How to Plan for Your Thailand Trip (Stage Two) - Flights & Accommodations

How to Plan for Your Thailand Itinerary

In the first stage, we explored potential destinations and allocated days for each. Remember, your itinerary may differ based on your interests! Now, let's tackle the next crucial step: booking flights and accommodations.

The places you choose to visit and allocated days for each place may not be the same as me; you have your own needs and interests. However, what to do next should be the same regardless of your choices.

Start with Booking Flights

Start booking your flights immediately. If you don’t have your flights booked, do not book any hotels or activities. This is due to the fact that flights are always the most expensive and non-flexible part of the trip. You will always find hotels and tours later on, but that may not be the case for flights.

Price vs. Convenience: Compare prices across airlines, but consider factors like travel times, layovers, and airport convenience. Start with international flights first and then move onto local flights.

For our itinerary here, I would book the Toronto to Bangkok and back flight first, followed by local flights (Bangkok to Krabi and Phuket to Bangkok).

Start Booking Your Hotels or Airbnbs

Once your flights are confirmed, lock down your hotels or Airbnbs. Booking accommodations secures your home base for each stop and gives you peace of mind.

Remember, with your flights and hotels sorted, you've conquered the core logistics! The most important segments of your trip are done.

Last Word

I recommend booking all your flights and hotels 6 to 8 months before your trip. Early Bird Gets the Deal: booking 6-8 months in advance ensures better options and potentially lower prices. If you leave it for the last minute, you will lose better flights, seat selections, and accommodations.

In the next part, we'll dive into planning specific activities and sights for each location in your itinerary.

Tile Mate Tracks My Luggage from Toronto to Manila: A Bluetooth Tracker's Journey

Putting Tile Mate to the Test: YYZ to MNL Flight Experience

I'm an Android user, so when it comes to luggage trackers Tile Mate is my go-to option. While not as widely discussed as Apple AirTags, it serves as a reliable tracker for those outside the Apple ecosystem. So, how did Tile Mate fare on my recent flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)? Let's find out.

Initial Tracking Success, then Radio Silence

Before check-in at YYZ, the Tile app easily connected to my luggage. However, after dropping it off the connection vanished – likely due to the increased distance. Tracking attempts at the gate and onboard proved futile.

Taipei Layover: More Frustration with Tile Mate

At Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), I repeated the same tracking attempt at check-in and on the plane, encountering the same frustrating silence.

Manila MNL: A Glimmer of Hope (Finally!)

At MNL, I held onto a sliver of hope. Thankfully, just before the luggage carousel started rolling my Tile Mate sprang to life, showing my bag's location as it approached. Relief washed over me, but the near miss left me with mixed feelings.

Mixed Verdict on Tile Mate's Effectiveness

While Tile Mate ultimately delivered at MNL, its performance throughout the journey left me divided. Its inability to track throughout most of the trip, especially during crucial moments like flight connections, raises concerns about its reliability for long-distance travel.

However, a few silver linings remain.

Rough GPS location potential: Tile's network of app-running devices can offer a rough GPS location when a connection is established, providing some peace of mind.

Android compatibility: For Android users like myself, Tile Mate remains a valuable option in the limited world of luggage trackers.

Final Thoughts

Despite the frustrations, I'll continue using Tile Mate, aware of its limitations and hopeful for future improvements. It's not perfect, but Tile Mate remains a viable option for Android users seeking a basic tracking solution , albeit with a few caveats.

Is It Best to Pay in Local Coin or US Dollars When You Travel?

Why You Should Always Pay in Local Currency (And Not USD) When Traveling

Here’s a simple mistake most travelers make when paying abroad and so did I: Whenever asked if I wanted to pay in local currency or US dollars, I chose US$, thinking I was making a smart decision. I was so wrong.

Whenever you are using your credit card outside your home country, never choose to pay US$ and always insist on paying in local currency. The reason merchants are eager to charge US$ is because they will charge you what's called a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fee.

A DCC fee is in addition to any other foreign transaction fees that your credit card may charge you, which is usually 2.5 to 3% (See the Pro Tip below). The DCC fee can be 1% of the total transaction, but that’s not all. Merchants will always use a bizarre currency exchange rate at the point of sale to their advantage.

Your credit card networks can always negotiate better exchange rates to your advantage, so if you are letting merchants do the exchange, you are losing big time. It has been proven that you can be paying 7 to 12% more in total if you let merchants do the conversions.

So whenever you are traveling, always pay in local currency and if you are not told, ask the merchants how they are putting the transaction through.

Pro Tip: Always use a No Foreign Currency Transaction Fee credit card. Many of the so-called best travel credit card promoters are trying to sign you up to get charged a foreign currency fee (usually 1-3%). So always make sure the credit cards you are traveling with have zero foreign currency fees.

5 Carry-On Toiletry-Packing Tips (TSA Will Thank You)

Toiletry-Packing Tips for Your Carry-On

Today, I will talk about 5 simple things you can do while packing your toiletries to avoid the unwanted attention of the airport authorities. You don’t want to be that person who gets pulled out of the security line for a secondary screening.

1. Ziploc Only – Use a quart-size Ziploc bag for toiletries less than 100 ml or 3.4 oz. I used different types of TSA-approved toiletry bags you can buy on Amazon or in other stores and in many instances I got pulled out to put my toiletries in a plain Ziploc bag.

2. Not Too Many – Do not stuff too many containers in a toiletry bag, as this may draw attention and you may be pulled out for a secondary screening.

3. Tooth Brush/Razor – Do not include your toothbrush, razor, or any such items that are not liquid and do not have to be in a toiletry bag.

4. Not too Bulky – Do not use overly bulky or big containers, even though they are under 100 ml. Using slim and smaller size containers will make your journey easier and these do not draw attention like big, bulky containers.

5. Damaged Ziploc Bag – Do not use damaged or overused Ziploc bags. If your toiletry bag is difficult to see what’s inside or looks too damaged, it might raise a red flag for secondary screening. I keep extra sets of Ziploc bags, so if one gets damaged, I can always use another fresh one to save everyone some trouble.

To view this article in video format, please visit the link below:

5 Best Carry-On Packing Tips

Avoid Travel Scams - Don’t Call Airlines or Hotels from Search Results

Don’t Call Airlines or Hotels from Google Search

Scammers are always looking for innovative strategies to scam travellers. Using Google to make innocent tourists pay has to be one of their most ingenious ways to make people lose money.

Here’s how it works: Scam websites are paying Google to rank on top search results for airlines or hotels. When someone is searching for these hotels or airlines, they are directed to the scam sites instead of the real hotel or airline sites.

Once you make contact, their fake customer support try to trick you into believing that they can book, change, or cancel existing booking. Once you give your credit card information, they charge the card. As you would imagine, this will not do anything to your real bookings.

Customers losing money like this have two problems. The scammer is getting their money and then their real bookings are not being taken care of. There are many horror stories if you look in the news: Travelers finding out later that their bookings were not canceled, they didn’t buy that airline ticket they thought they were buying, or nothing was modified as they intended. Hundreds to thousands of dollars are lost in this type of scam.

The best way to not fall for this scam is to call the airline or hotel directly from their websites. Do not call any places you get from your search results. Go to the contact page of your airline or hotel and call the contact numbers listed there.

Also, always be vigilant and use your best judgement. Make sure you are talking to the right people before handing over your personal and credit card information.