How to Reserve Hotels, Flights, Trains and Buses for Thailand and the Region

On this page :beach party thai island

  1. Hotels in Thailand
  2. Flights to Thailand (International)
  3. Trains in Thailand + region
  4. Buses in Thailand + region
  5. Flights inside Thailand + region
  6. Guided Tours in Thailand
  7. Travel Insurance (International Health Insurance)

1. The Hotel

Related pages, on this site :

To find an hotel in Thailand, I highly recommend to use Booking.com
I’m using Booking because :

  1. It has a very good user interface, letting me decide which hotel is the best for me (I will explain).
  2. It has authentic reviews of travellers (only guests who booked and stayed in the hotel, are allowed to write a review).
  3. It is a serious company with the best prices and you can also cancel a reservation (or change the dates) in most cases.

Here is the best way to use Booking.com in order to find an hotel :

The Map :

beach party thai islandAfter you fill the dates and your destination, you will see a Map of the area (look for the Map icon, scroll down the page if needed). On the Map you will see points representing the Hotels and if you zoom, you will see the price of each hotel and the score it received in the comments. Click on the mark to arrive to the hotel page.
The Map feature is good, in order to get fast information about the available options.

The Filters :

beach party thai islandAfter you fill the dates and your destination, On the left side, you will see Filters that serve to filter the results according to some criteria. The most useful filter is the price range.
Another filter is the area you want.

Sort by (Important !!) :

beach party thai islandWhen you get a list of the proposed hotels (after filling the dates and destination) you can sort the result in the order you want (with the bar on the top). Use the sort by “Review Score” and it will order the hotels by how the guests scored them. Read also the content of some comments in order to feel the place. Give a priority to the ones who received many (good) comments (hundreds), it is more reliable than an hotel commented by just two persons.
Technical Note : Do the “sort by” as a last step (to make sure it was taken into account).

Note :

beach party thai islandAt the top, you can choose the language and the currency.

 

 

Here you can search Hotels with Booking.com :

2. Flights to Thailand (International flights)

Related pages, on this site :

To find International flights, I recommend to use Skyscanner. It has an excellent user interface and good prices. Especially useful is the option to see the cheapest price within a month (If you are flexible with the dates).
Here is how to use Skyscanner :

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    1. Choose your preferred language and currency, on the top right part of the page.
    2. Fill your destination and dates (check “one way” if you want), then click the “Search Flights” button.

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  1. You will see the search results. If you are flexible with the dates,  then click the “show whole month” link on the left top side of the page. It will show you a calender (and a chart) with the cheapest price available for each day.

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When you choose a flight, consider also :

  • The landing time (at night, it may require a Taxi instead of public transportation)
  • The connection wait time (if you need to change airplanes)
  • The airports location (some airlines are not landing at the main airports)

Notes :

  • Skyscanner is a search engine. It doesn’t sell you the tickets. It points you to companies who do sell tickets (like a specific airline).
  • The price you see on a search engine, is not always the final one (although they try hard to be accurate). Sometimes there will be extra fees like for suitcases or taxes. So in order to know the final price, you must advance in the reservation process.

Advanced options, if you are energetic :

  • Search engines like Skyscanner are good and they give you a good picture of the available options, but sometimes, for many reasons, they don’t show you all the availabe flights (a minority may escape). So try to look also at individual sites of the companies you know that are flying to your destination. In order to know the airlines who are flying to your destination, you can try to look at the “departure and landing real time information” of the airports sites.
  • Other search engines for flights that have a great user interface : Google flights and Momondo.

When is the best time to buy a flight ticket ?

Usually, the sooner, the better (something like 2 months in advance). It is especially true with the “low cost” companies (these ones are almost always flying at full capacity). There are also deals of the “last minute” but you cannot really count on it if your destination and schedule is not flexible.
Thankfully, air travel as become very competitive and you can usually find good prices to your destination, at any time, if you are willing to make a non direct flight.

3. Trains in Thailand (and neighboring countries)

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Yes, there are trains in Thailand. They are not super fast but they are comfortable and clean.
You may use the trains to arrive to :

  • The Islands in the south (see how).
  • Chiang Mai in the north (see Chiang Mai page).
  • The Capital of Laos – Vientiane

beach party thai islandFor all these destinations, the most common is to take a night train, which takes about 10 hours. On the night trains there are sleepers coaches which are quite comfortable. It costs less than 1000 Baht. The price vary a little bit according to : First class or second class, air-conditioned or just Fans and the position of the bed (upper or lower).
The most common is to choose the second class air conditioned, which is really fine from my experience.

You can buy train tickets in :

  • The train stations
  • Travel agencies in Thailand
  • Online, with the site 12Go Asia

Notes :

  • Yes, in peak season, some night trains may be full, so it’s better to buy the ticket in advance.
  • The computer reservation system of the Thai railway company is not connected to the travel agencies, nor to the online company  12Go Asia. In order to make a reservation the travel agent just calls the railway company and buy for you a ticket.

Regarding buying a Train ticket with  12Go Asia :

  • When you buy a train ticket with  12Go Asia, you will get a final OK, only after their agents will buy for you the ticket (because the reservation system is not automatic).
  • For trains, You will need to receive a real paper ticket (e-ticket is not OK), and you will need to collect the ticket from 12Go Asia offices (you will see the address when you reserve the ticket. In Bangkok, it is near the train station). They can also send you the ticket, if you prefer. You can read about all this in their FAQ section.

For Train Tickets with 12go Asia, fill the date and destination :

Powered by 12Go Asia system

You can see more information about the trains in Thailand, in the excellent site Seat61.

4. Buses in Thailand (and neighboring countries)

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Unlike the trains, Buses are going everywhere in Thailand. There are national buses going from the main bus station and there are also private companies going from different locations and sometimes also picking passengers from the hotels.

You can buy Bus tickets in :

  • The bus central stations
  • Travel agencies in Thailand
  • Online, with the site 12Go Asia

Regarding buying a Bus ticket with  12Go Asia :

It is easier to buy bus tickets with  12Go Asia than it is for trains, because you get an immediate confirmation and because you receive an e-Ticket and you don’t need to collect it from anywhere.

For Bus Tickets with 12go Asia, fill the date and destination :

Powered by 12Go Asia system

5. Flights inside Thailand (and neighboring countries)

Also for flights (inside Thailand and neighboring countries), you can use the site 12Go Asia. Fill the date and destination and you will see relevant results including the low cost companies like Air Asia.
(It will show you also the Trains and Buses if available to your destination).

Powered by 12Go Asia system

Alternatively, you can search a flight in the region with the site you use for international flights, as mentioned in paragraph 2.

Some specific airlines to know while in Thailand :

6. Guided Tours in Thailand

7. Travel Insurance (International Health Insurance)

Travel insurance is very important. It guarantees medical assistance in case of accident or medical problem.
See what I wrote about this topic in the page : Travel Insurance (health) for Thailand and Asia – The Important points to know.

star More on Bangkok and Thailand :

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star  If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.