How to get to Thailand cheaper. Ways to get to Thailand cheap! What are the pros and cons of each option?
Traveling is one of the most enjoyable pastimes. See the world, immerse yourself in a different culture - all this becomes possible if you are ready for long trips and are open to new experiences. The only negative point that darkens these bright periods of life is the high cost of air tickets. Therefore, for example, to fly to Thailand, from time to time you have to shell out a significant amount. However, this is not the only possible option. There are alternatives that can save you significant money on airfare. It is only important to find out how this can be done. Therefore, in order to understand how to get to Thailand cheaper, you will have to understand a number of nuances associated with such a trip. What's the best way to search for flights? How much does a ticket to Thailand cost? Which flight is better to choose? Is it possible to carry out a direct flight "Moscow - Bangkok"? These issues will be discussed in this article.
What is the cheapest way to fly to Thailand?
The first and main advice given to travelers is to buy Moscow - Bangkok air tickets in advance (preferably six to two months before the planned trip). And even before this time, you can monitor the prices offered for the desired destination by subscribing to the mailing list of current offers. It is important to purchase your ticket on time at the best price.
It is advised to choose two or three of the most popular search engines for air tickets in the Moscow - Thailand direction. This will be quite enough to make a profitable purchase. These search engines should contain offers from as many airlines as possible. Often, such resources do not impose any additional markups on tickets.
What is the cheapest way to get to Thailand from St. Petersburg?
For residents of the Northern capital, there are some difficulties with travel. This is due to the fact that the number of airlines that operate direct flights to Thailand is much smaller. However, some of them offer profitable alternatives to purchasing tickets. For example, twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) certain carriers may provide you with the opportunity to purchase air tickets at the lowest price (from only twenty-four thousand rubles). But, as a rule, in this case we are not talking about direct flights. You may need to change planes in Moscow. However, this is a significant advantage: there is no need to obtain an additional visa for the city where the transfer is taking place. Such a flight will take very little time: only twelve hours. To find a ticket that suits you, you just need to spend some time searching. There are also alternative options for how to inexpensively get to Thailand from St. Petersburg. These may be flights with transfers in Helsinki, Dubai or some other cities. However, the cost of such air tickets will be slightly higher. Additional difficulties will be created by the need to prepare certain documents.
Cheaper alternatives
The tips described below will help you understand in more detail how to get to Thailand cheaper.
- When looking for cheap flights, pay attention to comparing the cost of flights between different cities. See flights not only to Bangkok, but also to Phuket. Although, as a rule, a flight from Moscow to Bangkok turns out to be the most profitable. Also quite acceptable offers are put forward by the airlines of Irkutsk and Novosibirsk. Don’t be lazy to check different cities, this may be your opportunity to find the most profitable option.
- The easiest and often cheapest option is to fly from Moscow. This is due to the fact that there are many more offers from airlines for Moscow residents. However, a flight from some major cities will usually cost you about the same. We are talking about cities such as Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok and Novosibirsk. But the cheapest option is still a last-minute charter. It is still easier to purchase tickets of this type in Moscow.
- Another good alternative is the opportunity to first fly to another country (for example, Malaysia), and from there take a local low-cost airline to your destination. This is a great option on how to get to Thailand cheaper.
- Always mark both transit and compound flights in the search engine filter. Tickets for them are often much cheaper than for direct flights. It is only important to be sure to check the transit time so that you do not accidentally have to spend the night in the terminal of some airport.
- When choosing tickets, try changing the departure dates several times. A difference of literally a couple or three days or a week can play a decisive role - tickets can cost several times less.
- Air tickets that are issued with an open date are usually much more expensive. And buying tickets both there and back at once will cost much less. However, this is only suitable for those tourists who know exactly the departure date.
- Remember that during the New Year holidays and during the peak tourist season, air tickets will cost much more (usually from December to February). Therefore, you should not expect to find an opportunity for a cheap flight during these months; moreover, return tickets (for example, for the flight "Thailand - St. Petersburg"), provided that they are purchased separately, as a rule, have a much higher cost than on flights to Thailand.
- Make it a rule to always check the current ticket price on the official website of a particular airline. You can often find a better deal there.
