Is it safe to travel to Thailand at present?

shadowcomplex

With the military crackdown , heard its only bangkok thats been affected?

shadowcomplex

Planning to head over on the 15aug14

mooseknunkle

15th August isnt really "at present" is it, would of been easier to ask is it safe to travel to Thailand in 3 months time and the answer is, who knows!

killbillvol2

shadowcomplex wrote: »

With the military crackdown , heard its only bangkok thats been affected?

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Planning to head over on the 15aug14

Pretty much the whole country has been affected. Which has no relevance whatsoever to August. There's another thread about the current situation.

Bold Abdu

I'm in Malaysia at the moment and am heading to Phuket in a few days.

The word here (from locals, not tourists, who were in Thailand last week) is that it's ok to go. Apparently the curfew only applies to Thai nationals.

KilOit

Bold Abdu wrote: »

I'm in Malaysia at the moment and am heading to Phuket in a few days.

The word here (from locals, not tourists, who were in Thailand last week) is that it's ok to go. Apparently the curfew only applies to Thai nationals.

so all bars and clubs are pull your own drink and the last person leaving has to shut the door?

killbillvol2

Bold Abdu wrote: »

I'm in Malaysia at the moment and am heading to Phuket in a few days.

The word here (from locals, not tourists, who were in Thailand last week) is that it's ok to go. Apparently the curfew only applies to Thai nationals.

Yeah right. Go and take a stroll down Sukhumvit at 2 am and see how you get on. :rolleyes:

The curfew seems to be gradually easing and will probably be abandoned soon enough. Every town and village will be different depending on local police.

Idiot foreigners thinking they're immune to Thai law supplement the income of Thai police nicely.

whitebriar

Nightlife in koh Samui is as normal and always was.
The big beach parties at the ark bar in Chaweng for example are rocking as usual (see their Facebook page)

All bars in Bangkok except hotel bars are closed by 10 though.
At night time,it is dead there.
I would pay the small change for the 40 min flight down to Koh Samui and party on instead of being stuck in Bangkok.Five star resorts there go for as little as €90 a night and of course you can pay a third of that and still be in a decent gaff.

I doubt the curfew will last to August,it's too costly.

chopper6

whitebriar wrote: »

Nightlife in koh Samui is as normal and always was.
The big beach parties at the ark bar in Chaweng for example are rocking as usual (see their Facebook page)

All bars in Bangkok except hotel bars are closed by 10 though.
At night time,it is dead there.
I would pay the small change for the 40 min flight down to Koh Samui and party on instead of being stuck in Bangkok.Five star resorts there go for as little as €90 a night and of course you can pay a third of that and still be in a decent gaff.

I doubt the curfew will last to August,it's too costly.

Hated Samui and it's not exactly small change to fly there...it's about 120 euros each way.

Head to Samet which is a three hour bus journey from BKK and is much quiter yet has some cool parties too....check Ploy and Naga bars.

Crimson King

As a regular visitor to the country (14 times over the last decade) I can tell you this. Thailand values its tourists far too much to ever let their squabbles interfere with it. I was over on my honeymoon 3 years ago when a few main streets were closed in Bangkok, and the tourists just looked and admired the barricades. It really was a minor inconvenience. The worst I was affected was having to go through a metal detector at the entrance of a shopping centre when I had a few hours to kill and went to see a movie.

Hotel staff are more than willing to let you know the areas to stay away from. If it bothers you or makes you nervous then organise as short a trip to BKK as possible. Once on the islands or wherever you wish to go all will be normal i am sure, unless things worsen.

Harps

I'm planning a trip to Thailand myself at the moment so I've been keeping a close eye on things, from the reading I've done things seem perfectly safe the moment. Obviously it's a fluid situation so things can change quickly but violence and protests seen to have been reduced with promises of a new government and elections. Life is carrying on as normal and the only thing that's really affecting tourists is the curfew which I can't imagine we'll be in place for too much longer

whitebriar

chopper6 wrote: »

Hated Samui and it's not exactly small change to fly there...it's about 120 euros each way.

Head to Samet which is a three hour bus journey from BKK and is much quiter yet has some cool parties too....check Ploy and Naga bars.

Rubbish.
I got to Samui for less than 4500 batt return.
To each their own.

mooseknunkle

whitebriar wrote: »

Rubbish.
I got to Samui for less than 4500 batt return.
To each their own.

Its not rubbish,what times did you fly?,because the first and last flights are the cheapest so maybe thats why you got it for 4500bht,Bangkok airways own the airport in Samui and they can charge whatever they like.

whitebriar

I flew in around 3pm on Thai and out on Bangkok airways on their 945 maximising time on the island.
Both one way bookings done separately on each airlines site.
Price for this was under a 100 euro's on all economy services .
Thai gave us a mighty fine sandwich and drink whilst a full meal tray was given on Bangkok airways.
Complimentary snacks at usm's departure lounge also for everyone.

mooseknunkle

You must of got some sort of deal then,can i ask what dates did you fly?

I just done a quick search now and departing bkk with Thai next Thursday @ 15:20 is coming up as 5110bht and departing Samui on the following Monday @ 21:45 is 4190bht ,so all together thats 9300bht just under €210,and thats weekdays in low season.

whitebriar

I see that.
Fully flexible economy is all thats available to USM at the moment suggesting loads are high.
I booked in April when there were web specials,fully restricted and partially changeable fares available at ALL times of the day.
Those were there for weeks as there was a lot of decision time into where we wanted to go.
It may be low season but you wouldnt think it by the fare buckets left now.
Id imagine Samui's reputation for ignoring the curfew unlike other islands has had an impact.
We had a jeep btw which cost just €30 a day via argus so had a good look around the whole island and far preferred it to Phuket,some of the tiny little cove beaches were lovely.
Plenty all night beach parties too if thats your thing,we lapped up quiet times and noisy times.
But to each their own as I say.

On a side note,we saw no army presence,even near BKK.There was a night club open untill 6 am at the grand Hyatt which became a major refugee spot for the 'ladies' with the high heels,short dresses and fancy hand bags

1stimpressions

It's still safe to come here at the moment. The night life merely slowed down last week and the curfew has been pushed back and is getting ignored increasingly in parts of Bangkok you are like top be staying in. The islands have in general ignored the curfew and have seen no protests etc.

Any specific questions I'd be happy to answer here or by PM.

killbillvol2

I don't think safety is the issue tbh. Leaving aside the rights or wrongs, if anything the army cracking down on multiple protests will make the place safer.

The issue for tourists is whether you can actually enjoy yourself and a curfew really doesn't help that. I'll be there at the end of the month and I'll be surprised if the curfew is still in place. That said, it took a long time after the last coup for nightlife to get back to normal, particularly the street bars.

1stimpressions

I was out and about all over central BKK the last two nights. The nightlife is essentially back to normal. Taxis available as usual and 7 Elevens even ignoring the curfew. Even with the 10pm curfew last week many places came up with creative ways around the curfew by running parties earlier or closing the door until 5am

1stimpressions

One thing to bear in mind is your insurance. Some companies refuse to cover people travelling to a country under a coup. I think this may have been rectified with an announcement yesterday but do keep an eye on it.

leeroybrown

Samui's expensive to fly to in general. If you're that worried about your budget then you should really be looking at bus/boat combo tickets.

Stinicker

I paid €110 three years ago to fly from Ko Samui to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi one-way with Bangkok Airways and that was booked 3 days in Advance. Ko Samui to Bangkok is an expensive air route and Bangkok Airways own the Airport on Ko Samui Island. Whitebriar just got a deal on sale or something but the price paid by him seems the exception rather than the rule.