We have covered the ins and outs of Thailand’s reopening for limited tourism, first with Phuket’s Sandbox and then with Koh Samui’s. The country intends to open to more significant tourism later this year, although many have their doubts.
I purchased a Singapore Airlines ticket from Paris to Phuket. Then I started the Certificate of Entry (COE) process the other week with the initial application (read more here and here) that was approved.
Thailand’s Steps for Getting to Sandbox:
My next steps were:
1. Request the two hotels to withdraw payment from the credit card on file and issue the SHABA documents (need these for the next step)
2. After I had received these confirmations, I could then apply and pay for the Covid-19 swabs in Phuket (3 in total).
3. Attach the airline ticket to the application.
Both Hilton hotels were very reasonable in issuing the SHABA documents after I sent them emails:
I then could access the website to book and pay for the Covid-19 tests. Previously the hotel would have handled this step.
You need the SHABA hotel codes to set up the appointments. You can book the appointments at Thailandpsas.
With the tests confirmed, I was issued a receipt. I attached all these documents with the Singapore Airlines ticket, sent them off and waited.
First reply from the embassy:
I noticed from the COE application that you will leave from France. Are you currently living in France? If not, when will you leave Finland to France?
This email came from Thailand’s embassy in Finland that thought I might be living in France because my ticket was ex-Paris (only because of the price). I replied that it was not the case.
The second email from the Embassy
Royal Thai Embassy, Helsinki has rejected your registration/application.
Due to 1 Please attach flight from Helsinki 2 Please attach SHA plus certificate
My ticket was ex-Paris, and I had not included an e-ticket that would first show Helsinki – Paris flight. So I issued a second ticket.
I had also made a mistake with the application and included only the SHABA number but not the certificates themselves. I fixed that also and resubmitted.
Third reply from the embassy
Royal Thai Embassy, Helsinki has rejected your registration/application.
Due to 1 Please attach flight from Finland to France and put its detail. 2 Please select the first hotel from dropdown list.
I made another mistake because when you add documents, you cannot add additional ones before the embassy rejects your application in their system. I attached the SHABA certificates but couldn’t add the Finnair e-ticket because the application was “processed.”
Fourth email from the embassy:
Royal Thai Embassy, Helsinki has approved your COE to enter Thailand.
Please download your COE from the weblink below:
https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/consider/cerdca?id=HELREMOVED
Or click “check the result” menu on https://coethailand.mfa.go.th Your 6 digit code to check your registration/application status is :
REMOVED
Entry to Thailand
1. หลังได้รับหนังสือรับรองฯ (COE) กรุณาจัดเตรียมเอกสาร เพื่อแสดงต่อสารการบินที่เคาน์เตอร์เช็คอิน ดังนี้
1.1 Passport and valid Thai visa/ re-entry permit (if required)
1.2 A print out version of Certificate of Entry (COE)
1.3 Medical certificate with a laboratory result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected, using RT-PCR test, issued within 72 hours before departure (in case of connecting flights, before embarkation from initial port).
1.4 Insurance or letter from employer guaranteeing that the insurance company or employer will cover a minimum of 100,000 USD of medical costs incurred by the applicant in Thailand, including medical costs in the event that applicant contracts COVID-19 (The insurance must cover the total duration of stay in Thailand)
1.5 T.8 Form (Health Declaration Form). You can download T.8 Form at https://bit.ly/34X6sAJ
* Documents (1.3) (1.4) (1.5) must be in English or Thai only. Certified translations into English or Thai are acceptable in the case that the original copy is in a foreign language.
2. Please download and register Thailand Plus application. Download manual :: click
3. The above mentioned documents in (1 ) and Thailand Plus application in (2) must be declared to the immigration and disease control officers once the passenger has arrived in Thailand.
Note: If encounter any problem during the registration, please contact the embassy/consulate-general which the applicant has registered in the form.
T.8 Form
Thailand Plus App
The official ThailandPlus app apparently is not getting excellent reviews in the Google Play store.
You need the application and COE numbers for registration purposes.
Previous Articles:
Phuket Sandbox “Your registration/application for COE has been confirmed.”
