Thailand is (finally) opening to vaccinated travelers

Friday newsletters always feature luxury travel contests, tips, series, or news.

Today: Thailand is (finally) opening to vaccinated travelers

With more than fifteen million tourists visiting the country each year, Thailand is Asia’s most popular, diverse and vibrant travel destination. The country offers a myriad of attractions to its visitors: pristine rainforests, spectacular coastal scenery, sun-kissed beaches, floating markets, UNESCO protected ruins, and remote hill tribes. And then there’s Bangkok, Asia’s most exciting city and a sublime destination in its own. Despite being a magnet for budget and backpacker travelers, Thailand also happens to be home to some of the world’s most ultra-luxurious resorts, whether it be beach enclaves, urban hotels or jungle retreats. This includes my favorite hotel on the world, amazing Soneva Kiri on Koh Kood island (read my review here or watch my YouTube video below).

When the pandemic hit the world almost two years ago, Thailand closed its borders for the external world, imposing strict quarantine rules and mountains of paperwork on all arrivals. Covid-19 was successfully contained through most of 2020, but by summer this year infections by the Delta variant were rising quickly (as elsewhere in Asia), and the government was being criticized for being too slow to start vaccinating. Also, foreign tourism – once the engine of the Thai economy, making up about 20% of the county’s GDP – collapsed. To give you an idea, just over 70,000 visitors came into the country in the first eight months of this year, compared to 40 million foreign tourists in the whole of 2019.

However, there’s some exciting news as all that is about to change next week. As of November 1, Thailand is opening up for quarantine free tourism to fully vaccinated travelers who have been in one of 46 eligible countries for the past 21 consecutive days leading up to their trip. This is great news of course for travelers, and I suspect that some of you have already booked a holiday in Thailand. If not, it might be a great time to check out the many great hotel deals currently available. Again, this includes Soneva Kiri, where I can arrange some VIP perks for you, like best rate + resort credit + two complimentary experiences (contact me for more information).

This are the entry conditions as announced by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

• Fully vaccinated travelers will be eligible to enter Thailand by air if they’ve been in one of 46 countries for at least 21 consecutive days prior to travel
• An RT-PCR coronavirus test will be required within 72 hours prior to travel
• A second RT-PCR coronavirus test will be required on the day of arrival, and the traveler must stay in their accommodation until the result comes back negative
• Medical insurance with a minimum coverage of $50,000 USD will be required for travel

Only travelers who have been in one of the following 46 eligible countries for the past 21 consecutive days leading up to their trip will be allowed entry into Thailand:

• Australia
• Austria
• Bahrain
• Belgium
• Bhutan
• Brunei Darussalam
• Bulgaria
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States

*** Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or Facebook for a daily moment of travel inspiration ***