We have covered the opening of Thailand’s tourism sector this past July, first in Phuket, where I am currently, and a couple of weeks later Koh Samui, where I’ll fly next week.
I have covered the Certificate of Entry process that is quite cumbersome due to the number of documents required, and I had a close disaster getting the COE reissued due to changing one of the flights.
Previously:
Phuket Sandbox “Your registration/application for COE has been confirmed”
Thailand Phuket Sandbox Application Completed
I had ticketed Singapore Airlines premium fare ex-Paris to Phuket and decided to redeem for a one-way flight from Helsinki to Paris on the day of the SQ flight.
If I fly on separate tickets, especially when long-haul flights are involved, I either leave plenty of time for self transit or preferably fly in the night before.
I realized that if the Finnair flight is delayed OR there is a delay, and Finnair refuses to check in a bag through to Phuket, I won’t make the connection. So then I decided that it is probably better to fly into Paris the night before on Air France.
The Certificate of Entry (COE) lists the flights you take from your point of origin to Phuket. There is a note on the document that if there are involuntary changes due to delays and/or cancellations, there is no need to reissue the certificate, but it is valid on other flights.
As my flight change was voluntary and I wanted to make sure that there are no issues with the COE, I decided to contact Thailand’s Embassy in Helsinki to find out if it needs to be reissued.
You cannot amend the documents on the COE website after it has been approved.
I contacted the Royal Thai Embassy by email, and I was then sent a link to update the documents.
Attach & Upload
I went through a couple of rejections due to incorrectly attaching and not uploading documents.
Then I received approval:
And a rejection 22 minutes later:
All the correct documents were attached to the application, and it was getting closer to the departure date from Helsinki.
I sent an email to the Royal Thai Embassy in Helsinki, who promised to have a consular clean up my application. The approval was then received a few hours later.
Conclusion
The documentation required for the COE is excessive, and the application interface is burdensome and good that I didn’t try to use Safari (it won’t work – made for Chrome).
I don’t understand how you can attach a document without uploading it, and the web page doesn’t prompt anything when you proceed with the application. Instead, you get a rejection email a few hours later.
The email replies from the Embassy in Helsinki were prompt, but apparently, they do vary a lot between Thailand’s embassies and consulates in various countries and cities. I am sure that the consuls would rather deal with other issues than these COE applications.
@John Are you happy so far inside Phuket? I read some testimonials from folks saying they very pleased.
However, some other people were ‘extremely’ stressed during the whole duration because they feared the risks of getting contaminated on day 4 or 7. That would mean being sent to expensive quarantine then turning the whole experience into a nightmare.
The question would be is it worth it to go to an area with activity/people during the first 12 days or go to a remote one with less people (near the Hyatt Regency for instance) and then enjoy Full freedom
The tests are done on arrival, and then on days 6 and 12. I would be very worried if traveling with young kids who are not vaccinated. Too many opportunities to catch the virus and get the entire family quarantined.
It is a definitely different experience than normally here in Phuket, and I will check out the Koh Samui next week.
@@John_Ollila:disqus ‘Different experience’ in a positive or negative way?
I am tempted to go through this bureaucratic nightmare just to enjoy the top Marriott and Hyatt properties at rock bottom prices… especially in Bangkok.
Just hoping they did not cut too much on Lounge and Breakfast offering
Pretty sure these won’t last.
I am going there this week. I don’t think the process was that difficult and I’ll be staying at a Marriott. First time to Phuket for me. I think there will be a lot of sandbox type openings like this in Asia soon.
It depends on what you are after. There is hardly any nightlife and 90% to 95% of the businesses in the Patong area are closed.
I rented a car for the time here to get around. The Phuket Town is a disappointment, but the Central department store complex gigantic and a way to “escape” for few hours at the Starbucks Reserve.
I have been to Phuket 20+ times.
With this sandbox scheme can any hotel be chosen or is there some official list ? And I take it that movement on the island is not restricted ?
I suppose that if the hotel chains I work with (Accor / Hilton) are open for reservations, they can be booked for the 14 day sandbox period before freely traveling to the mainland ?
Sorry for all the questions !
here is official list of hotels
https://www.thailandsha.com/shalists/index?type=all
You can use system 7+7 (7 days in Phuket, then next 7 days in Phuket (another hotel from list) or in
Surat Thani (Samui, Ko Pha-ngan a Ko Tao)
Krabi (Ko Phi Phi, Ko Ngai a Railay Beach)
Phang Nga (Khao Lak a Ko Yao)
There is a list of SHA+ approved hotels, but there can be some changes if you choose a non-chain hotel. You can book 7 + 7 days (you can stay at two hotels) before exiting the sandbox to other regions.
All that for a caramel macchiatto? LOL…no thanks. Sticking to the ever increasing countries accepting vaccination AND SOME SENSE OF REASON. Enjoying Hawaii now…booking others later in the year
What documents did you send for Insurance verification? Seems like a policy would be very long.
I wrote previously about the AXA travel insurance that comes with select Amex PLT cards in Europe. This was just one page long.
I recommend Three Monkeys restaurant for dinner.