Thailand travel guide: when to go, where, how to get around

Who it's for

Is Thailand right for your trip?

Every country is somebody's favourite. The honest question is whether it is yours, and for this trip.

This is your trip if…

You want a first Asian trip where nothing is difficult: visas, food, hotels and transport all just work, in English, cheaply.
You eat. Thai street food is the best value cooking on earth, and the regional differences (Isan, northern, southern) reward moving around.
You travel with kids: short flights, warm sea, resorts with pools at every price point, and a culture that genuinely likes children.
You want beach time and something else in one trip — a week of temples and mountains, then a week on an island, is the national template.
You are on a budget and refuse to be miserable about it: €40 a day buys a clean room, three good meals and a bus ticket.

Think twice if…

You want to be somewhere nobody else has been. Phuket, Phi Phi and Koh Samui in January are as crowded as Mallorca in August, with worse traffic.
You need clean air in spring. Crop burning from February to mid-April gives Chiang Mai some of the worst air quality on the planet.
You plan to rent a scooter without a motorcycle licence. Thailand's roads kill close to 20,000 people a year, mostly on two wheels, and your insurance will not pay.
You want efficiency. Trains are cheap and charming but slow; a 700 km journey is an overnight, not an afternoon.

Best time to visit

When is the best time to visit Thailand?

November – February (cool and dry); Gulf islands stay good until August. The cool dry season from November to February is the answer for the whole country and the only time the north is genuinely pleasant. The two coasts have opposite monsoons: the Andaman side (Phuket, Krabi, Lanta) is wet from May to October, while the Gulf side (Samui, Phangan, Tao) is driest from January to August and takes its rain in October–November. So a rainy-season trip is not a bad idea, it is a Gulf-coast idea. March to May is brutally hot everywhere, and February to mid-April is the north's burning season, which is a reason to avoid it rather than a mild inconvenience.

Cool season
November – February
Best
Dry, low 30s in Bangkok, nights down to 10 °C in Chiang Mai in December. Peak prices and peak crowds from mid-December to mid-January; book islands three months out. November is the quiet start of it and the best single month.
Burning season (north)
February – mid April
Avoid
Farmers burn fields across the north and into Laos and Myanmar. Chiang Mai's AQI routinely passes 150 and has topped 300; the mountains vanish in haze. Do the north in November–January instead; the south is unaffected.
Hot season
March – May
Mixed
35–40 °C, thick humidity, and the sea is bath-warm. Fine for a beach-and-pool trip on the Gulf coast; punishing for temples and cities. Songkran (13–15 April) is the redeeming event.
Southwest monsoon
May – October
Mixed
Afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain, except September, which is genuinely wet. Green, cheap, quiet. The Andaman coast is rough — Similan and Surin national parks close from mid-May to mid-October — but the Gulf islands are at their best until August.
Gulf monsoon
October – early December
Avoid
Samui, Phangan and Tao take their rain now, sometimes as week-long storms; November is the wettest month on Samui. Meanwhile the Andaman side is drying out and Bangkok and the north are entering their best weeks. Plan around it, not through it.

Climate · monthly normals

BangkokDaily high – low, °CPrecipitation, mm

Stands in for the central plains and, roughly, the Gulf coast. Hot every month; the only variable is rain.

For contrast

Chiang MaiDaily high – low, °CPrecipitation, mm

The north: a real cool season with 15 °C nights, a hotter and drier April, and less rain than Bangkok in every month.

Festivals and events

Calendar and cultural context

Dates a plan should either aim for or steer clear of. Both are useful; the second saves more money.

