Category: General Info

Travelling to Koh Samui Update

18 April 2022

UPDATED 1ST APRIL 2022

Are you considering booking a luxury Koh Samui villa holiday in Koh Samui to enjoy in the coming months?

If so now is the time as Koh Samui is buzzing.

Whilst some of the nightlife is slow to restart, the majority of restaurants, bars and shops are all open in particular in Fisherman's Village, a popular hotspot especially so in the evening when cocktails and dining on the beach is a must do. The wide variety of tours and activities are also back in operation and vendors are grateful for the increase in trade with the foreign visitor tourism after almost 2 years that devastated the industry.
This is mainly due to Thailand's Test & Go Scheme that has been in operation since November 2021 and now the more recent further relaxation of the entry requirements. This puts Thailand on par with other South East Asia countries that have also opened up to international travellers.

The good news is that Koh Samui is now open to fully vaccinated visitors from all over the world arriving by air or land under the Test & Go scheme. The previous Samui Sandbox scheme therefore is now redundant however, should any serious Covid-19 related situations arise in any individual country these schemes will need to be reintroduced the details of which can be found in our earlier blog https://www.samuiholidayvillas.com/Our-Blog/Article/Koh-Samui-Entry-Schemes

TEST & GO SCHEME

The Test & Go scheme (also known as "Exempt from Quarantine") is available for all fully vaccinated visitors arriving by air or land. Operating periodically the scheme has given a boost to restart Thailand's tourism industry with one of the key requirements being a mandatory pre-booked first night stay in a SHA+ villa or hotel before having the freedom to continue your travels and stay in other preferred accommodation.

The requirement for a pre-departure RT-PCR Test 72 hours before a flight to Thailand has now been removed. This was causing considerable expense when travelling with a large family group. Some airlines however may still require a test to fly with them or to transit through some countries and would need to be checked beforehand.

The RT-PCR Test at the airport for international arrivals remains in place currently and additionally an ATK self administered test is provided to use on day 5/6 of your stay and result recorded. If you have already left Thailand on day 5/6 this obviously does not have to be used. A SHA+ villa or hotel would have needed to be booked prior to arrival to remain in whilst waiting for the results of your arrival test. 

If a traveller has already had Covid-19 between 14 - 90 days before travelling it is recommended that a letter/certificate from a health authority stating this fact is available to provide the Thai authorities should you receive a positive result on arrival. We also suggest that potential travellers limit their social gatherings 2 weeks before departure and even consider taking a pre-departure PCR test just as a caution.

The Thai Government will consider the scrapping of the mandatory RT-PCR Tests on arrival for international travellers in May, however before making that decision they will need to evaluate the situation after any impact of increased cases after the Thai New Year festival "Songkran" during April when the majority of Thai nationals return to their families or enjoy a domestic holiday. 

If the replacement ATK arrival test goes ahead, it may not be necessary to book the first night stay in a SHA+ hotel if arriving at the smaller airports of Phuket or Koh Samui, whereas in Bangkok the volume of arrivals waiting at the airport for results may still require this. We shall provide any updates in our next blog or please feel free to contact us direct for any further information..

To enter Koh Samui, Thailand by the Test & Go scheme, requires application and registration to the Thailand Pass 

THAILAND PASS

The Test & Go scheme is available to fully vaccinated foreign tourists and can be accessed by registering for the Thailand Pass QR code.  This involves the uploading of certain required documents to a web based system under the following link https://tp.consular.go.th/en/plan

Koh Samui is in the province of Surathani and this needs to be chosen in the dropdown menu for the port of entryinto Thailand followed by the name of the accommodation or property management that is also listed in a drop down menu. Below is the list of documents that need to be prepared for uploading. A graphic of the process is also below

  • Bio page of passport (6 months remaining until expiry)
  • Flight number & arrival date (can be changed & accepted by airlineswithin 7 days without changing the Thailand Pass
  • Vaccination Certificate
  • COVID-19 Health Insurance Certificate (minimum cover $20,000 specifically for Covid and cover the whole stay)
  • Confirmed SHA+ villa/hotel booking confirmation (each member of the party listed)
  • RT-PCR test payment document -2,200-2,400THB approx (hotels will provide a link to pay for the test individually or some villas will include the test payment purchase in the booking confirmation).

The SHA+ villa/hotel plays a key role in getting approval of the Thailand pass and will match the information on the Thailand Pass system with the booking they have for you.

