Phuket Sandbox - where to find rules?

[reflectionx]

Seems like a lot of hassle and $$$.

 

I was hoping that we wouldn’t need to spend $$$ on our 3 and 8 years old kids, but based on what I am reading, that’s like extra $400 per kid (including the pré departure test).

 

I might change my mind and wait one more year to visit the family (all the travel we booked so far is refundable). Still a lot of time til December, we will wait and see how the situation evolves.

 

are people required to wear masks at the beach? If so, what is age at which kids are exempted?

 

thanks

Edited August 23, 2021 by reflectionx

[phills2k1]

2 hours ago, merijn said:

The only way would be if the plane lands in BKK and continues to HKT without you leaving the plane.

Other options are not possible.

Awesome. Will cost me almost another $1,000

 

Appreciate the info

[phills2k1]

So just to be completely clear, if I'm coming back from the US, teh only way I can make the sandbox work (either Phuket or Samui) is to fly an airline that goes directly to one of the Islands after a layover

 

What are some of the airlines that actually do this?  From searching, it seems like most flights have me flying into BKK and then transferring to Bangkok Airways

[merijn]

3 minutes ago, phills2k1 said:

So just to be completely clear, if I'm coming back from the US, teh only way I can make the sandbox work (either Phuket or Samui) is to fly an airline that goes directly to one of the Islands after a layover

 

What are some of the airlines that actually do this?  From searching, it seems like most flights have me flying into BKK and then transferring to Bangkok Airways

Kho Samui has slightly different rules and those people have to transfer in BKK to a Bangkok Air plane.

I'm not 100% sure how this is organised.

For Phuket sandbox it has to be a international arrival into Phuket or via BKK without leaving the plane. (flight which makes a stop in BKK and continues to Phuket)

[stevenl]

21 minutes ago, phills2k1 said:

So just to be completely clear, if I'm coming back from the US, teh only way I can make the sandbox work (either Phuket or Samui) is to fly an airline that goes directly to one of the Islands after a layover

 

What are some of the airlines that actually do this?  From searching, it seems like most flights have me flying into BKK and then transferring to Bangkok Airways

Qatar, Singapore, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay, Thai.

[reflectionx]

10 hours ago, reflectionx said:

Seems like a lot of hassle and $$$.

 

I was hoping that we wouldn’t need to spend $$$ on our 3 and 8 years old kids, but based on what I am reading, that’s like extra $400 per kid (including the pré departure test).

 

I might change my mind and wait one more year to visit the family (all the travel we booked so far is refundable). Still a lot of time til December, we will wait and see how the situation evolves.

 

are people required to wear masks at the beach? If so, what is age at which kids are exempted?

 

thanks

Anyone? What a mess.

 

also, my kids have Thai passports, is the process for Thais different?

 

[phills2k1]

20 hours ago, merijn said:

Kho Samui has slightly different rules and those people have to transfer in BKK to a Bangkok Air plane.

I'm not 100% sure how this is organised.

For Phuket sandbox it has to be a international arrival into Phuket or via BKK without leaving the plane. (flight which makes a stop in BKK and continues to Phuket)

Thank you.  Appreciate the info

[reflectionx]

21 hours ago, stevenl said:

Qatar, Singapore, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay, Thai.

My tickets for December-January are with Turkish airlines. No clue if they keep the flights though, so all my hotel bookings are refundable.

[reflectionx]

21 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

So just to be completely clear, if I'm coming back from the US, teh only way I can make the sandbox work (either Phuket or Samui) is to fly an airline that goes directly to one of the Islands after a layover

 

What are some of the airlines that actually do this?  From searching, it seems like most flights have me flying into BKK and then transferring to Bangkok Airways

As I booked hotel through Trip.com at Koh Samui for after the sandboxing, I got this email from them in case someone needs more info for the Koh Samui bubble:

 

Despite the fact that there will be no quarantine requirements, all travelers will continue to be restricted to stay at some accommodations.

· For travelers who wish to visit Samui only, no minimum stay is required but they must leave Samui (Thailand) for another country on or before the intended departure date;

· For travelers who wish to continue the journey to other Thai destinations, they must stay in Samui for 14 nights and thereafter will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand.

Samui Extra Plus Hotels (Day 1-7) in Samui only

From Day 1 to 3, you will be allowed to leave your hotel room to a designated area within the hotel only. From Day 4 to 7, you will be allowed to travel to a designated route in Samui or join a tour program within Samui also.

