Thailand ranked one of 10 safest travel destinations

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Thailand slid into 8th place in a survey of 1,500 Americans on the world’s safest travel destinations but is still in the world’s top 10. Canada snagged the winning spot during this survey in 1st place, followed by Iceland, Sweden, Japan, Ireland, Switzerland, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia. The survey was taken by travel insurance provider Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, as part of its 2022 State of Travel Insurance Report.

As Thailand prepares to ease several entry restrictions on the Thailand Pass from today, Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has welcomed the ranking, according to a deputy government spokeswoman. The spokeswoman said the PM sees the ranking as helpful in the wake of the recent changes and easing entry restrictions with the revised Thailand Pass.

This news comes as travellers are finally flocking back to parts of Southeast Asia. In Thailand, the number of foreign visitors rose 38% in March from February, of course from a low base. The director of Chiang Mai airport said the airport is ready for an influx of international passengers after the country’s entry requirements are eased from today. Phuket Airport this week also revised all its procedures for the new, simplified Thailand Pass which goes into effect today.

 

 

[Guest]

So, I’m considering a trip to Thailand based on all the posts in this forum.  I can get most of the detailed information I need from scanning the relevant posts as background.

But, some basic questions for a complete Thailand first time visitor.

1. What is best time to go ?  I’ve read January - April. January 2023 would be ideal and I’m thinking arrival mid-month.

2. How much time for first trip ?  Given the distance from east coast US, it feels like 2-weeks would be minimum to make it worthwhile. But, I’d probably be ready to come home after 2-weeks.

3. What is recommended itinerary ?  I’m thinking a week in BKK and a week in Pattaya, with BKK as first stop. I like nice beaches, luxury hotels and plenty of nightlife options. 

American has a great round trip business (ticket sold by American but operated by Japan Airlines, NYC-Tokyo-BKK) fare for the dates I’m considering and really nice hotels look very reasonable.  

Feels like everything is lining up to make it a reality for January 2023.  Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.  I feel the r/t business fare is too good to be true & want to get it quick if I can nail down some of the basics.  Thanks guys !

[reader]

January and February would likely offer some of the most agreeable weather with April traditionally being the hottest and most humid month. But I've enjoyed Thailand in all seasons so I wouldn't let that factor control my decision.

JAL offers some of the best trip duration times and Tokyo airports are very efficient and easy to navigate.

Your itinerary seems fine, especially if you want to get in some beach time.

If you can stretch you stay into a third--or even fourth--week, you won't be disappointed. You may decide you wish to return to BKK or explore another Thai destination.

Good luck with your planning.

 

 

[paulsf]

I live in So.Florida. It takes me about 30 hours from my condo in Florida to my condo in Bangkok.  I use the Japan Airlines flights mostly thru Boston, but sometimes Dfw.    Jal business fares go up and down all the time,so don’t panic if it goes away while your planning. It will come back.   I’m in Bangkok now and got Bos Bkk Business fare for less than $3000.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, paulsf said:

I live in So.Florida. It takes me about 30 hours from my condo in Florida to my condo in Bangkok.  I use the Japan Airlines flights mostly thru Boston, but sometimes Dfw.    Jal business fares go up and down all the time,so don’t panic if it goes away while your planning. It will come back.   I’m in Bangkok now and got Bos Bkk Business fare for less than $3000.  

Thank you - good to know typical business fares are $3000ish to BKK.  The fare I found was from NYC and had good connections to BKK.  I was surprised because I’m planing a trip to Tokyo and those roundtrip business fares (nonstop) were insane.  Must be because that’s an extremely busy and profitable route for business travelers.

[vinapu]

I'd say 2 weeks is minimum although I twice took just 1 week trips and enjoyed both even with those  24 hrs flights each way. But wouldn't recommend it for first timers.

Weather wise definitely Dec or Jan but as reader mentioned , Thailand is enjoyable in any weather due to abundance of willing consolators

[fedssocr]

I spent 3 weeks on my first trip (many years ago now). And split that time between Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. I agree that given how long it takes to get there and back that it makes sense to stay as long as your time and $$$ budgets will allow. Best time for weather is usually Nov to Feb but it can be a little unpredictable these days. My first visit was in September and there was a bit of tropical rain but not too bad. 

