Tourists Decry ATK Requirement at Piers to Samet Island

[portlandtree]

13 hours ago, kotsak said:

Right, what they worried is a positive result and imagine if you are a foreigner.. Hell no..

F@&K no!

 

[CM Dad]

I have lived in Thailand more than thirty years and have never been to Samet island.  Although I am not a beach person, I did go to Phuket once.  Now I have another reason to avoid the southern islands.

[MrJ2U]

ATK tests will be the last of their problems once that oil slick comes.

[MrJ2U]

2 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

southern islands.

Samet isnt in the South.

 

It's of of Rayong.

 

Its small and beautiful.

 

Nice for a 2 or 3 night stopover.

 

4 hours from Pattaya.

[LittleBear57]

Nice to know, thanks for posting.

 

I have been to Koh Larn twice recently and said if they require any testing we don't go. I don't mind proving vaccination, but a possible test failure could be financially hard hitting. 

 

Koh Samet has been talked about for a short break but we will forget it now until common sense prevails.

[LittleBear57]

Also forgot to mention we are planning a trip to Koh Lipe in March. I guess I had better do some checking before we book. 

[sandyf]

45 minutes ago, Plus Esse Quam Simultatur said:

Does Thailand actually deserve to have any tourists at all ?

Where does "deserve" come into it.

 

The authorities see the crisis as an opportunity to transform the tourism sector from mass and low‑cost to high‑end and low-density tourism, while encouraging domestic tourism, to reduce the sector’s dependence on tourism‑related infrastructure and natural resources. 

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/06/21/na062121-5-things-to-know-about-thailands-economy-and-covid-19

[actonion]

More jumping on the Covid  money making  band wagon 

[Henryford]

Well that's another destination on my travel blacklist.

[renaissanc]

A Thai couple will have to pay 660 Baht. A family of four 1,320 Baht. Thai tourists will be trying to keep their expenses low. It's inevitable that many Thai couples and families will turn around and go to mainland resort area. The charge is silly when the test kits cost very little.

[sandyf]

43 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

I have lived in Thailand more than thirty years and have never been to Samet island.  Although I am not a beach person, I did go to Phuket once.  Now I have another reason to avoid the southern islands.

You haven't missed anything, I only ever went the once in over 20 years. Sub standard accommodation at vastly inflated prices, had to pay extra if you wanted a fridge or TV in the room.

Koh Chang, further along the coast is a far better proposition, the only island I have stayed on more than once. 

[Muhendis]

I have had what may seem to be quite a revolutionary idea. 

The TAT wants to attract as many tourists as they can so why not offer free testing paid for by Thailand and, in the event of a positive test which I suspect is quite rare, take care of the infected visitor free. This seems to me to be a reasonable investment to improve income.

[Jiggo]

So that's 330 baht plus the 200 baht National Park fee, 530 Baht each before you even get off the ferry for a trip, got to be stupide to pay it, and even more so to ask, Amazing Thailand LOL

[Spilornis]

Spain and Denmark (probably followed by Greece) are highly likely to remove incoming testing requirements for the fully vaxed in the next few days.

England has done it.

There's a trend.

Non targeted testing as a method to prevent spread is being increasingly dismissed

[AlQaholic]

What's an ATK? And BTW, Koh Larn outside Pattaya is way better than Koh Samet. Samet is full of Rich Bangkok Brats, expensive and always fully booked. Koh Larn is not a national park.

And with almost 70% of the Thai population fully vaccinated, what's the point?

 

[Sydebolle]

Lucky them. Thai-style would be to sell everyone a ticket to the island and on disembarkation the next trick would be to force ATK - or a return ticket to the mainland. 

How often did I drive into a road which was closed further down. No indication of road work, one-way further down, closed or temporarily inaccessible. Trying to turn around the next two, three cars were behind me already ???? 

Welcome to Thailand - the country of tourism novelties 8-) 

[Happy Howard]

15 hours ago, TheScience said:

Jumped the shark

 

Crossed the Rubicon

 

Thailand is done. This is insane. You can go to any national park without ATK test. In fact, it's only some boat operators that will require a vax certificate.

 

Total mafia

Don't go to National Parks as they tried to charge me ten times the Thai price to enter Khao Yai!!!!! RIP OFF!!!!!

[soi3eddie]

What amazes me even more than the whole non-sense of this requirement, is that the authorities haven't imposed dual pricing for foreigners! Or at least that has not been reported. 330 Baht is outrageous to begin with so hardly any Thai families will pay that. I feel sorry for the island's resorts, restaurants and boat operators as it much be losing them a huge number of customers.

 

[Oblomov]

We've just cancelled a trip to Koh Samed and fortunately managed to recoup all hotel booking costs - two of our group of five are Indonesian friends who do not intend to risk spending the rest of their trip in a field 'hospitel' should they return a positive test. The rest of us are equally reluctant to enter a lottery where there is no prize (been to Koh Samed possibly ten times and only visiting again due to proximity to Bangkok for a long weekend trip) but a huge disincentive to travelling there.

