Want to visit Thailand, but have a reptile phobia

Hi, OrangeCarp! So, I haven't been to Thailand and so I can't help there, but I am a therapist and can chime in on phobias from the mental health perspective.

You're absolutely right that phobias are not rational, which is a good thing (the world would be a terrible place if it were as threatening as phobias say things are!) but also a bad thing (because you can't just tell yourself to calm down or that it's no big deal so stop freaking out; phobias doesn't respond to logic!).

I highly recommend looking into exposure therapy with a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders (specifically in exposure therapy! NOT talk therapy!). It's the gold standard of anxiety treatment and is wildly successful, especially with phobias.

For the treatment of phobias, it often takes less than a handful of sessions for completely successful treatment. Which means you can get the help you need in order to fully live your life without anxiety calling the shots, and you'll be able not only to go to Thailand but also savor the experience without the phobia taking over (either in response to actual reptiles or the "what if" fear of reptiles).

I recommend searching either on Psychology Today's website for a therapist in your area or on the International OCD Foundation's website (any therapist who specializes in OCD has the training and skills to treat phobias).

Phobias are SO wildly treatable! And a trip like this is such a great reason to seek out that treatment. I'll be cheering you on!

Thank you so much for the helpful comment! I got a lot of weird ideas responses from peers who just would call me names due to my phobias and said to just “get over it.”

If it takes a few sessions, then I may decide to delay my trip so that I visit Thailand when I can have those few sessions of exposure therapy. Unless someone who has been to Thailand can chime in that it’s not so bad so wouldn’t need to delay trip just because of it?

I will look into psychology today! And thank you so much again, the comment is really helpful! :)

I hate to rain on your plans, but reptiles, especially the lizards that range from itty-bitty geckos to water monitors, are a fact of life, not just in Thailand, but in most of SE and South Asia. When we were there, they were not an unusual sight both in Bangkok and in Phuket. So go ahead with the therapy to help you deal with your phobia before visiting.

We always considered the geckos around our Arizona home as a positive. They eat unwanted insects.

I have only been to Bangkok and saw small geckos - there was even one in my hotel breakfast room. I don't know about larger reptiles or what it is like in the beach areas. But you have received some good advice about working out some things before spending a lot of time and money to go to a place and be worried the whole time. You also might post your question in the TripAdvisor or Reddit travel forums, as there may be more responses to your question. Best of luck!

You're unlikely to come across large reptiles and snakes, but it's definitely possible you'll see gekkos. I've lived in Thailand before, and we saw them daily. Much less likely in a high rise hotel, but quite likely in a resort. As pointed out in the other comments, they are actually good to have because they eat mosquitos, but that's not much consolation if you have a phobia.

And it's not just Thailand - we have plenty of gekkos in our house in Singapore. One just took up refuge in our toaster this morning:)

Sending you lots of support as someone who also struggles and has family who struggles. My time in Hawaii years ago had me ripping the room apart after seeing a gecko. And living in the PNW the large spiders are not fun either. Whether something is harmful or not isn’t really the issue (I know how much bigger I am than the very large harmless spiders but I don’t love them in my house). My sister did the therapy Hannah mentions and it helped her. Only you can ultimately decide your comfort level but December might be too soon to feel more confident if you decide to do the therapy.

While I actually really love reptiles, and they are my favorite branch of animals, and I actually look for them on trips, I am afraid of my upcoming trip to Vietnam in 2024 in one respect. I really want to avoid if possible seeing a "wet market." Maybe these are fewer and farther between than I think, but the idea of captured animals in tiny cages waiting to sold for consumption or some use of their parts fills me with panic and dread. My soul would really cry out if I saw one or had to walk through one. I have read that the selling of dogs for meat has been officially outlawed in Vietnam, but not well enforced. Just seeing birds in cages for sale would be hard. I know this represents a cultural difference on my part, but personally it would just be really upsetting.

I hope that you are able to enjoy Thailand and all the beauty is has to offer, and, with the therapy, not have reptiles influence your not going.

If I may ask, is it just smaller reptiles or is seeing enormous reptiles like crocodiles (even just photos) also elicit the same type of response?

