Holidays in Koh Samui: COVID-2019

Dear friends! The weather on Koh Samui is fine now and there are many vacationers, do not believe the reports about empty beaches, this is not the case. There are no confirmed cases of infection with the virus. At the same time, every day on the Internet there is a lot of new information about the COVID-19 epidemic and its consequences, in some ways exaggerated, in some - on the contrary. To help navigate this stream, we decided to share the latest news. The purpose of this note is for informational purposes only, we do not call for a visit to Koh Samui or for the return of tickets already purchased. Just staying on the island carries certain risks that we want to pay attention to.

Visa situation

On March 12, 2020, the Thai Foreign Ministry published information that visas on arrival / VoA were canceled for 18 countries, including Russia. These visas are issued for a period of 15 days upon entering the kingdom. But, according to a bilateral agreement of December 13, 2005, Russian citizens have the right to enter the kingdom without a visa for up to 30 days. Therefore, Russians have not used VoA for a long time. Nevertheless  reports began to arrive that some Russians were not allowed on flights by the airlines, despite the fact that the Thai Embassy in Russia published an official confirmation of the possibility of visa-free entry.

Help situation

If you have a visa or decide to try your luck with visa-free travel, we recommend that you obtain a medical certificate of health. Starting from March 9, citizens of 11 countries applying for a visa for the Kingdom of Thailand began to ask for such a certificate. Despite the fact that Russia is not on this list, it makes sense to keep the certificate with you, as the situation can change any day.

Border closure situation

Due to the spread of the epidemic, many countries announce the closure of their borders. For example, Ukraine did it on March 13, and now our guests are forced to interrupt their vacation and hastily leave the island in order to get home. Consider this risk when planning your trip.

All of the above is relevant as of March 14, 2020. If you have any questions, write, we will answer them. For the latest information on cases in Thailand, follow this link: covid tracker

We wish you health and strength!

Baan Tropic Company.