There is a support email/telephone contact for the Thailand Pass should applicants experience difficulties

Check in to your chosen villa straight from the airport and view OUR COLLECTION OF KOH SAMUI LUXURY VILLAS SHA+ APPROVED HERE 

To view all our Koh Samui villas please visit our SAMUI HOLIDAY VILLAS website

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Check in to your chosen villa straight from the airport and view OUR COLLECTION OF KOH SAMUI LUXURY VILLAS SHA+ APPROVED HERE 

To view all our Koh Samui villas please visit our SAMUI HOLIDAY VILLAS website

ALTERNATIVE QUARANTINE SCHEME

Foreign visitors who are un-vaccinated and wish to enjoy of of our villas on Koh Samui must complete 5 days quarantine in Bangkok as detailed below before travelling on as ASQ facilities are not available on the island.

As from 1st April 2022 a mandatory 5 day (5 nights) quarantine package at an ASQ Hotel must be pre-booked by all travellers to include the airport pick-up, meals and 2 RT-PCR tests. The tests will be taken on arrival and on day 5.  Should there be a negative result on day 5 you have the freedom to travel elsewhere in Thailand. 

To enter under this scheme it is necessary to register under the Thailand Pass and choose "Alternative Quarantine" to view the documents required 

ASQ hotels are not available in Phuket or Koh Samui and further information on ASQ hotels in Bangkok can be found on the following links.

FLIGHTS

There are a number of international flights operating to Bangkok's international airport and sealed flights are available for the Test & Go scheme to Koh Samui. The international flight and relative sealed flight to Koh Samui must be booked on one ticket and travellers are held in a transit area in Bangkok before boarding the onward flights that operate daily at the current time.

If the two flights are booked on 2 separate tickets, the current rules are that the traveller will have to choose the Test & Go scheme for Bangkok first before getting a flight to Koh Samu with a negative test confirmation.

The sealed flight numbers with Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Koh Samui are PG 5125 (12.00pm) and PG 5171 (5.00pm) and they do not carry any domestic travellers from Bangkok and can only be booked with the airline online by the traveller or through an agent if preferred.

Flights can also arrive from Singapore with Bangkok airways to Koh Samui at the current time operate 3 times a week (PG962). As travellers will arrive directly from overseas these are not sealed flights however all will be Thauland Pass holders. International flights from other countries can transit through Singapore providing they are on a list of Singapore's approved airlines. As with international flights arriving through Bangkok the international and Singapore flights to Koh Samui must be booked on one ticket and baggage checked through unless you plan a long stop-over or start your journey in Singapore.

British Arways and Singapore Airlines operate 1 stop flights from London to Koh Samui however Singapore airlines has an aditional transit stop in Bangkok onthe return journey which needs to be considered as it will be a longer journey back home.

AIRLINE CHECK IN

The Thailand Pass QR code together with copy printouts of the relative documents plus the results of the negative test will need to be presented at check in and will be needed again by immigration on arrival at your chosen destination Thailand province. The documents can also be shown on your phone as images however it is quicker to pass over the printouts rather than search for each of the imageswith a queue growing behind you.

The daily sealed flight numbers with Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Koh Samui are PG 5125 (12.00pm) and PG 5171 (5.00pm) and from Bangkok to Phuket PG 5275 (departs 12.00pm) and PG5279 (departs 17.10pm). These flights do not carry any domestic travellers from Bangkok.

Bangkok Airways also operated flights from Singapore to Koh Samui 3 times a week and flights from other countries can transit through Singapore providing the particular airline is on Singapore's approved list. Again, if flying with an international airline to Singapore and onward travel to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways, the journey needs to be on one ticket for baggage to be checked through unless you plan a long stop-over in Singapore.

CHECK IN

The Thailand Pass QR code together with copy printouts of the relative documents will need to be presented at check in and will be needed again by immigration on arrival at your chosen destination Thailand province. The documents can also be shown on your phone as images however it is quicker to pass over the printouts rather than search for each of the images with a queue growing behind you.

ARRIVAL

On arrival at the airport staff will check your temperature and double check your documents and place them in order for immigration. After collecting your baggage you will be guided to the testing area for a very gentle nose swab and given an ATK self-testing kit to use on day 6/7 the results of which needs to be uploaded to a Government Health App. Help will be on hand if guests have difficulty with the app.

Outside the airport, transport will be waiting for you to take you to your chosen villa/hotel.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON!!