A convenient service is the ability to monitor the current cost of tickets to the desired destination by registering for a newsletter (all existing offers will be regularly sent to you by email). Experienced travelers highly recommend using this convenient service. As a rule, two to three weeks of such monitoring are enough to purchase air tickets at the best price. You can unsubscribe from such mailings or change your desired flight direction at any time.
How long is the flight to Thailand?
It will be possible to fly from Moscow on a direct flight in just eight to nine hours. This is the minimum time in which you can get there. At the same time, if you fly with transfers, then you will cover the distance to Thailand (which, by the way, is more than seven thousand kilometers) in a period of thirteen to sixteen hours.
Last minute charter flights
After Transaero airline charter tickets became unavailable, it became much more difficult to find good deals in terms of price. Therefore, it is now cheaper to choose regular flights with one or two transfers.
As a rule, the cheapest offers are for last-minute tickets to Thailand." The flight in this case is direct. But this option is suitable only for those who are not tied to dates. This is not suitable for people with fixed departure dates. After all, the departure can be made in just several days after the tickets were purchased. But on such flights you can save a lot. Especially if you fly at an unpopular time for tourists (for example, fly to Thailand in the spring and return back to Russia in the fall). The cost of such tickets can sometimes be higher reduced to only one hundred to two hundred dollars one way.
Where to look for charters?
The advantages of charter flights are that their cost is much lower than the price of a ticket for a similar flight that is not charter. Another advantage is that a charter is a direct flight at a price that would normally be charged for scheduled connecting flights on the same route. You can use a variety of ticket exchanges to search for charters. It contains offers and contacts of travel agencies through which these tickets can be purchased. You can look for such offers on the official websites of tour operators (as a rule, such resources contain a “Last Minute Tickets” section).
How to purchase a return ticket while in Thailand
You can buy a ticket for a regular flight, regardless of your location (using specialized search engines and your bank card). With charter flights, everything is a little more complicated, because they can only be purchased using the services of a travel company. What you should do is follow the offers on ticket search engines. As soon as you see a suitable option, contact the travel agency by email or Skype and find out how you can pay for the selected ticket.
There are several possible payment options:
- Deposit money into the travel company account through any Thai bank. This is fast enough, and this way you get a guarantee that you will definitely have time to pay for your booked tickets on time.
- Pay in cash at a branch of this travel agency in Thailand. The only difficulty is that they are usually located in tourist cities, and if you are far from them, you will have to spend time traveling.
- Ask someone in Moscow to purchase a ticket for you at the Moscow office of a travel agency. The simplest and most reliable way.
- Pay for your purchase online on the official website of the travel agency.
The latter method became available to tourists only a few years ago. And this has become one of the most successful innovations for travelers.
Is it possible to travel by car to Thailand?
Many people decided to take such a trip, but the impressions from this kind of trip remained very different. The vast majority of tourists who traveled to Thailand by car say that this kind of trip can be extremely dangerous. This is due to its duration, the condition of the roads, and the features of the landscape. In addition, it is important to know and comply with all existing laws for traveling by road in Thailand. And in terms of the required fuel, such a trip turns out to be quite expensive. Therefore, those who already have similar experience do not recommend traveling to Thailand in their own car.
As a rule, in various cities the cost of air tickets is an order of magnitude higher than in the capital. Therefore, you should not place high hopes on the possibility of finding a cheap flight to Thailand not from Moscow. Moreover, this applies to both charter and regular flights. By the way, finding last-minute charters from the regions is extremely difficult. Although recently there has been a positive trend in this regard.
Therefore, if you are a resident of a small city, look for tickets departing from large cities that are relatively close to you. Some airlines sometimes put forward offers with flights from cities in the regions, which are much more profitable than with flights from the capital.
It would also be wise to contact travel agencies located in your city. You need to ask them about the availability of current last-minute tours or tickets to Thailand. Sometimes the cost of a tour is so low that purchasing it is much more profitable than a ticket on a regular flight.
Conclusion
It has now become absolutely obvious that it is quite possible to get to Thailand inexpensively. All you need to do is put in a little effort. For example, it is important to start searching for a suitable ticket in advance and check the cost of current offers on several online resources. In order not to miss a profitable offer, you can subscribe to mailing lists of search services. In this case, the best offers in a particular direction will be regularly selected for you and sent to your email address. This way, you will be able to react in time and purchase an air ticket at the best price. It is also recommended to change departure dates and cities of departure and destination. These changes in your search queries can help you discover an incredible deal.
