Information about Domestic Travel Restrictions based on Vaccination and / or Testing

[Atlantis]

A recent thread specifically asking about travel restrictions for unvaccinated travelers rapidly descended into an off-topic discussion on the merits and morals of vaccination vs. natural immunity.

- For people without experience of domestic travel but just can't help themselves to hijack every single thread into a finger-pointing troll-fest, please go elsewhere.
- For everyone else, please refer to the infographic below when claiming people can't do this or that when traveling in Thailand.

A Thai version was posted on another thread early in November. The attached image was taken from Thaismileair a few minutes ago.

https://www.thaismileair.com/en/newsupdates/news_2992

[Atlantis]

Please note that restrictions are slightly less onerous than suggested by the table because it is incomplete.

The vaccination column refers to bother fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated travelers under some circumstances. For example, those who've had their first jab of AstraZeneca more than 20-something days (28 I think) are treated the same as fully vaccinated individuals.

Please also note that there seems to be some contradictory information given by certain local governments. For example, one worker from a provincial government office in Isaan repeated that only an ATK test is needed [KhonKaen COVID-19. สายด่วนโควิด-19 จังหวัดขอนแก่น 097-9596765 ,Hotline ศบฉ.ขอนแก่น 063-904167 และ 063 904 2098. ] whereas the infographic above indicates PCR only.

In both these cases, the above infographic overstates the travel requirements / restrictions.

[Atlantis]

In theory, the above doesn't just apply to air travel. In practice, I would be very surprised if there is any enforcement on either trains or buses.

I have neither experienced any checks on buses / trains nor heard of any complaints from others. [Feel free to share your experiences below, and please stick to the topic]

More importantly, there is absolutely no substance in the claim that vaccination and only vaccination is required to travel even when restrictions apply. With the apparent exception of Udon Thani, a simple ATK test with certificate or even medical certificate for 90-day recent recovery ("natural immunity") is sufficient.
 

[nightfox]

I don't think they even check at the airport for vaccinations anymore as I took a Thaiveitjet flight to Khoen Kean from swampy last week and no one at the counter check in asked for my vaccination certificate. 

[Atlantis]

For those uninitiated with ATK tests, the results are almost instant and so you get a certified ATK test as a walk-in patient and be out within 30 minutes if the clinic or hospital is not busy.

They've always been cheaper than PCR (supposedly less thorough and reliable) but recently, they've continued to go down in price. I don't intentionally mean to be a cheerleader for MedConsult on Suk 49 but they've now dropped their walk-in certified ATK tests from 600 to 500.

Even the domestics airlines are offering very affordable services e.g. Thai Smile for 450 Baht.
 

[Atlantis]

As for the quarantine rules (if they even apply to you), enforcement has been non-existent - as anyone with real experience of living Thailand would know without asking.

The only semi-stringent checks I have heard of were in certain provinces months ago when inter-provincial travel was still restricted.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Atlantis
mistype

[Atlantis]

For those with a fetish for reading small print:

Bullet Point 1: sensible if you can read Thai, but very probably unnecessary.
Bullet Point 2: ....what?....
Bullet Point 3: not necessary if you're doing self-check in; you may be briefly pulled over before boarding instead
Bullet Point 4: ....redundant blob
Bullet Point 5: ....if you really want to check out a list of labs in non-alphabetical order
 

[Atlantis]

Partially-vaxxed passengers should take their "appointment card" with them as their Vaccination Document*. This is most likely an A5 piece of paper with all the details of your initial vaccination and a QR code together with the date of your next appointment.

*assuming your first shot was sufficiently long ago

Edited November 30, 2021 by Atlantis
*assuming....

[Airalee]

Thanks for taking the time to post this.  Couple questions if that’s ok…

 

I see on the initial infographic that you posted, that in the last column, there is reference to traveling from a “strictly controlled area”, which I presume to be the “red zones”?

 

Would you happen to have a link that shows us what these areas are?

 

Also, how does this affect interprovincial travel by car?  
 

And hotels?  I assume they will want some sort of verification of a Covid test upon checking in?

 

Thanks again.

[Atlantis]

9 minutes ago, Airalee said:

I see on the initial infographic that you posted, that in the last column, there is reference to traveling from a “strictly controlled area”, which I presume to be the “red zones”?

 

Would you happen to have a link that shows us what these areas are?

