The 2026 International Geography Championships are approaching 200 students signed up, and we’re excited to see more students and families register each day! That said, we understand that families are concerned about flying to Thailand due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. What we strongly recommend is that anyone from North America fly via the Pacific Ocean rather than the Middle East. For families in Europe we recommend direct flights to Bangkok, or transferring in Istanbul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, or Tokyo.
Moreover, we also recommend the following when looking for flights:
1. Use www.kayak.com (and then use their Layover Airports filter to exclude transfers in Doha, Dubai, or Abu Dhabi).
2. We recommend when you look for flights that you do not only look for flights directly to Phuket, but rather, that you look for round trips to and from Bangkok. Then, look for separate low cost round trip flights from Bangkok to Phuket – there are loads of these every day, and they tend to be very cheap (often less than $100 USD each way). The combined itineraries will often be much cheaper than a direct itinerary to Phuket.
3. That said, with low cost airlines, you must always read the fine print regarding luggage allowances (though if you fly with Thai Airways as opposed to Air Asia or a similar low cost airline the allowance will be much more generous).
4. If you wish to connect directly, be sure your intra-Thailand flights leave from Suvarnabhumi Airport (code BKK – the main international airport which handles incoming intercontinental flights) unless you are spending a night or two in Bangkok. That’s not a bad idea in any case, as it gives you a chance to see a great world city (perhaps on our pre-tour to Bangkok for which space is still available!) and recover a bit from jet lag.