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FAQs

The Most Common Camp Thailand Questions ⁉

Applicants for the Camp Thailand program are responsible for booking flights.

Whilst flights aren’t included in the base price of Camp Thailand, we have our very own flight team here at our HQ who can give you the best deals!

If you’d like to find out more info simply:

Call Us: 0161 222 3780
Email Us: [email protected]
WhatsApp Us: 447964587642

You will stay in a variety of different accommodations for Camp depending on your location. So we advise checking out your Camps location page for more information.

Most of the rooms are fan-cooled and in some locations, they will have Aircon. During most months of the year, Thailand has a tropical climate and the Summer months are much hotter and more humid than the winter months.

Camp Thailand is not everyone’s idea of a holiday and it’s not always relaxing. At times you may find yourself in testing circumstances, as you would when experiencing any new culture.

There may be bad weather, mosquitos, long journeys, slow wifi and limited food options. However, here at Camp Thailand, we believe that is what comes with stepping out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. We love it, as have thousands of previous Camp Thailand attendees. However, we realise that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Before applying to take part in Camp Thailand, please understand that it’s a cultural experience. It isn’t a luxury holiday, and one of our main focuses is to make a positive impact, which often comes with hard work. We can not guarantee you will have a nice relaxing time.

You have to come to Camp Thailand with a sense of adventure, go with the flow and be laid back. Basically, YOU are the deciding factor in the experience you have at Camp Thailand. We provide the setup and infrastructure for you to have an incredible experience. However, that is only half of it. The other half comes from you. Your passion to help others, your spirit to do something different, your ability to make friends and go with the flow.

You get out what you put in and if you give it your all, together we will have an amazing experience at Camp Thailand. We can teach communities in local schools, get up close and personal with Thailand’s elephants, make friends for life and get involved in some incredible activities.

I guess the question now… is Camp Thailand for you!?

Yes, Wi-Fi is available, whether it be in a communal area or in your room. However, we try our best to ensure that Wi-Fi is available in most areas of your accommodation.

In Thailand most people live in dwellings without kitchens as cheap, fresh and delicious food is available everywhere. Popular Western food choices are also available here.

At all our Camps we have 7/11 shops that are open 24 hours, plus other convenience stores within a five-minute walk of the accommodation.

There are also a large number of eating establishments in the immediate vicinity of your Camp Thailand location.

Most of your food at Camp will need to be covered at your own personal cost, depending on your Camp Location, however our Camp Elephant meal includes 80% of meals in the program price.

The meals that are included are the delicious lunches that are provided by the Thai schools on the days you are teaching there . Please note that in some cases we will be in the schools for under two hours and in the cases of temple schools and orphanages they don’t have the budget to provide lunch. Don’t worry though, there is an abundance of inexpensive, fresh and delicious food from the many food stands and small family restaurants.

You can buy cheap, delicious and healthy Thai food for breakfast from many of the local street vendors in the surrounding area.

For about 1.20 GBP per kilo (approx. 2.25 lbs) local laundry services will wash your clothes early morning and return them washed and neatly pressed the following afternoon.

You will get at least one day off a week (usually at the weekends). However, we run activities on your days off. You’re usually only in the schools for around 4-6 hours a day, leaving the rest of the afternoon to explore and partake in weekly activities or explore the local area.

Certainly! With so many amazing places in Thailand, we encourage this! You can travel on your own or join our Island Hopping Tour! Each member of our team is well-traveled and have visited Thailand many times, so we are always happy to give you travel advice.

Thailand is very cheap, and it depends how well you can, or need to budget. For further advice contact our team and we can help you come up with an idea how much you will need to budget for. There are also opportunities to do additional activities which you may want to budget for.

Definitely! You will be making friends from the moment you land in Thailand, friends you will keep for life after sharing such an amazing experience.

You will receive a packing list as part of the ‘Pre-Departure pack’ which you will be sent prior to leaving for Camp, but here’s just a few items we recommend taking;

  • Mosquito spray
  • Sun cream
  • Warm weather clothing
  • A padlock
  • A camera to capture all your amazing experiences
  • You will also want to bring your own towel and washcloth as only bed linens are provided at Camp

The choice is yours, but a backpack is definitely more suitable for travelling around Thailand. Plus, you don’t want to look like a starry-eyed first time traveller dragging around a heavy suitcase, looking like you just landed at a 5* resort in Europe!