Late January or February (17 February 2026)
Chinese New Year
Bangkok's Yaowarat (Chinatown), Phuket Old Town, Nakhon Sawan
Thailand has the largest overseas Chinese population of any country, and Yaowarat closes to traffic for lion dances, food stalls and, most years, a royal visit. The best night to eat in Bangkok.
Domestic flights and hotels in Phuket and Chiang Mai fill with Chinese visitors for the week around it; book ahead.
13–15 April
Songkran (Thai New Year)
Nationwide; Chiang Mai's moat and Bangkok's Silom and Khao San Road are the epicentres
A three-day, nationwide water fight in 38 °C heat, with a gentler religious layer of temple visits and pouring water over elders' hands. Either the best three days of your year or an ordeal, depending on temperament. Chiang Mai does it best and longest.
Trains, buses and flights out of Bangkok sell out a month ahead as the country goes home; banks and offices close. Waterproof your phone and passport. Expect to be soaked every time you step outside.
Second weekend of May
Bun Bang Fai (rocket festival)
Yasothon, Isan
Home-made rockets fired to call the rains, with parades, drinking and a fair amount of gambling on altitude. The most Isan thing you can witness and almost no foreigners.
Three days in June or July; dates set locally each year
Phi Ta Khon (ghost festival)
Dan Sai, Loei province
Villagers in painted masks and patchwork costumes parade as spirits before a Buddhist merit-making rite. Small, strange and worth the six-hour detour from Chiang Mai or Bangkok.
Dan Sai has a handful of guesthouses; book early or stay in Loei town. Dates are announced only a couple of months ahead.
Nine days from the first day of the ninth Chinese lunar month — late September or October
Phuket Vegetarian Festival
Phuket Town's Chinese shrines
Taoist devotees in trance pierce their cheeks with swords and walk on coals; the streets are lined with yellow-flagged vegan food stalls. Loud, gory and sincere — nothing like the resort side of the island.
Phuket Old Town hotels are full; the beaches are not. It falls in the Andaman rainy season, so treat the beach as a bonus.
Full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month — November
Loy Krathong
Nationwide; Sukhothai's ruins and Chiang Mai's Ping river are the classic settings
Small banana-leaf boats with candles set adrift on every river and pond to carry the year's bad luck away. Quiet, beautiful and genuinely nationwide — a village pond does it as well as a city.
Sukhothai stages a light-and-sound show among the ruins for several nights; book Sukhothai beds two months ahead.
Same nights as Loy Krathong — November
Yi Peng (lantern festival)
Chiang Mai
Thousands of paper lanterns released at once over the city. The postcard shot is a ticketed mass release outside town (€100–200 per person); the free version is the old city's streets and the river, which is arguably better.
Chiang Mai's hotels sell out and evening flights are suspended for the lantern release — do not book a flight out of CNX after dark on those nights.
Monthly, on or near the full moon
Full Moon Party
Haad Rin, Koh Phangan
Listed because it drives bookings, not because it is good: 20,000 people, buckets of cheap spirits and fire skipping-ropes on one beach. The rest of Koh Phangan is lovely and empties out that night.
Haad Rin stays impose five-night minimums around the date; Samui–Phangan ferries and Bangkok flights spike. If you are not going to the party, avoid the island for those three days or stay on the north coast.

Where to go

Where should you go in Thailand?

The places that earn their nights, most important first, with how long each deserves. Nobody needs all of them on one trip.

City and local guides

6 worked-out stops

Map of Thailand showing Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi & the Andaman coast, Phuket, Koh Samui, Phangan & Tao, Ayutthaya & Sukhothai — 6 local guides · Google Maps

Map numbers match the local guide cards.

Regions and wider stops

Kanchanaburi
River Kwai, Erawan falls, a jungle railway
01
region2 days
Three hours west of Bangkok: the Death Railway museum and cemetery, then the surviving stretch of the line along the river to Nam Tok, and the seven tiers of Erawan waterfall. Sleep in a floating raft house on the river. More interesting than the day-trip coach tours suggest.
Best for: history · nature · with kids
Chiang Rai & the Golden Triangle
Tea plantations, hill villages and the White Temple
02
region2–3 days
Three hours by bus from Chiang Mai and calmer. The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) is a contemporary oddity worth an hour; the real reasons are the hill country towards Mae Salong, the Mekong at Chiang Saen and the Laos border crossing at Chiang Khong for the slow boat to Luang Prabang.
Best for: second visit · hill tribes · onward to Laos
Pai & the Mae Hong Son loop
600 km of mountain road, 1,864 bends
03
region3–5 days
The loop from Chiang Mai through Pai, Mae Hong Son and Mae Sariang is the best road trip in the country — by car, unless you already ride motorbikes. Pai itself is a backpacker town that peaked a decade ago; Mae Hong Son, near the Myanmar border, is the town worth staying in. November to January only, for the views.
Best for: road trips · hiking · hot springs
Isan (the Northeast)
Khmer temples, sticky rice and no tourists
04
region4–6 days
A third of the country and a fraction of its visitors. Khmer ruins at Phimai and Phanom Rung, the Mekong at Nong Khai and Chiang Khan, and the cooking (som tam, larb, grilled everything) that Bangkok's best cheap restaurants imitate. Needs a car or patience with buses; almost nothing is in English. The country's best-kept secret is not a secret, it is just inconvenient.
Best for: second visit · food · road trips · off the trail

