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Volunteer with Elephants in Thailand – Chiang Mai
Embark on an unforgettable adventure in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where you’ll have the chance to volunteer with majestic elephants! Work alongside experienced mahouts, gather fresh elephant feed from the lush forest, create their special vitamins, and guide these gentle giants on walks. You’ll also enjoy giving them morning and evening baths and caring for adorable baby elephants, all while immersing yourself in an incredible wildlife experience like no other.
This program places you at an elephant camp in the mountains north of Chiang Mai, working alongside local mahouts on the daily care of a small herd, including morning and evening walks, baths at the creek, feeding, and stall and garden upkeep. It suits wildlife enthusiasts and anyone comfortable with outdoor, hands-on work; no prior experience with elephants is required, and the program is open to families as well as solo volunteers.
Placements run 1–6 weeks, starting twice a month (fridays), with the next intake on 2 Oct 2026. Monday to Friday you live at the camp in rustic volunteer accommodation (shared bathrooms, solar power, no air conditioning), with all meals provided; weekends are spent back in Chiang Mai at the volunteer house, where breakfast supplies are given but other meals are on you. Prices start at $1,089, deposit included. A distinct feature of this project is the rotation itself — you split your week between hands-on camp work and city time, so you get both the rustic elephant-camp experience and a base in Chiang Mai.
- Volunteer with Elephants, get to work in a quaint Elephant village in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand
- Responsibilities include working with mahouts, collecting elephant feed from the forest, helping in making their vitamins, taking them for walks, morning and evening bathes and taking care of baby elephants
- Volunteers also get to make different organic products out of Elephant waste
- An ideal break where volunteers get to live in the countryside and also take a break from their everyday life
- Great opportunity for all wildlife enthusiasts to work for the conservation of elephants at local elephant camps
- Get to meet fellow passionate volunteers from all over the globe
Your role on this program
- Take the elephants for a morning walk followed by a bath
- Prepare and feed the elephants their breakfast
- Help sweep the stalls and tend the camp garden
- Gather forest herbs and help make vitamin balls for the elephants
- Help explain safety procedures to day visitors on arrival
- Work alongside mahouts and learn their day-to-day elephant care routines
- Help care for one of the camp's baby elephants
- Move equipment and supplies around the camp
- Feed the elephants again in the evening, the last task of the day
Exact duties vary with the placement's needs, the season and your experience.
Role boundaries
You work under the direct instruction of the camp's mahouts at all times; you do not administer veterinary care, discipline or train elephants, or handle them unsupervised. Contact is limited to walking alongside the elephants, helping with their baths, and feeding them as part of the scheduled routine — you do not mount or direct elephants for tourist transport. Daily tasks may vary with the camp's needs and the season.
A typical day and week
Arrive into Chiang Mai on the Friday before your service begins.
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Saturday and Sunday – Pre Volunteer Service Orientation (accommodation starting Friday evening – Monday morning will be at the volunteer house or in the area of the house – Costs of accommodation during orientation are covered in one’s project fee)
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Monday morning – Local team will transfer volunteers to the elephant camp by transport or administrators from Elephant Camp will escort volunteers to the camp. Volunteers normally arrive at the project by 10:30am
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From Monday to Friday afternoon, volunteers will stay at the camp
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Friday afternoon,volunteers will come back into Chiang Mai and stay in volunteer house accommodation for the weekend.
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Monday morning – volunteers will return to Elephant Camp
Note: Please note, the schedule may vary depending on the particular project the volunteer is participating in.
The daily schedule for volunteers during their service at the Elephant Camp :
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6:00 – 6:30 am – Wake up, get dressed and help with the stall sweeping then feed the elephants and help out in the garden
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8:00 am – Prepare your own breakfast at the Elephant Camp and enjoy breakfast
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After breakfast – Volunteers will learn about some of the safety procedures with the elephants. After spending a few days learning about these safety procedures, volunteers may be asked to help out with explaining the safety procedures to day visitors upon their arrival at the Camp
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Around 9:30 am to 9:00 pm – There will be different activities for each day such as joining the walk with the Elephants around the Camp, bathe with the elephants at the creek, small dam making over the creek,gathering herbs for elephant, making herb balls for elephants, helping at the organic garden. Getting to know how smart elephants are and how close their relationship with their mahout or elephant trainers are will also be revealed. Volunteers normally will be able to talk with the mahouts while doing the activities.Some activities take all day to get it done and some activities will be combined if it takes only half-day
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12:00 pm – Lunch time of each day
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6:00 / 7:00 pm – Dinner
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8:00 pm – Feed the elephants, feeding will be the last activity of each day
Timings are the placement's usual pattern; the local team confirms your hours at orientation, and they can change with school terms, clinic rotas, weather and the project's needs.
