What it took to travel to Thailand, March 2022
International borders are open and we thought we should go and help Thailands economy recover by eating all their food and riding in all their taxi’s, plus we had a wedding to attend 😍
We are just back from two weeks in Thailand and this blog is about the process of preparing to go, ever changing covid requirements, sandbox vs test and go, extra costs, PCR tests and RAT tests, getting home. Hopefully it can help you out if you are about to head off to Thailand yourself.
Flights travelling from Australia to Thailand
We booked our flight over from Townsville -Sydney – Phuket with Jetstar for $784 (AUD) for both of us – so cheap. And the flight back is Bangkok – Sydney – Townsville, flying with Qantas and that was $1245 for us both. I was actually quite surprised that the prices were that low, I guess I expect less people to be travelling and therefore flights to be more expensive, but I guess they have to have reasonable priced flights still so people do travel. We have booked flexible flights so we can change flights if we need too.
Travel Insurance to travel to Thailand
Laws’ Dad and his partner are also going and they have booked through AXA Thailand, its advertised on the Thai Embassy page. Its a Thai based company which concerns me, cause I feel like its a bit hard to not have our cover in Australia and have to deal with Thailand companies in the aftermath, if necessary. Plus it really only covers the basic stuff that is needed for the Thailand Pass.
I went onto the Smart Traveller site and used their recommended Choice website https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/our-services/resources/choice-travel-insurance-guide-covid-19 to look at which travel insurance covered the most regarding COVID. Turns out it was Jetstar – they’re underwritten by AIG Insurance and we booked directly through them – it was $389 for both of us to be covered.
The insurance policy needs to cover us for at least 50,000 USD of health insurance including cover for COVID related illnesses. I have to say the Jetstar insurance covered everything COVID related which was impressive. We didn’t need to use the insurance so I have nothing to report on it, other than it covered everything we needed, and since we went I believe they have lowered the amount of cover you need to 30,000USD but I would recommend checking the Thai Embassy Website as thats where the most up to date information gets posted and it changes so often.
International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC)
I went onto Smarttraveller.gov.au and found that you need to get an International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate. It was simple, if you have the Medicare app you can request it straight through that, you link in your passport number and the certificate is ready immediately. If you dont have the Medicare app it says you can go through the myGov website – this information is under the vaccination section on the Smart Traveller Website https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/COVID-19/COVID-19-vaccinations#proof
Print everything you need to travel to Thailand
You need to have this printed along with all your other documents, when we got to the airport for check in they told us if you didn’t have your documents printed that you would have to wait until everyone was through before they give you an opportunity to print it. So if you don’t want to be waiting for hours at the airport then print everything. They wont accept on your phone versions as they want paper copies.
Entry requirements for Thailand
To enter Thailand you need to apply for a Thailand Pass and possibly a VISA- we don’t need a VISA coming from Australia as we are going for less than 30 days. To apply for the Thailand Pass you need to have your ICVC, confirmed accommodation, insurance with more that 50,000 USD medical cover including COVID cover and your passport details. It was a simple online form which we filled out and uploaded all the files too, all files needed to be picture files (ie. JPEG or PNG) so it was a little bit of a muck around but easy enough. You also had to book and pay for your PCR tests as you went through the Thailand Pass – these were expensive 4200 baht which was about $179 aud at the time.
The standard time frames for getting this back are 5-7 days, mine was emailed to me the day we did the application. They just send you a QR code for you to scan and you can print it or have it available on your phone for scanning. So for immigration when you get to Thailand, you need your passport, Thailand Pass QR code, and medical certificate with lab results showing a negative COVID result. If you need to change anything on your Thailand Pass it says you can, however it can take 3-7 working days. There is no cost associated with the Thailand Pass.
Travelling to Thailand when you have previously had covid?
Laws just did his Thailand Pass, cause he previously had covid, he had to get a medical certificate to say he was recovered and then have a booster shot before he could apply for his. His came back the following day as well so processing times are quite quick at the moment which is nice.
Sandbox or Test and Go
The Sandbox and Test and Go schemes are constantly changing, so you will just have to check the Thai Embassy Website before you go for what is most applicable to you.
We did the Sandbox Program and had a PCR on arrival at the airport, we then went straight to our hotel and had to quarantine until the results came back. We had the tests about 9:30pm and the results came through at 2am that night, so pretty quick turn around. But there also wasn’t bulk people coming through at the same time as us. I think only one other flight had landed just after us when we arrived. They give you a QR code to scan and you register your email address and the results are emailed to you which was very easy.
We were meant to do a PCR on day 5 but the rules had changed by the time we landed and so they gave us a RAT test at the airport and we just had to do it in our hotel rooms and you are meant to record the results in the Morchana App but it didn’t work for us – it apparently doesn’t work for a lot of people, but we showed our results to the reception at the hotel and they uploaded the results for us.
The Sandbox required us to spend 7 days in Phuket which was great, on the 7th day the hotel gave us a letter to say that we had completed the Sandbox Program and were covid free.