Thailand Phuket Sandbox “Certificate of Entry” COE Application Process
Singapore Airlines Email: “Changes To Your Travel Advisory” (My Sandbox Ticket)
Purchased Singapore Airlines Paris – Phuket (Sandbox) Business Class Ticket
Conclusion
It is now exactly two weeks away from when I should be on the Singapore Airlines flight from Paris to Phuket via Singapore. I have not been to Thailand for two years, and I believe that the situation in Phuket and Koh Samui are pretty different at the moment.
I need one more thing before I can board the Singapore Airlines flight: the negative Covid-19 PCR-RT test. I should also hope for the best that there are no positive cases on the short-haul Singapore Airlines flight to Phuket because it may lead to mandatory quarantine as a few sandbox visitors found out.
Overall, the response times from the Royal Thai Embassy in Helsinki were always less than 24 hours. Should you decide to make an application for the sandbox, you need to make sure that you have all the right documents attached to the application.
A question if you don’t mind as we are heading out there next month. How long did it take for the hotel to issue the hotel booking certificates?
Got my COE approved as well. It wasn’t too bad of a process but if the visitors prove to be fully vaccinated I’m not so sure why all the other steps are needed, frankly. Anyways it is what it is and looking forward to getting away.
Because there is a significant chance that you are asymptotically infectious whilst fully vaccinated.
Don’t you read the news?
A question if you don’t mind as we are heading out there next month. How long did it take for the hotel to issue the hotel booking certificates?
Less than 24 hours. I had booked the hotels about a week earlier and then sent them an email after the first step was completed that I would need them to issue the SHABAs, which they promptly did.
We’ve got our from the Hilton within 3hrs, but i guess it depends on the hotel.
Also have doubletree booked with points next month, if I can find an award flight in J and it all doesn’t go to hell by then. Look forward to a review of the hotel in sandbox times.
Wow. Looks like you could earn a degree completing all this red tape.
Meanwhile, being double vaccinated, I am touring Central Europe finest properties without any restrictions. Currently staying for a week at Park Hyatt Vienna
Good choice, I’m also traveling through Europe at the moment, nice and uncomplicated. Currently at the Ritz Abama, Tenerife. All I needed to do was an antigen test and to complete a form which took me 5 mins, almost no restrictions here✌️
Wowie.. Yea sounds like a nightmare.
DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Banthai Resort
What to expect during your visit:
Available but with modified service: Airport Shuttle, Concierge, Fitness Center, Breakfast, On-site Restaurant(s), Pool, Room Service.
i come next month: is better DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Banthai Resort or Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach??
can help me?
I’m travelling to Phuket next Wednesday from London. We are staying at the Hilton 🙂
I’m travelling to Phuket next Wednesday from London. We are staying at the Hilton 🙂
Entirely different areas, and I have yet to stay at either.
I’m waiting for your review then. So I decide. I booked in both places. Another blog went to the Marriot and spoke very well. I’m waiting for your opinion.
Merlin Beach Marriott is nice, but also Nai Yang Marriott is more nice.
I also like the renaissance Phuket a lot, the JW Marriott Phuket is also nice but full of children.
Let me know if you have further questions about one of the hotels mentioned
Thank you, you have been very kind. So do you advise me to change my reservation at the Merlin to one at the Nai Yang Marriott? i don’t want kids and i will travel alone so the area also interests me a lot to be able to go out a bit
Pros Merlin:
More restaurants than Nai Yang
Larger beach side and the water is getting deeper more quickly than in Nai Yang
Pros Nai Yang.
Hotel opened in 2016 so not too old.
More calm as ist’s not as large as Merlin
Only 15 mins from HKT Phuket Airport
The removed everything that might hurt you from the ground of their beach/ocean
Cons Merlin:
Huge Building complex(matter of taste, I didn’t like the fact)
Hotel is very Family friendly, but so is Nai Yang. Still I think it’s worse here because it’s simply larger.
Cons Nai Yang:
Water is very affected by the tides, it might be the case that you have to walk some 200 meters inside the ocean to be able to swim, yet the water is calm here and not dangerous.