Things to do

What should you do in Thailand?

The handful of things that make the destination distinctive, with the timing catch that stops people doing them well.

01
Chinatown at night
Yaowarat Road, Bangkok
The densest stretch of street food in the country: grilled seafood, bird's-nest soup, kuay jab, mango sticky rice, from 6 pm. Closed on Mondays (Bangkok's street-cleaning day), which catches out half the visitors who plan around it.
02
Grand Palace and Wat Pho at opening time
Bangkok
Wat Pho opens at 8 am, the palace at 8:30; by 10 the palace is a coach-tour scrum in 35 °C. Palace €13, Wat Pho €8. Long trousers and covered shoulders are enforced. If you have seen a lot of temples, skip the palace and give the time to Wat Pho's reclining Buddha and the massage school.
03
The overnight train to Chiang Mai
Bangkok Krung Thep Aphiwat → Chiang Mai
Thirteen hours, a bunk that folds out of the seats, dinner from a trolley and a sunrise through the northern hills. Second-class air-con sleeper about €25 — a hotel night and a transfer in one. Lower berths are wider; book them two to three weeks ahead in season.
04
An ethical elephant morning
Around Chiang Mai (Elephant Nature Park and its satellite projects)
Feeding and walking with rescued elephants, no riding, no bathing shows. Half a day is enough; €60–80 including transfer. The good places book out weeks ahead; anything offering rides or 'shows' is the thing the sanctuaries exist to undo.
05
A cooking class with a market visit
Chiang Mai or Bangkok
Four hours, €25–35, and the single most useful souvenir: you go home able to make a green curry from paste. Chiang Mai's classes tend to include a farm or market visit; Bangkok's are slicker and closer to your hotel.
06
Ayutthaya by train and bicycle
Ayutthaya, 90 minutes north of Bangkok
The €1 third-class train from Bangkok, a €2 bicycle at the station, and a day among the ruins of the 400-year capital. Go early, be in Wat Chaiwatthanaram at sunset, and take the train back rather than the tour coach.
07
A night on Cheow Lan lake
Khao Sok National Park, between Surat Thani and Khao Lak
Floating raft bungalows on a jungle reservoir under limestone cliffs, reached by long-tail, with gibbons at dawn. One night is the right length. Book the park-operated or the better private rafts a month ahead; it is the natural bridge between the Gulf and Andaman coasts.
08
Railay by long-tail
Krabi
A peninsula walled off by karst so it is reachable only by boat from Ao Nang (15 minutes, €3). Rock climbing for beginners, Phra Nang cave beach, and none of Phi Phi's crowds. Stay on the East side for value, the West side for the beach.
09
Muay Thai at Rajadamnern
Bangkok
The country's oldest stadium, fight cards most nights, ringside tickets around €50 and upper tiers for far less. The traditional pre-fight wai khru dance and the gambling frenzy in the cheap seats are the show. The 'tourist Muay Thai' packages in Phuket and Samui are not this.

How to get around

How do you get around Thailand?

Thailand is a country of cheap flights, slow trains and good buses, hinged on Bangkok. Two budget airlines will fly you between any two regions in about an hour for €30–60, which is why most two-week itineraries fly Bangkok–Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai–south rather than sitting on a bus. The State Railway is slow, punctual within an hour and absurdly cheap, and its overnight sleepers to Chiang Mai and to Surat Thani (for the Gulf islands) are the one part of the network worth building a plan around. Buses and minivans go everywhere else, ferries link the islands on both coasts with monsoon caveats, and in Bangkok the Skytrain and metro beat the traffic every time. Rent a car only for the Mae Hong Son loop, Isan or Kanchanaburi, never in Bangkok.

