Travel

Splash around at Vana Nava Water Jungle and try Asia’s first VR Water Slide

The temperature has been high in Hua Hin lately, making water an essential component for a perfect family day out. And where else to experience some cool relief from the heat, refreshing splashes, and unlimited fun than at the Vana Nava Water Jungle? They've recently...

12 hours ago

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  • Thai cabinet approves extension of jet fuel levy holiday

    Thai cabinet approves extension of jet fuel levy holiday

    Whilst the current cheapest domestic air fares have been around the same prices they were before local airlines were grounded, there is a possibility of some more drops in your seat prices. Thailand’s budget carriers could be offering lower seat prices after the cabinet yesterday approved an extension of the jet fuel tax holiday. Thailand’s …

  • Bangkok Airways offering up to a 20% discount to certain groups of Thais

    Bangkok Airways offering up to a 20% discount to certain groups of Thais

    Bangkok Airways is offering 10 to 20% off its standard rates to certain groups of Thai citizens. The demographic groups are split into 5 categories: senior citizens who are 60 years old or over, undergraduates which include students and teachers, disabled persons, travel-related professionals and government officials. All groups will receive 20% discounts except government …

  • London to New York in under 4 hours – Will there ever be another Concorde?

    London to New York in under 4 hours – Will there ever be another Concorde?

    We’d flown in propeller-powered planes, then jets. Supersonic was the next evolutionary step in flying people around the world as the 1960s came to a close. Now, 50 years after Concorde’s early flights, supersonic flight is again just another aviation pipe dream as we pack into our cheap ‘flying buses’ which are not much different from …

  • Mandatory Covid insurance of up to 3 million baht for foreign visitors to Thailand

    Mandatory Covid insurance of up to 3 million baht for foreign visitors to Thailand

    A spokesman for Thailand’s State Insurance Commission says all foreign arrivals into the Kingdom will need to have insurance cover for Covid-19. Suthipol Taweechaikarn says the insurance will need to cover people for the duration of their visit and that various packages are being made available for online purchase. Coconuts reports that travellers coming from …

  • Thai Airways announces extra repatriation flights for European and Asian cities

    Thai Airways announces extra repatriation flights for European and Asian cities

    The executive vice president of Thai Airways, Wiwat Piyawiroj, says the national carrier is introducing 18 repatriation flights to cities in Asia and Europe. The flights will permit additional foreign nationals in Thailand to return to their home countries, while also allowing repatriating Thais or eligible foreigners to return to the Kingdom on the return …

  • Thailand’s Health Minister optimistic about admitting business travellers

    Thailand’s Health Minister optimistic about admitting business travellers

    The Thai Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, admits Thailand is caught between a rock and a hard place and can’t go on locking all foreigners out forever, in an effort to prevent a resurgence of the Covid-19 virus. “We will either die of the disease or of hunger, so we have to face the challenge.” …

  • Eva Air pushes back Phuket flights to July 2021

    Eva Air pushes back Phuket flights to July 2021

    A new timetable from Taiwan’s Eva Air indicates a delay to the planned resumption of direct flights between Taipei and Phuket, which had recently been tentatively pencilled in for March 2021. The new schedule now lists the flights as operating from July 1 next year with the airline’s website taking bookings from that date. The …

  • When will the world open up again for travel?

    When will the world open up again for travel?

    OPINION 9 months since the first outbreak in China, international borders remain mostly sealed. Most travellers, excepting certain categories, are prevented from leaving or entering in the majority of countries. The shutters went up in March and April in much of the world, a bit later in some countries, as governments and medical officials figure …

  • UPDATE: Pushback from local associations over the Thai government’s “Phuket Model”

    UPDATE: Pushback from local associations over the Thai government’s “Phuket Model”

    UPDATE: Amidst the “plans” and “models” being proposed by the government to re-open Thailand to some form of general tourism (nothing confirmed yet), there’s also been some pushback from operators in some of the hardest hit areas. The government had proposed the Phuket Model as a way of kicking off tourism from early October. But …

  • Plan on the table to allow Europe’s ‘snowbirds’ into Thailand for up to 9 months