SHA+ Hotels (Day 8-14) in Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao

After spending 7 nights at Samui Extra Plus hotel, you will be allowed to travel freely around Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao but you will have to stay at an accommodation with a SHA+ certificate, which is issued by the Thai government for safety and health measures standards. You will need to stay at SHA Plus hotel for no less than 7 nights and the hotel(s) will need to be pre-booked in advance.

Here are the details of the program. 

https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/samui-plus-sandbox-travel-to-thailand-without-quarantine

https://www.thaiembassy.sg/sites/default/files/Samui%20Plus%20Eng.jpg

[stevenl]

10 minutes ago, reflectionx said:

My tickets for December-January are with Turkish airlines. No clue if they keep the flights though, so all my hotel bookings are refundable.

They have scheduled flights, but are the ones who have cancelled many of them, hence I didn't mention Turkish.

[merijn]

14 minutes ago, reflectionx said:

As I booked hotel through Trip.com at Koh Samui for after the sandboxing, I got this email from them in case someone needs more info for the Koh Samui bubble:

 

Despite the fact that there will be no quarantine requirements, all travelers will continue to be restricted to stay at some accommodations.

· For travelers who wish to visit Samui only, no minimum stay is required but they must leave Samui (Thailand) for another country on or before the intended departure date;

· For travelers who wish to continue the journey to other Thai destinations, they must stay in Samui for 14 nights and thereafter will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand.

Samui Extra Plus Hotels (Day 1-7) in Samui only

From Day 1 to 3, you will be allowed to leave your hotel room to a designated area within the hotel only. From Day 4 to 7, you will be allowed to travel to a designated route in Samui or join a tour program within Samui also.

SHA+ Hotels (Day 8-14) in Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao

After spending 7 nights at Samui Extra Plus hotel, you will be allowed to travel freely around Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao but you will have to stay at an accommodation with a SHA+ certificate, which is issued by the Thai government for safety and health measures standards. You will need to stay at SHA Plus hotel for no less than 7 nights and the hotel(s) will need to be pre-booked in advance.

Here are the details of the program. 

https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/samui-plus-sandbox-travel-to-thailand-without-quarantine

https://www.thaiembassy.sg/sites/default/files/Samui%20Plus%20Eng.jpg

If i read it correctly that in case you travel to Samui after the 14 days sandbox you have to stay again in your hotel room for 3 days and 14 days on Samui in HSA+ hotels before you are allowed to leave Samui for a domestic destination ?

[Whale]

On 8/13/2021 at 1:55 PM, kimjohansen said:

$100,000 USD Covid-19 travel insurance policy (issued online by a approved Thai insurance company,

Is that correct? I just used my normal health insurance policy (Cigna) that included covid. But I entered 10 months ago.

[merijn]

43 minutes ago, Whale said:

Is that correct? I just used my normal health insurance policy (Cigna) that included covid. But I entered 10 months ago.

Don't have to be a Thai insurance company for the COE, any insurance is allowed as long they have a statement that the policy covers Covid for at least 100.000 Usd.

[Espanol]

2 hours ago, reflectionx said:

My tickets for December-January are with Turkish airlines. No clue if they keep the flights though, so all my hotel bookings are refundable.

I had tickets with Turkish Airlines for September and they cancelled my tickets and gave my money back. Probably not enough people flying. 

 

I had to book with Qatar at a much higher cost.

[Espanol]

2 hours ago, reflectionx said:

As I booked hotel through Trip.com at Koh Samui for after the sandboxing, I got this email from them in case someone needs more info for the Koh Samui bubble:

Those rules are for people entering Thailand directly to Samui sandbox, not for people arriving to Samui after Phuket sandbox. 

 

[Espanol]

2 hours ago, Whale said:

Is that correct? I just used my normal health insurance policy (Cigna) that included covid. But I entered 10 months ago.

No. I used my free travel insurance included with my VISA card and it was accepted for COE.

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Espanol said:

5 hours ago, Whale said:

Is that correct? I just used my normal health insurance policy (Cigna) that included covid. But I entered 10 months ago.

No. I used my free travel insurance included with my VISA card and it was accepted for COE.

 

It may help other posters to provide a little greater detail....

 

Did your VISA Card insurance Cover provide you with a Certificate of Insurance which stated 'Cover up to (or over) US$100,000 (or currency equivalent) for Covid-19 related complications’   ????

 

 

 

[Espanol]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It may help other posters to provide a little greater detail....

 

Did your VISA Card insurance Cover provide you with a Certificate of Insurance which stated 'Cover up to (or over) US$100,000 (or currency equivalent) for Covid-19 related complications’   ????