State Railway of Thailand (SRT)

Long-distance trains leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) in the north of Bangkok, not the old Hua Lamphong station, since 2023. Bangkok–Chiang Mai: 11–13 h; the overnight Special Express (trains 9/10) has second-class air-con bunks for about €25 and first-class two-berth cabins for about €38. Bangkok–Surat Thani for Samui/Phangan/Tao: overnight, 9–11 h, about €25 in a bunk. Bangkok–Ayutthaya: 1.5–2 h, €1–2; Bangkok–Hua Hin: 3.5–4 h; Kanchanaburi: two slow trains a day from Thonburi station, 2.5–3 h, so most people take the minivan out and ride the river stretch to Nam Tok locally. A direct sleeper to Vientiane in Laos has run since July 2024. Book on SRT's D-Ticket site or via 12Go; sleepers sell out two to three weeks ahead in high season, lower berths first.

Rule of thumb: Bangkok–Ayutthaya or Bangkok–Hua Hin → train. Bangkok–Chiang Mai or Bangkok–Surat Thani → overnight sleeper if the traveller likes trains and wants to save a hotel night; otherwise fly. Never plan a daytime long-distance train unless the journey is the point.

Domestic flights

Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air fly from Don Mueang (DMK); Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways and Thai Vietjet from Suvarnabhumi (BKK) — check which airport before booking a connection, they are an hour apart. Bangkok–Chiang Mai 1 h 10, Bangkok–Phuket 1 h 25, Bangkok–Krabi 1 h 20, typically €30–60 one way booked a few weeks out, more at Songkran and New Year. Koh Samui's airport is owned by Bangkok Airways, so Bangkok–Samui runs €90–200; flying to Surat Thani for €35 plus the bus-and-ferry (about €15, 3–4 h total) is the standard saving. Chiang Mai–Phuket and Chiang Mai–Krabi fly direct, avoiding Bangkok.

Rule of thumb: Any region-to-region hop (north ↔ Bangkok ↔ south) → fly, unless the overnight sleeper is chosen on purpose. Same-day connection from an international arrival at BKK → book a BKK departure, not DMK.

Buses and minivans

The government Transport Co. and private operators (Nakhonchai Air, Sombat Tour) run air-con and 24-seat 'VIP' coaches from three Bangkok terminals: Mo Chit (north and northeast), Sai Tai Mai (south and west) and Ekkamai (east coast: Pattaya, Koh Chang). Bangkok–Chiang Mai 9–10 h, €15–25 for a VIP seat; Chiang Mai–Chiang Rai 3–4 h, about €7 with Green Bus; Chiang Mai–Pai 3 h by minivan on 762 bends. Minivans cover Kanchanaburi, Hua Hin and Trat from the Bangkok terminals. 12Go.asia is the aggregator that actually issues tickets; the hostel-sold 'tourist buses' to the islands are slower, and luggage theft on them is well documented.

Rule of thumb: Under 4 h with no rail line (Chiang Mai–Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai–Pai, Bangkok–Kanchanaburi, Krabi–Phuket) → bus or minivan. Over 8 h → fly or take the sleeper.

Island ferries

Gulf coast: Lomprayah and Seatran high-speed catamarans link Chumphon, Surat Thani (Donsak pier), Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui — Samui–Phangan 30 min (€8), Samui–Tao 1.5–2 h (€15–18); Raja Ferry is the slow car ferry from Donsak (1.5 h to Samui). Lomprayah sells a bus-plus-boat from Bangkok to Koh Tao for about €30, around 9 h. Andaman coast: Phuket–Phi Phi 2 h (€12–18), Phi Phi–Krabi 1.5 h, Krabi–Koh Lanta 2 h, Koh Lanta–Koh Lipe 3 h; Ao Nang–Railay is a 15-minute long-tail. Andaman crossings become rough or are cancelled from May to October, and the Similan and Surin parks are closed for that window.

