Elephant Study Center Surin

Elephant Study Center Surin

Elephant Study Center Surin
3.5
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Does not meet animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles26 reviews
Excellent
9
Very good
9
Average
2
Poor
3
Terrible
3

Gary094
Newcastle, Australia2,352 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Friends
Located about an hour drive from Surin city centre.
Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Elephants all chained up by feet. Not sure if all the time?
It's in a little village where every house have their own Elephants.
We could hand feed a couple with bamboo . Then hand cut fruit which the owners cut up and washed before feeding them.
Written October 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

robinr
163 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019 • Family
Did notike to see some off the elephants in chains.others were walking around Also did not see how they study the elephants. The show was nice and there the elephants seem.... To Enjoy it.

Foreigners pay 100 Baht. More then locals but less more then in other Parks.
Written September 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John12063
Cheltenham, UK82 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2014 • Friends
Went to the Elephant Village today, it is about a 40klm drive from Surin city but worth the drive as you get to see the beautiful countryside. The elephants are all around the village, if you go into the main car park and keep going straight the road will take you to the back of the main village area where the elephant show is held each day. At the back of the main area is where many of the local people have their houses and also their elephants, worth having a look. The elephant show is okay but after 30 minutes we found it was enough. The elephants are very intelligent and beautiful. I had reservations about how they may train the elephants but did not see anything to worry about, yes the show is a bit of a circus but felt you need to put things into context, different country, different customs, different way to make money and survive and they are not making a fortune, this you can see from the houses they live in. It is well worth the visit.
Written August 18, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dereka66
Bang Sao Thong, Thailand82 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
The marvelous study centre just 50km north of Surin city centre near Route 214 and Route 3027 is a must do.
The elephant park is large with activities for all. The elephants are healthy and relaxed, they enjoy having fun with all visitors, playing games eating food giving a short ride.
There is enough shade in buildings, food and water. These elephants are well cared for and cherished.
Written December 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

agudbuk
Kaset Wisai, Thailand73 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2015 • Family
Good to see the elephants but when you look more carefully you can see evidence as to how they are kept and trained. The elephants do not belong in chained captivity
You can buy very nice elephant goads with the needle sharp points.
Written September 29, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dylantomos
South Wales, UK43 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2018 • Friends
This is located about an hour's drive from Surin city. It was well sign-posted and relatively easy to find. The journey is pleasant and takes you through typical Isaan countryside - rice fields, sugar cane and rubber plantations.
There were some good restaurants across the street from the center. The center itself has only a few shops selling junk food snacks.
The entrance fee and rides were double the rate for foreigners, but still only 100 baht to enter. However, there were no English language spoken by any of the staff. Apart from the exhibits at the museum, all the signs and notices were all written in Thai, so no benefits are given to foreigners for paying the extra fee, just a rip-off.
The center itself is very run down, dusty and shabby, There was no green areas, gardens or park area to sit and relax, The whole place was like a dust bowl. All the buildings were in need of a lick of paint. The toilets (the only place signed in English) were filthy with no water available during our visit. Use the toilets in the restaurants across the street, before you enter the center,
Most of the elephants were chained up and just standing around looking bored. There was an hour long circus type tacky show, where the elephants perform degrading, unnatural tricks for tourists and school children. There was a small museum with meager exhibits and some old photographs. There's better information obtainable from a Google internet search.
There was some building work going on, so hopefully the center is having a much needed up-grade.
I won't be visiting again, unless it's cleaned and up-graded.
Written January 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ray W
Liverpool, UK53 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2017 • Couples
I love elephants and thought this attraction was a bit sad. To have elephants doing tricks like dancing, playing football and massaging someones back while they lie on the floor wasn't for me. The elephant that was doing the massaging was heavily chained around it's neck and feet. Obviously so it doesn't do any harm. Really didn't seem like a study centre but more of a circus having elephants doing thing's that elephants are natural doing. It made me sad so i can't recommend anyone going here. If you do go the entrance fee is 100 baht for foreigners and 50 baht fot Thai's.
Written July 21, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RBM056
Oxford, UK211 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2015 • Friends
We took in the elephant show here, these are trained elephants and of course they can do a lot of 'cute' things if their mahout tells them to - usually with a jab behind the ears. The music was 100 decibels, I don't know what it did to the elephants but it made my ears bleed. An elephant was prodded into producing a 'painting' that could have been done by a child, but actually had nothing to do with the elephant. In the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre near Lampang they used to let the elephants do their own painting and make their own music, with rather wonderful results, but even there they now make the elephants play pop tunes according to the instructions of their mahouts, which misses the entire point. Sadly, there is little else for trained elephants or their mahouts to do in Thailand now, other than beg from tourists in the cities.
Written December 27, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gj1656
West Palm Beach, FL6 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
If you want to see elephant being treated in a humane way visit "Save Elephant Foundation - Surin Project" or go to Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park.org
Written February 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Samirk
Copenhagen, Denmark94 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
This place is awful! The elephants are firmly chained, most with no shadow, water or food! There are sooo many elephants especially young and baby elephants, it’s not natural! nothing about it is natural or worth studying! They have a circus where baby elephants do tricks they are taught by a lot of training.

Please do NOT support elephants not being treated well, this place should be closed down!
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Elephant Study Center Surin - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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