If you compare how much a ticket to Thailand costs for regular and charter flights, you can easily see that the latter are much cheaper. In this case, there is no need to make transfers and spend additional time on the flight, which could be used at your own discretion.
If you are willing to spend some time searching and selecting a suitable airline ticket, the results will not disappoint you.
Don’t know how to fly to Thailand economically? When planning a trip to Asia, most tourists choose this particular country. Accordingly, the question is how to get there and at the same time save your own money as much as possible.
It would be foolish to count on prices that are too low, such as those offered. There are a number of reasons for this: firstly, budget airlines operate, as a rule, within their own continent, and secondly, the distance is really long.
However, there is no need to despair; there are still several ways to fly to Thailand cheaply. These could be discounts on tickets and airline sales, charter flights, last-minute travel packages.
Ticket prices to Bangkok
Why to Bangkok? We chose Bangkok because it is the capital of Thailand and a huge metropolis of 15 million, which is a major transport hub for the Southeast Asian region. In any case, 80% of flights to other cities in the country will have a transfer in Bangkok. Therefore, it is more profitable to take tickets to the capital, and Pattaya is just a stone's throw away by public transport, and you can get to other places by bus or train, and this is also an excellent opportunity to see the country.
The distance from Moscow to Bangkok in a straight line is over seven thousand kilometers. There are direct flights Moscow - Bangkok, which are usually a little more expensive (the difference is about $100) than if you choose with a transfer. Transfers are usually made in other Asian cities; most often the gateway is UAE or Qatar airports, where you will have to spend several hours waiting for your connecting flight.
From Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv...
From Moscow to Bangkok
Direct flights are operated by Aeroflot, Transaero and Thai Airways. Round-trip tickets in the low season can be purchased for 460 bucks with one transfer. A direct flight will be about $100 more expensive.
For the New Year's holidays, with departure in December and return in January, you can expect to pay $600 or more for a round-trip ticket. The average price for these dates is 800-900 units of US currency.
During the high season, from November to February, with the exception of New Year's, it is possible to get tickets for $500. The average price for these dates both ends is $600.
From St. Petersburg to Bangkok
A large percentage of flights from St. Petersburg to Bangkok have a connection in Moscow, and then follow the well-trodden path, as described above. To estimate prices from St. Petersburg, add approximately $100 to Moscow prices. It’s worth thinking, maybe it’s more profitable to get to Moscow on your own?
From Kyiv to Bangok
Direct flights from Kyiv to Bangkok are operated by UIA, but the prices are really high, so it is better to fly with transfers, this way you will save a good amount of money. If you fly with transfers, connections take place in either European cities (Vienna, Amsterdam), or in the UAE or Qatar.
In the low season, a return ticket will cost $570 with a transfer; in high season you will have to pay from $700.
Flights from the Asian part of Russia
Flights from Siberia and the Far East have a reasonable price tag. The fact is that the distance is almost two times less than from Moscow. Flights are operated by the well-known company S7.
So, in the low season, a ticket from Vladivostok to Bangkok and back will cost $500. Approximately the same price tag if the flight is from Irkutsk. From Novosibirsk, a little more expensive, and the ticket will cost 600 dollars. During high season, prices are approximately $200 higher.
Performed by Transaero and S7 companies. The cost is approximately 21 thousand rubles for a round trip ticket.
You will find out the final prices for the dates you are interested in by using the search for air tickets from. The service compares all possible flight options and provides the opportunity to choose the best ones.
Charter flights
The cheapest way is to get there and grab a ticket for a charter flight. This option has both pros and cons. The advantages, as already mentioned, include the price, and the disadvantages are the irregularity of flights: today there is, but tomorrow there may not be or the price may be different. The charter option is suitable for those who are not tied to dates and are ready to fly even tomorrow.
The two most popular services for purchasing charter tickets:
- "Tourdom" - //www.tourdom.ru/
- "Clickavia" — //www.clickavia.ru/
Tourdom is a message board for various travel agencies and operators. In chapter "Exchange" They post ticket options and their contact information where you can contact and purchase an e-ticket. Tickets to Bangkok can cost less than $200.
Clickavia is a service for searching charter air tickets by dates and destinations. There is a price calendar.
