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Transportation in Thailand: Ultimate guide 2024

Discovering the vibrant streets and serene landscapes of Thailand can indeed be an electrifying adventure. But, like any journey, it has its challenges. Experiencing the bustling traffic of urban cities or the tranquil island ferries, you will find that Thailand's transportation system reflects the country's...

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  • Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble – Thailand’s international travel quandary

    Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble – Thailand’s international travel quandary

    With apologies to William Shakespeare. You’re going to hear a lot more about travel bubbles in the next few months. Indeed it will become the ‘new normal’ in the short-term for Thailand’s battered tourism and hospitality industry. The world is NOT going to magically re-open up and travel as they did before, at least not …

  • Travel bubbles for foreign travel to be discussed on Wednesday

    Travel bubbles for foreign travel to be discussed on Wednesday

    More information has emerged today about the proposed travel-bubble arrangements for foreigners coming to Thailand in the short term. Travel-bubble tourism will include limits on destinations and visitor numbers. There will also be restrictions on the origins of the inbound flights. The Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has addressed the issue with media this morning. The travel …

  • Borders start to reopen in Europe but restrictions on free travel remain

    Borders start to reopen in Europe but restrictions on free travel remain

    From today, a number of European countries will tentatively open their borders to some travellers, but total freedom of movement is still a long way off. The 22 EU countries, that are members of the Schengen area, normally enjoy restriction-free border crossings, but Covid-19 has put an end to that for now, and while some …

  • No Aussie dollars in Thailand for at least 3 months

    No Aussie dollars in Thailand for at least 3 months

    As Thailand starts to poke its head out over the Covid-19 parapet and look towards its travel future, there is at least one country that won’t be lining up at Thai immigration any time soon. Australians, an enduring stalwart of Thai tourism traffic, are banned from leaving the shores of the land downunder for at …

  • Covid-era travel restrictions around Asia

    Covid-era travel restrictions around Asia

    As most Asian countries dust themselves off and emerge from the ashes of the initial ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, a report in the Chiang Rai Times looks at how flight restrictions may affect travel in the region. International flights are still off-limits for many countries, but the situation is expected to gradually improve, particularly …

  • Thousands of people have been travelling between provinces

    Thousands of people have been travelling between provinces

    … but not quite as many as before, so far. The Director General of the Department of Land Transport says that more people have been using the inter-provincial buses services after the government recently easing Thailands’ lock down situation. He says… “Although some long distance services are still not in operation to comply with the …

  • Thai Airways files for bankruptcy protection

    Thai Airways files for bankruptcy protection

    Despite Thai Airways issuing a press statement and taking to social media to deny rumours it intends to file for bankruptcy, various media reports appear to confirm the struggling carrier will file for Chapter 3/1 of the Corporate Reorganisation section of the Bankruptcy Act. This is the Thai equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the …

  • Registration steps for travel to or from Phuket

    Registration steps for travel to or from Phuket

    Although Phuket is still trying to maintain strict measures to control the spread of the Coronavirus and the island is still under a modified lock down. According to local Thai media you can apply to enter or leave the island with 2 methods of registration, Thai or foreigner. OPTION ONE. Departures from other provinces, travelling …

  • UPDATE: Phuket airport reopening delayed, again

    UPDATE: Phuket airport reopening delayed, again

    UPDATE: In a surprise reversal, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has announced the postponement of the reopening of Phuket International Airport, indefinitely. Just yesterday they announced that the provincial airport was to re-open from tomorrow morning. Although Phuket has gone 13 days with no new Covid 19 infections, it was still considered a risk …

  • Thai Health Minister says China, South Korea no longer virus hotspots

    Thai Health Minister says China, South Korea no longer virus hotspots

    Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has provisionally approved a suggestion from Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul that China and South Korea be removed from the list of Covid-19 “hotspots”. Nation Thailand reports that the number of confirmed cases in each country has now dropped into single digits and attempts are being made to re-establish economic and social ties …