You have my sympathy, because I feel about spiders the way you feel about reptiles. I think I would probably need therapy before going to Australia (and some other places).

If I may ask, is it just smaller reptiles or is seeing enormous reptiles like crocodiles (even just photos) also elicit the same type of response?

Oddly crocodiles don’t elicit the same response, or at least not as bad as say big or small lizards, and any type of snakes. I think the bigger ones are worse for me. I’ve ran into garden snakes in Seattle hikes before, freaked me out but I still go on hikes.

I am also a solo traveler, so I guess if I went with someone I would feel more comfortable. But yeah it’s just an ick I have. I even went to the San Diego zoo and forced myself to look at the snakes in the zoo and was surprised I was able to do it.

Thanks everyone for their responses.

Oddly the giant lizards don’t scare me as much? They still really terrify me, but oddly the baby or teen water monitors scare me more. Honestly idk tho, they all look scary.

I think I will avoid Thailand and go somewhere else, maybe New Zealand or Australia (I heard you only spot them in the bush, but in day to day it’s rare?)

Hi! Licensed counselor (I only work with teens) who lived in Thailand for two years. Yes to everything Hannah (above) said.

I lived in Bangkok but spent a lot of time traveling- we were there during Covid and were working online, so had a chance to see a lot of the country. Snakes are a pretty rare sighting- I saw one (on my school's campus) during the time I was there. The monitor lizards come in all sizes but are very shy; they'll want to get away from you as much as you want to get away from them.
I saw them pretty regularly, but think once a month or so. If you stay away from ponds, lakes, and rivers/ streams (as well as khlongs- canals, where they're seen often) you likely won't see one.

If you go to Thailand, you will see geckos, however. It's important to know that. You may also see tokay, which are a larger (really loud) gecko. They are all friendly and keep bugs down but we always had a few geckos inside our house at any given time.

I've been to northern Thailand twice and Bangkok 3 times, total of about 4 weeks. Geckos don't bother me so if there were a few small ones, I never noticed them. I certainly never had any in my hotels in Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai. I never saw a snake (that I would remember) or any larger ones. I did get up close with elephants, less so with monkeys (they can be nasty).

Here in Israel small lizards are not uncommon, but they run away the minute you move.

I've been to northern Thailand twice and Bangkok 3 times, total of about 4 weeks. Geckos don't bother me so if there were a few small ones, I never noticed them. I certainly never had any in my hotels in Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai. I never saw a snake (that I would remember) or any larger ones. I did get up close with elephants, less so with monkeys (they can be nasty).

Honestly if they are outside they don’t bother me as much as being inside. Like in a hotel. I was planning on visiting Chiang Mai + Krabi. But I watched a YouTube video and on the beach where people were sitting there was a monitor lizard just roaming around for food.

Here in Israel small lizards are not uncommon, but they run away the minute you move.

Huh interesting. I’ve been in Israel (all over the country) and I never saw any reptiles. Maybe that’s because it was in July and too hot for them? I did see Ibex but not any reptiles

If you go to Thailand, you will see geckos, however. It's important to know that. You may also see tokay, which are a larger (really loud) gecko. They are all friendly and keep bugs down but we always had a few geckos inside our house at any given time.

I don’t mind geckos if they aren’t in hotels. Do Tokay or any size of gecko go into hotels? Is it common to see Tokay?

Tokay aren't as common but you will most likely see geckos in both your hotels and restaurants, at some point on the trip. Hotel rooms won't be swarming with them but there really isn't a way to avoid them completely as they are part of the environment there.

Hmm. Now that I think of it, I haven't seen a lizard in an urban area here for years. Maybe the feral cats have eaten them all. They are still around in abundance, so I'm not concerned about extinction.

I’d say go ahead with your Thailand trip! Just be sure to have a really thorough chat with your Airbnb host beforehand to make absolutely certain the room will be gecko-free. When my friends and I went to the beach last time, we spent almost all our time right at the shore - even late into the night! 🏖️ We only went back to our room to shower and sleep, so we didn't really get a good look around to see if there were any little critters inside. Enjoy your trip!