Rule of thumb: Island-hopping on one coast → ferry, and plan the coast around the monsoon (Andaman Nov–Apr, Gulf Jan–Aug). Crossing between coasts → bus or fly via Surat Thani/Krabi, do not attempt it as one day.

Driving

Thailand drives on the left. An International Driving Permit alongside your home licence is legally required and rental desks and police check it. Cars cost €25–40 a day from Avis, Hertz, Sixt, Thai Rent a Car or Chic Car Rent, plus about €1 a litre of fuel; roads are decent, driving standards are not, and night driving in the countryside is a bad idea. Makes sense for the Mae Hong Son loop (3–5 days), Isan, Kanchanaburi and Chiang Rai's hill country. Scooters are €5–8 a day and the single largest cause of tourist deaths and insurance disputes; without a motorcycle licence, an accident is entirely on you.

Rule of thumb: Mae Hong Son loop, Isan, or a family wanting freedom around Chiang Rai → car with an IDP. Bangkok, Phuket, Samui, any city → never; use Grab. Scooters only for licensed riders.

In the cities

Bangkok: the BTS Skytrain and the MRT (blue and purple lines, plus the pink and yellow monorails) cover the centre for €0.50–2 a ride; the MRT takes contactless bank cards at the gate, the BTS mostly still wants a Rabbit card or a single ticket. The Airport Rail Link runs BKK–Phaya Thai in 30 minutes for about €1.20. Grab and Bolt are the honest way to move by road (€4–6 across town); taxis are cheaper still when they run the meter, which they often refuse to. Chao Phraya Express boats and canal boats beat everything for the old city. Chiang Mai: red songthaews (shared pickups) for ฿30–40 a hop, or Grab. Islands: songthaews at fixed, high prices, or your resort's shuttle.

Passes and cards, honestly

There is no national rail pass worth buying. Fares are so low (Bangkok–Chiang Mai in a bunk is €25) that no pass can undercut them; book individual tickets.
BTS one-day pass (about €4): pays off from four Skytrain rides in a day, which a temple-and-mall day in Bangkok easily reaches. A stored-value Rabbit card is the alternative if you are staying a week.
Lomprayah and Seatran combined bus-and-boat tickets from Bangkok, Chumphon or Surat Thani to the Gulf islands: worth it, they are the same price as buying the legs separately and the connections are guaranteed.
Airline passes (Bangkok Airways' Discovery Airpass and the like) exist but rarely beat simply booking budget-carrier legs a few weeks ahead. Skip unless you are doing five or more flights.
Dual-priced national park tickets (foreigners ฿200–500, about €5–13, per park) are unavoidable; multi-day passes exist at some parks but only pay off if you re-enter on consecutive days.

Travel tips

What should you know before you go?

The things locals assume you know. Most travellers learn them by getting one wrong on day two.

The monarchy is not a topic: Lèse-majesté carries prison sentences of up to 15 years per count and is enforced against foreigners. Do not joke, comment or post about the royal family. Stand for the anthem at 8 am and 6 pm in public places and before films in cinemas.
Head high, feet low: The head is sacred and the feet are dirty: do not touch anyone's head, do not point your feet at people or Buddha images, do not step over people. Shoes off in temples and homes and in a surprising number of shops. A wai (palms together, small bow) is returned to people, not to staff serving you.
Temple dress is enforced: Shoulders and knees covered for everyone; the Grand Palace turns people away and rents cover-ups at a queue. Women must not touch monks or hand things to them directly. Buddha images are not decoration: tattoos of them cause real offence, and exporting one without a Fine Arts Department permit is illegal.
Keep a cool heart: Jai yen — the cool heart — is the national virtue. Raising your voice at a taxi driver, a hotel clerk or an immigration officer costs you face and gets you nothing. Smile, repeat, and if it is a scam simply walk away.
Eat like a Thai: Fork in the left hand pushes food onto the spoon in the right; chopsticks are for noodle soup only. Dishes are shared and arrive when ready, not in courses. Thais eat small meals all day, so a 4 pm noodle stop is normal. 'Mai phet' (not spicy) is a negotiation that you will lose.
The classic scams have not changed in thirty years: 'The palace is closed today' from a friendly stranger who then suggests a tuk-tuk tour ending at a gem shop or tailor: it is never closed. Taxis that refuse the meter, jet-ski damage claims in Pattaya and Phuket, and rental scooters with pre-existing scratches you will be charged for. Photograph any vehicle before you take it.
Alcohol has rules, and cannabis has new ones: Buddhist holy days (Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asalha Bucha, Khao Phansa) stop all alcohol sales nationwide, including in hotel bars. The old 2–5 pm shop-sales ban was relaxed in 2025 but you may still meet it at a supermarket till. Cannabis was decriminalised in 2022 and re-restricted to medical use in 2025; dispensaries still line tourist streets, but do not assume the law is what the shopfront implies.
Bargain where it is expected, not where it is not: Markets, tuk-tuks, long-tails and souvenir stalls: yes, gently, and settle around two-thirds of the opening price. Restaurants, 7-Elevens, metered taxis and anything with a printed price: no. National parks and some sights charge foreigners five to ten times the Thai price; that is policy, not a scam, and arguing is pointless.

