Backpacking budget for Thailand

Southeast Asia has been attracting more and more visitors in recent years, especially for its idyllic white-sand beaches, Buddhist temples, culture and street food. Thailand, also known as the Land of Smiles, is no exception and is one of, if not the most visited country in Southeast Asia, also known for its mass tourism. The country is reputed to be very inexpensive and, after travelling there for almost 3 months, I can confirm it. During a trip to Asia, you can travel and live in Thailand for very little… This article presents everything you need to know to prepare your budget for a trip to Thailand.

For this trip to Thailand, I chose to enjoy the country, its people and local life in a simple way, looking for authenticity and avoiding tourists as much as possible. This is truly what comes closest to my vision of travelling. Before wondering where to go in Thailand for your travel itinerary, the question of your holiday budget in Thailand has to be asked, right?

To go to Thailand, as well as choosing what to visit, see or do, paradisiacal beaches? Partying at a Full Moon Party? Scuba diving? Taking Thai cooking lessons? Trekking in the jungle, and so on, the budget you need to plan on site will be one of the questions to think about. Here is everything you need to prepare for your trip to Thailand.

To organise your Thailand trip, here are all the budget items you should consider, in my opinion:

• The transportation budget
• The accommodation budget
• The transport budget in Thailand: how to get around?
• The food budget
• The entertainment budget when travelling in Thailand,
• The budget for a 10-day, 2-week, 3-week or 1-month trip to Thailand, for example, and even the daily budget to plan!

I will end with the figures for my own travel budget in Thailand, based on the two-and-a-half months I spent in the country. These figures are realistic for long-distance or round-the-world travellers who travel economically! In other words, backpackers!

As explained in the introduction, your travel budget in Thailand will be much lower than for many other trips, in Europe of course, and even South America. I’ll give you everything you need to know in detail to estimate your budget on site. It will then vary depending on your wishes, needs and expectations in Thailand.

Compared to other destinations, it is frankly not that high. In other words, considering the hours you will spend in the sky and the number of kilometres travelled, from Europe or the US, airfare to Thailand is really cheap.

I always use the Skyscanner flight comparator to find the cheapest flights. From Europe and the main capitals, you will find flights from 400/500€ round trip, if you are flexible on dates.

For Americans, you will find flights to Thailand between 400 and 500€ from the main cities. You can look here to search for them.

Just like the budget to go to Thailand, accommodation will not be very costly, which is all the better! So, of course, everything will depend on your comfort standards, your holiday style, and so on… Wondering where to stay in the country and how much it costs to live in Thailand?

But overall, this blog is intended for people travelling in a simple and very often economical way. That’s why I won’t focus on 5-star hotels in Thailand!

During your trip to Thailand, for accommodation in a youth hostel or guesthouse, count between 200 and 400 Thb per night for two people, which is between 5 and 10 €, and even less in the countryside. I did sleep for 150 Thb in some places. In two-and-a-half months in Thailand, I never paid more than 400 Thb (10€) for a night for two. We slept in simple guesthouses, but always clean ones, which was more than enough for us!

For mid-range to high-end accommodation, count from 400 Thb to 1000 Thb. At this price in Thailand, you’ll get something “great” in my opinion, such as a large room, swimming pool, and so on.

Agoda and Booking list many cheap guesthouses in the country and work fairly well in Thailand.

By bus:

• Bangkok – Kanchanaburi: 150 Thb, 2hrs.
• Sukhotai – Chiang Mai: 240 Thb, 6hrs.
• Chiang Rai – Nan: 180 Thb, 6h
• Bangkok – Pkuket: 600 Thb, 1pm

By train: there are several price ranges.

• Kanchanaburi – Nam Tok: 100 Th, 2h30
  Ayuthaya – Lopburi: 20 Thb, 2hrs.
  Night train Bangkok – Chiang Mai: from 900 Thb

By tuk-tuk (local taxis), depending on the distance travelled, prices vary from 20 Thb to 100 Thb per person. Always negotiate.

By bike: varies between 30/40 Thb per day

• In the park of Si Satchanalai : 30 Thb/day
• Visit the temples of Ayutthaya: 40 Thb/day.

By motorcycle: often around 150 to 250 Thb per day.

• A day in Chiang Mai: 200 Thb + gasoline
• A day around Mae Salong: 200 Thb + gasoline

By boat: prices vary according to the ride

• Cross the river in Ayutaha: 5 Thb
• Stroll around Sangkom: 250 Thb, 2h
• Going to Koh Chang Island: 80 Thb, 30 minutes.

For those who have little time, I advise using the fastest means of transport, the plane.

Another important element to consider when budgeting your trip to Thailand will be the cost of food. Usually, eating in the country costs very little as long as you avoid large tourist restaurants. Thai cuisine is excellent. However, those who do not like spicy food should be careful!

