“Krabi elephant sanctuary” is not one place. The name is used by several operators around Ao Nang and Krabi Town, and their own websites do not describe the same day. Some say you only watch. One says you feed and walk, and stay out of the water. One says no riding and talks about an immersive visit. If the point of the trip is to avoid riding, read the policy on the site you pay, not the word sanctuary in the title.
Quick facts
Checked 25 October 2026 against each operator’s own site. Prices below are only the ones Following Giants prints on its booking page. The other three did not publish a price on the pages I read, so those numbers are not here.
- Following Giants, Krabi: 305 Mu 2, Khao Khram, Tha Pom Klong Song Nam, Krabi 81000. The homepage says no riding, no bathing, no feeding and no performances, on 85 acres with 14 rescued elephants. Booking page: 90 minutes ฿1,700 adult / ฿950 child; half day ฿2,750 / ฿1,750; full day ฿3,850 / ฿2,850. Infant under 3 free. The programme page puts adults at 12 and over, children at 3 to 11.
- Krabi Elephant Green Sanctuary: the homepage says two rescued elephants, no rides, no performances and no bathing with visitors in the water. You feed and walk, and you watch them bathe. No public price on that page.
- Krabi Roaming Elephant Sanctuary: 338 Moo 6, Ao Nang, Krabi 81180. Hours on the site: 09:00–17:00. It says observation-only, no riding and no performances. No price on the homepage.
- Krabi Elephant Shelter: 344 Moo 4, Ao Nang, Krabi 81180. Hours on the site: 09:00–17:00. It says the elephants are not ridden and not put to work. It also says the programmes are immersive. No price on the homepage.
- Pickup base: Following Giants’ booking page includes Ao Nang in its transfer area. The Nine Hotel @ Ao Nang is in that area, 660 metres from the beach on Agoda’s listing, not beside any of these sanctuaries.
The wider week, if the elephants are one morning of it, is in best things to do in Krabi.
Following Giants
This is the strict one, on the operator’s own words. The homepage says the Krabi sanctuary does not offer riding, bathing, feeding or performances. You watch rescued elephants in open country. The same page says the ground is flatter than the Koh Lanta site, which is the line to read if stairs are a problem, and that each elephant has a mahout. It also says the place is supported by World Animal Protection, and it calls itself Krabi’s only observation-only sanctuary.
That last line is theirs. Krabi Roaming Elephant Sanctuary describes its own visit as observation-only too. I am not going to settle the word “only”. Read both sites.
The Krabi booking page lists three programmes with a heading and a price:
- 90 minutes: ฿1,700 adult, ฿950 child, infant under 3 free.
- Half day: ฿2,750 adult, ฿1,750 child, infant under 3 free.
- Full day: ฿3,850 adult, ฿2,850 child, infant under 3 free.
The same page’s transport note says inclusive transfers cover Ao Nang, Noppharat Thara (the Railay boat connection), Thalane Pier, Klong Muang, Tubkaek and Krabi Town. Krabi Town needs at least two people. For an 8:30 start, book at least 12 hours ahead or the system will sell you the visit without the car. Outside that area, the page says to email [email protected] or WhatsApp +66 81 008 6999.
The address on the site is 305 Mu 2, Khao Khram. The place page on this site is Following Giants.
Krabi Elephant Green Sanctuary
This is the name that shows up most in search, and it already has a place page. The homepage at krabielephantgreensanctuary.com says the sanctuary has two rescued elephants that used to work in a riding camp. It says you can feed them, walk with them and watch them. It also says, in its own heading, that it is the first non-bathing sanctuary in Krabi, and that the elephants bathe without people in the water. The reasons it gives are welfare, the risk of an accident, and hygiene. It says it does not offer rides, performances or bathing shows.
I could not find a price on that site on 25 October 2026. Ticket shops still advertise a bath in the pool here, with numbers attached. That is the opposite of the sanctuary’s own page, so those numbers are not in this guide. If a checkout still says you will get in the water, it is not describing the visit the sanctuary’s site describes. Pay the operator, and read that page again before you go.
The homepage places the sanctuary near the national park in Khlong Thom Nuea. It does not, on the page I read, print a street address. It is a drive from Ao Nang, not a walk from the beach.