JL's business class ex JFK always looked nice but I used to fly CX instead back in the day. Now that Hong Kong has gone down the drain though that's not really much of an option at this point.

Thailand's a big country. Plenty of things to see and do depending on what you like. If you're just going for the boys that's one thing. But there's also lots of history, beautiful scenery, nice people, way too spicy food. 🙂

I think for first time though getting a little taste of everything is worthwhile if you have the time. I've never really been to Phuket or any of the islands but I know some people really love them. I would suggest Bangkok, Pattaya and the North (Chiang Mai and surrounds).

Check out Paddy Doyle's YouTube channel. He just finished visiting every province in Thailand on a moped. 

 

[PeterRS]

On 5/1/2022 at 10:40 PM, Slvkguy said:

Thank you - good to know typical business fares are $3000ish to BKK.  The fare I found was from NYC and had good connections to BKK.  I was surprised because I’m planing a trip to Tokyo and those roundtrip business fares (nonstop) were insane.  Must be because that’s an extremely busy and profitable route for business travelers.

It's been like this for decades! Fly NYC/TYO or TYO/NYC return and the biz class fare has traditionally been much higher than, say, NYC/TYO/HKG. In the late 1980s when I worked in Hong Kong, there were many occasions when I would purchase return tickets HKG/TYO/NYC for Japanese clients who would just tear up the coupons for the HKG/TYO sectors. It saved them a ton of cash. Unfortunately at some point the airlines got wise to this practice and computers started deleting all flights on a ticket if the first flight was not actually flown.

There used to be several anomalies that you could take advantage of. At the same time and well into the 1990s British Airways had a first class fare from Macao to Lisbon via London that was less than the cost of a biz class ticket HKG/London. That seemed madness to me, but I tried it. Macao then had no airport and the ex-Macao ticket provided a jetfoil ticket from Macao to HKG, then first class tickets to London and a biz class seat on to Lisbon as there was no first class on that aircraft. One stopover in London was permitted. A friend in Lisbon alerted me to this and told me just to tear up the jetfoil tickets. I did - and it worked like a dream. I loved those short stops in Lisbon!

[PeterRS]

On 5/11/2022 at 7:24 AM, fedssocr said:

Thailand's a big country. Plenty of things to see and do depending on what you like. If you're just going for the boys that's one thing. But there's also lots of history, beautiful scenery, nice people, way too spicy food. 🙂

I think for first time though getting a little taste of everything is worthwhile if you have the time. I've never really been to Phuket or any of the islands but I know some people really love them. I would suggest Bangkok, Pattaya and the North (Chiang Mai and surrounds).

Check out Paddy Doyle's YouTube channel. He just finished visiting every province in Thailand on a moped. 

Totally agree that Thailand has so much to see outside the main cities and tourist spots. There are also lots of local events that are stunning and quite unique to Thailand. I have referred before to the Candle Festival in Ubon Ratchathani and the Ghost Festival in the village of Dansai in Loei Province. These both take place during the period of Buddhist Lent and so usually the June/July period. Although there is occasional rain, it is not the main rainy season.

The Ubon Festival is not a procession of townsfolk parading through with hand-held candles. For about a month beforehand, each temple prepares massive wax carvings on trucks. These depict scenes from Buddhist scriptures. About 30 or so of these form the main part of the Parade which also includes participation by thousands including many cute students from the local university.

There are many ghost festivals around Thailand but Dansai is I believe the largest and most popular. Loei is a lovely green province where the weather is generally little cooler. There is even a large vineyard. The only problem for visitors to the Festival is the lack of good hotel rooms in or very close to the village. There really is only one on the hill above the village and so it needs to be booked far in advance. Many visitors stay in Loei which is about 1 hr 20 minutes away and go by tourist bus. 

[fedssocr]

That parade looks sort of like the Loy Krathong parade in Sukhothai which is also fascinating.