Here are some tips for selecting tickets:
- If you want to buy a cheap air ticket to Thailand, then it is best for you to do this during the so-called summer. At this time, air ticket prices may drop by up to 20-30% compared to the peak that occurs during the New Year holidays;
- Always buy tickets in advance, 2-3 months before your flight. This way you can save up to 10-15% of the original ticket price;
- Buy air tickets online. Firstly, you will save your time, because you do not have to stand in lines and go to the ticket office to get your ticket. Secondly, when searching for tickets via the Internet, you receive up-to-date information from many ticket offices and airlines, as well as a complete list of current promotions and discounts. After you compare all the information received, you can choose the best option for you;
- Keep an eye out for so-called “last minute” tours from tour operators. The system, by the way, is quite simple and with its help you can fly around the world very cheaply. Moreover, when visiting Thailand for up to 30 days for Russians and up to 15 days for Ukrainians, a visa is not required, so you can safely take a last-minute tour without worrying about visas;
- Buying a round-trip ticket is always more profitable than buying a one-way ticket and then back.
Return ticket
According to Thai border rules, at Bangkok airport you may be asked to show your flight ticket back or to a third country. If this does not happen, you may be turned around and sent back home. Tickets are not checked for everyone, but selectively, and not very often.
For those who want to go to Thailand and then to neighboring countries and generally do not know how many days they are going to spend traveling in the countries of Southeast Asia, this can be a problem. For those whose goal is a short vacation in Thailand, then take a ticket back immediately, and for those who have other goals, here are some tips below.
Several options for solving the problem with a return ticket:
- You don’t have to buy a ticket and hope that you won’t be checked;
- Buy a return ticket immediately;
- Make a ticket reservation that will remain in the system while you are being checked;
- Buy a ticket to a neighboring country, fortunately there are many visa-free ones (Cambodia, Malaysia and others);
- Fake a ticket in Photoshop (put the required dates, name, etc.) and print it;
- Buy a refundable ticket.
Are you going on holiday to Thailand? Find out how to buy the cheapest tickets! My tips on how to fly to Bangkok inexpensively will help you save on your flight. Why overpay for tickets? Better spend your money on seafood, fruits and massages.
How did I gain my experience? Over the past four years, I have flown to Thailand three times. Each time I tried to find the cheapest tickets. In addition, I wrote about airline promotions and sales and advised many people. I have accumulated a lot of experience and knowledge - I share it with you.
Find out everything and a little more about how to fly to Thailand inexpensively!
This review will tell you how to fly to the capital of Thailand. From Bangkok you can easily reach Pattaya and other resorts. Do you want to fly directly from Russia to Phuket? Read the special material:
(photo © Robert Mehlan / flickr.com)
To get to Thailand as cheaply as possible, follow a few rules when searching and booking air tickets.
- Compare prices. Look for tickets on the Skyscanner and search engines. They compare prices and flight conditions of hundreds of airlines. This way you will find the most profitable and convenient option.
- Check tickets for different dates. The difference even in one day can be huge. Select the dates that suit you manually or use low price calendars. This will greatly increase your chances of finding the cheapest flight ticket.
- Check different departure cities. Maybe it will be cheaper to fly to Thailand from a neighboring city? Check it out!
- Check out tickets to Phuket- sometimes they cost less.
- Buy round trip tickets. Flying one way is not profitable - one-way air tickets to Bangkok usually cost 70-80% of the cost of round-trip tickets. At the same time, return tickets from Thailand to Russia are even more expensive.
- Want to fly for free? Earn miles from all airlines with.
- Find out:
Traveling hotels I recommend searching on the Roomguru.ru service - it compares prices of different booking systems and finds the best offer.
(photo © FriskoDude / flickr.com)
Direct flights
From Moscow. You can fly to Bangkok on Aeroflot and Thai Airways flights. Travel time is 9-10 hours. The price starts from 30 thousand rubles for a round trip flight.
From Saint-Petersburg. Everything is bad with direct flights to Thailand from St. Petersburg. The prices are fierce - tickets can cost 70 thousand or more. It is better to fly with a transfer or on a tour.
From Irkutsk. One of the best ways to get to Thailand cheaply and quickly! Flight prices are often lower than in Moscow (after all, the flight is closer) - from 22,000 rubles. You can buy cheap tickets from S7 Airlines. Convenient, fast, inexpensive.