Travel basics

Visa, money, SIM cards and more

The boring section, which is why it is the one people skip and then regret at the airport.

visa

Visa and the arrival card

EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens get 60 days visa-free (raised from 30 in July 2024; the government has repeatedly floated cutting it back to 30 — check before booking a stay longer than a month). Extendable once by 30 days at an immigration office for about €50. Everyone must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within 72 hours before landing; airlines may also ask for proof of onward travel.

money

Money

Baht, roughly ฿38 to the euro. Cash still runs street food, markets, songthaews and small guesthouses; cards work in hotels, malls, chains and most restaurants with a printed menu. Every foreign-card ATM withdrawal costs ฿220 (about €6) on top of your bank's fee, so withdraw the daily maximum (usually ฿20,000–30,000) rather than little and often. Thai QR payments (PromptPay) need a Thai bank account, so ignore the stickers. Change money at SuperRich or a bank branch, never at the airport counters.

connectivity

SIM and data

AIS and True (which absorbed dtac) sell tourist eSIMs online for €8–15 covering 8–15 days with generous data; buy before you fly so Grab works from the airport kerb. Airalo works but costs more for less. Coverage is excellent everywhere except deep in national parks. Thais live on LINE, not WhatsApp; hotels and tour operators will ask for it.

plugs

Plugs and power

220 V, 50 Hz. Sockets are hybrid and take flat US-style pins (types A and B), European two-pin (type C) and the Thai type O — so a European charger fits without an adapter and a British one needs one. Power cuts on islands are routine and short.

safety

Safety

Violent crime against tourists is rare. The real dangers are the roads (Thailand has one of the highest traffic death rates in the world, overwhelmingly on scooters), rip currents on Andaman beaches in monsoon (red flags mean it), drink-spiking and methanol in bucket cocktails on party islands, and petty scams. Do not rent a scooter without a motorcycle licence: your travel insurance will not pay out. The deep south (Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat) has an active insurgency and is off most itineraries for good reason.

health

Health and water

Do not drink the tap water; bottled and filtered water is everywhere and the ice is factory-made and fine. Dengue is a daytime mosquito disease with no easy vaccine — use repellent, especially in the rainy season and on islands. Stray dogs and temple monkeys carry rabies; do not touch them and consider the pre-exposure vaccine for a long or rural trip. Bangkok's private hospitals (Bumrungrad, Bangkok Hospital, Samitivej) are among the best in Asia and bill accordingly: travel insurance is not optional. Pharmacies sell most things over the counter.

language

Language

Thai is tonal and has its own script; nobody expects you to manage it, but sawatdee khrap/kha (hello, said by men/women) and khop khun khrap/kha (thank you) change the tone of every exchange. English is fine in hotels, on the tourist trail and on transport signage, thin in Isan and rural areas. Google Translate's camera handles menus; Google Maps handles Bangkok's transit.

tipping

Tipping

Not expected and not customary at street stalls or in taxis, though rounding up a metered fare is normal. Leave ฿20–50 for hotel porters and cleaners, and ฿20–100 at a restaurant if there is no service charge on the bill — mid-range and upscale places usually add 10 % already. Massage: ฿50–100 on top of the price.

other

Air quality in the north

From February to mid-April, agricultural burning across the north and neighbouring Laos and Myanmar pushes Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son to hazardous air-quality levels for weeks at a time. Check AQI before committing; asthmatics and families with small children should route around the north entirely in those months. Bangkok gets a milder version in January–February from traffic and stubble burning on the plains.