  • Thousands of cruise ship crew stranded at sea

    Thousands of cruise ship crew stranded at sea

    Tens of thousands of cruise ship crew members remain stranded at sea, virtual prisoners on their ships with no clear end in sight as the Covid-19 coronavirus drags on around the globe. The cruise industry has been shuttered and shattered by the crisis, with onboard outbreaks, denial of port access and no clear idea of …

  • Thousands of Thais to return by the end of May

    Thousands of Thais to return by the end of May

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has announced that all Thai nationals, stranded abroad during the peak of the outbreak, will be repatriated. The government is preparing to welcome around 7,000 returnees who will arrive by the end of the month. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA says that the centre is working closely with …

  • Thai Embassy in Japan advises citizens to register for repatriation flights

    Thai Embassy in Japan advises citizens to register for repatriation flights

    The Thai Embassy in Tokyo is advising citizens who wish to return home to register for two repatriation flights in May. Thai PBS World reports that with the ban on international flights extended until the end of May, the embassy is laying on two special flights for citizens who wish to return to Thailand. Posting on …

  • Air Asia publishes fit-to-fly guidelines when they take to Asia’s skies again

    Air Asia publishes fit-to-fly guidelines when they take to Asia’s skies again

    Captain Ling Liong Tien, the Chief Safety Officer @ AirAsia, has sent out an email to customers laying down a detailed list of new requirements for early-adopters in the post-covid regional travel world. It doesn’t look like a lot of fun, but there will at least be a means for airlines, airline staff, and passengers, to …

  • Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines

    Taiwan considers rebranding its flag carrier, China Airlines

    Taipei is considering changing the name of its flag carrier: China Airlines. Perhaps an opportunistic excuse to distance itself from any anti-Chinese ‘Covid’ fallout or just a political ploy whilst China has, well, other things to worry about at the moment. It seems the Covid-19 pandemic has reignited calls to change the name after the …

  • AoT, already struggling, deny investing in faltering Thai Airways

    AoT, already struggling, deny investing in faltering Thai Airways

    “We’ve got enough problems of our own.” Airports of Thailand is denying claims that it is interested in acquiring a stake in the financially floundering flag carrier Thai Airways, saying that they too are struggling with the sharp drop in revenue after airlines and airport shutdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thai Airways, once considered …

  • Airports of Thailand approves Don Mueang expansion

    Airports of Thailand approves Don Mueang expansion

    Yesterday, the Airports of Thailand (AoT) board gave tacit approval of a master plan for the third-phase development of Don Mueang International airport costing an estimated of 39 billion baht. The expansion arrangements includes, increase of the airport’s capacity to 40 million passengers a year (currently 30 million a year), a 3.4 kilometre automated people …

  • Thailand cancels visas-on-arrival and some visa exemptions for 21 countries

    Thailand cancels visas-on-arrival and some visa exemptions for 21 countries

    On top of all the changes announced in the past few days for passengers arriving in Thailand, today the government has announced an additional measure. The Thai government has now cancelled the automatic granting of the visa-on-arrival for 18 countries as well as cancelling visa exemption for three other countries in additional efforts to contain …

  • Thai Airways considers leasing planes and outsourcing cabin staff

    Thai Airways considers leasing planes and outsourcing cabin staff

    In its attempts to restructure the legacy national airline, senior staff of Thai Airways may lease aircraft and cabin staff. The plans are part of fleet and service improvement options as demanded by the Thai Government who had to find 11.1 billion baht over the first 9 months of 2019 to keep the national airline …

  • The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance

    The rise of the e-bicycle in Thailand, a bit of motorised assistance

    by Nicole Kash Cycling tours offer a unique way to explore Thailand. Faster than walking but slower than driving, cycling tours cover plenty of ground while allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the sights, smells, and culture of Thailand without the boundary of a car window. Cycling tours can cover up to a heart-pumping 150 …