From Novosibirsk. You can fly to Bangkok on board S7 airlines for 28,000 rubles.
From Vladivostok. S7 flies, tickets cost from 29,000 rubles.
There are no direct regular flights from Yekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Kazan and other Russian cities to Bangkok. You can fly to Thailand either with a transfer or a charter.
conclusions. You can fly to Thailand cheaply on direct flights from Moscow, Irkutsk, and Novosibirsk.
(photo © Alexis Gravel / flickr.com)
Flights with transfers
It is cheaper to fly to Thailand with a transfer. You can save a lot, and there is a wider choice of airlines. You can find flights with a short connection, or vice versa - buy tickets to Thailand with a stopover (long connection). For example, I recently flew to Bangkok from Moscow with a stopover in the Emirates and spent 4 days in Dubai. In fact, I flew to the UAE for free!
Connecting flight options:
- Emirates flies via Dubai (UAE).
- Etihad - via Abu Dhabi (UAE).
- Qatar Airways - via Doha (Qatar).
- China Southern Airlines - via Guangzhou (China).
- Air Astana - via Astana and Almaty.
- Finnair - via Helsinki (Finland).
- Cathay Pacific - via Hong Kong.
- and so on.
From Moscow. The average price for a round trip flight is about 25 thousand rubles. During the period of promotions and price reductions from airlines, it is even cheaper.
From Saint-Petersburg. From 22-25 thousand rubles you can usually buy only tickets with two transfers. You can fly to Thailand from St. Petersburg with one transfer from 28 thousand.
From Yekaterinburg. Inexpensive tickets are offered by S7 with connections in Irkutsk or Novosibirsk. Price - from 29 thousand.
From Irkutsk. A direct flight is a more attractive option. Ural Airlines has flights to Bangkok on Mondays with a transfer in China (DSN airport). You can buy such tickets to Thailand from 22,000 rubles. This option is only good if there are no cheap direct flights.
From Novosibirsk. It is easier to fly to Thailand on a direct flight. However, perverts and those who want to save a thousand rubles can fly to Bangkok with a transfer in Irkutsk.
From Khabarovsk. S7 flies through Irkutsk. Ticket prices start from 30 thousand rubles.
From Vladivostok. There are painful flight options with two connections in China (I assume you need a visa) - tickets cost from 23,000 rubles. A more humane option is to fly to Bangkok from S7 via Irkutsk for 30 thousand rubles.
Finding cheap flights
(photo © @Doug88888 / flickr.com)
Promotions and sales of tickets to Bangkok
Inexpensive tickets to Thailand can be purchased during airline promotions.
- There are sales for both connecting and direct flights.
- Most promotions are carried out for flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but there are also for the regions: Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Ufa, Omsk, Kazan and other cities.
- Often sales are organized by Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways, UIA, Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways.
- The cost of promotional tickets is usually 10-20% lower than usual.
How can I find out about promotions and availability of cheap tickets? Follow
Difficult route
You can get to Bangkok cheaply with one trick. From time to time, when planning a complex route (when you fly from point A, arrive at point B, and fly back to point C instead of A), you can save on air tickets.
Two or three years ago, similar situations arose often. You could buy tickets to Thailand! Nowadays this rarely happens.
It’s difficult to find such an option, and it’s suitable for few. I recommend using difficult routes in order to see another country on the way to Thailand. For example, I flew to Bangkok from Moscow with a long stop (4 days) in the Emirates. For the same money as a regular ticket to Thailand, I got the opportunity to see Dubai. Very satisfied!
(photo © Rushen! / flickr.com)
Last Minute Tours to Thailand
What is a tourist package? This is a complex product: air tickets, hotel accommodation, transfer, insurance. Surprisingly, but true: a comprehensive tour package is often cheaper than air tickets alone! If your goal is to have an inexpensive vacation in Thailand, then traveling on a tour will allow you to save money.
How much do tours to Thailand cost? Vacation packages from Moscow to Pattaya and Phuket for two cost from 60 thousand rubles for 7-14 nights of vacation. Last minute tours can cost cheaper - or less. Try to find tickets to Thailand for 18 thousand! And here the price also includes a hotel, transfer, and insurance. Find out about last-minute tours to Thailand from.