Trip costs

How much does a trip to Thailand cost?

A mid-range trip usually needs about €60–€110 per person per day, before long-haul flights. Thailand is cheap at the bottom and the middle and only expensive where it copies the West. A bowl of noodles is €1.50, a street pad thai €2, a beer €2.50, a BTS ride under €2, a Grab across Bangkok €4–6. A good mid-range double is €40–80 in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and beach resorts start about €60. What costs Western money is Western things: a cocktail on a rooftop (€10–15), a five-star pool villa (€300+), Bangkok Airways' near-monopoly on Samui flights, and boat trips sold from hotel lobbies at triple the pier price. The high season from mid-December to mid-January roughly doubles island room rates; May to October halves them.

Shoestring

€25–40

per person / day

Stay: Hostel dorm €8–12 or a fan-room guesthouse €15–20
Food: Street stalls and food courts, €6–10 a day, and you eat well
Transport: Third-class and second-class trains, government buses, songthaews, one budget flight a fortnight

The backpacker Thailand of legend still exists and is not grim: the food is the same the mid-range traveller eats, from the same stalls.

Mid-range

€60–110

per person / day

Stay: Well-located 3–4 star with pool, €40–80 for two; beach resort €60–120
Food: Street food by day, a proper restaurant dinner, one cooking class, €20–35
Transport: Domestic flights between regions, air-con sleeper trains, Grab in cities, private transfers to piers

The sweet spot. This budget buys a pool, a private long-tail and a driver for the day — the things that in Europe would put you in the next tier.

Comfortable

€180–350

per person / day

Stay: Five-star city hotel or a pool villa, €200–400 for two
Food: Bangkok's fine-dining scene (several restaurants with Michelin stars), hotel breakfasts, rooftop bars, €60–120
Transport: Business class on domestic flights, private drivers, speedboat transfers

Luxury here is absurdly good value by European measure: the €300 pool villa in Phuket would be €1,000 in the Mediterranean. The spend goes into hotels and spas rather than into anything cultural.

Sample itineraries

Starting points, not scripts

Use these as conditional starting points. Confirm current access, the operating transport and permissions before committing.

The classic first trip

10 days

Bangkok
Ayutthaya
Chiang Mai
Krabi

Three nights in Bangkok with an Ayutthaya day trip by train, the overnight sleeper to Chiang Mai for three nights, then a direct flight to Krabi for three nights on Railay or Koh Lanta and a flight home via Bangkok. Fits into ten days only because of the two flights.

Bangkok and the Gulf islands with kids

12 days

Bangkok
Koh Samui
Koh Phangan
Koh Tao

Two nights in Bangkok to recover from the flight, then the Gulf islands by ferry: Samui for the pool-and-beach resort, Phangan's quiet north coast, Koh Tao for the kids to try diving or snorkelling. Fly to Surat Thani rather than Samui to save €100 a head. Works from January to August, the mirror of the Andaman season.

North, west and one island

14 days

Bangkok
Kanchanaburi
Chiang Mai
Chiang Rai
Koh Lanta

Two weeks that add the River Kwai and the far north to the classic. Bangkok, minivan to Kanchanaburi for a raft-house night, back to Bangkok for the sleeper to Chiang Mai, bus to Chiang Rai and the hill country, then fly Chiang Rai–Krabi via Bangkok (there is no dependable direct) for a long-beach finish on Koh Lanta.

