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 ability to study the sport in its native country is the chance of a lifetime to any serious student of Muay Thai. Here are some of the ways to make the cost to travel to Thailand affordable.
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Airfares
Airfare is going to be the larger part of the expense of your vacation. Naturally, airfare prices are going to vary depending on where you’re coming from, at what time of the year you’re traveling. Practitioners from the UK, Canada, the United States, and Australia will find that there are deals available if you are willing to fly economy class and can be flexible with your travel dates.
Using a cheap airfare aggregator site such as Kayak.com will also allow you to compare prices between major travel sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Cheapo Air, and the venerable Cheap Tickets. 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. It is possible to get a really good deal on premium carriers such as Emirates where you will still have the benefit of a wide seat and family-friendly amenities.
As a hypothetical, let’s say that you will be leaving for a two-week vacation on May 1 of this year to Thailand 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 because of landing fees and other charges that the airports make 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.
Where to Stay on a Thailand Muay Thai Vacation
One of your best bets for finding a good place to stay is to check out “home away” sites like VRBO.com that offer local apartments and houses for rent by the night, week, or month. Premiere Bangkok Muay Thai gyms like Khongsittha have accommodation included in their packages.. Some of these apartments will be serviced with housekeeping, others are strictly self-catering, and prices can vary from a comfortable 24USD per night*. For even more local flavor, you may want to book hostels from 3USD per night*. These are communal living spaces that you will share with other travelers from all over the world, located in some of the best neighborhoods for travelers to explore. There is also apparently one Bangkok hostel where the law of gravity does not apply.
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 large 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 realm of consideration. 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 that it is the most educational, inclusive, and important family vacation you will ever take.
*Prices are as of the day this blog was written. They are subject to change.
