Planning a Thailand Wedding Trip With Limited Mobility

Advice about traveling in Thailand with limited mobility is written for sightseeing. A wedding trip is not sightseeing. It is a short chain of appointments in buildings you did not choose. This article gives the transport facts and the two things we can choose.

If you plan to register your marriage in Thailand, our marriage registration service covers the documents, the legalization and the district office for one fixed fee.

The buildings you enter

To marry in Thailand, each of you needs an identification document and a document proving that you are single. Both must be translated into Thai and legalized. Legalization is the official certification that makes a document from one country acceptable to another country's authorities. A district office is the local government office that registers a marriage.

Only two steps put you inside a government building. Some nationalities must appear in person at their own embassy for the document proving they are single. Every couple attends a district office on registration day. The step at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not yours. We carry the documents there and back under a power of attorney, which is a document authorizing us to act for you at Thai government offices. If you legalize that power of attorney and your documents at home and send them to us ahead, the ministry step is finished before you arrive, and one working day in Thailand is enough.

Trains in Bangkok

Bangkok's rail systems are not equally easy. Every station on the MRT, the underground metro, has an elevator down to the platform. WheelchairTravel.org, Thaizer and Fan Club Thailand all report this. Thaizer reports that not every BTS Skytrain station has an elevator, and advises checking your route on the BTS website before you travel. Check both ends of your route, not only the station you leave from, and check close to your travel date.

Streets, taxis and boats

Street level is the hardest part of Bangkok. Thaizer reports high curbs and uneven sidewalks. WheelchairTravel.org describes most Bangkok sidewalks as presenting significant challenges to wheelchair users. A short distance on a map can be a long journey.

Ordinary taxis are the second problem. Thaizer reports that many Bangkok taxis carry a natural gas tank in the trunk, so a folded wheelchair will not always fit in a sedan-sized cab. WheelchairTravel.org reports that wheelchair accessible vans can be hired. Boats are a third problem. Thaizer reports that some ferry boats in Thailand are difficult to board, with steps sometimes used in place of ramps.

The Grand Palace and the temples

WheelchairTravel.org describes the lawns and gardens of the Grand Palace as wheelchair accessible. The temple on those grounds is another matter. The same source reports around twenty steps up to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and says the inside is not accessible unless you can climb them or have people carry you up. Wat Traimit, the temple of the Golden Buddha, is an exception, with an elevator at the rear.

Arriving by air

Assistance at the airport is booked ahead, not found on the day. Thai Airways states its rule on its website. A wheelchair must be requested when you book, or at least forty-eight hours before the departure date. Its staff then assist you from the check-in counter to the aircraft door or cabin seat. Other airlines set their own deadlines. Ask yours directly, and ask again for every flight, including a domestic flight to Phuket.

The district and the vehicle

We control none of those buildings, so we promise nothing about them. Two things here are chosen, and we offer both. The first is the district office. You choose the region and request the district. We book it in advance, aiming for one within about an hour of where you are staying. We cannot guarantee a particular district. Your preferred one may be fully booked on your dates, and practices vary between offices, so occasionally we use the nearest available one instead.

The second is the vehicle. The transport we arrange is inside our fee. We collect your documents from your hotel or the airport, so you do not travel for that step. On registration day we collect you and attend with one translator and two witnesses. Because we arrange that vehicle ahead of time, a requirement you tell us about can be part of the booking. We do our best to honor special requests, and some are not possible. A taxi flagged down on the street is whatever arrives.

Both choices are made before you land. What we hear first at the district office door is too late to plan around. Tell us at the start instead, when your details first reach us. Whether there is a wheelchair, how wide it is, whether it folds, how far walking is comfortable: each answer changes what we book.

What Pride Legal Thailand does here

Pride Legal Thailand was created to become the platform for the LGBTQ community around the world looking to get married in Thailand. Our fee is 49,000 baht (~1,480 USD) for both of you, fixed, in three stages, and the last stage is charged only after your marriage is registered. We make the legal half of the trip plannable from abroad and completable in a single trip. For a couple with limited mobility that matters. The journeys that are not yours to make are removed, and the appointment we book for you is booked before you land.

Pride Legal Thailand arranges the registration of marriages in Thailand for two people of any gender and any nationality. The fee is ฿49,000 (~1,480 USD) for both partners, fixed, with VAT and government fees included; registration outside the Bangkok region costs ฿10,000 (~300 USD) more.

To register your own marriage in Thailand, tell ELSA your nationalities and your dates on the Marriage page: she lists your documents and your timeline, and our lawyer confirms the plan. The steps in order: how two foreigners can get married in Thailand.

Sources

WheelchairTravel.org, Bangkok Wheelchair Accessible Public Transportation.

WheelchairTravel.org, Wheelchair Accessible Things to Do in Bangkok.

WheelchairTravel.org, Bangkok Wheelchair Accessible Travel Guide.

Thaizer, Advice for Disabled People Visiting Bangkok and Other Areas of Thailand.

Fan Club Thailand, Advice for disabled travellers visiting Thailand.

BTS, Tips for Using Stairs, Escalators and Elevators.

Thai Airways, Traveling with a Wheelchair.