Tiger Kingdom – Phuket, Thailand

Tigers everywhere!!! 

I remember being thrilled to hear that in Thailand you could experience the rush of being inside a tiger cage and getting up close and personal with some real full grown tigers! I knew that I had to take a stop at this place when I went to Thailand. My heart was beating out of my chest and my mind started bursting with ideas of being able to play and interact with the big beautiful wild cats.

To be upfront and clear, they do not drug or sedate the tigers before you enter the cage. The animals are well fed and animal behaviorists are inside the cage with you at all times during your encounter. They will sometimes feed the animals in front of you to get them to be more active. Remember, this is Thailand, and it is really hot outside, so most of the kitties just want to chill and stay cool.

You have the option of entering the cages with either the baby tiger, small tigers, medium tigers, or full grown tigers. I, of course, chose the full grown tigers because they seemed to be the most interesting (and dangerous) and would be a great size comparison to the human likes of me!

The Deal:

You pay different prices depending on the size of the tiger.

Smallest Tiger = 1,300 Baht per person

Small Tiger = 900 Baht per person

Medium Tiger = 900 Baht per person

Large Tiger = 1,000 Baht per person

August 2016 Currency Trade Rate: 34 THB to 1 USD

You must a sign a waiver before entering the establishment to basically make sure Tiger Kingdom is not responsible for any injury or incident.

They have a long list of rules for interacting with the tigers. If you follow these rules, you should have a good experience.

Once you go inside, there are numbers according to your ticket that are on a waiting list to have a tiger experience! There were many people on the list for the large tigers, but we really did not have to wait at all. We chose when we wanted to go inside.

You also have the option of having a photographer take your pictures inside the cage (for extra money), or you can bring in your own camera. I brought my own camera with me, so I got to take home my blissful memories for free (well, almost).

After we took a few pictures ourselves, some of the staff helped us take some pictures, so we gave them a tip after the experience was over.

While inside the cage, there is one animal trainer assigned to each tiger. So when we went inside, there were four large tigers and four animal trainers to accompany us.

The tigers generally laze around, chill in their pool, or interact with each other. They act like they are big house cats, but with you know, large teeth and claws. Some of the tigers had quite a personality to them (being more active), while others just tended to chill and relax.

We had a great time petting, laying, and chilling with the tigers. I would definitely recommend this experience for anyone that can follow the rules and loves big cats!

Tiger Kingdom has two locations, one in Phuket and one in Chiang Mai. I was talking to one of the staff, and he was telling me about how he had been working with tigers for 7 years and he does not remember many of them because their personalities are very lazy. However, he did recall his fond memory of the lion that they had at the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai. So, it looks like the next time I visit Thailand, I will have to head up to Chiang Mai and see this magnificent beast for myself!

If you have any experiences with big cats anywhere in the world, we would love to hear from you! Send us a quick message and we can chat! Anyways, this is the end of the post. Have a purrrrrr-fect day!

You can find more information about Tiger Kingdom (Phuket) at
http://www.tigerkingdom.com/phuket-3/