Prepare your trip to Thailand with no travel agency!

Planning to travel to Thailand?

No need for travel agency, Lonely Planet or any other guide book, you'll find here all practical information you need to plan your trip to Thailand by your own, destination by destination, step by step. Beaches, paradise islands, temples, historical parks, siam routes, national parks, elephants sanctuaries, food, transports...

Everything you need to prepare your trip is here!

In this section of the website, you will find all the practical information you need to know to properly prepare your trip to Thailand. In particular all the things to do before going to Thailand like do you the need a visa or not, what vaccinations are recommended, how to manage your money during your stay, what is the weather like, what is the best time of the year to come to Thailand...

10 tips to prepare a trip in Thailand

Let's start on this first page of the website by giving you some recommendations for preparing to travel in Thailand:

1. Plan your trip several months in advance to have time to find good deals for plane tickets, to take care of vaccinations and get international driving licence. The ideal would be to start 6 months in advance. Start with requesting for an international driving licence (in some countries it takes long) and create mail alerts on plane tickets prices and find the right promotion. Booking the excursions or experiences that you absolutely want to do at least 2 months in advance is highly recommended too to be sure that they have availability (even 3 months in advance if staying in Thailand over the period January-February or July-August)
2. Avoid, if possible, traveling during school holidays as plane tickets are more expensive. Book your plane tickets directly on the airlines websites as if there is a dispute or ticket modifications, it will be easier.
3. Plan to stay at least 10 days in Thailand to take the most avantage of the cost of the plane ticket which is always a big part of the travel budget.
4. Evaluate the travel times between destiantions and locate them on a map, in order to optimize your transport times. There is all the information in the ''Transport'' section to help you evaluate journey times and for each destination, there is a ''Arrive/Leave'' section with even more detailed information specific to the destination.
5. Avoid going from destinations to destination at a frantic pace and wanting to do too much in one day. You will get tired and it will make you miss the essentials and above all forget to enjoy your time in Thailand. You won't be able to everything interesting in Thailand in only one trip anyway. I have traveled in Thailand in all directions for 14 years and I am still discovering new places ! You will come back. I'm sure you'll want to come back as soon as you will be in the plane to go back home ;)
6. Choose the time of year you go wisely as the weather can have a big impact on your trip. The choice of destinations must have to be made according to the weather, especially during the rainy season. Avoid to go in September and October which are the rainiest and least pleasant months for traveling to Thailand. Also try to see if there are any interesting festivals and adapt your dates and itinerary accordingly. Consult regularly the ''Festivals & Events'' section accessible at the bottom of this page because unfortunately apart from the big festivals, the dates are often known only a very little time in advance.
7. Take a travel insurance to cover any health problems or accidents during your stay. Look at your credit card or house insurance contracts, they often have a travel insurance included. But take a good look at the exclusions, especially on driving motorbike and diving.
8. Don't come with too much luggage. Most of the time, for domestic flights in Thailand, checked baggage is not included (and when they are included, the maximum is 20 kg). You can find almost everything in Thailand and often cheaper, you can also easily find stores that will do your laundry for just over 1 euro per kilo. So no need to come with too much things. And when you travel by yourself, you have to carry around your bags or suitcases a little more than on an organized trip, so btter if they are not too heavy.
9. Leave some room for improvisation. You may fall in love with a destination where you will want to stay longer, you may hear about a festival, an activity you'd like to try and if everything is sscheduled by the minute, you will miss it. It is often the spontaneous moments that make the best travel memories and in Thailand, the opportunities are numerous.
10. Tell your bank you will travel to Thailand otherwise it risks blocking your credit card after the 1st withdrawal or payment in Thailand thinking of fraudulent use.