Passport: A full passport valid for the duration of your stay is required. Please check that you still have at least 6 months left in your passport from the time you arrive in Thailand.

Visa: For visitors from most Western countries that are arriving in Thailand by air and are staying for 30 days or less, no visa is normally required to be obtained prior to arrival. For visitors from most Western countries that are arriving in Thailand by sea or land, only a 15 day visa will be granted. So, if you are a visitor from a Western country, arriving by air and planning on staying in Thailand continuously for over 30 days, or arriving in Thailand by land or sea you will need to apply for a tourist visa from your nearest Thai consulate. A single entry, 60 day tourist visa allows you to stay in Thailand for 60 days and can be extended from within Thailand just before expiration for a further 30 days at an additional cost of 1,900 THB.

Please note that you can google the address of your nearest Thai consulate and then download the forms online from the consulate to apply for the tourist visa. The stated purpose of your visit will be tourism only. You can then simply follow the application process provided in the online forms by the consulate and apply in person or through the mail. If applying in person you need to submit your forms and documentation on a weekday, normally before noon local time and then collect your passport with visa the following afternoon, normally after 2 p.m. local time.

Please note that the rules for visas often change and we are not liable for this. Your visa is your responsibility and we have no control or influence over the Royal Thai Consulate.

Personal Insurance, covering the time you will be in Thailand plus any activities that you will be undertaking, as well as any planned travel to other countries.

A DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Check. If you are a U.K. national, Camp Thailand will arrange your DBS check for you for a fee of £52.86. If you are coming from another country you will need to contact your local police department and initiate the process yourself to get the DBS equivalent from your country. If you are from another country and would like some guidance, feel free to call our office on 0161 222 3780. Please note that even if you already hold a DBS certificate, unfortunately we must still conduct our own check.

You should wear your Camp Thailand shirt in schools. One will be issued to you as part of your program fee. However, you may want to purchase one or more of these shirts at a cost of £15.99 GBP each, as you will be visiting the schools for up to 4 days during any given week, meaning that there will not be enough time for cleaning if you only have one shirt. If you don’t wish to wear the polo shirt, men will need to wear smart collared, buttoned shirt, short or long sleeves and women will need to wear blouses with capped shoulders and no plunging necklines.

When in classrooms, men are normally required to wear long smart trousers. Women have the choice of long, smart slacks, a full length dress with capped shoulders and no plunging neckline, or a knee length skirt with a blouse with capped shoulder and no plunging necklines.

In the Mini-English Summer Camps, men can wear long smart trousers or knee length trousers. Women can do the same, but trousers must be loose fitting rather than body-clinging and your polo shirt should be not tucked in if you are a female.

Please remember you must wear capped toe shoes, and definitely no flip flops at school.

All forms of body art (Tattoos) must be covered and body piercings must be removed. However, earrings can be kept in.

You must remember that teachers are revered in Thailand and the children are brought up to respect the teachers. Whilst Thailand is very tolerant of all religions and cultures, and although you will see Thai people with tattoos and piercings, Thai society prefers its children not to be exposed to this, wherever possible, until they become young adults. If they choose to have tattoos or body piercings after they become adults that is a matter of personal freedom. This is, in reality, no different than in Western culture where there is legislation in place to limit smoking adverts/commercials or billboards at sporting events. Please do not take this request personally.

Thai culture is very polite, respectful, conservative and modest. Please try to adapt and be respectful of all Thai culture. Please remember that you are a guest in this country and you should try to behave as you would if you were invited to someone’s home for the first time.

If you have not yet secured your spot with a deposit then we can defer your acceptance offer up to 2 years.

After you have secured your place on the program we advise getting travel insurance to cover any unexpected events resulting in you being unable to attend camp.

With our flexible booking policy we can move your trip date up to 2 years from your original departure date, we can even change your Camp location if you fancy. If you did not wish to defer your place you can check out our T&C’s for all the applicable cancellation charges HERE!

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