Also very Family friendly, but I was able to spend a very nice time here with my girlfriend.
Lao I liked the staff more at Nai Yang.
How about the Renaissance, compared to these two?
Renaissance is part of a “vacation village” together with the JW Marriott and other attractions and activities, mainly for families, but also shops, supermarkets etc.
It’s one of those resorts that you don’t have to leave during your stay.
I liked the beach the most compared to the other hotels, very clean and clear water.
Since there are many kids activities outside the hotel(but inside the “vacation village”) you don’t really realize how many children there are as there is not only one particular spot for children like a kids club. But you have to make sure that your room is not facing the kids pool.
The prices at the restaurants and room service are very reasonable.
Also the area is more of a Family Area in regards of going out. You will always have to take a longer cab ride if you want to go out.
How about the Renaissance, compared to these two?
About Going out:
Definitely is the Patong area more alive, Nai Yang is small and not as touristic as Patong.
THANK YOU! then considering that I go alone and I would also like to go out to eat instead of always staying in the residences I think I will keep the Merlin even though I know that I will not find any type of entertainment around during this period and also the ban on the sale of alcohol. I feel like I’m in a Tibetan monks’ retreat.
Can I ask how much are the hotel rates for these 7-night quarantine stays? You have to take all the meals in the room, is that right? Or do you have the freedom to be outside your room? Thanks.
The hotel rates in Thailand are very reasonable at the moment. These are not quarantine hotels. You are allowed to roam in Phuket and utilize all the services that are open, including restaurant.
And that’s why travel is just not worth it at the moment.
Only a fool would travel to Thailand this year. Over 20,000 new covid cases on a daily basis. You will have plenty of empty seats
on your flight!!!!!
Florida had 28000 cases yesterday but I don’t see many empty seats on flights heading there from all major cities in the US!!
Oh good.
Florida is in the US of A, right? “Yesterday, the state reported 1,486 deaths []from COVID], a 141 percent increase from two weeks ago.” Tampa Bay Times”.
Jolly good effort, eh?
That’s right, forget Land of Smiles I want to relax on a Florida beach instead. Great time to visit right now and hey no quarantine required although masks may be required in some counties
I have spent expensive time in the past 12 months in both Mexico and Brazil that haven’t fared as well as Thailand.
There’s a nice kebab stand now setup at the entrance to the DoubleTree.
Travelers who know Thailand should be keen to get to Phuket and Samui just to see it without the crowds. It would be worth the red tape and time effort to get there just to see empty beaches and resorts. A once in a decade opportunity for tourists (bit like the market crash of March 2020 for investors)
Um I am afraid many international travelers do not know what Thailand is now. Not only are there empty beaches and resorts – there are many bankrupt and closed businesses. The Phuket Sandbox is a desperate attempt to bring in any tourist dollars and by all counts it is a pathetic failure compared to what was hoped. And there is no tourism economy any more. Places like Pattaya, Samui, and Krabi are ghostowns as the Thai economy has been decimated unlike at any time in the last 100 years. It is a full on depression. There are daily riots in Bangkok and many Thais are starving. I don’t even see a 50% recovery until 2024 at the earliest. There has been no nightlife at all since April and no telling when even restaurants can open again. Aside from going to the beach during the day, there is nothing else to do except stay in your room and watch tv or internet. Travel even between provinces is restricted and can change without notice. There is no bus service anywhere currently. Likewise because of the botched vaccine rollout- the Thai population will probably not be fully vaccinated until the middle of 2022 at the earliest. The TAT is hoping to salvage the high season this year but that is a dream. Believe me, I have been living here for many years and this is the worst I have ever seen it – much worse than the 1997 financial crisis. Any tourist should put off their plans to come here until the end of 2022 at the earliest.