  • 100s of pages of damaging documents about the 737 Max released by Boeing

    100s of pages of damaging documents about the 737 Max released by Boeing

    Boeing has released more than 100 pages of internal company documents to the House and Senate committee, and media, further casting doubt about the company’s goodwill around the troubled 737 Max jet. The latest incarnation of the Boeing 737 was grounded last year after two fatal crashes which exposed weaknesses in the design development process …

  • Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break

    Nearly 2 million Thai travellers head overseas for new year break

    Nearly 2 million Thais travelled internationally for this year’s New Year celebrations. That’s a 3.9% increase over the previous year. Thai overseas travellers totalled 1,944,220 people. And although up 3.9% on outbound traffic the year before, it was 2.2% below estimates. Domestic travel between provinces totalled 4,298,626 people. That was down 6.4% from last year and …

  • AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus

    AOT sets up checkpoints to check passengers from Wuhan, China for virus

    “Passengers with any suspicious symptoms detected during the initial screenings after landing will be quarantined for medical examinations.” Airports of Thailand says they are monitoring a the detection of some cases of viral pneumonia from Wuhan flights coming out of China. They say that six airports are now ready to cope with the situation by …

  • Thailand set to launch two more budget airlines in 2020

    Thailand set to launch two more budget airlines in 2020

    While Thailand’s flagship Thai Airways struggles, two new budget airlines are preparing to take off in 2020. The past decade has been challenging for Thailand’s legacy airline whilst newer, more nimble and cashed-up players enter the market. As reported in The Thaiger last week, both Thai Summer Airways and Thai Eastar Jet have gained Air …

  • Indian visitors to Thailand help break tourist arrival record

    Indian visitors to Thailand help break tourist arrival record

    With a few days left to go in 2019, Thailand has already stepped over last year’s record arrivals of 38,260,000. The 38,260,000th visitor to Thailand in 2019 arrived on December 20, a tourist from India, Devanshi Deepak Kesaria. Thailand has exceeded last year’s record for foreign tourist arrivals. This final result for tourist arrivals into the …

  • Two new airlines to hit Thai skies in 2020

    Two new airlines to hit Thai skies in 2020

    PHOTO: Eastar Airlines Two new Thai low-cost carriers are set to take to the skies early 2020. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand made the announcement yesterday. They are the first new Thai airlines being launched since the lifting of the ‘red flag’ by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in 2017. Thai Eastar Jet and …

  • Thai Airways presents new recovery plan for board approval

    Thai Airways presents new recovery plan for board approval

    Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham says the national carrier will submit a 2020-2025 rehabilitation plan to the Board of Directors in January, with a separate purchasing plan for new aircraft also being put forward. The Nation reports that the rehabilitation plan will consist of twenty projects and four key measures. One of these will be …

  • Competition amongst discount airlines concerns Thai CAA

    Competition amongst discount airlines concerns Thai CAA

    PHOTO: Travel Daily (the photo is for display only and does not reflect on the airlines depicted) Thailand’s airlines are strapped for cash, facing serious competition and discounted airfares, and the Thai Civil Aviation Authority is closely watching their safety standards. This from the CAAT director-general Chula Sukmanop. Sukmanop says he’s worried because many airlines, …

  • Hotel association wants rules on short-term rentals, home sharing

    Hotel association wants rules on short-term rentals, home sharing

    PHOTO: Airbnb and other accommodation-share businesses, plus a glut of newly opened hotels rooms across the country, is putting pressure on the traditional hotel model The Thai Hotels Association has again asked for a meeting with the Minister of the Interior to discuss the impact of short-term rentals and home sharing services like Airbnb on …

  • Suvarnabhumi authorities passing the blame for long queues yesterday

    Suvarnabhumi authorities passing the blame for long queues yesterday

    PHOTO: Immigration Police A post about long waits and airport queues at Suvarnabhumi yesterday has sparked an immediate response from an immigration spokesperson today. Hundreds of people were queued up for hours in the departure areas, as they waited to be processed after checking in. The spokesman responded to reporters after claims on the Facebook …