Tour Information
Note: The information presented here is an abbreviated version of our formal General Information for Tours to Thailand. Its purpose is solely to give readers a sense of what might be involved if they take this tour. Although we do our best to make sure that what follows here is completely accurate, it should not be used as a replacement for the formal document which will be sent to all tour registrants, and whose contents supersedes any information contained here.
ENTERING AND LEAVING THAILAND: A valid passport and an onward air ticket are required. Tourist visas are not necessary for US citizens for visits of less than 30 days. Please note that if you participate in both Thailand tours and arrive early or stay late, you will need an extended visa; visas can be extended for a fee during the tour. The website of the Thai Embassy in Washington, DC, can be viewed here. Your passport, as a general rule, should be valid for at least six months after the date the tour ends. Citizens of other countries may need a visa and should check their nearest Thai embassy. If required by the embassy or visa-granting entity, WINGS can provide a letter for you to use regarding your participation in the tour. A departure tax of 700 Baht (approximately $21 as of February 2009) is payable on leaving Thailand; most air tickets now include this cost, but check with your airline to confirm that that is the case and that the amount of the departure tax has not changed.
THAILAND MAP AND COUNTRY INFORMATION: An online map of Thailand can be found here. The US State Department background notes for Thailand can be found here.
HEALTH: Malaria in Thailand is chiefly confined to a few lowland, forested areas bordering Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar—areas we do not visit on this tour. The CDC, therefore, does not feel that a malaria prophylaxis is necessary. There are no immunization requirements for Thailand, but the CDC suggests up-to-date tetanus, typhoid, and hepatitis A protection, and, as needed, booster doses for tetanus-diptheria and measles. Although minor intestinal problems do occur in the tropics, they can usually be combatted with Immodium and an all-purpose antibiotic such as Cipro. The Thai people are especially particular about their drinking water, and we are served bottled water as an extra precaution. We always have plenty of bottled water and other drinks available in the vehicles.
Mosquitoes may occur in the plains around Bangkok, on the peninsula around Krabi, and on the Similan Islands; we recommend wearing long pants on those days. We will probably encounter a few ticks and also a few midges or sandflies; leeches are usually no problem in the dry season. Anyone highly sensitive to insect bites or bee stings should bring an anithistamine. For detailed information on insect repellents, see the complete printed General Information provided to participants.
Please note that any health/medical information contained herein is gleaned by WINGS from websites that are dedicated to traveler’s health issues. Advisories and recommendations by agencies such as the CDC can, and do, change frequently. We urge you to consult with your physician, local health department, or the CDC for the most up-to-date health advisories. For further information on health in Thailand, you can view the CDC website.
PACE OF THE TOUR: The tour is paced in a fairly leisurely manner, with lots of time to study and appreciate the birds we’ll be looking at. In common with tours in most other primarily forested Southeastern Asian countries, there are not too many large birds and few easily photographable ones. We stay as close to the birding habitat as is practicable, given the constraints of good-standard accommodation.
One key requirement is that we will start our day’s birding early to take advantage of the first rays of sunlight: 5:00 breakfasts are the norm much of the time. Bird activity will nonetheless continue at a fairly high level all day. Generally, however, following the early starts, we do not bird right through to dusk unless we have been able to take a leisurely lunch break in the middle of the day. Walking is fairly easy, mostly on roadsides and tracks, occasionally on narrow forest trails. In general, we will seldom be more than a few hundred yards from our vehicles, though we may walk up to two miles along forest trails over the course of the morning. Fruit and soft drinks or water will be available throughout.
CLIMATE: Thailand is basically tropical and humid and has a distinctly monsoonal climate, most of the rain falling between May and October during the southwest monsoon. On the Gurney’s Pitta tour, the weather will be similar to Bangkok’s, with highs to about 94ºF, and it will be similarly humid.
ACCOMMODATIONS: The Morakot bungalows, just minutes away from the forest of Khao Norchuchi, offer simple but adequate accommodation. There is no hot water in the rooms, though they do have air conditioning. The rooms are small but very clean. The Maritime Park and Spa Resort is a luxury hotel. We’ll stay at a very adequate guest lodge for our two nights at Khao Luk. On the last morning, we’ll catch our boat for the mangroves and bay at Krabi from a dock adjacent to the grounds or just a short distance away.
FOOD: There will usually be a choice of Thai or Western food in the Bangkok hotel. At the Marakot, usually only Thai food will be available for lunches and evening meals. Thai cuisine provides a wide range of dishes, catering to a wide range of palates from spicy to unseasoned, and is almost uniformly delicious. Breakfasts are usually termed “American breakfast” and consist of ham and eggs, toast, fruit or juice, and coffee or tea. Cereal is usually available in the bigger hotels, such as the Maritime Park and Spa and Krabi, but usually not in up-country resorts. Those wishing to avoid a high-cholesterol breakfast can settle for delicious congee, a rice soup with chicken, pork, or shrimp instead. Some days we’ll have picnic lunches and some days restaurant lunches.
DRESS: Dress is informal everywhere. Note that many leaders in tropical areas feel that white or brightly colored clothing scares forest birds.
TRANSPORTATION: Land travel will be in air-conditioned mini-buses throughout.
SMOKING: We request that you not smoke in the vehicles or when the group is gathered for meals, checklists, etc. If you are sharing a room with a non-smoker, please do not smoke in the room. If you smoke in the field, we ask that you do so well away and downwind from the group. If any lodge, accommodation or location where the group is staying or is gathered has a more restrictive smoking policy than the WINGS policy, the more restrictive policy will prevail.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS OF WINGS TOURS: Please take a moment to read the WINGS General Information and Conditions. This section contains important information about how we conduct tours, e.g., what is included in the tour price, refund and cancellation policies, pace of the tours, and other information that will help you prepare for the tour.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A more complete General Information for Tours to Thailand: Peninsular Thailand and Gurney’s Pitta will be sent to each registrant on receipt of their booking. Final information with instructions for meeting the group, hotel addresses, etc., will be mailed about three weeks before trip departure. Other news will be communicated as necessary. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Updated: March 2010