuary Days Worth Flying For

1.Elephant Sanctuary, Waterfall & Bamboo Rafting

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 9,160 reviews · 9 hours · from $60Our pick

Spend a full day near Chiang Mai feeding rescued elephants, swimming at a waterfall, eating Thai lunch, and rafting the Mae Wang River.

“Meeting point was close to my hotel. Everyone was friendly and welcoming from the start. Mr Suriya was our guide. We had an action packed day. It was such a humbling experience to feed and bathe with the elephants. Lunch was good with watermelon afterwards. Yummy 🤤 All the staff at the sanctuary were really happy so it shows they truly love the elephants. I did a lot of research before I booked this tour as wanted to visit an ethical place. After lunch and the elephants we learnt how to make their “protein” balls and we fed them those too. We then did the rafting and that was another…”

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2.Rafting, Elephant Bathing & Sea Turtle Center Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 2,519 reviews · 5 hours · from $73

Review of Khao Lak’s elephant bathing, bamboo rafting, sea turtle center, waterfall, and Thai lunch tour, with practical tips and value advice.

“We had a fantastic day out, very organised. highly recommend this day out. rafting, waterfall, turtle and best of of all the elephants experience”

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3.2-Day Jungle Trek with Elephant Farm & Raft Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 881 reviews · 2 days · from $97

Review of Chiang Mai’s 2-day jungle trek with Karen village stay, rescued elephants, waterfall swim, bamboo rafting, meals, and practical tips.

“a brilliant trek. Some tough uphill bits but worth it. Lee, our guide, was amazing and showed us a tarantula in its nest. Honestly was cosy and comfy. Food was delicious and I loved the campfire.”

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4.Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary, Bamboo Rafting and Waterfall Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 870 reviews · from $58Top rated

Review of Chiang Mai’s Bua Tong Waterfall, ethical elephant sanctuary, and bamboo rafting day tour, with practical tips on price, pace, and what to expect.

“Paul was very good guide, he was funny and helpful. I would specifically ask for him again in the future.”

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5.Khao Sok Bamboo Rafting and Elephant Bathing Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 719 reviews · 7 hours · from $79

Review of Khao Lak’s Khao Sok day trip with elephant bathing, bamboo rafting, Thai lunch, market shopping, and monkey temple visit.

“Absolutely best tour of the 3 we did in Khao Lak. Monkey temple was beautiful and the monkeys were an unexpected bonus. Bamboo rafting was absolutely idyllic and just stunning views all around. Elephants were amazing an experience not to miss. This tour visits Khao Sok Sanctuary which felt open and had free roaming Elephants. Tour guide was incredibly informative and took amazing pictures for everyone ensuring that we all had memories to last forever. Fab tour, so pleased we booked this!”

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6.Elephant Care Experience with Rafting & Zipline

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 422 reviews · from $77

Feed and bathe elephants, raft 5 kilometers, and zipline through Phang Nga with hotel transfers, lunch, and a cruelty-free focus.

“Rafting and zipline was nice, first time when I tried. Nice care elephants, the people in-charge are carefully with them, no harm, no hook, no ring on the elephants's foot. The guide full of energy, always prepared.”

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7.Khao Sok: Elephant Rescue Center with Lunch & Bamboo Rafting

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 306 reviews · 8 hours · from $84

Review of Khao Sok’s elephant rescue, Thai cooking, lunch, bamboo rafting, viewpoints, practical tips, value, and who should book.

“Everything about the trip was fantastic, Dee Dee our guide was lovely and really helpful, the highlight was of course the elephant sanctuary, the elephants were all happy and well looked after. Dee Dee took lots of great pictures for us. The rest of the day was brilliant too with a fantastic lunch at a restaurant in the mountains. It was really memorable day.”

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8.Khao Lak Ethical Adventure: Rafting, Turtles & Elephants

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 260 reviews · 7 hours · from $90

Review of Khao Lak’s ethical day tour with turtles, bamboo rafting, waterfall swimming, temple, tsunami memorial, lunch and elephants.

