Thailand is one of my favourite destinations. A beautiful country that I have been fortunate enough to visit on 4 occasions. On my last visit in April 2016, I was looking for a new adventure in the Land of Smiles and having booked many clients to Elephant Hills Luxury Tented Camp in Khao Sok National Park, I knew this was now at the top of my ‘must do’ list.
Various activities are included in the package our first being a scenic canoe ride down the Sok River. From here it was straight onto the most eagerly anticipated part of the day…our Elephant Encounter!!!
Elephant Hills is now home to 12 female elephants who were rescued after the Thai government made logging using the giant animals illegal. Many elephants in the country were made homeless as their owners had no use for them. Elephant Hills now looks after these ladies and they lead a well-cared for life.
First we watched the elephants interact with their Mahouts, their human caretakers who look after them and build an incredible relationship with their animals. We learnt about the animals and watched 3 of them have fun in a muddy pool. It was then our turn to get up close to these wonderful creatures as we got to wash them down with hoses and scrub their skin with coconut husks. The elephants also got their turn to get us with some water, which was very welcome in the Thai sun.

Once we had cleaned up these 3 the rest of the elephants were brought to us where we chopped up a variety of food to hand feed them. It really was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget!!
It should be noted that Elephant Hills have been highly commended in the Thailand Green Excellence Awards and were the only finalist from Asia in the 2016 National Geographic World Legacy Awards for ‘conserving the natural world’
Our evening was then spent back at Elephant Camp where we watched a film about elephants, were treated to some Thai dancing and enjoyed a cookery demonstration followed by a delicious meal.
The next part of our adventure started the following morning when we waved our goodbyes to Elephant Camp and made our way via a local market to Rainforest Camp on the Cheow Larn Lake in Khao Sok National Park. Here 20 luxury safari tents float on the water in a beautiful, incredibly picturesque natural setting. These are fully furnished with hot and cold shower, a proper bed and electricity generated by solar and wind energy.

Wildlife in the area includes Gibbons, Wild Asian Ox, Macaque and one of the activities included in the package is a trek into the rainforest. We opted for a more laidback afternoon and enjoyed jumping in the refreshing lake directly from outside our tent and taking our kayaks out on the lake. The setting really is something else and it was a very enjoyable afternoon.
In the evening we enjoyed more delicious food and enjoyed the company of our fellow guests before turning in for the evening. We enjoyed a nightcap sat outside our tent and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the stars shine so brightly, as there’s no light pollution.
We were woken at daybreak by an almighty whooping noise. The whole jungle had come alive with the sound of gibbons calling to each other. We sat out to listen and watch the sunrise before having another few hours snooze.
After breakfast it was time for the final activity which was kayaking with a knowledgeable guide to show the surrounding rainforest and it’s wildlife by water.
After lunch we said a said farewell to Rainforest Camp and took our boat back to the mainland where Elephant Hills then provided a complimentary transfer to my next destination of Khao Lak.
Elephant Hills provide complimentary transfers from Krabi, Phuket, Koh Samui and Surat Thani so it’s very easy to fit into a Thai multi centre holiday. It really is an experience that I would highly recommend to anybody travelling to Thailand. The combination of the elephant interaction which is both ethical and in a small group setting, as well as enjoying time in some of the world’s most beautiful natural scenery is a definite winner.
Why choose eShores?

One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.

100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.

Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.

Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.






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Mark
I have just booked three destination Greek holiday through E shores( Rachael) and can’t fault their approach and helpfulness . I amended my plans half way through but by the end we had successfully booked the three hotels I requested and organised ferry transfers . My input was minimal and all the work was carried out by Rachael Very satisfied with everything from start to finish Mark
Posted 2 days ago -
Rashid
Excellent service from Emily, she handled my enquiry from start to finish. Once i had made payment, she still kept in touch which shows great customer service.
Posted 2 days ago -
Judith
I have used this form a couple of times and they are excellent. Helpful staff and cost effective prices. Recommended
Posted 4 days ago -
Jeanette
Fantastic service once again from Dave Felton and the team at e-shores. All flights, transfers and hotels booked. Looking forward to Bali and Lombok Excellent knowledge, advice and customer care from the team, I would definitely recommend booking any holiday with e-shores✈️😎🌴
Posted 6 days ago -
Sandra
Fantastic service, another trip organised through eShores. Nothing was too much trouble.
Posted 6 days ago -
Lance
as always Eshores come up trumps, fantastic customer service with fantastic prices. Matthew our travel guru always sorts our trips,nothing is too much trouble .I have used E-Shores for 6 of our long haul trips ,manages to sort all connections,hotels and car hire to a sensible budget and always communicates . 5 star plus,give them a try you will not be dissapointed.
Posted 6 days ago -
NicholasDavid
Just booked our 3rd holiday with e-shores, yet again a full professional service and insight to the destinations we wanted to visit- no pressurised selling, and if we kept wanting our itinerary changed - Nick Chadwick didn’t mind at all. Easy to deal nothing to much trouble, also arrange everything to the last detail, no way would we contemplate a holiday to Chile, Argentina and Dominion Republic without eShores - thank u
Posted 1 week ago -
Wendy
We have recently been on an amazing 3 week holiday to Kuala Lumpur, Borneo and Singapore arranged by Hannah at eshores. Everything went smoothly and we had the perfect holiday. We loved our multi centre trip so much we have booked with Hannah to go to South America. Again the service and support is great and so easy to make tweaks to our itinerary. Looking forward to what I'm sure will be another great holiday. I would definitely recommend eshores.
Posted 1 week ago -
Deborah
We just booked our first trip with Nick from eshores and will be heading to Vietnam next April. Nick was very patient and professional. He listened to what we wanted and made changes to package where requested. Nick was very knowledgeable and made the process very easy.
Posted 1 week ago -
SusanMary
During the booking process, Dave has been brilliant, always very quick to respond and answered all of my very many questions. Our travel is not till next year but, if our tour goes as well as our experience to date, it will be fantastic.
Posted 1 week ago