Thailand reopening July 1st?? Oh Boy!

I hope you are right but we have seen fits and starts very much previously. God knows the economy could use it.

The hesitation I think is because there is so little covid vaccine available. The Chinese version is somewhat available but with serious side effects people are hesitant in getting it. Many suffered strokes after receiving it.

I too, have heard of July 1 as the opening date.

Open the link..It is not a cheerful news repost!

Thailand is effectively broke and maxed-out on its borrowing and is buying-in little batches of vaccine in 1.5-and 2 million-dose lots, having jabbed only 1.4% of its population to date.

However it is pinning all its hopes  on tourism again, and has invested heavily in the Phuket 'sandbox', aiming to have a minimum of 70% of the residents vaccinated by the time it plans to open in July. The virus is currently rampant in Bangkok, but Phuket is isolated and flights will go direct and not via BKK.

I hope you are prepared for everything to be downscaled and very much emptier and quieter than you are used to - the place has been more or less closed for a long while now.

I wish you luck and that it all comes together for you in a few month's time

I follow the Thaiger too ...
Great report on Thailand..
No way it will open on July 1...
Its very sad I wish the Gov would stop giving false hope to all the buis owners in Phuket !!

You can enter Thailand now.

I posted all of the info in the Vietnam forum, but I'm too lazy right now to rewrite it here:

expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=934839#5129242

Not a Good Time to come to Thailand right now !!
I live in Bangkok ... Please give it a couple of months ...

Rockmanla wrote:

Not a Good Time to come to Thailand right now !!
I live in Bangkok ... Please give it a couple of months ...

There is a big Visa Purge going on in Vietnam and some people have nowhere else to go except maybe to a different continent.

They are well aware of the risks.

In fact many of us in Vietnam have been through three different lockdowns now due to covid

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

(from Vietnam forum):

Purchase insurance:

covid19.tgia.org/

Then, start Certificate Of Entry application here:

coethailand.mfa.go.th/regis/start

Instructions:

youtube.com/watch?v=1c1dNaXv0mM

It's a two-step process:

You register with your personal information and a passport photo and include your insurance information for the time you're going to be there.

Then you wait three days to have your application approved.

Once your registration is approved, the second step is to complete your application, which also takes 3 days to be approved.

So you have to begin the process at least a week before any proposed flight, but probably 10 days to two weeks is a better estimate.

Find a quarantine hotel in Bangkok area or Phuket:

thaiembdc.org/asq/

Book a flight on Singapore Airlines with a 15-18 hour layover in Singapore:

google.com/travel/flights

Optionally, book a hotel at Singapore airport.

You are not allowed to leave the airport, and can only book at one of the two authorized hotels inside the airport.

This is one:

YOTELAir Singapore Changi Airport  maps.app.goo.gl/

In addition to a COVID test, you must also have a "Fit To Fly" certificate. See this list for facilities in HCMC where you can have both done:

docs.google.com/document/

Just a word of caution if you are going to quarantine in Thailand I highly recommend Bangkok over Phuket. In Phuket you will pay at least double what you will pay in Bangkok. I have seen quarantine hotels in Phuket for as much as 200,000B for two weeks.

Certainly there are some cheaper but you have a much better selection in Bangkok. I believe I paid 40,000B for a pretty nice q hotel in BKK.

Misleading headline, because it relates only to the island of Phuket, as a "sandbox" or trial period.
The word "open" should also be interpreted with care: yes, it's quarantine-free in Phuket, but there are other restrictions, requiring even fully vaccinated tourists to undergo COVID-19 tests, wear tracking devices, and remain on the island for 14 days, not to mention that Thailand, as a whole, is still under a COVID-related government State of Emergency, and alcohol sales in bars and restaurants remains under prohibition.
Nevertheless, the Thai Gov. HAS now committed to a full "reopening" (of the country) in October, even though they have a huge challenge to meet their own vaccination targets for residents before then, amid regular stories of vaccine shortages, and a really late and sluggish start to vaccination. Throughout much of Thailand (except the south-east), the end of October marks the end of the monsoon season,  so it might be argued that this could be  more opportune for headlines like "Thailand is open".