Travel AI Pro
Destinations
Thailand
🇹🇭 Thailand
Grab for everything that moves, cash for everything you eat.
Ready-made routes
Know before you go
The practical facts for Thailand, at a glance.
Currency
Thai Baht (THB)
roughly ฿35 to US$1 — divide by 35, or by 3.5 for a quick "tens of dollars" read
Tap to pay
Cash still rules the street. Taps work in malls and on the MRT.
Power
Type A / B / C — two flat pins fit most sockets
220V, 50Hz
Tap water
Do not drink the tap water. Bottled water is everywhere and costs almost nothing. Ice in restaurants and bars is commercially produced and generally safe.
Tipping
Not obligatory. Rounding up a taxi fare or leaving 20–50 baht at a restaurant is appreciated, never expected.
Emergency
Police 191 · Ambulance 1669
112 · Works with no SIM, no signal
Best months
November–February: dry, cooler, the reason high season exists
Entry requirements
Visa exemption for many passports (commonly 30–60 days). Thailand has introduced an electronic arrival card system — check the current requirement before you fly, as it has changed repeatedly.
Paying in Thailand
Cash still rules the street. Taps work in malls and on the MRT.
Tap to pay works
Malls and 7-Eleven
Chain restaurants and cafés
Hotels
MRT ticket gates
Carry another way to pay
Street food and markets
Tuk-tuks and many metered taxis
Temple donations
Small guesthouses
The MRT takes a contactless bank card straight at the gate. The BTS Skytrain does not — that needs a Rabbit card, bought at the station booth.
Apps to download
The apps people in Thailand actually use, in the order to set them up.
Grab
Free app; rides ฿60–300 typical in Bangkok
Critical
Rides, food delivery, groceries and payments in one app — the closest thing Southeast Asia has to essential infrastructure.
Before you fly
Bangkok MRT / BTS SkyTrain
Free app; ฿17–62 per ride
Important
The only reliable way to cross Bangkok at rush hour — elevated above the traffic that stops everything else.
Google Maps
Free
Critical
Transit, walking and live traffic — and in Bangkok the traffic layer is a genuine planning tool.
Before you fly
Airalo / local tourist SIM
eSIM from ~US$5; physical tourist SIM ฿300–600
Critical
Grab, maps and delivery all need data, and a Thai number unlocks the local apps properly.
Before you fly
Wise / Revolut
Free account; ~0.4–0.6% conversion
Important
Thai ATMs charge a flat ฿220 per withdrawal, so fee-free withdrawals and good rates matter more here.
Before you fly
LINE
Free
Important
Thailand is a LINE country — hotels, tour operators and drivers all use it.
Before you fly
Google Translate
Free
Important
Thai script is unreadable without help, and camera translation handles menus and signs.
Before you fly
Klook
Free app
Important
Islands transfers, ferry tickets and attraction entry, usually below the counter price.
Agoda
Free app
Important
Consistently the deepest Southeast Asian hotel inventory, including small guesthouses other sites miss.
IQAir AirVisual
Free
Important
Northern Thailand's burning season produces genuinely hazardous air, and you need real numbers to plan around it.
Step-by-step setup for each app is in the iPhone app.
First 60 minutes after landing
1
Use the official taxi queue or Grab, never the touts
At Suvarnabhumi, go down to level 1 for the public taxi rank. Ignore anyone approaching you inside the terminal offering a ride.
2
Get cash from an ATM in arrivals
Thai ATMs charge a fixed ฿220 fee per withdrawal regardless of amount, so take ฿10,000 at once rather than ฿2,000 five times.
3
Airport SIM counters are genuinely good value
AIS, TrueMove and dtac all have arrivals counters. A tourist SIM with a Thai number and generous data runs ฿300–600 and unlocks Grab and food delivery properly.
4
The Airport Rail Link beats a taxi at rush hour
฿45 and 26 minutes to Phaya Thai, versus an hour or more in a taxi for ten times the price.
Where to stay in Thailand
3 cities
Bangkok
BTS Skytrain and MRT cover the modern city; everything else is Grab, boat or a motorbike taxi through traffic that does not move.
Watch out for
Rush hour traffic is genuinely immobile. A 4 km Grab can take 50 minutes — take the BTS.