How to buy a last minute tour? You can find and book cheap tours on services and (1-3% discounts for our readers) - search for 130 tour operators. Choose and buy tours online; you don’t have to go to travel agency offices.
How to fly to Bangkok on charters
An option for risky people! Sometimes cheap tickets to Thailand for charter flights go on sale. You can find them on the Skyscanner and search engines. Such offers are only available for upcoming departure dates. Are you ready to wait until the last minute in hopes of buying inexpensive tickets? Think carefully - last-minute tickets don't appear often.
(photo © tarotastic/ flickr.com)
We are flying to Thailand through a third country
Another way to get to Thailand inexpensively is to plan your route through a third country. See if there are cheap flights from your city to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City or another city in Southeast Asia. From these cities you can fly to Bangkok on local flights (for example, Air Asia). Tickets can cost $10-$50.
This way to get to Thailand is good not only because it helps you save money. By visiting another new country, you will make your vacation brighter.
Availability of a return ticket
Upon arrival in Thailand, you may be required to present a return ticket or a ticket to a third country with a departure date no later than 30 days from the date of arrival. Not always, but it happens - once I was asked to show a ticket.
If you have round trip tickets, then there is nothing to worry about. If you are flying one way, there are several options:
- give up everything and take risks;
- make an air ticket reservation before departure, which can be canceled later;
- fake an electronic ticket by drawing the required dates, name and route in Photoshop;
- buy a cheap ticket from the low-cost airline Air Asia (for $10-20) to Malaysia, Vietnam or another country.
Personally, I fly to Thailand with air tickets to a third country in hand, or I make an unpaid reservation in advance with the possibility of cancellation.
Over several years of annually searching for inexpensive tickets for the New Year, I discovered an interesting pattern. You can buy tickets to Thailand at the best price with departure on December 20-23 and return on January 1-3 (the cheapest option would be to return on December 31, but this option is unlikely to suit anyone).
Save even more if you can fly out as early as possible and return as late as possible. Holiday surcharges on air tickets appear for departures after December 20. Tickets become cheaper after January 10th. So fly to Thailand ten days before the New Year and relax there more.
Fly to Thailand for free
Introductory image source: © Rawipad C.KKU / flickr.com.
We studied information about how to fly to Thailand cheaply. We'll tell you how much a ticket to Thailand costs, when is the best time to buy it, and how to get to Thailand on your own without spending a lot of money.
The article was written primarily for travelers who plan to fly to Thailand on their own, rather than going on a tour. It will be useful both for those traveling one way and for those interested in round-trip tickets.
Let's start!
To search and compare prices, we personally use the air ticket search engine Aviasales. It is enough to find the lowest prices for tickets to Thailand, and the site has convenient functionality that makes searching easier (price calendars, ticket cost statistics, etc.)
- Where is the cheapest place to fly?
- Overview/pricing examples
- Lifehacks and tips for finding tickets
- Tickets via a third country
- Tours and packages
- Airline sales and promotions
- Price tracking
1. Where is the cheapest place to fly?
Direct flights from Russia to Thailand are carried out only in two directions - to Bangkok and Phuket. These are the cities that are cheapest to fly to – both direct flights and flights with transfers.
Airplanes fly to Bangkok more often and, as a rule, tickets there are cheaper. Phuket is generally more expensive to get to, but flight options often appear with approximately the same price as to Bangkok.
What if I want to go to another resort?
Some Thai resorts can be reached by purchasing a separate ticket for a domestic flight - this way you can fly to Samui, Krabi, etc.
Other cities can be reached by land (for example, a transfer from Bangkok to Pattaya takes only 2 hours).
2. Cost of tickets to Thailand from Moscow and St. Petersburg
The cheapest tickets to Bangkok are usually from January to May, and to Phuket from February to June.
2.1 Direct flights
Direct flights between Moscow and Phuket are operated by Aeroflot, Azur Air and Nordwind Airlines, and to Bangkok only by Aeroflot and THAI Airways.
At the same time, it’s unlikely to be possible to fly to Thailand inexpensively: direct flights are usually 20-30% more expensive than flights with transfers.
From Moscow to Bangkok
Prices for flights from Moscow to Bangkok start from 24,500 rubles, but most options range from 26,000-27,000 rubles.