Krabi Roaming Elephant Sanctuary
The homepage says the elephants are not confined for shows, and that the visit is hands-off: no riding, no performances, no intrusive contact. You watch them feed and move around. Hours printed on the site are 09:00–17:00. The address is 338 Moo 6, Ao Nang, Krabi 81180, and the phone is +66 80 082 6621.
There is no price on that page. I am not filling one in from a reseller. The place page is Krabi Roaming Elephant Sanctuary.
Krabi Elephant Shelter
The shelter’s site says the elephants came from forestry work and riding camps, and that the shelter does not ride them or put them to work. It says it is certified by Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development and accredited by Asian Captive Elephant Standards. That is the shelter’s claim, printed on krabielephantshelter.com. The same page calls the programmes immersive. I am not describing it as a no-touch visit.
Address on the site: 344 Moo 4, Ao Nang, Krabi 81180. Hours: 09:00–17:00. Phone: +66 98 671 5336. TAT licence number on the page: 34/03015. No price on the homepage. The place page is Krabi Elephant Shelter.
What this guide does not cover
This site also lists Ao Nang Elephant Sanctuary, Krabi Elephant Sanctuary, Krabi Old Elephant Home and Khaothong Elephant Sanctuary. I did not re-check a current price or a contact rule on those four on 25 October 2026, so they are names and links, not a verdict.
Riding is the line to refuse. If a desk still sells a ride, a painting show or a circus trick, that is a different product from every policy quoted above.
Staying in Ao Nang for the pickup
Following Giants’ transfer list includes Ao Nang. It does not include a walk-up from the beach. The Nine Hotel @ Ao Nang is a 9-room, 3-star hotel at 348 Moo 2. Agoda’s listing, checked the same day, puts the beach at 660 metres and Ao Nang Night Market at 1.37 kilometres. Check-in is from 14:00 until 18:00, check-out until 12:00. There is no swimming pool on the facility list. December to February is when Ao Nang fills. A free-cancellation rate holds the price you see on the day you book.
The town layout is in the Ao Nang area guide. If the sanctuary is the inland plan and the sea is the rest of the week, the shape of those days is in day trips from Krabi.
FAQ
Which Krabi elephant sanctuary is observation-only?
Following Giants’ homepage says the Krabi visit has no riding, no bathing, no feeding and no performances. Krabi Roaming Elephant Sanctuary’s homepage also says observation-only, with no riding and no performances. Following Giants calls itself the only one. Roaming’s site does not agree, so check the page you are paying.
How much is Following Giants in Krabi?
On the booking page checked 25 October 2026: ฿1,700 for 90 minutes, ฿2,750 for a half day, ฿3,850 for a full day, adult prices. Children are ฿950, ฿1,750 and ฿2,850 on those three. An infant under 3 is free. The programme page treats 12 and over as the adult rate and 3 to 11 as the child rate.
Can you bathe with the elephants at Krabi Elephant Green Sanctuary?
Not according to the sanctuary’s own site. It says you watch them bathe, and that visitors do not get into the water or the mud. It also says there are no rides and no performances. You do feed and walk. Reseller pages that still sell a bath are not what that site says.
Does the Green Sanctuary publish a price?
Not on the homepage I checked on 25 October 2026. Roaming and the Shelter did not publish one either. I have left those prices out rather than copy a ticket shop.
Do I need a car?
Following Giants’ booking page includes a transfer from Ao Nang, Noppharat Thara, Thalane Pier, Klong Muang, Tubkaek and Krabi Town, with two conditions: Krabi Town needs two people, and an 8:30 start booked inside 12 hours does not include the car. The other three print an Ao Nang address or a site near the national park, which is not a walk from the Ao Nang strip. See getting around Krabi if you are going independently.
Where should I stay if the pickup is from Ao Nang?
In Ao Nang, inside the transfer area. The Nine Hotel @ Ao Nang is one bookable option a walk from the sand: Agoda lists the beach at 660 metres. It is a base for the morning pickup, not a sanctuary hotel.
Sources
- Following Giants homepage and Krabi booking page, plus the Krabi programme page, read 25 October 2026.
- Krabi Elephant Green Sanctuary, read 25 October 2026.
- Krabi Roaming Elephant Sanctuary, read 25 October 2026.
- Krabi Elephant Shelter, read 25 October 2026.
- Agoda hotel 409379, The Nine Hotel @ Ao Nang, read 25 October 2026.
