Top Budgeting Tips For Thailand

Jasmine-Jaed
Oct 1, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Oct 28, 2024

Planning to travel to Thailand? Don't worry friend I've got you covered, make sure you follow these top tips to guide you through your travels and make the most of your trip.

Tip #1 Transport

Bolt or Grab are two essential you need for getting around Thailand. I found that Bolt taxi prices were cheaper than Grab. The longest journey I did was around 1 hour and I only paid about £11.

You can also order a Grab or Bolt bike, you get picked up by a motor cycle driver and pay something crazy like 74 Bhat, which is like £1.70 for your ride. You can hire motor cycles to rent, just be careful because the driving laws are very different in South East Asia, so keep that in mind.

Tip #2 Thai Sim Card

If you are planning to travel around Thailand, I'd recommend buying a tourist Thai sim card. This allowed me to have mobile data, stay connected to family and friends back home and have access to the internet. I brought my in the Phuket International Airport because I wanted to make a call back home straight away, but if you want to save money you can purchase data plans from most 7/11 shops or go to the mobile provider shops directly.

There are a few options you can choose from; True , AIS and Dtac are the most popular. I went with True as it had good internet speeds and only cost me 699 Bhat which is about £15 for unlimited data, calls and texts for 15 days.

Tip #3 Google Translate

There will be times where your faced with language barriers, my Google Translate app was a life saver during my solo trip! This was most important when trying to find directions, communicating with taxi drivers or while ordering food. You'll probably find a lot of the taxi drivers or locals will use Google Translate to communicate with you.

This was particularly useful when I was buying foods items and I wanted to know the ingredients, I'd simply scan the item using the app and it would instantly translate everything for me.

Tip #4 ATM's

When using an ATM you are charged 200 Bhat for each transaction, which is around £4.50, regardless of the amount of how much cash you're withdrawing. Make sure you take out a larger amount of money to reduce incurring bank charges. Also don’t forget to take your card because the ATM's gives you the money first then your bank card last.

Tip #5 Money conversion

Getting your head around foreign conversion rates can be a nightmare. Here is how to feel more confident when your travelling; download 'XE ' the money conversion app. As a frequent traveler, I'm constantly changing currencies, this app helps alleviate the stress of calculating the conversions in my head. 'XE' instantaneously converts any amount of money in multiple currency's at the same time for you, the app can be used without internet connection.

Tip #6 Travelling during low season

If you are travelling to Thailand during their rainy season, purchasing a poncho or raincoat is a MUST! During my solo trip in mid August 2024, it rained a few times for about 5-30 mins, then went back to sunshine. Having a poncho in my bag helped me avoid getting wet, you can buy these over in Thailand if you forget to pack one on your travels. Click here to watch my TikTok on travel tips for Thailand weather in August.