Taxi drivers who refuse the meter should be declined. Walk away and use Grab.
The Chao Phraya express boat is cheap, fast and scenic, and almost no visitor uses it.
Chiang Mai
Small, walkable old city ringed by a moat. Songthaews (red trucks) are the local bus and Grab covers the rest.
Watch out for
Burning season (roughly Feb–April) brings severe air pollution. Check AQI before booking.
Red songthaews are shared — agree the price before getting in, usually 30–50 baht in town.
Phuket & the islands
Spread out and taxi-dependent. Grab availability varies by area and local taxi cartels push back in places.
Watch out for
Grab is restricted or contested in some island areas — expect to negotiate with local taxis.
Scooter rental without a motorcycle licence voids your travel insurance. Injuries here are common and expensive.
Ferry schedules shrink dramatically in low season (May–October).
Getting around
Suvarnabhumi / Don Mueang → central Bangkok
Two airports, 50 km apart. Check which one you are landing at.
Airport Rail Link
Follow signs down to level B at Suvarnabhumi. Connects to BTS at Phaya Thai.
฿45
26 min to Phaya Thai
Grab
Order from the designated pickup on level 4 (departures) to avoid the arrivals queue.
฿350–500
45–90 min depending on traffic
Official metered taxi
Public taxi queue on level 1. Insist on the meter plus the ฿50 airport surcharge and tolls.
฿300–450 including surcharges
45–90 min
Getting around Bangkok
Rail above the traffic, boats along the river, Grab for the gaps.
BTS SkyTrain
Buy a token or tap a Rabbit card. Runs 06:00–midnight.
฿17–62
Predictable regardless of traffic
MRT subway
Separate ticket from BTS. Buy at the machine.
฿17–45
Fast
Chao Phraya express boat
Board at Sathorn pier beside BTS Saphan Taksin. Orange flag is the main commuter line.
฿16–30
Scenic and fast
Bangkok → the islands
Getting south takes a full day unless you fly.
Domestic flight
Bangkok Airways, Thai Smile and AirAsia serve Samui, Krabi and Phuket.
฿1,200–3,500
1h 15m plus airport time
Overnight train + ferry
Sleeper from Hua Lamphong/Bang Sue to Surat Thani, then bus and ferry.
฿800–1,500
12 h + ferry
Overnight bus
From Khao San or Mo Chit terminals.
฿600–1,200
10–12 h
Staying connected
Yes — a carrier-locked phone cannot use a local SIM or eSIM
AIS
Tourist SIM (physical)
Unlimited · 15 days · US$17
Includes a Thai phone number. Best all-round value for trips over a week. Buy at the airport counter.
Airalo
Maew — Thailand
5 GB · 30 days · US$11
Instant and data-only. Good for short trips where you already have Grab set up.
Nomad
Thailand
10 GB · 30 days · US$15
Solid value on the strongest network.
TrueMove H
Tourist SIM (physical)
Unlimited · 8 days · US$9
Cheapest counter option at the airport. Coverage is slightly behind AIS on the islands.
When to go
Best months
November–February: dry, cooler, the reason high season exists
Hardest months
April for heat (and Chiang Mai smoke), September–October for the heaviest rain
Languages
Thai, English in tourist areas
Getting it right socially
Never touch anyone's head, and never point your feet at a person or a Buddha image.
The monarchy is protected by strict law. Do not joke about it, at all, anywhere.
Cover shoulders and knees at temples; sarongs are usually available to borrow at the gate.
Return a wai if one is offered, but you are not expected to initiate with staff.
Remove shoes before entering homes, temples and many shops.
Ready-made routes
Thailand north to south in 8 days
8 days · about US$70 a day
Bangkok’s temples, Chiang Mai’s mountains and the Andaman coast, with two short flights doing the heavy lifting.
Ready to plan Thailand?
Answer a few questions and get a day-by-day itinerary built around where you're staying.
Travel AI Pro
Country guides written for your first day on the ground, and an itinerary built around where you're staying.
iPhone app coming soon to the App Store
Plan
Destinations
Plan a trip
Routes
Reel to route
Help
How it works
Support
Privacy policy
Terms of use
Photo credits
© 2026 Travel AI Pro