From Canada

[Oshae]

Hi all, new to the forum. Hailing from the land of ice and snow.

Myself and the (soon to be) Missus have been waiting for and planning a Thailand trip for some time now. Obviously a wrench was thrown into those plans. But we were excited to hear about the potential of the sandbox re-opening. Phuket and Hua Hin are high on the list to visit. Especially Hua Hin, as we'd like to see if its a place we might want to spend some retirement years in one day.

I understand most of the re-entry details, and how there is no transit allowed through BKK to Phuket. Not planning to go until probably January so obviously a lot could change between now and then. But if not that would leave us in a bit of a quandary. Thought I would see if there are any seasoned travelers who might know better than myself.

We could fly from Vancouver to Singapore, or even Korea could be an option as my significant other is from there. But I'm confused whether or not someone can transit through one of these countries to Phuket, if they're not even open for tourists yet. Is it a matter of whether or not you go through customs/immigration in the transit city/country?

[JamesE]

Yes, for sure for Korea as a transit hub, I don't think they're flying into Phuket yet. I think so for Singapore. They're flying into Phuket but I'm not sure what they're flying from North America right now. But right now your best bet for Phuket is transiting in the Middle East. You can transit through just about anyplace as long as it's just a transit. Otherwise, for the Sandbox (and probably Samui Plus) you're required to be in your departure country for a minimum of 21 days before your trip. Right now the only regular from-the-west-coast-of-North-America transit hub that is closed in Taiwan. That's supposed to be opening back up on 13-July but we'll see. Taiwan has shut itself down (and I have had my flights cancelled) several times since the pandemic began. But EVA did have a TPE-HCT flight back in the Before Times.

[uanmak]

It is possible to transit through Korea for no more than 24 hours (IATA). On flightconnections, it is announced that Korean Air will open the ICN-HKT leg from September... but you should check at the airline, that website sometimes in not 100% reliable.

[Oshae]

Thank you for the info. Much appreciated.