Would you recommend Thailand?

[captspectre]

Statistically, a European/Australian tourist is 20x more likely to die in Thailand than in Europe.

Thai beaches and sea dirty Vs Spanish/French beaches and sea clean.

So depends on what alternative destinations they have in mind, and do they feel lucky?

in order to save space, in a word NO! and if you still want to visit, get yourself some life insurance, accident insurance, AND medical insurance!

[SoiBiker]

Sounds like some of you delicate flowers would be best recommended to never leave the house.

[Ace of Pop]

Apart from overpriced Cars, and Crap breakfasts in most Hotels it's fine.

[little mary sunshine]

I love thailand. Here in Germany we have the same problems

Every Country and every large City has. Just be more vigilant

And careful, the same as you must be shen visiting : Berlin.

Paris oe Bangkok

[kingalfred]

Id recommend Thailand as its still relatively safe and it's easy to travel around and also culturally diverse. Ideal to a 1st time traveller.

"relatively safe to travel around"? Compared and relative to what African State is that with more than 80 deaths a day on the roads?

[carter1882]

Indiana Jones....actually he sounds more like those "Nam" guys who would have to kill you if they told you what they do! He talks about being concerned about Phuket and Pattaya scams.....i don't think. Indiana Jones would have had much of a problem there.

Thailand is a great place to visit for many reasons. Be careful of the roads and do not leave your brain on the plane.

[ggt]

For a vacation or excursion...YES!

Don't let that unfortunate episode in BKK spoil you fun...

Relax...take it all in...enjoy...you will be glad you did...

[snooker4eva]

Yeah,why not?give them the low down on the do's and don'ts and they should enjoy a great holiday

Edited August 28, 2015 by snooker4eva

[shaurene]

They should consider Vietnam the people are so nice and more speak a little English. A lot of expats here are moving over there. I live here with my Thai wife and if she would I would move over there with pleasure.

The beaches along the East Coast are beautiful, far cheaper than Thailand, we have been there 3 times and going back soon.

Na Trang is so nice water is very clean food is ok not spicy like Thailand. Crim is very low the police make sure of that.

They should give it a go. They can spend couple weeks in Thailand and get a cheap budget flight over from Thailand and spend couple weeks there. Few days in HCM cheap budjet flight up to Na Trang, then cheap flight up to Hanoi which is to interesting markets all over the place. Book hotels over there through the Internet.

[Stevemercer]

Thailand remains a fantastic place for a holiday. The prices are cheap, the people are friendly and the sunshine is endless. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Thailand for a holiday for my family or friends.

[BuriRamHome]

Thailand is perfectly safe for a holiday as long as you take the usual precautions and don't do anything here that you would not do at home.

Having lived here for 20 years I feel much safer than in UK. The odds on being where a bomb goes off are millions to one. I worked in Northern Ireland between 1982 and 1990 at the height of the troubles but I never gave a thought to the risk, and the odds were higher there than here.

personally, I would not travel to the USA, as the risk of being killed by a deranged gunman is higher than being involved in a car accident in Thailand !

[circusman]

Consider the heat in all of Thailand. It is a big factor. Hot and humid.

[Robert24]

yes

[phuketrichard]

I have made Thailand my home for 29 out if the last 31 years,

Built a home

raised a daughter

and its home.

bad things happen but its safer than living in most western countries and for sure anywhere in the middle east

[slipperylobster]

The OP makes it sound like it happens every day. Americans are murdered in the USA practically every single day. Would the OP recommend friends/relatives visit America? Regarding the OP's question, this one incident doesn't change my opinion of Thailand even a little bit.

I think violent deaths can happen all over the globe....strange to limit this to Americans in the USA. I read of people being murdered in England too...better not go

[stephenterry]

I wouldn't recommend any of my young relatives to visit here, because if anything happened to them, I couldn't live with myself. What you could say is there are pros and cons. Generally speaking, for a young couple, BKK is safe enough, even at night. Even more so in Chiang Mai, but it's a lot quieter and more refined, IMO. Apart from the traffic, that is.

As far as beach life, I would never recommend either Pattaya (sordid place) or Phuket (too expensive and a rip off) but there are plenty of idyllic places like Khanom in the south (google it). Koh Tao is out, and Samui is about the same as Phuket.

As for travelling around, Thai roads are death traps. Take a plane or train, preferably. And as one poster suggested, take out comprehensive insurance. One final warning, Thailand is a country full of temptations of every conceivable sort. Be wary.

[NoshowJones]

I wouldn't avoid Thailand over fear of terrorism as the odds of any one person being hit are very, very low (at least for now).

However, for those seeking more safe destinations in general, I definitely WOULD avoid Thailand.

Thailand is a very dangerous place and you can easily find the statistics about that.

I don't think most people choose their short term travel destinations though based on such risks.

It should be a bigger factor for those considering MOVING here though.