“This tour is Amazing! We had the BEST guide; Shane. We startet at the temple. WOW! Our guide Shane knew everything about the life of buddist monks/ traditions/ the ceremony of becomming a monk. The waterfall was so beautiful, and nice to bathe in as well. Amazing. The bamboo raft tour was also wonderful - we do recommend bathing clothes for this part, because your shorts gets wet. After the river tour, you get a variety of delicious courses! Shrimps, soup, vegetables, rice, fish and more! The Turtle center was full of small and larger turtles. Again; our guide had an enormous knowledge of both the turtles and the military.…”

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9.Elephant Sanctuary Bamboo Raft & Padthai Cooking

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 245 reviews · 10 hours · from $54Best value

Walk with rescued elephants, cook vegetarian Pad Thai, and bamboo raft through northern Thailand for a thoughtful full-day Chiang Mai outing.

“Me and my husband wanted an ethical adventure and we are so happy that we booked through Living Green Sanctuary. From the pick up to the drop off, we enjoyed the company, jokes from the guide, activities and food! Amazing pad Thai. Would go again!”

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10.White Water Rafting, Zipline, and Elephant Sanctuary

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 189 reviews · 9 hours · from $115

Phuket adventure review covering rafting, ATVs, ziplining and elephant care, with practical tips on timing, value, safety and welfare.

“So far the best day in my life! Day packed with a lot of activities, really liked rafting, especially with two young boys on 4th boat!”

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11.4 in 1 Elephants Long Neck Rafting and Sticky Waterfall Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 126 reviews · from $88

Review of Chiang Mai’s 4-in-1 tour with Sticky Waterfall, ethical elephants, Karen village, and white water or bamboo rafting.

“This was easily the best tour I have taken in more than 10 years travelling through South East Asia. Absolutely fantastic guide (Mr K), a small group and really fun activities. The elephant sanctuary was great and the elephants treated very well. The rafting was a blast, as was the Sticky Waterfall. I would highly recommend this tour, especially with Mr. K. 🙂”

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12.Khao Sok: Elephant Day Care, & Bamboo Rafting Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 109 reviews · 5 hours · from $79

Review of Khao Sok’s elephant care, bamboo rafting, Thai cooking, waterfall, viewpoint, and temple tour, with practical tips and value advice.

“The entire tour was amazing. Excellent guide, who took the time for us. the elephant experience was superb. I would definetely book this tour.”

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13.Khao Sok Private Ethical Elephants & Rafting

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 102 reviews · 8 hours

Review of Khao Lak’s private Khao Sok day tour with ethical elephants, bamboo rafting, Som Tum, waterfalls, viewpoints, and practical tips.

“Possibly the best experience of our lives. We did the private trip and it was worth every penny, highly reccomend to everyone. A day me and my family will never forget. Special thanks to our guide Winney and driver Amad they are both amazing 🙏”

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14.Phuket Ethical Nature Adventure: Rafting, Turtles & Elephant

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 82 reviews · 8 hours · from $123

Review of Phuket's ethical nature day trip with bamboo rafting, sea turtles, temples, tsunami history, and observation-only elephants.

“Thank you for an amazing day!! I had such a great time on this tour! Everything was well organized, and our guide was friendly and informative. After a nice lunch, we went bamboo rafting, which was such a peaceful and scenic experience — floating quietly along the river surrounded by nature was truly relaxing. Another highlight was the visit to the Sea Turtle Conservation Center. It was inspiring to see how much care and dedication goes into protecting these beautiful creatures and learning about their rehabilitation. Overall, it was a fantastic day that combined adventure, nature, and meaningful experiences. Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Khaolak!”

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15.Bamboo Rafting, Waterfall, lunch, Elephant, and Turtle Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 77 reviews · 7h 30m · from $96

Review of Khao Lak’s bamboo rafting, elephant bathing, turtle center, Thai lunch, and Lampi Waterfall day tour, with practical booking advice.

“We had a lovely day, Peter our guide was amazing, knowledgeable and ensured we had a great experience”

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