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: jean michel baillon | posted Sun 22 Mar, 2026
HORRIBLE, a safari tour at 2:30 pm doesn’t exist!!!!! At this hour , the animals are quietly in the shadow : Safari summary: 5 elephants seen at 500 meters, two monitor lizards in a pond and a buffle that was bathing, that's all.
It’s not serious, we spend and lost time and monney, it’s a shame!!!! However, the staff are very nice.
Best regards
JM BAILLON
> Tour operator's response
Dear JM,
We're sorry to hear you think it was horrible despite seeing elephants, Gaur, and our staff being very nice.
The elephant observation area of Kui Buri only opens in the afternoon, those are the rules set by the national park authorities. As a tour operator we have no influence on this.
Years ago, we used to have access to the area in the mornings. We offered trips staying overnight at the ranger station, and I can tell you from our experience during those trips that the afternoons were way more productive than the mornings to see both elephants and gaur. Elephant sightings were rare in the mornings. Since a couple of years the park authorities no longer allow these overnight stays and only opens in the afternoon.
About 95% of the afternoon safaris are successful in seeing elephants. Surely not always at short distance, and sometimes only one, other times big herds. That's nature. No other national park in Thailand, or Southeast Asia? comes close to such successrates. That includes parks that have access from early morning till after dark.
I'm a bit surprised you signed up knowing in advance what time it would start, and even being successful in seeing elephants - the primary target of the trip - and still consider this elephant safari lost time and money, haha, but nonetheless I'm sorry it didn't meet your expectations.
> jean michel baillon
Sorry sir, but we are regulars and have traveled to Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa and Kenya, and we have never seen a safari in the morning or afternoon at 2:30 pm.
> Tour operator's response
One of the differences between Thailand and Africa is that Thailand is mostly forested. Which means conditions are cooler and therefore wildlife activity window is different from the open savannahs in Africa. Surely, in Kui Buri the accessible area is fairly open terrain because the area used to be agricultural area. But nonetheless it is quite common for the elephants to come out quite early in the afternoon. I'll admit - as mentioned in our first email to you - in particular the dry months March - April, the wildlife may come out a bit later in the day.
Nonetheless the park authorities request the visitors to leave by about 6PM, so we usually keep the starting time the same unless the guests specifically ask to start a bit later and don't mind making the already short duration of the tour even shorter.
I know that in Africa the safaris usually only take place early morning, or late afternoon. But if we would apply that same scheduling in Thailand, I would have missed a LOT of exciting wildlife sightings that happened during the midday hours that are typically not considered good for wildlife watching.
To be fair, also even in South Africa I've had some great sightings in midday during my self-drive safaris.
Anyway, I am sorry that we didn't ask you if you wished to start at 16:00 instead. We rather give the guests more time for the money. Even if the chance is a bit lower to see something at the very start.
Best regards!
By: Christopher Staab | posted Sun 15 Mar, 2026
Everything was great. Good Guide!
By: Veronique Richer | posted Mon 2 Mar, 2026
J'ai adoré mon activité. La guide était passionnée. Nous avonspu y voir des éléphants et divers oiseaux. Je recommande de céduler avec le park cela vaut la différence de prix. Le guide a vraiment pris beaucoup de temps. Nous sommes revenus les derniers contrairement au guide locaux. Nous sommes partie à 14h3p et sommes revenus à 18h10.
By: Antoine BERTOUT | posted Sat 28 Feb, 2026
Always great service and quality tour
By: John L | posted Tue 10 Feb, 2026
We had a very enjoyable afternoon in the Kui Buri National Park with Som. She was an excellent guide, knowledgeable and enthusiastic and had good spoken English but and I can appreciate that others who have English as a 2nd language may find it more difficult. Her colleagues were also very friendly. It’s not guaranteed to see elephants and we didn’t see any… but we heard them and did see gaur, birds and other wildlife. It is clear that guides feel it’s a failure if you don’t get to see elephants living in the wild but it’s completely out of their control and we appreciate the team’s efforts to be in the right place at the right time. It’s important for visitors to simply take pleasure in a day out in a tropical park with knowledgeable guides and maybe place a lot less emphasis on seeing elephants to avoid disappointment.
By: Emily Gracey | posted Sat 7 Feb, 2026
We loved our tour, and our guide was really knowledgeable. We only saw one elephant but saw so many more species along the way. Would highly recommend.
By: Alison Thompson | posted Wed 4 Feb, 2026
We had a great day. We saw an adult male elephant at our first stop and then nothing for a while. We saw gaur, monkeys and a barking deer. We thought we were not goi g to see any more but towards the end we saw a family of elephants with a tiny baby. Our guide Song( not sure of the spelling sorry) was really helpful and gave us a lot of information l. We had a wonderful trip
By: Daniel Wehrli | posted Mon 2 Feb, 2026
Very good tour (including transfer from and to Hua Hin). Long time we saw no elephants but Som convinced us to be patient. Then a lot of elephants at two spots and a lot of birds and gaurs. Thank you, Som, for this memorable tour.
By: elodie segura | posted Mon 26 Jan, 2026
We enjoyed the tour, and we saw several elephants and many birds. The driver and guides were very professional. Highly recommended to enjoy the nature
By: Felix | posted Tue 20 Jan, 2026
Our safari in Kui Buri National Park felt like a true wildlife adventure. Far from the usual tourist routes, this park offers an authentic chance to witness Asian elephants in their natural habotat: wild, free, and undisturbed. The open savanna landscapes, the quiet drive in the 4x4, and the anticipation at each viewpoint made the experience incredibly special.
We were lucky enough to see elephants of all ages, grazing herds in the distance, majestic gaurs, and vibrant birdlife: all in a calm, uncrowded atmosphere that felt genuinely respectful of nature.
Our guide Som elevated the safari even further. With her warm personality, deep local roots, and fascinating stories about the land, people and its wildlife, she brought the park to life. Her knowledge and passion turned the safari into an unforgettable journe. This is not just a tour, this is a true connection to Kui Buri and its wild spirit.
> Tour operator's response
Thank you very much for your nice review. We're glad to hear you had a great experience.
