Hi there,

I am an author in the Uk and have groups of friends who would like to join me on trips to Thailand. Maybe 6 groups next year. Can I plan this myself and just take my friends or must I partner with a Thai travel company? Anyone have any advice.

 

Thanks 

Syd

3 hours ago, Syd and Kyd said:

Maybe 6 groups next year.

Six groups of how many ?

About 16 in each group. we will be visiting National Parks. They are my friends and followers. Hope you can advise Kwasaki

You can do it all your self when you get here.  You can travel independently or use agencies. Having beennto about 60 countries I can assure you that Thailand is cheap,easy and efficient to travel around..and friendly....PM me if you want.

I travel.around a lot...Solo. Trains are cheap,buses are easy, drivers are easy to hire,internal flights are cheap..Have a blast but organise it here. Check out some of the mind boggling and beautiful festivals here.

www.dijahtalarts.com

Ignore the non Thai videos..just speed through them

Edited April 18, 20188 yr by The manic

sure, rent vans, travel by train or plane, book ur hotels online.

Have fun..

DONT act like a guide thou or carry a flag so they can group around you..

I don't see how you would do this without being seen as a tour guide and therefore working illegally.

Groups of 16 would absolutely look like they were on organized tours.

15 hours ago, Syd and Kyd said:

About 16 in each group. we will be visiting National Parks. They are my friends and followers. Hope you can advise Kwasaki

I would say you've got your work cut out. 

If they come separately in groups of 16 at different dates then I would hire 18 seater private vans, they call em vans but have windows.

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=Toyota+18+seater+private+vans&sa=X&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=

0ahUKEwiL45vP18XaAhVJLI8KHcUNBLMQsAQIKg&biw=

1094&bih=522

 

Many companies to choose from wherever your located in Thailand. 

You can have driver as your guide.

 

Edited April 19, 20188 yr by Kwasaki

Would be tricky to do this, I have friends who organise tours - they ALWAYS  have to have a totally useless Thai guide tagging along- zero personal skills, limited knowledge of historical/ cultural facts. 

 

Well  of course you can- but be careful. It seems to be important when taking a group into a temple or historical site . 

 

16 is a tour group- some friends in a car is not. 

 

19 minutes ago, peterb17 said:

Would be tricky to do this, I have friends who organise tours - they ALWAYS  have to have a totally useless Thai guide tagging along- zero personal skills, limited knowledge of historical/ cultural facts. 

Not found that case from ones I met on tours in our village,  the OP can interview what his going to get and make sure what he wants when hiring is understood.

4 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Not found that case from ones I met on tours in our village,  the OP can interview what his going to get and make sure what he wants when hiring is understood.

 

Of course- Unlike many I always support Thais and hate the constant Thai bashing- many posts will confirm that. 

I speak from experience of going on many tours - one tour guide was so vile , we refused to carry on unless he left . Others were useless- it just seemed a necessary evil to have one present . 

6 minutes ago, peterb17 said:

 

Of course- Unlike many I always support Thais and hate the constant Thai bashing- many posts will confirm that. 

I speak from experience of going on many tours - one tour guide was so vile , we refused to carry on unless he left . Others were useless- it just seemed a necessary evil to have one present . 

I guess the best scenario for OP is to find a Thai girlfriend who speaks English and can drive. 

6 minutes ago, peterb17 said:

 

Of course- Unlike many I always support Thais and hate the constant Thai bashing- many posts will confirm that. 

I speak from experience of going on many tours - one tour guide was so vile , we refused to carry on unless he left . Others were useless- it just seemed a necessary evil to have one present . 

Often the best guides are unofficial ones..A decent driver who speaks some English, has imagination and initiative and listens to your requests

2 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I guess the best scenario for OP is to find a Thai girlfriend who speaks English and can drive. 

 

I've offered to lend him my wife :)

 

OP, have sent you a PM...

1 minute ago, The manic said:

Often the best guides are unofficial ones..A decent driver who speaks some English, has imagination and initiative and listens to your requests

 

Yes- but what I am saying is that you cannot organise tours here without a tour guide who has not gone through the training and has the qualifications - it’s a think about a 6 month course ( I may be totally incorrect) - it could be problematic to the OP . 

 

So the OP asking - can he organise tours here - NO.

 

why would he want to that anyway, my friends who do that spend ages travelling, checking  out hotels , restaurants , out of the way sites to see. 16 people will require a coach or some minibuses. It’s an organised tour . 

I would agree with the posters above who mention the work permit and other administrative issues.

 

On top of that, 16 people is a rather large group and thus the opportunities for troubles, of any kind, are many: lost person, medical problem, accident, misunderstanding with a local, you name it...

 

The constant presence of a reliable Thai, not a simple driver, would be mandatory, someone able to deal with the police, the hotel staff, the doctors...

 

Since you are planning to do many tours, I would advise you to recruit such a person for a whole year, or more, depending on your bookings.