    Plan on the table to allow Europe’s ‘snowbirds’ into Thailand for up to 9 months

    Another day, another ‘plan’ flown up the pole to see if it will catch some wind. This time a prominent health provider claims the government is developing a new ‘visa’ for sunseekers. If adopted it could allow foreigners to stay in Thailand on a long-stay visa for up to 9 months. Nothing has been finalised …

  • There is no date for the reopening of general tourism in Thailand, except Phuket

    There is no date for the reopening of general tourism in Thailand, except Phuket

    Deputy government spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul says Thailand will not be “fully reopened to foreign tourists” along the lines of Phuket’s “safe and sealed” model, because the government and CCSA has to consider too many details. Thailand’s largest island, Phuket, is going to be a pilot program for the partial re-opening to any tourist that wants …

  • I flew home to get a new visa – one person’s experience with the “new normal” in Thailand

    I flew home to get a new visa – one person’s experience with the “new normal” in Thailand

    Theo, from The Netherlands, flew back from Thailand to arrange a new visa in his home country. When he returned he had to stay in an Alternative State Quarantine hotel in Bangkok. What were his challenges? How much did it all cost? I am from the Netherlands, I am 44 years old, married with my Thai …

  • Expats should be able to share in the government’s tourism incentive programs

    Expats should be able to share in the government’s tourism incentive programs

    by Expat Life Newly elected President of the Thailand Hotels Association and Vice President of Sukosol Hotels, Marisa Sukosol, was asked what her thoughts were about the Thailand Together government travel stimulus campaign. Although close to 5 million people have registered, only 600,000 hotel rooms have been booked at this stage, well below initial estimates. “The project …

  • Thai Air Asia posts huge Q2 loss as their fleet struggles back into the skies

    Thai Air Asia posts huge Q2 loss as their fleet struggles back into the skies

    Despite many of Thailand’s discount airlines taking to the skies again, all airlines are still in the financial doldrums as they battle travel restrictions, a risk-averse flying public and closed international borders. Now Asia Aviation, major shareholder of Thai AirAsia, has announced revenue of 2,221 million baht and a net losses of 1,210.6 million baht …

  • Thailand is on top of the tourism shopping list for Asian travellers, when the borders open

    Thailand is on top of the tourism shopping list for Asian travellers, when the borders open

    “Fear & Possibilities in a Post Coronavirus World”. That’s the name of a new study jointly prepared by Blackbox Research, Dynata, and Language Connect. For ‘fear’ and ‘possibilities’, there are plenty of both as Thailand and Asia emerge from 6 months of battling and containing Covid-19, with more knowledge and better handling of outbreaks. The global …

  • Thai minister encourages hotels to stop price-gouging expats

    Thai minister encourages hotels to stop price-gouging expats

    The thorny issue of dual pricing has raised its ugly head again, this time with the current offerings for hotels as Thailand slowly winds up its tourism industry again. Tourism and Sports Ministry, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, is asking hotels to offer “fair packages to expats and resident foreigners, and avoid price discrimination”. He said that there are …

  • Air Asia and VietJet add some extra domestic routes

    Air Asia and VietJet add some extra domestic routes

    Whilst much of the world waits to get back into Thailand, the local airlines are starting to flex their domestic muscles and add new routes. Thai AirAsia is launching 2 new routes from Chiang Mai, starting yesterday, offering a one-way fare for as low as 790 baht on flights to Hua Hin, and Udon Thani …

  • No current plans to extend list of foreigners allowed back into Thailand

    No current plans to extend list of foreigners allowed back into Thailand

    There is no immediate plan to extend the list of foreigners being allowed to come to Thailand at the moment. Specifically still excluded are retirees with valid visas, homes and families in Thailand. The directive comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Thailand’s experience with Covid-19, it has closed its borders to tourists and …

  • AirAsia X forced to ground its international fleet until borders re-open

    AirAsia X forced to ground its international fleet until borders re-open

    Regional airlines are struggling to find any semblance of ‘new normal’ as they try to get their flight schedules settled for the next few months. With regional government’s unable to provide them timing for the lifting of border restrictions, and some re-closing borders, it has become a nightmare for the international carriers. Now Air Asia …

  • All foreigners will have to serve 14 day quarantine “in the foreseeable future” – Minister

    All foreigners will have to serve 14 day quarantine “in the foreseeable future” – Minister

    Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pipat Ratchakitprakan, is reassuring Thais by explaining that all foreigners, regardless of their status or origins, will have to serve a mandatory 14 day quarantine, at least “in the foreseeable future”. Thailand officials are currently prepares phase six of the re-opening of the country, loosening the restrictions imposed in …

  • Koh Chang has a bumper tourist (long) weekend – VIDEO

    Koh Chang has a bumper tourist (long) weekend – VIDEO

    Tourists have been flocking to Koh Chang off the Trat coast, in the east of Thailand. The TAT says that they estimate some 30,000 people wold have visited the popular Thai island over the long weekend (which runs into tomorrow, the King’s birthday). Kamphon Jaroenkhajornkun, president of the Trat Tourism Business Association says this weekend’s …

  • Travelling domestically in Thailand brings Covid-style hotel accommodations

    Travelling domestically in Thailand brings Covid-style hotel accommodations

    As Thailand remains closed to international tourists with travel bubbles being postponed indefinitely, the country has shifted to relying on domestic tourism to close some of the gaps in profit losses. As it heavily relies on tourism, which accounts for around 15% of its GDP, hotels are adapting to welcoming domestic tourists by offering Covid-conscious …

  • Travel trends define future of world tourism

    Travel trends define future of world tourism

    People still want to travel, even if their options are severely limited at the moment. 84% of respondents to a Hotels.com survey admit that they are “looking forward to travelling again”. But attitudes towards have also evolved as a result of the world Covid-19 pandemic. 49% of those surveyed admit that they would “still be …

  • Global aviation recovery could take 3 years – Survey

    Global aviation recovery could take 3 years – Survey

    “Widespread recovery of the global airline industry could be up to three years away.” That’s the consensus out of n industry poll conducted as part of FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future. 500 professionals around the world were asked questions about the likely recovery of the global aviation industry. Apart from the dire predictions of a …

  • Visa amnesty extension “very likely”. Decision this week.

    Visa amnesty extension “very likely”. Decision this week.

    Only 11 days to go until we reach the end of the current visa amnesty, which has allowed people with expired visas to remain in the Kingdom during the midst of Thailand’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak. But even today Immigration officials say that a proposal to extend the visa amnesty, or some similar alternative, …

  • Phase 6 to be announced this week, will allow more groups to come to Thailand

    Phase 6 to be announced this week, will allow more groups to come to Thailand

    “…keeping the economy functioning is of secondary importance.” 5 move groups are expected to be allowed into Thailand as the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration rolls out Phase 6 of the -reopenings’ this week. The groups would include migrant workers and some foreigners. A meeting was held yesterday where the next phase of reopening Thailand was discussed …

  • Thai Airways unlikely to resume flights in August

    Thai Airways unlikely to resume flights in August

    Anyone expecting the beleaguered Thai Airways to resume its flight schedule in August should not hold their breath. That’s the word from reliable sources in the industry, who predict the national carrier will not take to the skies again until September at the earliest. A report in TTR Weekly says the airline, currently undergoing a …

  • Thai PM expresses concern over “travel bubbles”

    Thai PM expresses concern over “travel bubbles”

    PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed serious concerns about the resumption of international travel under the “travel bubble” scheme, stressing that Thailand must implement a vigorous arrivals screening protocol. The scheme is a proposed limited resumption of international travel to and from countries with a reciprocal agreement. The Thai government has indicated it has taken a …

  • UK lifts non-essential travel ban for many countries starting July 10

    UK lifts non-essential travel ban for many countries starting July 10

    No bubbles, no air-bridges. The UK is ditching the 14 day quarantine plans for people arriving from 75 countries. The UK will shortly lift the ban on non-essential travel to just about all EU countries plus Turkey, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, as well as territories Bermuda and Gibraltar. The new rules will apply from …

  • Thailand targeting specific Chinese provinces for “tourism bubble”

    Thailand targeting specific Chinese provinces for “tourism bubble”

    Thailand’s minister of tourism and sports says his ministry will target specific provinces in China in a bid to attract tourists back to the resort island of Phuket as travel restrictions are gradually eased. Pipat Ratchakijprakarn says the ministry will not splash out money launching a tourist campaign all across China but rather target some …