Erm, until just now (December 1st), the answer to your first question is probably 'Dark Red' as below:

DARK RED

Chanthaburi — Nakhon Si Thammarat — Narathiwat — Pattani — Songkhla — Tak — Yala

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/new-zone-restrictions-alcohol-curfew-dining-schools


But then you have this news, so it looks like these Dark Red strictly controlled areas have dropped into 'Red Zones' as of today:
CCSA revises zoning: No more “dark red” zones with nightly curfews
https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/ccsa-revises-zoning-no-more-dark-red-zones-with-nightly-curfews
 

 

17 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Also, how does this affect interprovincial travel by car?  

I can't even imagine how they'd enforce this rule even if they wanted to at this point - at least not on the major motorways.

 

18 minutes ago, Airalee said:

And hotels?  I assume they will want some sort of verification of a Covid test upon checking in?

I initially assumed the same. But I stay in fairly cheap hotels when traveling domestically and none of these have asked me so far. A few didn't even bother to ask to see my passport. I do my bookings online and they often seem to know who I am. Either that or they just don't really care.

[Atlantis]

22 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Thanks for taking the time to post this.  Couple questions if that’s ok…

You're welcome. It's good to give back in a forum that has already provided me with a ton of useful information - and humor.

If you see people berating, bullying or bickering about vaccination status and travel, please do everyone a favor and report them for off-topic posts. Thanks in advance.

[vinny41]

44 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Thanks for taking the time to post this.  Couple questions if that’s ok…

 

I see on the initial infographic that you posted, that in the last column, there is reference to traveling from a “strictly controlled area”, which I presume to be the “red zones”?

 

Would you happen to have a link that shows us what these areas are?

 

Also, how does this affect interprovincial travel by car?  
 

And hotels?  I assume they will want some sort of verification of a Covid test upon checking in?

 

Thanks again.

Some hotels required confirmation that you are fully vaccinated before you can check-in

Agoda sent me this reply regarding my tweet that I was unaware that my hotel at the weekend had made it compulsory for all guests to be fully vaccinated otherwise they cannot check-in. According to Agoda, this is stated on their website. My apologies for not spotting this.

https://mobile.twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1465214273626406918

 

[Chomper Higgot]

6 hours ago, Atlantis said:

As for the quarantine rules (if they even apply to you), enforcement has been non-existent - as anyone with real experience of living Thailand would know without asking.

The only semi-stringent checks I have heard of were in certain provinces months ago when inter-provincial travel was still restricted.

Not so.

 

We have two homes in Thailand and frequently travel between them.

 

On the two occasions in the past year that we arrived at our northern home we were contacted by the village head and told to stay home until the local health office contacted us.

 

On both occasions a health officer called the following day, checked and recorded our temperatures and our vaccination certificates, before saying we were clear not to quarantine at home.

 

Conversely, a young couple arrived in the village without vaccination  and were taken to be quarantined at the village temple.

 

As with all things in Thailand, the understanding and application of the rules vary according to who is administering them.

 

 

[Edit]

The weekly village announcements made over the public address speakers still include instruction that anyone coming to stay overnight in the village must report their arrival to the village head.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by Chomper Higgot

[Jeffr2]

My friend just flew to Phuket.  Vaccine card checked.  If no jab, then need a PCR test.

 

My friend just went to Koh Chang.  Vaccine card checked at the ferry.  If no jab, or PCR test, pay for one right there.  His hotel also required a vaccine, otherwise, find another hotel.

 

If you've been in Thailand very long, you know rules get interpreted differently.  But in the end, it's going to become the norm to get checked.  Not sure why you're ranting on like this.

[rabas]

6 hours ago, Atlantis said:

As for the quarantine rules (if they even apply to you), enforcement has been non-existent - as anyone with real experience of living Thailand would know without asking.

The only semi-stringent checks I have heard of were in certain provinces months ago when inter-provincial travel was still restricted.

Not necessary so.

 

Last week my wife and a few family travelled to our home in Phuthaisong to make some merit. The village head had given her explicit instructions to bring a vax certificate and at which hospital to get an ATK test on arrival.

 

When she got there hospital said testing was closed for the day and they would have to enter public quarantine. After some squabble, they were allowed to quarantine at home until the next morning when they could return to the hospital for the test. All this was well monitored. A lot of it depends on the village head. Ours runs a tight ship. 

[Jeffr2]

3 minutes ago, rabas said:

Not necessary so.

 

Last week my wife and a few family travelled to our home in Phuthaisong to make some merit. The village head had given her explicit instructions to bring a vax certificate and at which hospital to get an ATK test on arrival.

 

When she got there hospital said testing was closed for the day and they would have to enter public quarantine. After some squabble, they were allowed to quarantine at home until the next morning when they could return to the hospital for the test. All this was well monitored. A lot of it depends on the village head. Ours runs a tight ship. 