 

Doing this all by yourself, repeatedly, would most certainly lead to trouble at some point.

 

One last thing: You would obviously need to have some serious insurance coverage for all these people, at your company level, since you cannot trust each customer to buy the appropriate insurance...but I imagine you know that already...

Edited April 19, 20188 yr by Brunolem

Conducting an organised tour without an accredited guide is fraught with potential problems, not the least of which will be the language problem.

 

A group of 16 farangs with no Thai guide will be impossible to hide.

 

Many places you are likely to visit will have lots of vans/coaches in the carpark, with Thai drivers and inevitably licensed guides among them at some stage. They will notice your group, and talk about you.

 

The likely hood of being dobbed in without a guide is very high IMHO. Not sure what the consequences of this might be, but for sure, it'll be hugely disruptive for your tour group.

 

Yes, you can certainly organise your own itinerary, arrange accommodation etc, but the cost of a licensed guide and their expenses (accomm,meals etc) will not be prohibitive, and easily absorbed into the individual tour cost of each 16 passengers.

 

Finally, 16 pax + you + guide + driver + luggage will not fit into any van. You will need a 30 seat mini coach with a driver that's actually done charter work around Thailand, not just point A to B stuff.

 

If you're considering 4 groups of 16 pax each year, it's certainly a commercial enterprise, and you'll want to get it right. Stay legal. Hire an accredited guide.

Is the OP making money out of this venture..Or is it just a 'jolly boys' outing.

34 minutes ago, The manic said:

Is the OP making money out of this venture..Or is it just a 'jolly boys' outing.

 

If this is the guy, then I think that is the long term plan...

 

https://sydandkyd.com/

OP can hire van with a Thai driver and go wherever in Thailand he wants, I've done it with family & friends, don't see why posters here are making problems pointing out things that don't exist. 

59 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

OP can hire van with a Thai driver and go wherever in Thailand he wants, I've done it with family & friends, don't see why posters here are making problems pointing out things that don't exist. 

You've done it with 16 family members  and friends 4 times a year and advertised it as a tour charging money for your services?

On 4/18/2018 at 12:42 PM, Syd and Kyd said:

Can I plan this myself and just take my friends or must I partner with a Thai travel company? Anyone have any advice.

It sounds a bit like some level of business, so I would be skeptical if your status become "guide", and you get some benefits from that, including money, as you may then need a Work Permit. You can always try to keep low profile and do it under-the-radar, but there has been cases in later years, with foreigners acting as guides, without a legal permission. Perhaps you should contract with a local guide/tour arranger.

 

However, you can arrange everything yourself – an investigation trip in advance might be beneficial.

I know the name and phone number of a great Thai tour guide that speaks English well and has lots of friends all over Thailand.  Send me a PM if you want his name and phone number.  Personally I would want someone on the tour that is Thai, speaks English well, trustworthy and has some experience. 

14 hours ago, duanebigsby said:

You've done it with 16 family members  and friends 4 times a year and advertised it as a tour charging money for your services?

Yes I've done it with family & friend twice a year a time back.

I've know idea what your going on about.

 

Your twisting things didn't see where OP was charging money for his services missed that one.

40 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Yes I've done it with family & friend twice a year a time back.

I've know idea what your going on about.

 

Your twisting things didn't see where OP was charging money for his services missed that one.

You don't answer the question, and you dismiss serious potential problems without much thinking!

 

Have you been around Thailand with a group of 16 or not?

 

Then, it is a serious mistake to consider that family and friends are the same as paying customers.

 

The latter are certainly not as forgiving as family or friends...just one nasty customer can get you in a heap of trouble.

 

Customers pay and thus expect to be served accordingly, and often more than that...and the first person they blame is the one they paid.

 

All kinds of troubles can occur with such a large group.

 

Imagine that one customer goes missing or sick...so what? The organizer is going to leave his 15 other customers in order to try to deal with a problem that could take days to be solved?

 

3 hours ago, Brunolem said:

You don't answer the question, and you dismiss serious potential problems without much thinking!

 

Have you been around Thailand with a group of 16 or not?

 

Then, it is a serious mistake to consider that family and friends are the same as paying customers.

 

The latter are certainly not as forgiving as family or friends...just one nasty customer can get you in a heap of trouble.

 

Customers pay and thus expect to be served accordingly, and often more than that...and the first person they blame is the one they paid.

 

All kinds of troubles can occur with such a large group.

 

Imagine that one customer goes missing or sick...so what? The organizer is going to leave his 15 other customers in order to try to deal with a problem that could take days to be solved?

 

OK calm down woosah  

" Have you been around Thailand with a group of 16 or not ? "

Me, family and friends altogether 12 people.

" a serious mistake to consider that family and friends are the same as paying customers."

As I said I was not aware OP is charging people.

 

Agree with the rest you say.