Can I bring in wine from USA to LOS?

[thaibound]

i've got a last minute dilemma. just purchased two decent bottles of wine to bring along on tomorrow's flight, only to then discover the 1 liter limit on duty-free imports -- and despite considerable searching i can't find out what it'd cost me to declare the 2nd bottle.

some posters (elsewhere of course) suggest i not declare and i'll "probably" have no trouble -- but if i do get 'caught', i'll pay many times the duty in fines and lose the wines -- but nowhere can i find what that "duty" would be!

can anybody help?
i'm down to considering drinking 2/3's of the 2nd 750ml bottle tonight so i can squeeze 1 and 1/3 bottles into the 1 liter limit.

but there must be a better solution.
tia.

[Guest]

Don't worry about it.......I have four bottles of expensive french wine in my bag for a friends Pattaya restaurant every single time I enter Thailand from Europe.
You won't get stopped.

If you're shitting yourself that much that either don't do it or recruit another passenger to carry a bottle for you in exchange for a beer

[thaibound]

thanks for the reply, pentire.
so, do you just walk up the green line and say 'nothing to declare'?
i'd recruit someone for sure except now you can't carry on liquids so it'll be in my checked bags. i could say one bottle for me and one for my invisible girlfriend, oops, guess you just missed her....but even still - what IS the duty if i pussy out and want to declare it? is it so much that i should risk shitting myself? or are two bottles just not allowed, period?

i thought i was pretty good at researching the internet -- until today-- because *nowhere* can i find the answer to that question. now i almost want to know more than i want the wine.

almost.

[Snick]

I've brought 11 in at one time. Put them in tube socks for packing.
Just don't take them as carry on !

If you wanted to declare it, Duty prices in Thailand are almost impossible to figure out, I've tried before when I legitimately wanted to import some computer equipment.

One site mentioned a fine of 4 times the value of the item - but no idea how accurate that is.

[kahuna]

If one more "don't worry about it" helps...

Don't worry about it...

I bring wine and hard liquor in all the time and I have never ever had anyone check my luggage on my way into Thailand...

[Bumpa STIKKA]

Even if they open up your bag and see the two bottles (unlikely) I'd bet a pound to a penny they'd wave you through, anyway.

Tourists with two bottles of wine isn't really what the customs officers are looking for.

You have nothing to worry about. The chances are you won't get searched and if you do your 'contraband' isn't going to cause an issue.

[thaibound]

while i'd still love to know what it'd cost to just pay the duty, i'll 'trust' you guys on this one. so, should i forget the insulated wine box and stuff them in my socks?
but, if there's no wine at dinner saturday night -- you'll know where "we" will be.

[deepthroat]

I thought most tourists took whine home from thailand... "I want to go back! I want to go back!"

[Bumpa STIKKA]

There's a wine store just across the street from Nana if the worst comes to the worst.

[PigDogg]

I might have been searched once for five seconds, but maybe confusing it with elsewhere and all other times no search.

Never been strip searched but a rather painful option.

[thaibound]

(PigDogg @ Aug. 05 2010,06:29) Never been strip searched but a rather painful option.    

especially if they're looking for that *second* bottle of wine.

[Snick]

What flight are you on ?, I'll call the airport and tell them to let you thru and that there is no reason to check

[Steff]

A few comments on the above:

The wine store across from Nana is on the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi 4 in the mall. It seems to have weird hours. Open at 10 to 2pm; closed 2 to 4pm and open again at 4 until 6pm I believe. It has a selection but not much in variety from France or Italy if that is your preference. Lots of Auzzie stuff.

Foodland up the street on Soi 5 also has a good variety of whites and reds but the European stuff is really expensive. I think the import duty into Thailand is very high. The Australian wine tends to be much more affordable even though not that drinkable. :-)

As far as Snick and his sock trick is concerned, you better have really thick socks. In the past I have travelled with a few bottles of wine in my checked luggage and it has proven to be a disaster more often than not. Even though I rolled the bottles in towels and even pants (thinking the were well padded) they have broken in transit and caused a terrible mess. Not only does it destroy your clothes but also your luggage and other people's luggage in close proximity. Furthermore if you are trying to avoid Customs' attention it tends to be hard to do when you wheel your luggage passed them dripping a trail of liquid behind you.

If you really cannot do without your own favourite wine while visiting LOS I suggest to be obvious. Buy a case and check it as part of your luggage. Usually the cases are well protected and designed for shipping. You can also mark very fragile on the case. I think baggage handers tend to be more careful with boxes than they do with pieces of luggage that they fling around carelessly. I also bet you dollars to donuts that you can wheel that by Thai customs without a problem.

Anyway, those are my 2 cents.

Steff

P.S. If you do happen to successfully smuggle in a case of vino, you owe me a bottle...:-)

[Road Runner]

I have rather a lot of practice with customs around the world.      

Bumpa Stikka summed it up precisely.

(Bumpa STIKKA @ Aug. 05 2010,03:00) Tourists with two bottles of wine isn't really what the customs officers are looking for.

They are not going to be interested even if they do see them.
If they do just say they are a gift for your friends  -  it's their favourite wine and they can't get it in Thailand.

The worst thing the customs will do is take them off you.  The level of fine would not be worth the paperwork.      

RR.

[EyeMahk]

I was having a conversation with some colleagues at a conference in Bangkok, and I asked this question.  Ever been searched?  Not one person had been questioned at any time while entering LOS alone.  And among us were hundreds of entries.  The only exceptions were people when entering with other Thai people (wife, girlfriend, etc.)  They are looking for Thai people bringing back goods exceeding gift allowance.

And the only people I have ever seen motioned to the x-ray machine were Arabs, Indians and Thais.

If you declare it, you are asking for a hassle.

If you are the 1/4 of 1% that might get stopped, then you can just plead ignorance.  Or pack 4 bottles (2 cheap shit like Mad Dog) and use those as a sacrifice to the boys in brown.

edit: Link found on anothe board: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum....hailand