30 tips for travelling cheap in Thailand

To follow up on my complete travel budget guide for Thailand, today I’m going to talk about how to save money when travelling in this country. This blog is particularly suited to people who want to travel in a simple, local and affordable way. We’re writing this article to give you the best tips for travelling for relatively little money in Thailand. After spending almost 3 months there, it is a country I know very well and where I learned various tips and tricks.

So, here are my tips for backpacking across Thailand, based on my experience in the country.

Before you start

First of all, you should already know that Thailand is a very cheap country. However, if you are not particularly careful and spend lavishly, your trip can still end up being “quite expensive”.

The aim of this article is therefore to show you how to travel cheaply in the country, and which habits you should adopt! Some of these tips can generally be applied to many countries. However, here I’m trying to focus specifically on Thailand!

I’ll present these tips according to the main types of expenses you’ll have in the country. Would you like to know the itinerary of my trip to Southeast Asia?

Here are some good tips to reduce the cost of a trip to Thailand, especially on transport, which is often one of the main expenses when travelling!

1 – Avoid travelling by plane as much as possible, as it is much more expensive than any other means of transport,

2 – Choose the most economical means of transport, which is the bus in Thailand,

3 – If you choose to travel by train, choose the cheapest classes, 2nd and 3rd class, with wooden seats among locals,

4 – Try hitchhiking, I did it a little and it can work,

5 – If you’re planning day trips around cities or through the countryside, choose to rent a scooter for the day, between 150 and 250 baht/day, which is about €4 to €6/day,

6 – Avoid renting cars with drivers, which are far too expensive and not really interesting for discovering the country,

7 – Always negotiate the price of tuk-tuk rides, as they will always try to make you pay more than you should!

8 – When you can, walk as much as possible to get to bus or train stations,

9 – Avoid taking taxis and choose local buses instead!

10 – Negotiate the price of motorcycle rental if you rent for several days!

11 – If you want to take a tuk-tuk ride, walk about 10 minutes away from the tourist areas first; prices will then be cheaper!

Accommodation in Thailand is not very expensive. Still, here are a few tips to save money on this part of the budget!

12 – Sleep in guesthouses (GH) rather than hotels. In the city, you can find guesthouses for 300/400 Thb, or even less, as I used to sleep for 250 Thb in Bangkok. In the countryside, you can sleep for 150/200 Thb,

13 – Try to negotiate prices when you stay more than 2 or 3 nights in the same place,

14 – Sleep in Airbnb accommodation, there are quite a few,

15 – Try the Couchsurfing, CS, experience, even if the main goal of couchsurfing is to meet and share with locals, not just to save money..!

16 – Sleep on buses or night trains! Well yes, it saves you from paying for a night in a guesthouse!

You won’t blow your budget in Thailand on food, as long as you eat local! Here are a few small tips for your food budget in Thailand.

17 – Eat in the street or in small street stalls. This is where the food is usually the best and the cheapest,

18 – Avoid tourist restaurants serving Western food, which are always more expensive and, to be honest, not always very good,

19 – Focus on street stalls in town and in the countryside that are crowded with Thai people. If there are so many locals there, it probably means the food is good, right?

20 – Vegetarian dishes are generally less expensive than dishes with meat or fish, such as pad thai,

21 – If you sleep in a guesthouse for several days, go to the market and cook for yourself!

22 – If you stay several days in the same place, buy 6L water cans for 40 Thb / €1 at 7-Eleven. This is much cheaper than always buying 1L bottles at 15/20 Thb,

23 – To have a drink in the evening, buy your local beer at 7-Eleven, 40 Thb/€1, rather than in bars, 90 Thb/€2. Otherwise, think about happy hours!

24 – In the city, get out of the tourist areas to find cheaper prices for accommodation, food and tuk-tuk rides,

25 – Travel off the beaten track: prices are much higher in Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai than in Nan, Mae Salong or Isaan. I bet you don’t even know the names of these places, am I wrong?

26 – Travel out of season: yes, we found ourselves in the middle of the monsoon season in Koh Lanta and slept for 150 Thb. Most accommodation was closed and, when it wasn’t, prices were heavily discounted!

27 – Choose free activities rather than expensive tourist activities!

28 – Avoid tourist agencies at all costs,

29 – Don’t book any activities before being in the country; you can organise everything once you’re there!

30 – Paid activities won’t necessarily be the unforgettable moments of your trip, right?

There you go! I think you are ready to travel cheap in Thailand with these 30 tips! I obviously remind you that the figures given here are only indicative, and they may vary depending on your type of trip, desired comfort, activities, and so on…

In any case, if you’re backpacking around the world, keep in mind that you can spend a whole month in Thailand with €400 by using these 30 tips! If you are planning a trip to Southeast Asia, the article on travel budget in Laos will certainly be useful.

Do you know Thailand yourself? What did you think of it, did you like it? What were your figures in your round-the-world trip budget or holiday budget?!

See you soon.

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!

Despite our care, a mistake may have slipped into this article. If you find any, please don't hesitate to let us know so we can correct it as soon as possible and keep our information up-to-date!