Three weeks: mountains to both coasts

21 days

Bangkok
Sukhothai
Chiang Mai
Mae Hong Son loop
Khao Sok
Koh Lanta
Koh Tao

The full first visit: Bangkok, the bus north via Sukhothai's ruins, Chiang Mai, a four-day rental-car loop through Pai and Mae Hong Son, then fly south to Surat Thani for a raft-house night on Cheow Lan lake, the Andaman coast at Koh Lanta, and cross to Koh Tao on the Gulf to finish with a dive course. Only works fully from December to February, when both coasts and the mountains are all at their best.

Common questions

Quick answers about travel in Thailand

Short answers to the questions people ask before they book. Use the full guide for the detail and trade-offs.

When is the best time to visit Thailand?: November – February (cool and dry); Gulf islands stay good until August. The cool dry season from November to February is the answer for the whole country and the only time the north is genuinely pleasant. The two coasts have opposite monsoons: the Andaman side (Phuket, Krabi, Lanta) is wet from May to October, while the Gulf side (Samui, Phangan, Tao) is driest from January to August and takes its rain in October–November. So a rainy-season trip is not a bad idea, it is a Gulf-coast idea. March to May is brutally hot everywhere, and February to mid-April is the north's burning season, which is a reason to avoid it rather than a mild inconvenience.
How much does a trip to Thailand cost?: Plan about €60–€110 per person per day for a mid-range trip, before long-haul flights. Thailand is cheap at the bottom and the middle and only expensive where it copies the West. A bowl of noodles is €1.50, a street pad thai €2, a beer €2.50, a BTS ride under €2, a Grab across Bangkok €4–6. A good mid-range double is €40–80 in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and beach resorts start about €60. What costs Western money is Western things: a cocktail on a rooftop (€10–15), a five-star pool villa (€300+), Bangkok Airways' near-monopoly on Samui flights, and boat trips sold from hotel lobbies at triple the pier price. The high season from mid-December to mid-January roughly doubles island room rates; May to October halves them.
How do you get around Thailand?: Thailand is a country of cheap flights, slow trains and good buses, hinged on Bangkok. Two budget airlines will fly you between any two regions in about an hour for €30–60, which is why most two-week itineraries fly Bangkok–Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai–south rather than sitting on a bus. The State Railway is slow, punctual within an hour and absurdly cheap, and its overnight sleepers to Chiang Mai and to Surat Thani (for the Gulf islands) are the one part of the network worth building a plan around. Buses and minivans go everywhere else, ferries link the islands on both coasts with monsoon caveats, and in Bangkok the Skytrain and metro beat the traffic every time. Rent a car only for the Mae Hong Son loop, Isan or Kanchanaburi, never in Bangkok.

More destinations

Thailand travel guide

Quick facts about Thailand

Is Thailand right for your trip?

This is your trip if…

Think twice if…

When is the best time to visit Thailand?

Calendar and cultural context

Chinese New Year

Songkran (Thai New Year)

Bun Bang Fai (rocket festival)

Phi Ta Khon (ghost festival)

Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Loy Krathong

Yi Peng (lantern festival)

Full Moon Party

Where should you go in Thailand?

City and local guides

Bangkok

Chiang Mai

Krabi & the Andaman coast

Phuket

Koh Samui, Phangan & Tao

Ayutthaya & Sukhothai

Regions and wider stops

Kanchanaburi

Chiang Rai & the Golden Triangle

Pai & the Mae Hong Son loop

Isan (the Northeast)

What should you do in Thailand?

Chinatown at night

Grand Palace and Wat Pho at opening time

The overnight train to Chiang Mai

An ethical elephant morning

A cooking class with a market visit

Ayutthaya by train and bicycle

A night on Cheow Lan lake

Railay by long-tail

Muay Thai at Rajadamnern

How do you get around Thailand?

State Railway of Thailand (SRT)

Domestic flights

Buses and minivans

Island ferries

Driving

In the cities

Passes and cards, honestly

What should you know before you go?

Visa, money, SIM cards and more

Visa and the arrival card

Money

SIM and data

Plugs and power

Safety

Health and water

Language

Tipping

Air quality in the north

How much does a trip to Thailand cost?

Starting points, not scripts

The classic first trip

Bangkok and the Gulf islands with kids

North, west and one island

Three weeks: mountains to both coasts

Quick answers about travel in Thailand

Where else?

Thailand is a good trip. Make it your trip.