5 Tips For Visting Thailand

Preparing for a vacation is exciting and can be a rush. Often, little things can make a big difference to having a successful trip.

You can wing it and end up like me being stranded with no bus just after the Laos border and 800 km to your next stop, wake up covered in bed bugs, be ripped of with donation scams, or you can sidestep these experiences by following the advice from people that learned the hard way.

Below are five important tips taken from my book, Thailand 50 Facts You Should Know When Visiting Thailand.

1: Citizens from most countries do not need a Thailand visa when they plan to stay for a holiday of up to 30 days when entering by air and 15 days when entering by land. You will be issued a tourists stamp in your passport. This stamp cannot be extended and you will need to leave Thailand and return to get another stamp if you wish to stay longer without a visa. To stay longer in Thailand and be able to extent your stay while in Thailand, you need a visa to enter Thailand, and will need to apply for it at a local embassy, or use a visa agency. Two online agencies you might try are https://www.visahq.com and http://www.visaexpress.net/Thailand/thaitouristvisa.htm. Be aware they do not serve all countries. Tourist Visas are valid from one to six months, and can be extended another 30 days while in Thailand.

2: Booking online can often save you up to 50% compared to walk-in rates. More expensive hotels are listed on Expedia. Smaller hotels and hostels are normally listed on Bookings.com, and Hostel Hero, which is great for backpackers.

3: Always check the room before you agree to take it. You may be shocked by what the room looks like compared to the online ads. Amenities such as warm water, air conditioning, baths and double beds may not exist or work. If so, ask for another room. If the room smells funky or mouldy, ask for another room. At times, you may be shown the worst room first – until you complain – and then be given a far better room for the same price.

4: Negotiate beforehand on the total price of a taxi ride, including all stops. Understand beforehand that if you add additional stops, the price may go up drastically. Drivers who speak English and wait outside malls, guesthouse, or bus stops, are pricier than those a short walk away. You can also hire a passing tuk tuk. Most taxis outside of four and five star hotels are scams, refusing to use the meter but rather charging an overpriced, flat rate. Bangkok has a huge problem with scam tuk tuks. It is usually best to use a metered taxicab, and make sure he uses the meter. If a taxicab has any excuse for not using the meter, do not get in. You run the risk of being hugely ripped off – simply go find another ride. The normal rate for a tuk tuk is 200 Baht an hour. Those asking 20 to 40 Baht and hour will often attempt to sell you overpriced clothing, and other fake items, from rudely operated shops. It’s better to have your hotel call a trusted cab for you, rather than using a parked tuk tuk or taxi on the street.

5: ATM machines dispense Baht currency only. There are ATM machines inside the Royal Palace, and they do have money exchange locations inside the palace complex in Bangkok. A fee of approximately 150 to 180 Baht ($5 to US$6) is charged per withdrawal transaction, including a fee of around $3 to $5 from your home bank. Most ATMs dispense a maximum of 20,000 Baht per transaction. Large denomination notes, such as 1000 Baht, are difficult to break on the street. Use them to pay for your hotel room. When drawing money, select odd amounts for the hundreds; for instance – 2900 Baht. This way, you will get smaller notes instead of 1000 Baht notes only. Street vendors and tuk tuks often have no change for anything larger than 100 Baht.Old, torn, or damaged notes are often given as change to tourists, however, they are seldom accepted back as payment later. Refuse to take them when given and ask for undamaged, newer notes.

Get even more tips for visiting Thailand by getting the full book today.

This book contains 68 important facts and tips that will help you save money, avoid common tourist scams, stay safe, and maximize your Thai adventure. This book is a compact version of the pertinent information contained in my book, Backpacking SouthEast Asia.

• Visas requirements, visa renewal and visa problems
• Common tourists scams
• Getting 3G internet connection cheaply
• Health considerations in Cambodia
• Tips on saving money
• Staying safe
• And more

Thailand is a soul moving country. If you travel to be swept away by awe-inspiring beauty, Thailand is an absolute must. Make sure you remember it as an amazing adventure by being prepared and informed.

Expand your Thai adventure and include towns such as Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and The Big Buddha.

5 International Travel Tips

Advice for travel can be found all over the Internet, from friends and travel agencies, government websites, as well as airlines.

The problem is not a shortage of information, but an overload of information. Wasting time sifting through numerous tips that in most cases have no relevance to you, often leaves you frustrated while at the same time possibly causing you to forget the actual advice you do need.

Below are five important tips taken from my book 100 International Travel Tips.

1:Make a PDF scan copy of every page of your passport, or take a picture with your cell phone. You can also make hard copies of your passport, and keep it in your carry-on bag. In case your passport is lost or stolen, you will have proof of who you are. Also do the following: take a picture of the entry-stamp page of a country as soon as you pass through customs, as well as any visa that you receive at a customs' border post. People have been allowed to fly home with only scans and pictures of their passport’s pages. If you make hard copies have them certified as original copies. Leave additional copies of your passport, itinerary with hotel bookings, contact details, and flights with family or friends – in case you run into trouble.

2:Do check that your passport was, in fact, stamped when you pass a customs checkpoint. In addition, check the date of the entry stamp, as well as the expiry date of your visa. Scams occur in countries where a passport is incorrectly stamped, or not at all, on entry. You will be fined heavily when you try to exit the country. Most tourist visas are valid for 90 days, in blocks of 30 days. Do check the expiry date of your visa, as you will be fined for overstaying a visa. You may also be banned for a time if you overstayed for too long. An overstay can easily be $10 a day or more.

3:Inform your bank of the dates and places you will be traveling to and from. Banks may decline foreign charges, and even stop your cards, if they are not notified to expect foreign charges. Keep your bank details with you in case you need to contact your bank to have a purchase approved or a stopped-card reactivated.

4:Get a Skype account for free. Load your account with $30 of credit to allow you to call landlines and cell phones, should your wallet and cell phone get stolen. Most hotels and Internet shops will allow you to call, or you can ask a fellow traveler who has a smart phone or tablet to allow you to call using your account.

5:Put a piece of paper in each luggage with your contact details and possibly home address, as well as your itinerary with connecting flights and final destination. One of the main reasons bags are lost, is that tags get miss printed or ripped off, and no one has any idea where the bag should go or who the owner is. Other common causes of lost and delayed bags are late check-ins and tight connections (less than three hours between connecting flights, min 90 minutes suggested).

Get even more travel tips by getting the full book today.