Here are some price examples:

• A dish in the street or in greasy spoons costs about 30 to 40 Thb (0,80€ to 1€),
• The same dish in a small local or tourist restaurant will cost you double, between 50 and 80 Thb (1,40 € to 2 €),
• Western dishes cost between 100 and 200 Thb (2,5€ and 5€),
• A Menu at Mac Do: 160 Thb (4€),
• Fruits at the street vendor: 10/20 Thb (0.25/0.5€),
• A liter of water costs between 5 and 7 Thb / 6L bottle (30 Thb -> 0,7 €)
• A local Chang beer: 40 Thb (1 €) in a 7-Eleven (supermarket)

For cheap breakfasts, I recommend buying a packet of cakes at 7-Eleven, 10 Thb, and a small coffee in the street!

As with all other aspects of your travel budget, it will depend on how you travel, what you want to do, whether you are travelling or on holiday, and so on.

Temples are mostly free in Thailand, with the exception of large temples and parks. A few examples:

• Wat Pho in Bangkok: 100 Thb,
• Wat Arun: 50 Thb,
• A day at the Elephant Nature Park: 2500 Thb (63€),
• Thai massage: 150 to 400 Thb (4 to 10 €) depending on the location and the salon.
• A Thai Boxing match: 400 Thb (10€),
• Visit a night market: it’s free!
• A day boat trip: from 600 Thb to 1500 Thb (15€ to 30€)

In short, how much money you spend on activities in Thailand will vary greatly depending on what you do. There are also a large number of free activities in the country.

The purpose here is to give you an idea of your budget for a trip to Thailand depending on how long you stay. The calculation of this daily budget in Thailand is based on my 2.5 months spent in the country, for two people:

• 21 € per day in economy mode / South-East Asian tour (backpacker),
• 30 € per day for normal expenses,
• 40 € per day for a “large” budget.

These numbers are not absolute truths, but rather estimates based on my experience there. Your daily travel budget in Thailand may therefore vary.

For a 10-day trip in Thailand:

Budget in Thailand for 2 weeks:

Budget in Thailand for 3 weeks:

Budget for a month in Thailand:

For an idea of your daily budget in Thailand

I promise you these are realistic budgets for long-term travellers who don’t spend too much on paid tourist activities. If you simply enjoy local life and focus on free activities, you can spend per person:

• Accommodation: 150 to 200 Thb for accommodation (4 to 5 €),
• Food: 100 Thb/day – 2 meals at 40 Thb + 20 Thb breakfast, i.e. 2,5€.
• Water: 2L/day: 30 Thb, rounded up to 1€.

Then, three other points will be added: travel, paid activities and souvenirs!

For information, we spent 750€ for 2 people during our first month in Thailand. This shows that it’s clearly easy to travel cheap in Thailand.

I’ll end this article by explaining my travel budget in Thailand, based on the 76 days I spent there, three times in the same year. To better understand my daily budget in Thailand, here is some information:

• We were there in low-budget mode on a tour of Southeast Asia,
• We had planned a budget of 15€/day/person for the whole continent (30€/day/2 persons), which is the equivalent per person of 450€/month,
• To visit Thailand, we had chosen to sleep either in guesthouses or in local homes,
• We mostly ate at street stalls and used the most money-saving local transport, with no planes,
• We sometimes stayed several days, or even a whole week, doing nothing in particular and admiring local life, including idleness on white sandy beaches!
• We often negotiated accommodation prices, when staying several days, tuk-tuk rides, which is mandatory, and souvenirs in general,
• We focused our trip on local discovery of the country with free activities, walking, hiking, snorkelling, and so on, and we limited paid ones, no jet-ski, boat trips, etc.,
• My itinerary was divided between several visits to the country, both in remote areas off the beaten track, eastern Thailand along the Mekong River (Isan), north of the Golden Triangle, Myanmar border, Mae Hong Son, etc., and more frequented ones, Sukhothai, Ko Samui, Ko Chang, various national parks in the country, etc.,
• We alternated between the tourist/high season, the dry season in December, and the low season, the hot season/monsoon season.

The prices indicated above are therefore “cheap” prices for budget travel.

So, I hope this article will be useful for preparing your world trip or your holidays and evaluating your travel budget in Thailand. The figures given are based on our 3 months spent in the country. Prices may have changed slightly, but overall, from what I’ve recently read, they are still current.

You should know that if you go on holiday, and not while travelling long term, your average budget will obviously be higher, especially if you focus on many paid activities. A budget for a 2-week holiday in Thailand is very different from a 2-week budget in Thailand while travelling around the world.

If you are preparing your trip and your budget in Thailand, I advise you to take a look at the Lonely Planet guide. If, like me, you are going to tour Southeast Asia, the article on travel budget in Laos will be useful.

I would be curious to hear your feedback on your trip to Thailand if you have already been there! How much was your budget to go there? Higher? Lower?

Before you leave, if you have any questions about your trip to Thailand and preparing your budget, whether it’s for 10 days, 1 week, 2 weeks or more, feel free to leave me a comment at the bottom of the article! Other articles will follow about the best time to go to Thailand, and the best tourist places, or not, in the country.

See you soon and bon voyage.

Written by Sylvain PONS

In 2012-2013, Mélanie and I went on a tour of Southeast Asia, spending over 3 months in total discovering Thailand and all that the country has to offer!

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