From Moscow to Phuket
Tickets for direct flights to Phuket cost a minimum of 29,000 rubles.
From Saint-Petersburg
It is impossible to fly to Thailand cheaply on a direct flight from St. Petersburg: tickets to Bangkok cost from 40,000 rubles and, in general, rarely appear on sale. Prices for flights to Phuket start from 56,000 rubles.
2.2 Flights with transfers
For those who are looking for a cheap way to get to Thailand, the best option is a flight with transfers. Most airlines fly this way, and it is easier to find such tickets.
The following companies fly with transfers:
- Qatar Airways – with a transfer in Doha (Qatar);
- Etihad – transfer to Abu Dhabi (UAE)
- Emirates and Flydubai – fly through Dubai (UAE)
- China Southern – via Guangzhou (China)
- Turkish Airlines – with a transfer in Istanbul (Türkiye)
- Finnair – Helsinki (Finland)
- and some others
When choosing flights, pay attention to the duration of the transfer: sometimes you come across good-priced tickets, but with a travel time of 35-40 hours.
From Moscow
The cost of a flight from Moscow starts from 20,900 rubles, but the flight duration is not the most convenient (16-30 hours). At prices starting from 22,800 rubles, you can find options with a flight to Bangkok in 13-15 hours. Flying to Phuket will be 1000-2000 rubles more expensive.
From St. Petersburg
Tickets from St. Petersburg to Bangkok with transfers cost from 24,500 rubles, but for that price the flight time will be 18-20 hours or more. Prices for short flights start from 27,000-28,000 rubles.
You can find even cheaper tickets to Phuket (from 22,000 rubles), but good options cost about the same as to Bangkok.
For a more visual search for cheap air tickets, use the calendar:
- Look for tickets in advance– it is advisable to buy them 2-3 months before departure, and the search can begin even earlier. The closer to departure, the higher the price.
- Experiment with departure dates: a ticket for neighboring dates can sometimes be one and a half times cheaper.
- View airline promotions– there are good offers there. You can view them.
- View tickets to other locations– cities in Thailand or nearby countries. An alternative option is to look for tickets not from your city (even if there is an airport there), but from a larger one located nearby (for the central part of Russia - from Moscow and St. Petersburg, for the regions - from Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, etc.). S7 airline has direct flights to Thailand from many cities in Siberia and the Far East.
- Keep track of ticket prices on the desired dates or date range through the aviasales service - as soon as the price drops, a notification about this will be sent to your email. This is relevant if you started your search in advance and are willing to wait some time before making a purchase.
A few nuances worth paying attention to:
- a round-trip ticket usually costs 30-40% cheaper than separate round-trip tickets
- If you decide to fly to Thailand with one ticket and return with another, remember that without a return ticket in hand, Thai border guards may simply not let you into the country
- The cost of flights is usually higher when Thailand is in tourist season - that is, in late autumn and winter
- tickets for New Year's dates are always the most expensive of the year
Photo: © Rushen / flickr.com 3.1 Tickets through a third country
Sometimes you can fly to Thailand cheaper if you look for tickets through a third country - for example, Malaysia or Vietnam. The method often works for one-way tickets, but sometimes there are also good round-trip options.
Low prices for tickets to a third country may be due to the seasonality of holidays there or to airline promotions on certain flight routes.
In this case, you can fly cheaply, for example, to Kuala Lumpur, and from there get inexpensive tickets to Phuket through a low-cost airline. In total, such a flight may be cheaper than a direct ticket to Phuket.
In our experience, it is easier to find flights from low-cost airlines on Skyscanner, but there are also options on Aviasales.
Where to look for flights:
- Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
- Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
The last time we saved money this way: we flew to the north of Thailand and the flight to Bangkok cost more (22,000 rubles) than a ticket to Hong Kong (14,000 rubles) + a ticket from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai (6,000 rubles). In addition, we had the opportunity to see Hong Kong.
Image: ©melenama / flickr.com 3.2 Tours and vouchers instead of tickets
Another tricky way to fly to Thailand cheaply is to buy not an air ticket, but a ready-made tour to the desired destination. Sometimes the cost of a trip (especially a last-minute one) can be significantly lower than the price of a ticket for a regular flight. There are cases when a trip costs less than a one-way ticket.