Private Tour | Kui Buri elephant safari | half day
Kui Buri National Park is known to be the best place in Thailand to spot elephants and relatively good chance to spot gaurs, and that sometimes in big herds. Gaurs are the biggest cattle species and the fourth biggest land-mammal species in the world. Other possible sightings during the tours include sambar deer, banteng and wild boar.
What?
Due to strict regulations this half-day wildlife safari tour doesn't include any hiking activities apart from leaving the vehicle for short walks to viewing areas, we will only be allowed to do safari driving. During our tour we scan the forest edges on grassland areas known to be prime elephant habitat in hope to see mainly elephants and/or gaurs.
Tour itinerary
From 2:30 pm till 5:30 to 6 pm
Wildlife tours in Kui Buri National Park are strictly regulated and limited to certain hours. After a mandatory registration we will get assigned an open-air vehicle with driver and an assistant. The tour will begin by driving slowly into the reserve on the main dirt road north heading to the main grassland areas. While driving slowly, we will search for any wildlife including birds or any other smaller/bigger animals.
Our first stop will be a viewing area where we leave the vehicle in hope to spot wildlife, mainly elephants. We will later on continue to the next viewing area at the end of the road, best known for spotting gaurs, but also elephants and sometimes bantengs.
During the tour, your guide will give you information about the habitat, wildlife and history of the park.
The type of assigned vehicle is an open-air pick-up truck driven by locals. It is the Kui Buri National Park's policy to let locals do the driving, a policy that showed to be a success in reducing the poaching in the park.
Where & When?
Kui Buri National Park lies about 1.5 hours driving distance from Hua Hin and nearly 4 hours from Bangkok. We can offer private transfers from Bangkok, Hua Hin or other destinations. The park is open all year round.
Tour details in short:
- Duration: half day
- Type: Private tour
- Price: 1,050 to 3,500 Baht per person
- Group size: 1 or more people
- Grade: Easy
- Transport: Safari vehicle
- Start: 2:30 pm
- End: 5-30 - 6 pm (depending on time for sunset)
What to bring:
- Rain clothing
- Insect repellent
- Sunblock lotion
- Hat or cap
How much?
Our half-day safaris are private tours. You'll be accompanied by an English speaking licensed guide and no other people will join you; the best way to explore Kui Buri Wildlife Watching area!
| Pax | Rate per person |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3,500 THB |
| 2 | 2,000 THB |
| 3 | 1,600 THB |
| 4 | 1,300 THB |
| 5 | 1,200 THB |
| 6 | 1,150 THB |
Tour rates include:
- Entrance fees
- English speaking guide
- Drinking water
Reviews from our guests
By: Syafiqah abdul hanif | posted Wed 29 Nov, 2023
The tour was very fulfiling. Our guide Song, was very engaging, sharing about the every wildlife the park has. Our local guides and driver was always making sure we can catch a glimpse of the animals in the natural state. My husband and I enjoyed it very much and would definitely recommend it :)
By: Marcel Brunner | posted Mon 13 Nov, 2023
Our tour was great. We've really enjoyed it. We've seen an elephant, who took a bath in a small lake, what for a great experience. We also enjoyed that you give the animals space and that you watch them from the distance. I would defenetly recommand to this tour.
By: Mona | posted Wed 25 Oct, 2023
Wir haben die Elefanten Safari im Kui Buri Nationalpark gebucht. Mit der Tour waren wir sehr zufrieden. Unser Guide Rap konnte uns sehr viele interessante Sachen über den Nationalpark und dessen Tiere erzählen. Sein Englisch war sehr gut. Trotz seines jungen Alters war er zu jeder Zeit sehr kompetent. Wir haben auch einen Elefanten, sowie eine Elefantenmama mit einem Baby gesehen. Zudem haben wir viele Gauer und Nashornvögel gesehen. Die Tour empfehlen wir sehr.
By: Benjamin Gangl | posted Sat 21 Oct, 2023
Thank you for this great tour.
We were really lucky because we saw many elephants and we loved them.
As we arrived in thailand we really hoped to see some elephants but we didn't wanted to visit a sanctuary or anything else, we wanted to see elephants in there natural habitat (as good as possible). And visiting Kui Buri and making this tour was the best decision we could have made.
