LONDON TO KRABI THE EASY METHOD
 

My husband ,( who has mobility difficulties) and I are planning a month in Thailand in Nov. 2009. I understand that no airlines go direct to Krabi.At present we favour the the shorter non stop route to to Bangkok with Thai.Ideally we would like to put our baggage on at London and not have to worry about it until Krabi. Does anyone know if it is usual for airlines to book the luggage through to the final destination? Also, will it entail getting to a different terminal in Bangkok for the Krabi flight. I have found alternative airlines going via Singapore or Kuala Lumpar with onward connections to Krabi , but would like advice on the 'hassle free' option.

You will have to check your luggage to Bangkok and then after custom clearance you can check them back in again for Krabi with ease. Krabi is not an international airport so you must go through custom in BKK.

The most hasle free way will be via Thai Air. As Hanuman notes, you will have to pick up your luggage for a customs check in Bangkok. You will not need to change terminals, but you do need to go from the international area to the domestic area. I'd highly recommend that your husband use a wheelchair in the Bangkok airport (it's huge - lots of walking).

Actually, Krabi IS an international airport. Tiger airways just (re-)started flights there from Singapore. Check with Thai. You may be able to check your luggage through, go through immigration in Bangkok, but go through customs in Krabi.

BTW, where are you staying in Krabi? A lot of the destinations around there are not exactly easy-access.

Michael is correct that Krabi airport is now, again, an international airport. I still think that the immigration and customs only operate with direct international flights and if your port of arrival internationally is BKK then you will have to go through the formalities there.

As stated above, never hurt to ask TG just in case you can do it.

many thanks for your replies. Does anyone know if Phuket is an international airport, I just want to avoid any movement of luggage and queues at custom and immigration that are more than necessary. My husband can walk short distances and does make use of airport wheelchairs, but it is the standing in a queue for half an hour that is difficult, also you can sometimes only access the wheelchairs after security (e.g. Gatwick). He is also unable to hold luggage( one arm paralyzed)so it is all down to me.
We have not yet decided where we are staying , but are steering clear of those places that are only accessible by small boats etc.

dnbnor,

Yes Phuket is an International airport and you can definitely go through immigration and customs once you are there. Note that it's roughly about a 2 hours drive from Krabi.

When checking in at Heathrow make sure you're ticketed to Phuket and not BKK.

We flew Thai from JFK to Phuket and cleared customs and immigration in Phuket. In BKK, you just stay in the international part of the wirport and tranfer like any other connection. Immigration in Phuket is a lot more relaxed than in BKK. It took about 5 minutes.

I would recommend travelling via another country to get to Phuket (say through Singapore or Kuala Lumpur). This way you stay within the same international terminal during transit.

In Bangkok, the distance between International and Domestic is huge with flights of stairs. You have to queue for ages (at least we did) with only 2 desks processing the customs declarations and arrival forms.

As Gpanda says, the immigraton at Phuket is a lot more relaxed than in Bangkok.