 

 

 

 

Yes, both my Revolut and N26 cards provide a free travel insurance up to 3 months wich includes CoVid-19 with a limit of € 10.000.000 (TEN MILLIONS EUROS).

 

That insurance was accepted when I applied for COE.

 

 

 

 

PolizaSeguroViaje-Condiciones.pdf

Edited August 24, 2021 by Espanol

[phills2k1]

11 hours ago, reflectionx said:

As I booked hotel through Trip.com at Koh Samui for after the sandboxing, I got this email from them in case someone needs more info for the Koh Samui bubble:

 

Despite the fact that there will be no quarantine requirements, all travelers will continue to be restricted to stay at some accommodations.

· For travelers who wish to visit Samui only, no minimum stay is required but they must leave Samui (Thailand) for another country on or before the intended departure date;

· For travelers who wish to continue the journey to other Thai destinations, they must stay in Samui for 14 nights and thereafter will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand.

Samui Extra Plus Hotels (Day 1-7) in Samui only

From Day 1 to 3, you will be allowed to leave your hotel room to a designated area within the hotel only. From Day 4 to 7, you will be allowed to travel to a designated route in Samui or join a tour program within Samui also.

SHA+ Hotels (Day 8-14) in Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao

After spending 7 nights at Samui Extra Plus hotel, you will be allowed to travel freely around Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao but you will have to stay at an accommodation with a SHA+ certificate, which is issued by the Thai government for safety and health measures standards. You will need to stay at SHA Plus hotel for no less than 7 nights and the hotel(s) will need to be pre-booked in advance.

Here are the details of the program. 

https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/samui-plus-sandbox-travel-to-thailand-without-quarantine

https://www.thaiembassy.sg/sites/default/files/Samui%20Plus%20Eng.jpg

Thanks.  I still can't believe (although it's entirely believable) just how much of a markup the Samui Plus hotels are charging for those first 7 days.  Again, I get that they're hurting and need the revenue, but is it really worth souring someone from ever staying with them again moving forward?  Just such terrible business

 

So now I'm deciding whether I pay about $1,000 more for my flight to Phuket where the hotels are cheaper (plus flight to Samui later) and I have more freedom for the first 7 days or a cheaper flight (since I can go with my original one to BKK and then transfer to Samui) to pay more for the first 7 days.

 

Guess I need to get the old calculator out!

[phills2k1]

Also, if I'm coming back in the middle of October, should I assume that the weather in Phuket has a better chance of being enjoyable than Samui?

 

Is looking to post up in Koh Tao through the end of the year a bad idea taking into account the monsoon in October and November? Have heard that it hasn't been so bad there the past few years, but with the way things are going, I'm expecting the worst hah

[stevenl]

35 minutes ago, phills2k1 said:

Also, if I'm coming back in the middle of October, should I assume that the weather in Phuket has a better chance of being enjoyable than Samui?

 

Is looking to post up in Koh Tao through the end of the year a bad idea taking into account the monsoon in October and November? Have heard that it hasn't been so bad there the past few years, but with the way things are going, I'm expecting the worst hah

Monsoon weather is never that bad here nor there, and would for me not be a reason not to go somewhere.

[reflectionx]

20 hours ago, Espanol said:

I had tickets with Turkish Airlines for September and they cancelled my tickets and gave my money back. Probably not enough people flying. 

 

I had to book with Qatar at a much higher cost.

Did you try to argue with them to rebook you with another airline?

[reflectionx]

11 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

Thanks.  I still can't believe (although it's entirely believable) just how much of a markup the Samui Plus hotels are charging for those first 7 days.  Again, I get that they're hurting and need the revenue, but is it really worth souring someone from ever staying with them again moving forward?  Just such terrible business

 

So now I'm deciding whether I pay about $1,000 more for my flight to Phuket where the hotels are cheaper (plus flight to Samui later) and I have more freedom for the first 7 days or a cheaper flight (since I can go with my original one to BKK and then transfer to Samui) to pay more for the first 7 days.

 

Guess I need to get the old calculator out!

I find Trip.com has good prices on Koh Samui hotels, but not that much choice. You are basically limited to a couple of 4 star hotels in the $30-$40 range, and Imho this is more than reasonable for 4* beachfront hotels. The email I got was from Casa Del Mar

[phills2k1]

25 minutes ago, reflectionx said:

I find Trip.com has good prices on Koh Samui hotels, but not that much choice. You are basically limited to a couple of 4 star hotels in the $30-$40 range, and Imho this is more than reasonable for 4* beachfront hotels. The email I got was from Casa Del Mar

Unfortunately for my first 7 nights I'm pretty sure I can only book with the

 

Samui Extra Plus hotels, where the cheapest starts at 35,000 baht

 

https://asq.in.th/samui-extra-plus-alq-sandbox-hotels

[Espanol]

6 hours ago, reflectionx said:

Did you try to argue with them to rebook you with another airline?

