It's a good idea to plan to arrive in Bangkok no later than the night before the program begins, to allow for any travel delays.

We think its worth checking out the major discount booking sites first, to provide an overview of what seems to be out there. We are proud to be one of Travelocity's Travel For Good Ambassadors, as the program is committed to helping people find ways to make a better impact on the world.

Travelocity http:// www.travelocity.com

Sample fares, just to give you an idea.

Below find some "sample" prices for fall for San Jose, Lima, and Bangkok.  These are priced from Houston, Raleigh,  DC, and NYC, however, THIS IS NOT LIKE A REGULAR TICKET THAT MANY TIMES IT'S CHEAPER TO LEAVE FROM A BIGGER AIRPORT--IT GOES BY "ZONES"--NOT AIRPORTS.

These prices include all taxes and fees--prices are the same for all dates given on the website.

To Lima:
Houston --$744
Raleigh -$677
DC-$635.50

NYC:
Newark -$723
JFK-$703

San Jose:
Newark -$515
Raleigh -$540.50
DC-$547.50 with UA direct or  $512 with CO

Bangkok:
$919 from Houston
$997 from Raleigh

Again, these are just a sampling of fares. 

Often, the major carriers can get you into the capital city of a country, but not further. Often, the best value you can get from the capital to the destination city is to take a regional carrier. For example, in Latin America, try the following to get from the capital to the destination city.

You will be brought back to the airport the following Saturday morning before noon.

Bangkok Hotels

Many volunteers have found that places near Kao San Road offer reliable bargain hotels, near plenty of police and security guards. While it is a good idea to book in advance, you'll find that so many are clustered there that you can go from place to place checking out which you like best upon arrival. Kao San Road it se lf can be quite noisy at night as it attracts so many people, and you will see that this is an area where many westerners congregate due to its high concentration of incredibly priced services such as laundry, food, internet access, etc.

Therefore many past volunteers have found that beyond the bend from Kao Son Road along Soi Rambutri. There are many places that will give you a private bath and air conditioning for under $20 a night, such as Sawdee House 281-8138, My House (282-9267), Wild orchid (02-629-4378 8 Soi Chanasongkarm, Pra Arthit Road.

For a step up in accommodations and price, the Viengtai Hotel (280-5434 42 Thanon Rambutri) is a reliable choice for deluxe rooms around $60.

You can also choose to stay at the hotel at the airport - the Amari (http://www.amari.com/), for around $50. Many of the hotels in airport area are twice as expensive as in town. There's the Don Muang Mansion (566-3064) which is about 1200baht for a small air-conditioned room - though you can bargain to about 800B. Divide by about 40 to see the rate in US$

Some say better value is Comfort Suites Airport 552-8921-9; pinap@loxinfo.co.th 88/117 Viphavadi Rangsit Highway) about 5 min south of airport and cost about 1600baht to book through a travel agent - and are actually nicer than the Don Muang Mansion.

A super cheap near airport hotel is We-Train International House wetrain@linethai.co.th for about 600baht - though the taxi ride costs more because of where it is on the highway, you have to u-turn, etc. To avoid this, you can take the pedestrian bride in the airport to the entrance of the Amari hotel and take taxi from there, which will save you over half the taxi fare. The WE-TRAIN International House is a rather unique existence. Basically, this is a fund-raising project for a non-profit, charitable organization called "Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women" and the hotel is surrounded by several such buildings. It's located in a suburban residential area, away from any shopping/tourist areas. Their room rates are 400B for a standard twin room or 500B for a delux twin room. They have a dormitory for 80B/bed, but this is at minimum 10 beds (800B), and you need to make a reservation in advance.

You may experience difficulty giving the taxi driver the directions. (Want to walk? It's about 4km.)
http://www.we-train.co.th

If you want a taste of luxury prior to your volunteer experience, Bangkok has quite a few to choose from in the $150 range, many on the main river, such as the Regent Bangkok (251-6127) and the http://bangkok.peninsula.com/iflash.html.