Very true -- there is indeed a big difference between living here vs. a holiday. It is quite easy to get a negative bias being here the long term, and recalling the many balcony-jumpers, protests, Koh Tao murders, etc., which are incidents most short-term vacationers wouldn't be aware of or consider. Indeed terrorism is quite low, save for the far southern border provinces which most 2-week holiday tourists wouldn't go to. I do sincerely hope that this remains an isolated incident.

I think you would have a far bigger chance of being affected with terrorism in the UK than in Thailand, it's the mentality of most drivers and motorbike

riders you should worry about.

[slipperylobster]

Thailand seems far to go for what is available...unless you are are looking for low budget hotels.

I would tell people from Canada/USA just go to Central or South America, for beaches and a good time.

closer, and less expensive to fly. Cost of living not that much different.

Right now I wish I had a nice bungalow beside a cool lake way up in the mountains...somewhere in South America.

Beaches used to turn me on...but that got old. Laying in hot sand in 95 degree weather is a bit much.

Edited August 28, 2015 by slipperylobster

[NoshowJones]

Please do not go to Thailand until the Thai people start to treat everyone with respect.

It may be a relatively safe place for a tourist, if you are careful, but you will be looked down upon or talked about behind your back. Without a doubt, you will leave with at least one negative experience.

It's about time tourists started treating Thailand with respect, especially the ignorant drunken scum walking about the streets and shopping malls without wearing a shirt.

[NoshowJones]

This morning well thinking about this thread I suddenly realised the biggest reason to warn people about Thailand.

Most of the violent crimes against foreigners is against tourists. All beach scams are tourists,killed at the beach are tourists,killed in hotel rooms tourists,attacked on street tourists.

Tourists are the targets.

That's because of their bad behavior, come over here, treat the country and people with respect, don't get drunk, and you will be as

safe here in Thailand as anywhere else in the world.

[TSF]

Some years ago I used to write letters and send emails to my friends & family and encourage them to come to Thailand for their holidays. Now I tell them don't bother.

[thaiduncankk]

Please do not go to Thailand until the Thai people start to treat everyone with respect.

It may be a relatively safe place for a tourist, if you are careful, but you will be looked down upon or talked about behind your back. Without a doubt, you will leave with at least one negative experience.

If you're a tourist anywhere, some locals are going to look down on you and talk about you behind your back.

You don't have to be a tourist, in your own town or city the same things happen !

[NoshowJones]

NO. I would advise anyone to avoid Thailand for the time being. It is a dangerous place where tourists are a target for locals and Police (Mafia) alike. Go somewhere with more pleasant people instead of Lieland.

That is a load of absolute rubbish, Thailand may not be perfect, but what country is?

[Gillyflower]

As a tourist, it may be safer to take a train from Amsterdam to Paris. The American who got shot in the back is still in hospital.

[Gillyflower]

It may be safer to take a train from Amsterdam to Paris. The American who got shot is still in hospital.

[Wasima]

I believe our deaths are set out. We die when we have to die... so why live the rest of your life in fear??? If I had to listen to some advice given to me before our visits to Thailand, I would never have fallen in love with the place and would never have gotten the travel bug. I refuse to sit quietly in my lounge waiting for death to come to me. Life is too short.

[Kannikapor88]

I suggest your friends travel to Vietnam starting in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) - Nha Trang - Da Nang (Hoi An and train to Hue).

Thailand is a dangerous place for tourists and certainly not the friendly country that they try to show ... Vietnam would be a great experience cause of this compared to Thailand :

# Clean beaches - try Google pics of An Bang and Cua Dai Beach ... Thai beaches are full of garbage

# About half Price for Hotel, food and drinks, not to mention transport

# Security : Vietnam Police not the best but Thai Police def the worst ...

# People : Truely friendly people in Vietnam - many years ago Thailand was Land of Smiles, now its Land of Scams etc.

# Nobody know if there will be more bombs - Thailand make enemies for them self almost daily

Beside the above there is so much more to see in Vietnam - Thailand is on a downward spiral ... Dirty and overpriced

Vietnam is Thailand as it was 20 years ago ...

[SoiBiker]

Nha Trang? Over-developed, mediocre beach, overrun with Russians, and some of the worst service I've experienced anywhere.

I love Vietnam, but it's not much of a beach destination, and it's not as cheap compared to Thailand as you make out.

[Familyonthemove]

When comparing frequency of violent incidents to US we need to remember that the US had 10 times the population as Thailand.

I'm here for work and I like living here (most the time) but would not recommend it for holidays.

It's a big world and places like Vietnam, S Korea, Hong Kong, Macau have a more effective governance that reduces the risks of a ruined holiday.

And for beaches; Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Philippines have a lot to offer.

And how would the OP feel if there was an issue during their holiday? Thailand is unpredictable at the moment.

[CapeThai]

Id recommend Thailand as its still relatively safe and it's easy to travel around and also culturally diverse. Ideal to a 1st time traveller.

Yeah just tell them not to fall in love and get married straight away....LOL