 

They offered rebooking me to next day, but jumping 30 hours via different airports.

 

Also my arriving date to HKT was 2 days after my previous one, so I needed to change my hotel bookings, PCRs dates and airport-hotel transfer.

 

I prefered changing tickets to Qatar Airways instead: I fly directly from Malaga with only one stop in DOH and 16 hours of travel in total, including a 2 hours stop in DOH.

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Espanol

[reflectionx]

10 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

Unfortunately for my first 7 nights I'm pretty sure I can only book with the

 

Samui Extra Plus hotels, where the cheapest starts at 35,000 baht

 

https://asq.in.th/samui-extra-plus-alq-sandbox-hotels

Oh, I missed the EXTRA part. Do you still have to go through the hassle of 3 PCR if you choose Samui? If yes, I’d rather go to Phuket. It doesn’t make sense to spends so much $$$ to be in jail for 1 week wth

 

I don’t get the whole concept - you need to be vaccinated but you still need ridiculous amount of PCR. The 2 weeks incubation period is stupid to begin with. 
 

How about masks at the beach and at the hotel pools? Are they mandatory? If so, I am not going. Don’t want to go back with mask “sunburned tattoo” on my face

[richard_smith237]

21 minutes ago, reflectionx said:

Oh, I missed the EXTRA part. Do you still have to go through the hassle of 3 PCR if you choose Samui? If yes, I’d rather go to Phuket. It doesn’t make sense to spends so much $$$ to be in jail for 1 week wth

 

I don’t get the whole concept - you need to be vaccinated but you still need ridiculous amount of PCR. The 2 weeks incubation period is stupid to begin with. 
 

How about masks at the beach and at the hotel pools? Are they mandatory? If so, I am not going. Don’t want to go back with mask “sunburned tattoo” on my face

 

I think common sense is a requirement. 

 

Mask wear is a must whenever out in public - if you are walking at the waters edge, you will get away with a mask around you neck and put it on if someone asks. 

 

If you are walking down the street, wear your mask. 

 

If sat on the beach, have the mask at hand but no need to wear it unless in a group. 

 

If at the hotel pool, no need to wear the mask, no one will bother you. 

 

If in the pool... well, we don’t need to be silly about that one. 

[phills2k1]

1 hour ago, reflectionx said:

Oh, I missed the EXTRA part. Do you still have to go through the hassle of 3 PCR if you choose Samui? If yes, I’d rather go to Phuket. It doesn’t make sense to spends so much $$$ to be in jail for 1 week wth

 

I don’t get the whole concept - you need to be vaccinated but you still need ridiculous amount of PCR. The 2 weeks incubation period is stupid to begin with. 
 

How about masks at the beach and at the hotel pools? Are they mandatory? If so, I am not going. Don’t want to go back with mask “sunburned tattoo” on my face

Yup, in Samui you can't leave your hotel for the first 3 days and then you're limited to traveling in specific routes / tours (but I can't find what that includes, and if you're able to go to restaurants / the beach etc).

 

Phuket definitely seems like the better play for that week, but my end game is Koh Tao so being closer in Samui is certainly a perk (and the flight situation for me is cheaper).

 

IF I were to do Phuket for the first 7 days, what part of the island is currently in the best shape for tourists?  Just looking for good restaurants and the beach.  Rawai?

 

Thanks!

[reflectionx]

On 8/25/2021 at 8:34 AM, richard_smith237 said:

 

I think common sense is a requirement. 

 

Mask wear is a must whenever out in public - if you are walking at the waters edge, you will get away with a mask around you neck and put it on if someone asks. 

 

If you are walking down the street, wear your mask. 

 

If sat on the beach, have the mask at hand but no need to wear it unless in a group. 

 

If at the hotel pool, no need to wear the mask, no one will bother you. 

 

If in the pool... well, we don’t need to be silly about that one. 

Seems reasonable.

 

What happens if you or your family test positive at some point? I can’t see myself stuck in a room with 2 little kids for 2 weeks…

[phills2k1]

One more question, if people know

 

I'm currently on a 1 year multi-entry visa with a work permit, and returning from the US.  Does the requirement of remaining in your country of departure for 21 days prior to flying still apply?  Was potentially going to go to Canada within that time frame prior to leaving from the US

 

Thanks!