At Discover Corps, we want our travelers to be fully prepared and choose the trip that will offer the best experience while accommodating all physical abilities. Please read the points below carefully to determine if this trip is the right fit for you.
Accommodations: For the first three nights of your stay, you'll be at My Beach Hotel. Please note that there is a large flight of stairs leading from the rooms to the pool, breakfast area, and beach. While the hotel offers a golf cart for rides around the grounds and to bring you closer to the beach, stairs are still required to access the beach itself. Please see image below!*
Elephant Sanctuary: The volunteer work involves walking with the elephants in the forest for about 1 to 1.5 hours, typically at a slow pace with frequent stops. Other tasks include cutting grass in the fields, preparing herbal medicine balls, and feeding the elephants. For comfort, we recommend wearing a hat, coverage, and long sleeves as you'll be fully exposed to the sun during all activities.
Day 1 at the Elephant Sanctuary - *9:30am - 4:30pm with a break for lunch around 12pm.
Day 2 at the Elephant Sanctuary - *9:45am -4:45pm with a break for lunch around 12pm.
Day 3 at the Elephant Sanctuary - *9:45am -2:30/3pm - you will start the morning volunteering and then will have a cooking class followed by lunch.
*Please note these are approximate times that times can vary a little when working with animals and groups.
Boat to Koh Phi Phi: Depending on the tide you may have to get in the water to get in and off of the boat. We want people to feel comfortable stepping in and out of the boat into the shallow water if necessary.
Booking optional activities at Saii Ph Phi: You can check out the hotel website here to see what kinds of activities you can book through the hotel. All activities can be booked upon arrival. We recommend booking activities for Day 8 of the trip as you will have a whole unguided free day. On Day 7 of the trip you will get to the island mid-afternoon likely between 2:15-3pm (arrival time depends on boat transfer and tides).
Seasons:
Rainy Season: May - October
Dry Season: December - February
*Please note Phuket has a tropical climate* See more information on weather in Phuket here.
There are around 60 stairs in the middle of the hotel as highlighted in red to access from the hotel lobby on the top, to the restaurant for breakfast, the swimming pool, and the gym at the bottom. For guests who are not comfortable using the stairs, the hotel normally offers a buggy service that can be requested from their room which could be access to all the hotel facilities as per pink highlighted area.