How do I go about booking a hotel?
Here is a step-by-step guide to booking a hotel for your arrival in Thailand.
Step 1: Know your travel scheme
As explained in this article, you will enter Thailand under one of the three travel schemes:
- Test & Go (or ‘Exemption from Quarantine’)
- The Sandbox Programme
- Alternative Quarantine
The eligibility conditions of each scheme are shown at the beginning of your registration on Thailand Pass after you choose whether you are a Thai national or not.
Step 2: Visit a travel agency website
It is recommended that you book from a travel agency website that shows whether each available hotel includes
- an airport pick-up
- at least one RT-PCR test
as they are necessary for any of the travel schemes by which you enter Thailand. You will not be permitted to leave the airport without the hotel picking you up.
If you book a hotel on the Agoda website, for example, make sure the ‘Quarantine’ filter is on:
Even if your travel scheme is ‘Test & Go’, you will need to stay for up to a day upon arrival at a hotel that provides an RT-PCR test, to make sure that you test negative before you can travel freely in Thailand.
As an example, the hotel below offers ‘airport pick-up’ and ‘1 RT-PCR test’, so it is suitable for your arrival.
Step 3: Check if your chosen hotel is approved
As explained in this article, it is important that you choose a hotel that is officially approved for each travel scheme. There are two lists of approved hotels: AQ and SHA Extra+. You may want to double-check if your hotel is in either of the lists.
If your travel scheme is Test & Go
Your hotel should be in either the AQ or SHA Extra+ list. (See below for the links.)
If your travel scheme is the Sandbox Programme
Your hotel should be in the SHA Extra+ or AQ list. To check if that is the case, visit SHA Extra+ https://web.thailandsha.com/shaextraplus
AQ Hotel http://hsscovid.com for an up-to-date listing. Make sure that the ‘SHA Extra+’ filter, shown below in red enclosure, is selected.
If your travel scheme is Alternative Quarantine
Your hotel should be in the AQ list. To check if that is the case, visit hsscovid.com for an up-to-date listing:
- Click the ‘Alternative Quarantine (AQ)’ box shown below in red enclosure if your hotel is in Bangkok.
- Click the ‘Alternative Quarantine (AQ)’ box shown below in blue enclosure if your hotel is not in Bangkok.
Alternatively, the lists are also available on https://bit.ly/3556nel
Stay tuned for more updates about Thailand Pass on Medium and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