Our young guide was really nice and answered every question we had. He made a really good job, we wish him all the best for his future.
By: Sylvain | posted Sun 13 Aug, 2023
Great tour with great guide !
We really liked it, saw many elephants, birds and other animals !!! Also we appreciated so much the fact that we had a private car, and inside the reserve there is not too many tourist.
My kids and wife really enjoyed it !!!
By: Daniel Musso | posted Tue 16 May, 2023
Safari was super fun and we managed to see one elephant which made it all worth it. The guides were friendly and determined to spot elephants and other animals for us!
By: Beatrice De Neve | posted Tue 7 Mar, 2023
We had a chance to see one elephant but only one. We saw also some gaurs ands deers but at the end of the day. We saw great horn bills because the local guide has seen them. In my opinion it is not useful to begin the tour at 2:30 p.m, 4 p.m should be enough. We were a bit disappointed that the special guide didn’t do more than the local guide actually. We thought that having a special guide we will walk a bit more in the park instead of just staying and waiting.
> Tour operator's response
Thank you for your feedback.
I am sorry if it wasn't clear in our itinerary that it does not include any jungle walks. Unfortunately we are restricted by the park regulations, which means we can not do any more activities than what the authorities allow. We very much wish we would have more freedom in the park to fully optimize our time and opportunities, but unfortunately that is not the case.
Perhaps the starting time is somewhat early, especially in this hot season. But on the other hand, we have also done trips on which we saw elephants right at the start of the trip, and none later on. Surely, on average the chance to see wildlife tends to increase later on the day, but still, being wildlife it is impossible to tell when they will show up and for how long. Spending more time is going to increase the chance, but indeed may mean you wait for quite some time for any action to happen. This may feel like a waste of time, if you are not lucky of anything to happen.
I hope that despite these issues, you have enjoyed your visit.
Thank you!
By: Patrick Drogné | posted Fri 3 Mar, 2023
TOP ORGANISATION (pick up from and to HuaHin and local guiding)
TOP RANGERS (Som and her colleagues)
Furthermore, even in very dry conditions, we were very lucky to see twice elephants, even 1 at less than 100m. We saw also more than 30 gaurs in 6 different opportunities. IT WAS A GREAT DAY.
Thanks to the park and all his team (including animals).
By: Alissa | posted Mon 27 Feb, 2023
Our experience booking a day trip through Thai National Parks was perfect. During our holiday we first booked an excursion to Khao Yai National Park. Although it was "full" for that day, we were given the opportunity to start on the south side of the park with a different type of car. Which was no problem for us. We saw many animals and beautiful nature that day. We have seen monkeys, deer, snakes, various birds, spiders, butterflies, a white and black squirrel. Beautiful trees, a waterfall and beautiful views of various landscapes. Our guide and driver were very friendly and told us a lot. Unfortunately, after all the beautiful things we have seen, we had not spotted any elephants and we would have loved to see them in nature. After reading the reviews on this website, I read that the chance of seeing elephants would be greatest in the Kui Buri park with an elephant excursion. So we booked this in the 2nd week of our holiday. Once there we had a very cheerful female guide. (Sorry, unfortunately we don't remember the names) In the first part we drove we saw a back of an elephant in the distance. We then drove to various points where we could best spot elephants. Although the view was beautiful, we unfortunately did not see any elephants. After waiting for the last point, our patience was rewarded. 1 of the guides received a report that elephants had been seen at the start of the tour. So everyone went back quickly with his/her guide. Once we arrived at the first point we saw no less than 6 elephants! According to the guide, this was one of the best days of the past period given the dry season. We are very happy that we were able to experience this and that we were so lucky that day. If you want to do an excursion to one of the national parks in Thailand, I will definitely book it through this organization. From the beginning to the end when you are dropped off at your hotel by the taxi, everything is perfectly arranged! Friendly and informative guides, the lunch was perfect, the communication and thinking along with booking these excursions was also fast and pleasant! Thank you for the beautiful days we have experienced with you.
By: Marco | posted Sun 19 Feb, 2023
Excellent tour and very nice and helpful guides. Saw 3 elephants, some gaurs and a lot of hornbills. Thank you very much
