When we showed you the workplace of Andrey Zakordonets, who lives and works on Koh Samui, we did not expect such interest in the topic of Thailand. We are starting a series of articles, at the end of which you will have no questions about moving to this wonderful country. We hope you enjoy it.

To come to the Land of the sun, the sea and smiles and live there for several months or even a year without returning home and at the same time continuing to do what you love – isn't this a cherished dream or at least a strong desire of most of us? If your professional activity is related to online or IT business, or you are engaged in another business that allows you to work remotely, then you are lucky. Pack your things, you are going to live and work in Thailand!

Below is a story about how to start planning and organizing a trip when a positive decision about it has been made.

Obtaining a visa.
Buying tickets.

The preparation of the trip should begin with the purchase of tickets and obtaining a visa. The sequence of actions is exactly like this: first buy a ticket, then go for a visa. But since there are many nuances with tickets (which I will write about below), I will start my story with exactly how to get a visa.

I. How to get a Thai visa

First of all, it is worth knowing that if you are a citizen of Russia, then you can stay in Thailand without a visa for 30 calendar days. For citizens of Ukraine, this period is 15 days.

Since we do not consider the option of a 1-month trip in this article, then you need to get a single or double tourist visa to Thailand before your trip. It is very easy to get a Thai visa – you can do it yourself, spending several hours a day collecting documents and a couple more hours going to the embassy.

The most complete information about the visa procedure is available on the website of the Embassy of Thailand in Russia (or in your country) in the section "Consular Department". The website has a list of documents required to open a tourist visa in Moscow. The process is quite simple (at times easier to obtain a Schengen). Your task is to do everything according to the instructions on the consulate's website.

What is a single-entry and double-entry tourist visa?

Single entry visa ($40) it is issued for a period of 90 days and gives you the right to stay in Thailand for 60 days from the moment of entry, after which you can get another 30 days by visiting the nearest immigration office and paying another $ 60.

Double entry visa ($80) for a period of 180 days – 2 entries for 60 days.

If you plan to stay in Thailand for six months, then I advise you to go to the immigration bureau in 60 days and get another 30 days ($ 60), then after they have passed you need to leave the country, and then repeat the first part (stay 60 days, which are given at entry + 30 days after going to the immigration office).

In total, from the point of view of a visa: 3 months in Tae will cost you $ 100, 6 months – $200.

Decide on the period for which you are going to Tai and request the appropriate visa from the consulate. The presence of a paid return ticket is mandatory!

Do not worry if you get a single-entry visa, and after 3 months (90 days) decide to stay longer. You can extend your visa, or rather get a new one, in any neighboring country of Thailand, and it's even easier than in Russia. (For more information on how to stay in Thailand longer, see one of the following articles in the series "How to live and work in Thailand").

II. Buying tickets

1. We are flying to Bangkok.

To date, it is possible to fly to Thailand from Russia on flights of most well-known international airlines. The most popular (read: the cheapest) flights from Moscow to Bangkok are carried out by these air carriers: Etihad Airways (UAE), Emirates (UAE), Aeroflot (Russia), Transaero (Russia), S7 (Russia), Aerosvit (Ukraine), Turkish Airlines (Turkey). The average cost of 1 ticket with 1 transfer is 21500-35000 rubles or $700-1100. These are very average figures, because there are many nuances when buying a ticket.

Here are some of them:

how long before the trip to buy a ticket (there is often a rule – the earlier you buy, the lower the cost may be);
direct flight or connecting flight (Aeroflot and Transaero have non-stop flights from Moscow to Bangkok – 9 hours on the way);
high or low season (if you are going to fly from December 15 to January 15, as well as during the May holidays, then keep in mind that the ticket will cost more);
the type of fare and the possibility of changing the departure date. Each airline applies several fares to one flight (not to be confused with a class). If you want to fly the most economically, choose the simplest Econom fare, but keep in mind that in this case you should be exactly ahead of what period of time you plan to stay in Thailand (the ticket may not be subject to date change or you can change the departure date for an additional cost of 50-100 euros). If you are not sure how much time you want to spend in Thailand, then you should choose the flexible fare (possible in economy class), which will allow you to change the departure date or even fully refund the ticket price without additional fees. In general, I recommend once again to think over this point very carefully.

Where to buy a ticket

1. Directly on the website of the selected airline.
2. Through one of the online ticket purchase services: anywayanyday.com , kayak.com , momondo.com , skyscanner.ru .

Personally, when buying tickets, I always combine these 2 options, namely:

first I go to the website of the online service, set the necessary dates, marking with a tick «flexible search », and from the search results I choose the best tariff in my opinion (focusing not only on the number of transfers, but also on the total travel time and the time gap between transfers);
then I go to the website of the company whose tariff suited me, and check the same dates there. Sometimes it happens that on the airline's website the same tickets may be a little cheaper, and then I buy them there.

2. How to get from Bangkok to the islands

You are in Bangkok, but staying to live and work there for several months is not in your plans. So let's look at the options for moving from the Thai capital to the islands.

So, you can get to the coveted paradise (here I mean Koh Samui – the 3rd largest island of Thailand, located in the Gulf of Thailand) in one of 3 ways:

1. Fast, comfortable, expensive.

Bangkok Airways is the only airline that flies from Bangkok directly to Koh Samui. An hour flight will cost you from $100 (the cheapest promotional fare) to $200 (with the possibility of changing departure dates).

2. Not fast, relatively comfortable, relatively inexpensive.

AirAsia – an Asian low-cost carrier will take you from Bangkok to Surat Thani (Surat Thani is the capital of the province of the same name, closest to the place of crossing to the islands) for 1 hour and $50-60 depending on the presence/absence of checked baggage.

3. Not fast, comfortable, inexpensive.

Thai Railways – 12 hours on the road and only $25 one way (travel in a 2nd class carriage with air conditioning). On the official website of the railways, you can see the route, schedule, description of transportation classes and the cost of tickets for different trains from Bangkok to the same Surat Thani (Surat Thani).

You can book and buy a train ticket only on the websites of agencies, for example thailandtrainticket.com (agency commission – $7), or directly at the ticket offices at the Bangkok railway station. In the second case, there is a possibility that there will be no tickets for the next train.

Important! If you choose travel options 2 or 3 (to Surat Thani), then you need to know the following: upon arrival / arrival at the airport / Surat Thani train station, you go to the counters of travel agents (at the airport they will approach you themselves) and ask for "transfer to Koh Samui". The transfer includes a bus ride to the port of Donsak and a ferry crossing from Donsak to Koh Samui. All this takes about 3 hours of time and costs no more than $11 (350 baht).

In addition to the 3 above–mentioned ways to get to Koh Samui, it is also worth mentioning 2 more — by land (direct bus Bangkok - Koh Samui, including ferry crossing) and by water (catamaran Bangkok — Koh Samui). But frankly speaking, I can't recommend any of these 2 ways of travel to you, since 12-14 hour transfers in a sitting position is hardly what you want after a 9-12 hour flight to the Land of Smiles.

So, decide on the dates of the trip, buy tickets, get a visa and choose the most suitable way for you to get to the island – your new place of residence. In the next article you will learn how to find housing on the island, which area to choose and how much it will cost to rent a house.