Laws’ Dad and partner did the Test and Go, they had no issues with this program either and found it all very simple. I think the Thai Embassy are recommending the Test and Go for people. Sandbox just worked for us cause we were staying for 7 days in Phuket anyway. They have also lowered the Sandbox one to 5 days I believe, but like everything else I’ve documented, check the Thai Embassy Website for most up to date information.
They also gave us an email address to request a refund of our second PCR Tests that we had already paid for, so that was nice, says 2-3 weeks processing so hopefully that all comes back okay ($179 for two tests).
RAT tests to purchase from the chemist were 160 baht – close to $5 AUD.
Morchana app
You are advised to download the Morchana App on arrival. Like I said above, it didn’t work for us, or Laws’ Dad and partner either. But the app tracks where you go and tells you what your risk level is – very low, medium etc, we stayed around low and very low the whole trip. On the 5th day you are meant to get a notification come through the app to upload your test results, alternatively, you tell your hotel the results like we did and they upload it all for you.
Requirements to get back into Australia
At the time of us leaving (19th March 2022) we could either get a PCR 72 hours before going or a RAT test within 24 hours of leaving. We opted for a RAT test, results and appointment are quicker (15 mins as we all know) and it cost 1200 baht ($48 AUD) each so cheaper than a PCR which was 3500 baht ($142 AUD). I freaked out a little trying to get a booking cause every place was booked out and we didn’t think to prebook cause we just thought it would be easy, but anyway we found a place called WellMed Clinic Bangkok https://www.wellmedbangkok.com you can book an appointment online, we booked the 9am and 9:15am appointment and we were done with our medical certificates at 9:30am, they were really great and super clean so I would recommend using that place.
There are a few other places I found you can go like the Thai Travel Clinic https://www.thaitravelclinic.com/FrontNews/covid19-med-certificate-en-2.html or the hospitals, alot of the hospitals you had to email and wait for a reply so no last minute decisions allowed. I just recommend booking a week or so early if you can, especially as it starts to get busier.
I found this fact sheet handy for COVID related travel facts and what is required to come back into Australia – https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/01/coronavirus-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions-international-travellers.pdf
Costs – has COVID increased travel costs?
I would say not really, only real extra we have had to pay for so far is the PCR tests and they’re pretty pricey I guess (probably more so cause we get them free in Australia) but that is the only extra cost so far. Accommodation was ridiculously cheap for the first week, we haven’t booked past the first week cause we’ll be heading to the village for the wedding and staying with the family out there, which will be a rad experience 🙂
| Flights over | 784 | |
| Flights home | 1245 | |
| Insurance | 389 | |
| PCR tests in Thailand (one each) | 179 | |
| Accommodation in Phuket – 7 nights | 295 | |
| Drone liability insurance | 112.32 | |
| Hotel Pattaya | 186 | |
| Hotel Bangkok | 53 | |
| RAT test and medical certificate for re-entry to Australia (one each) | 88 | |
Drone registration and liability insurance
So all the research made me think taking a drone to Thailand seemed like such a serious affair – if your drone has a camera it has to be registered with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). To register it with the CAAT you also need liability insurance to cover any damage you cause to people or places and it also says you should carry a fire extinguisher with you – bit full on but we shall see how we go. Below is the CAAT guidelines for flying straight from their website.
So I got drone liability insurance – through AA Insure and been emailing with a guy named Peter Smith – very generic name so I was already frightened, then I had to send through credit card details on a piece of paper, so I spent a couple of days wondering whether this was all worth it. Eventually I sent the form off on Friday and it came back the following Friday, it was $112.32 and gives you 1 million baht coverage which is the minimum required, the insurance lasts a year so at least if I return in the next year I am sorted lol.
Then I had to fill out an online registration form on the CAAT site – https://uav.caat.or.th/menu.php and there was no fee attached to this however it does say it takes three weeks. I got this back like the day we landed in Thailand so they were pretty quick, probably took a week so that was lucky.
Once in Thailand, I went to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) it was a 15 minute little scoot from down town Phuket. I filled out their form online, everything is online now, the website is https://anyregis.nbtc.go.th/accounts/login/?next=/prevdoc/6225c2dee0bcf9560ee22b34/ hopefully that works, you have to upload all your documents, passport, Thai Pass/Visa, drone photos, drone remote control serial number photo, drone serial number photo, insurance and a declaration. Then submit it, if you submit it online they said it takes 24-48hrs, if you take it in to them it takes 30 minutes and they were very quick and helpful. It was 210 baht to register – less than $10 AUD.
In the photo below is the NBTC building in Phuket, the certificate they give you from the NBTC and just a shot of Phuket with the drone. Phuket looks great from above.
With CAAT registration and NBTC registration online now it is much easier anyway – but no one asked to see any of my paperwork at any stage, i flew my drone maybe 5 times in the two weeks. But always best to do the right thing and respect the rules of the country you are entering ☺️
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