Who can join and what you need
- Minimum age 18
- No prior experience with elephants required, but genuine interest in animal welfare and outdoor work
- Open-minded, flexible attitude toward rustic camp conditions and a new environment
- Proactive approach and willingness to take initiative on outdoor tasks
- Physically able to handle manual outdoor work in heat, including cleaning and gathering feed
- Travel and medical insurance, either your own policy or the one arranged by Volunteering Solutions
The placement, its limits and your part in it
The camp is run by local mahouts, many from hill tribe communities, who handle the elephants' training and welfare and are the ones you learn from and work under throughout your stay. The camp also receives day visitors, and part of the routine work involves helping explain safety procedures to them before they interact with the elephants.
All contact with the elephants — walking, bathing, feeding — happens under mahout supervision and follows the camp's animal welfare policy; volunteers do not make clinical or training decisions. Your contribution is practical: extra hands for the daily feeding, cleaning, herb-gathering, and garden work that keeps the camp running, alongside the mahouts who carry out the specialized care.
Our standards
- Responsible volunteer travel policyHow we choose, run and review every project
- Animal welfare policyOur rules for wildlife, marine and animal-care projects
- Certified B CorporationSocial and environmental performance verified by B Lab
- How we volunteer responsibly in ThailandCountry-level partner context and standards
Start dates
Weekly start dates, year-round — pick any week across the next two years.
Program fees by duration
Prices include your $249 booking deposit — which is deducted from your total program fee. Your deposit stays valid for one year, during which you may enroll in multiple programs. A 5% international banking fee applies to credit-card payments in USD or AUD.
| Duration | Total price | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week | $1,089 | |
| 2 weeks | $1,389 | |
| 3 weeks | $1,689 | |
| 4 weeks | $1,989 | |
| 5 weeks | $2,289 | |
| 6 weeks | $2,589 |
Indicative conversion — your booking is charged in the currency you choose at checkout.
✓ What you're paying for
- 24 hrs Assistance and support from Staff
- Comprehensive Pre- Departure Information
- Airport Pickup in Chiang Mai
- 2 Day Orientation and half day city tour
- Cultural Dinner and Show
- Accommodation in Chiang Mai city during weekends at volunteer house
- Food – All meals while at the elephant camp
- Accommodation in Elephant Camp
- Transportation from Chiang Mai city to Elephant Camp
- Travel & Medical Insurance (Available at an extra cost)
- Certificate of Participation (On Request)
Not included
- Airfare
- Visa Fee
- Return Airport Drop
- Meals during weekends in Chiang Mai city
- Vaccinations
Accommodation & meals
Airport Transfer
Volunteers are picked up from the Chiang Mai International Airport in Chiang Mai by the coordinator or representative. Volunteers who’d be present already in Chiang Mai will be met by the staff at a designated meeting point decided beforehand. Please note that volunteers are provided pickup from the airport between 8am and 8pm only. In case you are arriving later than the scheduled pickup time, you are recommended to book your stay at a hotel near the airport and the local team will arrange your pickup from the hotel the next morning.
Orientation
All volunteers are provided with an extensive two day orientation including a city tour before starting their project work. The Orientation session covers areas like, local Thai culture, greetings, locations, transportation etc. Volunteers are also given a half day city tour of Chiang Mai and are given a cultural welcome dinner to make them feel immersed in the local culture.
Accommodation
Participants in the Elephant Camp Project spend their Mondays to Fridays in the volunteer accommodation at the camp. On the weekends, volunteers return to Chiang Mai where they stay with fellow volunteers at the volunteer house. The accommodation at the camp is rustic and off beat.
Accommodation at the Elephant Camp is quaint, but very basic. The rooms are not equipped with air conditioning, but the area of the Camp (because of being in the mountains) gets rather cool at night. Electrical lines do not reach the nursery, therefore electrical appliances run off solar cells. The energy derived from the solar cells is enough to charge a cell phone, keep a couple light bulbs lit, and that’s about it. All the rooms have an attached, shared bathroom with a hot water shower. In most cases volunteers will have private accommodation, unless traveling with a companion.