Um I am afraid many international travelers do not know what Thailand is now. Not only are there empty beaches and resorts – there are many bankrupt and closed businesses. The Phuket Sandbox is a desperate attempt to bring in any tourist dollars and by all counts it is a pathetic failure compared to what was hoped. And there is no tourism economy any more. Places like Pattaya, Samui, and Krabi are ghostowns as the Thai economy has been decimated unlike at any time in the last 100 years. It is a full on depression. There are daily riots in Bangkok and many Thais are starving. I don’t even see a 50% recovery until 2024 at the earliest. There has been no nightlife at all since April and no telling when even restaurants can open again. Aside from going to the beach during the day, there is nothing else to do except stay in your room and watch tv or internet. Travel even between provinces is restricted and can change without notice. There is no bus service anywhere currently. Likewise because of the botched vaccine rollout- the Thai population will probably not be fully vaccinated until the middle of 2022 at the earliest. The TAT is hoping to salvage the high season this year but that is a dream. Believe me, I have been living here for many years and this is the worst I have ever seen it – much worse than the 1997 financial crisis. Any tourist should put off their plans to come here until the end of 2022 at the earliest.
I think what you’ve described, empty beaches, lack of nightlife, generally lower levels of human activity, is very appealing to many tourists who like me, knew the fabled Thai beaches before they became resorts and inaccessible due to pricing inequities to the majority of travellers. Those tourist centres you mentioned Pattaya, Samui, Krabi, had become festering, polluted, unfriendly, sometimes violent, and neglected hellholes before COVID. Now is the chance for the environment to take a much needed break and those prepared to run through the red tape can get to experience a glimpse of the what Thailand looked like before the commercial demise, while the pandemic runs its course.
I wouldn’t as harsh, but Thailand has relied too upon mass tourism. The last move before the pandemic was to make Phuket a destination for travelers from India. Previously, there were a lot Chinese on “zero” dollar tours that were later banned.
I don’t think the Chinese zero dollar tours were ever banned although they should have been as the Thai travel operators made zilch from them. Thankfully they are no more due to COVID (remember Pii Pii Island with thousands of Chinese tourists landing every day, endless lines at immigration to leave Phuket), additional reason to see Thailand now while mass tourism is paused.
I will agree that mass tourism has destroyed what once was a great uncrowded destination. If there is any positive out of all this it is the disappearance of those annoying and horrible Chinese tour groups and smog spewing buses. I hope they never return.
There may be zero tourists coming to Bangkok after scenes like this https://twitter.com/thainewsreports/status/1429430811669917696?s=21
I wouldn’t as harsh, but Thailand has relied too upon mass tourism. The last move before the pandemic was to make Phuket a destination for travelers from India. Previously, there were a lot Chinese on “zero” dollar tours that were later banned.
I wouldn’t as harsh, but Thailand has relied too upon mass tourism. The last move before the pandemic was to make Phuket a destination for travelers from India. Previously, there were a lot Chinese on “zero” dollar tours that were later banned.
You just don’t seem to get it do you. The “lower levels of activity” you describe are countered by the many starving and unemployed Thais that have endured needless destruction of the economy by their inept government leaders.Right now there is not even any Domestic tourism options for people who actually live here. I would love to take a break and go to these places but cannot due to province travel/quarantine restrictions and lack of places open or to stay . Some places have even closed off beach access completely and forbid any group gatherings. Also you are not going to turn back the clock and see the Thailand of the 1970’s anymore. Many of the few Phuket sandbox tourists who had hoped to see other areas of Thailand have had their hopes dashed by the situation right now. I am telling you and any other foolish tourist that wants to go through all of this red tape and then come here to deal with this dire situation is just that – a fool. Wise to wait until next year at the earliest.
I will be going to the same test centers. I need to be back in SG, but could not get reentry approval so am flying to TH. The COE process from the US took me 5 days. I bought the AXA insurance and submitted for pre-approval on Tue last week. Got pre-approval the next day, submitted the remaining requirements and approved on Sun. Very fast. I’m a Marriott Ambassador so hopefully not many and I get good rooms. We have some overlapping dates.
IG:metoo.travels
My Flight is in 48h and COE still under review, thai embassy London, the reviewer, not answering to calls and emails, what a pain, I rather get rejected than left in the unknown
What happens If I go to Thailand with an old non smartphone that doesn’t have apps or can’t download ThaiPlus app or the other tracking app, would they refuse letting me into Thailand ?