Sports tourism is a booming trend. Practitioners of Muay Thai find that a Thailand Muay Thai vacation is relatively inexpensive when compared to other tourist hotspots.
The opportunity to study the sport in its native country is a chance of a lifetime for any serious student of Muay Thai.
Here are some ways to make travel to Thailand more affordable:
Airfares
Airfare will be the most significant expense for your vacation. Naturally, airfare prices are going to vary depending on where you’re coming from and at what time of the year you’re traveling.
Practitioners from the UK, Canada, the United States, and Australia can secure deals if they are willing to fly economy class and are flexible with their travel dates.
Sometimes the lowest fare is not such a good deal, especially when it involves multiple stops or extensive stopovers in the carrier’s country of origin.
Often , you will find excellent deals on the national carrier, Thai Airways.
One thing to keep in mind is that some airlines will nickel and dime you over checked bags, use of the overhead bins, and other amenities – this can boost the price of your ticket from easily affordable into nightmare territory.
As a hypothetical, let’s say that you will be leaving for a two-week vacation in Thailand on May 1 of this year from the following cities*:
- London, UK: From London’s Heathrow airport a nonstop round-trip ticket to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport will cost a minimum of 468GBP.
- Manchester UK: Your minimum ticket price for one-stop is 400 GBP. This beats the Heathrow price for a nonstop ticket.
- New York City, USA: From New York City’s John F. Kennedy airport, you will find a flight with one stopover for a minimum of 552USD.
- Dallas, USA: From Dallas-Fort Worth airport, one-stop flights will cost a minimum of 786USD.
- Los Angeles, USA: from Los Angeles International Airport, the minimum for a one-stop flight is 558USD, while a two stop flight will run a minimum of 555USD.
Keep in mind that fares from major airports may be higher due to landing fees and other airport charges assessed to the carrier.
You may get a better deal from a smaller airport.
It’s up to you how cheap you want to go in your cost to travel to Thailand, and how long your travel time will be.
Local Flavor
There is something to accommodate every taste in Bangkok.
No matter what diet you follow – from vegan to paleo – you will find local dishes, fusion, and world cuisines within easy walking distance just about everywhere.
Restaurants, cafés, and the legendary Bangkok street food scene stand ready for the adventurous and the less adventurous alike.
If you’ll be cooking for yourselves, you will find a wide variety of markets for just about every nationality.
Bangkok supports a sizeable expatriate community, so you will find Tesco, Carrefour, and Villa markets to fulfill all of your expatriate grocery needs.
You can also shop online and have your groceries delivered, which is especially convenient if you are following a special diet, allowing you to spend more time on your Thailand Muay Thai vacation and less time pushing a cart.
Bring Everyone!
Even bringing your family along is not out of the question.
One US dollar equals nearly 36 Thai baht, one British pound will get an exchange of almost 44 Thai baht, and a single Bitcoin will bring you over 32,000 Thai baht.
You will find it the most educational, inclusive, and essential family vacation you have ever taken.
*Prices are as of the day this blog was written. They are subject to change.