 

We all know (or most of us do, with functioning brains and logical thought capability) that this thing is with us in one form or another in perpetuity, so these tourist dependent islands either close and find another way to maintain lives and livelihoods or simply open, in the way intended, to those of us who have already satisfied myriad criteria and processes to spend some time here.

 

Being carted off to one of these facilities is a risk not worth the taking to visit any one island so either this testing stops or the potential income stops. Now we're off to Phuket instead and added a trip to Koh Samui, so though we're still spending money at resort areas, I'd imagine Koh Samed might have been more needful of some income.

 

Thailand made the biggest 'first step' towards reopening in the region but will hobble itself if in-country restrictions and protocols are not in step with the more realistic countries. Those that travel will choose the winners by simply going to the destinations with most reasonable and sensible measures that balance the multiple factors that affect us all in our lives.

[kcpattaya]

Most Thai islands are controlled by their local mafia families (Koh Tao, Samui, Koh Chang, Phuket) and they ONLY care about money.
Stay away. 

[Charlie Halliday]

Medical tourism has all but dried up the past 2 years leaving the private hospitals in Thailand on the brink of collapse. As medical tourism is one of the Govts big money drivers in their economic plan they've had to resort to these ridiculous measures to fill up the beds. My 27 year old daughter had a false positive on the test and go and spent her first 10 days in a private hospital. I spoke to the ward nurse every day to check her results and every day she told me there was no sign of covid. 4 x rays later, a bucket load of anti viral drugs which I told her to hide in her suitcase, and 10days in a locked room she emerged looking grey and weak. They're sending perfectly healthy young people into hospital isolation and they're coming out sick! The situation is  preventing tourists from coming here and is destroying the economy. Sad and incredibly bizarre. Its also stopping us residents leaving Thailand for overseas trips for fear of not being able to get back into the country on our return. Mind-bogglingly bizzare. 

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, CH1961 said:

If you do not want to make a test, use a speed boat to the island. 

Which might be cheaper than the tests!

[n8sail]

3 minutes ago, Grusa said:

Which might be cheaper than the tests!

Not sure that will work.

My friends sailed their own boat there just before New Year, arrived after dark and SWAM to shore.  The National Park police STILL found them the next morning and made them show proof of ATK negative test!   Luckily they knew of the requirement and had official tests to show.

[steven100]

3 hours ago, CH1961 said:

If you do not want to make a test, use a speed boat to the island. 

what makes you think they haven't stopped that route as well unless you take their test   ..  ?

[SunsetT]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The operators of Kohkaew Phisadan pier and Tharuaphe pier indicated they have been greatly impacted after the provincial authority in Rayong implemented the ATK requirement on January 20

I love Samet but It has always been a pain in the a r s e getting there with no 'express' public bus service from Bangkok (excepting the Formula 1 killer minibuses) or Suvarnabhumi as there is for Hua Hin. Also have to deal with ticket touts before and when you arrive at the pier. Ive always suspected a mafia type taxi/pier/boat control so maybe it's poetic justice, or karmic irony, that the local authority are now wanting a piece of the action from the wingeing pier operators.

[rbkk]

Who's charging the 330 baht? The pier? As the tests cost 35 baht from the GPO (Bangkok), I'm expecting a cheaper option will be along soon, once they have struck a deal with the Samet Mafia operators. Prices at many of the beaches are kept at inflated levels. It has been like that since I visited there in 1995. Sea....Horses...avoid.

[Andycoops]

Yet more Thai incompetence shooting itself in the foot yet again.

Rip off Thailand, at least the Thais are now on the receiving end of more price gouging.

The businesses in Samet must in utter despair.

[jinners]

Yep, just endured the idiocy of this last weekend. Whizzed down to a grubby little clinic where the ATK was done by someone looking like they had a cheap 7/11 mac tied on with rubber bands. All done, 5 minutes later me n the GF off to the pier (after the commission paid to the providing agent of course where car was parked). Prices varying between 250 and 300 per person what I witnessed.

So everyone is either double/triple vaccinated and tested clear via ATK yet still wandering with masks on the island. And the point is??

Made for a very pleasant quiet stay though. Won't be going again till all this stupidity is over with.

[Willy Wombat]

Get a test before you leave you country for Thailand .

Get a test when you land in Thailand ( pay for hotel)

Get a test on day five in Thailand(pay for hotel again)

Get a test when you enter a bar

Get a test when you go to Koh Samet.

A good chance you will be hauled off to quarantine at your expense after so many tests.

 

Sounds relaxing.

And. If the Thai government is so petrified of the virus just shut the whole country down, because you have run out of feet to shoot off with the ridiculous rules you implement .

[jinners]

17 minutes ago, rbkk said:

Who's charging the 330 baht? The pier? As the tests cost 35 baht from the GPO (Bangkok), I'm expecting a cheaper option will be along soon, once they have struck a deal with the Samet Mafia operators. Prices at many of the beaches are kept at inflated levels. It has been like that since I visited there in 1995. Sea....Horses...avoid.

That's the price to be paid at the "clinic" where the tests are done. Not at the pier.