Traveling with children is very different from traveling with adults. You can ride alone in the Americas, and with the birth of a child, even a small hour's drive will turn into a separate event. And yet, to pass the winter and go for the sun in the country of eternal summer - Thailand - will be a great idea for a family vacation. Together with the Tourist Board of Thailand tell us all the details: in what season to go, where to look for accommodation and entertainment, and what kind of Lifehouse you need to know.
Visas
Citizens of Russia and Ukraine do not need a visa to visit Thailand for up to 30 days. All you need to do is fill out a migration card in English and stamp it during passport control. However, there is one condition: you must have a return ticket from Thailand to Russia or a third country.
Belarusians need to prepare a visa in advance to visit Thailand. Minsk has the Honorary Consulate of Thailand and VFS Global Visa Center, where you can make your own visa for the whole family. An important nuance - documents for a child are issued in the same way as for an adult. For a visa you will need a passport, application form, photo, account statement with the amount of at least $700, work certificate, a copy of air tickets and booking of accommodation. Persons under 18 years of age will need a notarized birth certificate. If the child travels alone or with one of the legal representatives, the notarized consent of the missing legal representatives (mother, father, guardian) must be submitted to the consulate. Since most children do not have a job or a bank account, a letter of sponsorship should be drawn up for the child and a bank statement of the sponsor should be added to it. Upon the fact of the visa is made in 10 days. Tourist visa is issued for three months, with the possibility of staying on it for 60 days. Subsequently, the period of stay in the country can be extended in Thailand.
Tickets
It is better to look for air tickets in advance - a few months before the trip. It is best to use one of the meta-search engines, such as Skyscanner, Momondo, Aviasales. Most likely, these will be connecting tickets from Air Astana (via Astana), Air China (via Beijing), Etihad (via Abu Dhabi), Emirates (via Dubai), Finnair (via Helsinki), Qatar Airways (via Doha), International Airlines of Ukraine (via Kiev), Uzbekistan Airways (via Tashkent). You can find a great option, for example, a flight Emirates Moscow-Dubai-Bangkok and back for just $270. Up to one year old a child can fly free of charge, from one to two years at the children's fare (50% of the price) without a separate seat, children from 2 to 11 years old get a separate seat at a discount, from 11 years old a full ticket is bought for the child.
If you pay $100 more, you can buy a direct ticket from Moscow to Bangkok: direct flights are operated by Aeroflot (daily) and Thai Airways (four flights per week). The flight will take almost 9 hours. In fact, a transfer while traveling with a child is only beneficial. During the transfer and waiting period, the child can walk, sleep and eat without having to sit in the plane chair.
A round-trip flight from Kiev to Bangkok costs about $500-600 per person, but if you follow the airlines' promotions, you have a much cheaper chance to fly to Thailand.
Season
Thailand is located in a tropical climate zone, so it is mostly hot and humid. Seasons can be divided into three main seasons.
March-May is the hottest time when the air temperature can reach +40°C.
June-October is the so-called rainy season, characterized by high humidity. Despite the name, the rains do not occur around the clock and usually last no longer than three hours in the evening or at night. The air temperature ranges from +25°C to +32°C. The period from March to October is considered a low season, when tourists are least of all, respectively, in this period the lowest prices.
November and February are the most comfortable time of year when the temperature ranges from +20°C to +32°C. Although the northern territories are climatically different from the southern ones, the weather is generally dry and warm throughout the Kingdom. At this time, Thailand is visited by the largest number of tourists, and it is this time that is a high season when the prices for housing and services are also rising.
to be continued in the next part...