Same thing in my wife's village.  They are very strict about this.

[Atlantis]

So just to recap:

- This topic was started partly in response to another thread hijacked by members giving unsolicited vaccination advice, but also to pool useful information and first-hand experiences from other members.

- The quarantine experiences (thanks for your contributions) appear to be specific to rural / semi-rural settings vs. cities.

- Despite this, there is little so far to suggest any differential treatment between those with a full vaccination certificate vs partial vaccination evidence, and medical certificate for recent recovery from the virus.

- For those without any of the above, it's always a good idea to check ahead of time if a cheap and quick certified ATK test will suffice.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Atlantis
Spacing + extra info

[Atlantis]

As for the idea of imminent restrictions according to vaccination status that might travel, I can't help but wonder how much of this is simply fanciful thinking. Unless there's a sudden U-turn owing to the new variant detected in Thailand, many provinces turning "Blue" will not be ratcheting up travel restrictions any time soon....

Thailand increases “Blue Zone” destinations to 26, eases more COVID-19 curbs nationwide
https://www.tatnews.org/2021/12/thailand-increases-blue-zone-destinations-to-26-eases-more-covid-19-curbs-nationwide/

And more to come...
https://asq.in.th/thailand-blue-zones

Edited December 1, 2021 by Atlantis

[Chomper Higgot]

4 hours ago, Atlantis said:

So just to recap:

- This topic was started partly in response to another thread hijacked by members giving unsolicited vaccination advice, but also to pool useful information and first-hand experiences from other members.

- The quarantine experiences (thanks for your contributions) appear to be specific to rural / semi-rural settings vs. cities.

- Despite this, there is little so far to suggest any differential treatment between those with a full vaccination certificate vs partial vaccination evidence, and medical certificate for recent recovery from the virus.

- For those without any of the above, it's always a good idea to check ahead of time if a cheap and quick certified ATK test will suffice.

The information you have provided is useful, so thank you for posting, as is the information posted by others of actual experiences.

 

This said, the title was odd, given the OP provides information, I suspect it might have reduced the audience, which is a shame.

 

I suggest reading the final post of the thread to which you refer for a better understanding of what it was about.

[Atlantis]

On 12/2/2021 at 7:32 AM, Chomper Higgot said:

The information you have provided is useful, so thank you for posting, as is the information posted by others of actual experiences.

 

This said, the title was odd, given the OP provides information, I suspect it might have reduced the audience, which is a shame.

 

I suggest reading the final post of the thread to which you refer for a better understanding of what it was about.

I read every post that was on there over the 3 pages, including ones that have since been removed and I certainly do not share the view that it was a "Troll Topic". It was clear from the outset that much of the (almost immediate) trolling came from other members reflexively disparaging a new account for asking a pretty clear-cut question.

It was clear from the OP's first number of responses that she was making an effort to ignore the worst trolling and seek actual information amongst a sea of off-topic responses and snarky commands to "stay at home". Oh, and that's besides the astounding medical ignorance of demanding a recently recovered COVID patient get vaccinated.

As for how the thread subsequently developed into a back-and-forth, I'm not going to put much blame on the OP for taking the bait. As for the misleading information part, there's tons of that and doesn't always result in an automatic closing of a subject.

That said, I've asked a moderator to change the title here, as you suggested.
 

[Scott]

Off-topic post reported and removed.  Stay on topic, please.

[manylizards]

Thanks for the informative thread Atlantis.

 

There is also some information on the Nok Air website, even though it says up to date as of 15th November 2021, I don't think it is as I think UTH accept RT-PCR test results (but no, not just vaccine (according to info at DMK):

https://content.nokair.com/en/Special-Page/TravelCOVID.aspx

There is also similar information boards on at Don Muang, although in Thai. Use Google Translate camera on the ones at ground level. This morning, it showed all provinces accept at least either vaccine or RT-PCR

 

Most of the provinces require EITHER vaccination OR a RT-PCR test OR an ATK test - any one of those three. It is misinformation to say only vaccince is accepted.

 

As an unvaccinated person, today I have come out of 10 days ASQ, taxi straight to DMK, flew Thai Air Asia to Sakon Nakon using the RT-PCR test done three days ago in ASQ. It was perfectly acceptable. At SNO, I got my bag and walked out, no need to see a health official or anyone else. They did want some QR code scanning at DMK that went to LINE but it wouldn't work on my LINE. No one asked for it at SNO

 

Domestic air travel is open to the unvaccinated as of 8th November 2021, it is misinformation to say otherwise. Of course, things can change and other provinces may yield other experiences.