Local Transportation
Airport pick up, the city tour and the transportation to and from the cultural show and welcome dinner are covered in the program fee. Volunteers in the Elephant Camp Volunteer Project are dropped to the camp by the team in Chiang Mai on Monday. Participants are picked up from the camp on Friday afternoon and driven to Chiang Mai for stay during the weekend.
Meals
When staying at the volunteer house upon arrival, all ingredients for breakfast are provided and volunteers can cook their own breakfast at the volunteer home. Essential supplies such as bread, butter, eggs, coffee, tea, fruits are provided at the accommodation and participants cook their own breakfast.
At the Elephant Camp, all meals are provided to the participants. Meals are freshly prepared and usually traditional Thai meals are provided.
During weekends volunteers need to buy both lunch and dinner on their own. The city has so much to explore and volunteers love to go out and explore the numerous restaurants and cafes in the close vicinity of the volunteer accommodation.
During your Free Time
Volunteers are advised to bring some books, playing cards and something to do during the evenings and downtime at the camp.Bring a few good books to get through during that down time.It’ll make the time more enjoyable. During the weekends, you can explore Chiang Mai city or travel to the cities of Pai,Chiang Rai or fly down to the capital city of Bangkok.
Life on the program
Getting there and who looks after you in Thailand
Airport pickup
You are collected at Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) between 8am and 8pm on your Friday start date. Volunteers already in the city are met at an agreed meeting point instead.
Weekend orientation
Friday evening through Monday morning you stay at the volunteer house in Chiang Mai for a two-day orientation, including a half-day city tour and a cultural welcome dinner and show.
Transfer to camp
On Monday morning the local team transfers you to the elephant camp, where you typically arrive by around 10:30am.
First days at the camp
You spend the first days learning the elephants' safety procedures before starting hands-on care tasks and, later, helping brief day visitors on arrival.
Weekly rhythm and support
You stay at the camp Monday to Friday and return to Chiang Mai for the weekend, with 24-hour staff assistance available throughout your placement.
From volunteers in Thailand
Frequently asked questions
What do I actually do on this program?
Your routine centers on the elephants' daily care: morning walks and baths, feeding, gathering forest herbs, making vitamin balls, and helping with stall and garden work, alongside camp mahouts.
Do I need experience working with elephants?
No experience is required, but you should have a genuine interest in animal welfare and be ready for outdoor, physical work.
What is a typical day like at the camp?
Days start around 6am with stall sweeping and feeding, breakfast follows at 8am, then activities such as walks, bathing, herb-gathering, or garden work fill the day, with feeding again around 8pm.
How long can I volunteer and when do programs start?
Placements run 1–6 weeks, with new starts twice a month (fridays); the next intake is 2 Oct 2026.
What does the cost include and what is the deposit?
Prices start at $1,089, deposit included; the $249 counts toward your total, is valid for a year, and is refunded if no place can be offered. The fee covers airport pickup, orientation, accommodation, and meals at the camp.
Where do I live and what do I eat?
Monday to Friday you stay at the elephant camp in rustic, shared-bathroom accommodation with solar power, and all meals are provided there; on weekends you move to the volunteer house in Chiang Mai, where breakfast supplies are given but lunch and dinner are on you.
How does airport pickup work?
You are picked up at Chiang Mai International Airport between 8am and 8pm on your Friday start date; if you land later, you arrange a nearby hotel and are collected the next morning.
What support is available if something goes wrong?
The local team gives a 24-hour emergency contact, and there is staff assistance throughout orientation and your time at the camp.
Do I need a visa, vaccinations, or insurance?
Visa fees and vaccinations are not included in the program fee, and specific guidance on these is sent before departure; travel and medical insurance is compulsory, either your own policy or the one arranged by Volunteering Solutions.
Do volunteers bathe or otherwise handle the elephants directly?
Yes, bathing, walking, and feeding are part of the routine, but always under the mahouts' supervision; volunteers do not mount elephants or direct them for transport, and do not make training or veterinary decisions.
Who does this program suit best?
It suits wildlife enthusiasts, gap-year travelers, and families comfortable with rustic conditions and outdoor manual work, including sweeping, feeding, and gathering herbs.
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