mandelieu

We've looked into air tickets on Bangkok Air and Thai Air for our internal flights for our August vacation in Thailand. Is it too early to buy the tickets? Are prices likely to go down over the course of the next 9 months? It looked to me like an air pass would not work for us because you can't book all your flights in advance. Am I correct about this? Thanks for your advice.

Ladyhawk

Without knowing what kind of travelers you are, how much time you have in Thailand and/or where you want to go, it's hard to give specific details. That said, I wouldn't worry about booking tickets in advance -- certainly not 9 months in advance.

My preference would be to arrive in Bangkok and to make up my itinerary from there. Unless you plan to travel on a national Thai holiday, chances are you'll have no problem making travel arrangements via Bangkok Air and other local carriers.

Moreover, you may want to consider traveling by train. First- and second-class overnight rail is an excellent way to get around, and it gives you more of an appreciation of the customs and the people.

Whatever you choose, chances are you'll love it. Thailand is my favorite country in the world. You're bound to have fun.

mandelieu

I should have given more details in my initial posting. We'll be in Thailand for 2 weeks and plan to spend the first night in an airport hotel in Bangkok, then 4 nights in Chiang Mai, 3 nights in Bangkok, 2 nights in Siem Reap, 3 nights in Koh Samui, then a final night in Bangkok. We'll be on a pretty tight schedule, so I'm somewhat hesitant to wait until we arrive. We will be traveling on August 12, the Queen's birthday. What problems should we anticipate with travel on that date? Thanks.

Kathie

You can book all of your flights when you book the Discovery pass on Bangkok Air. Since they are the only carrier to Siem Reap as well as to Samui, you will save by using their pass. I'd book now so you can get the flights you want, but mostly so you can lock in the rates. Bangkok Air just raised the rates on their flights to Samui by 20% which makes the pass an even better deal. If your itinerary is set, there is no reason to wait.

Scotters

If you buy all your 6 flights on the Discovery pass it will save you around $132 each. It is best to book early as there are limited seats on all flights for the pass customers.

You might also consider the following as you can fly from Chiang Mai directly to Samui, with bangkok air, but not on the pass
Discount airline (1/2 Go or Nok) from Bk to CM
Bangkok air CM direct flight to Samui
Samui to BK and BK/SR BK using the pass
This would cost $40 more than using the pass on all flights but would save making a connection at the BK airport.