Top 10 Budget Travel Tips For Thailand
Last Updated: December 5 2020
Generally countries in Southeast Asia are much cheaper than Western countries such as those in Europe. It is well known, and that is why so many backpackers and budget travellers come to Asia. The average daily living cost is so much lower in a lot of Asian countries so budgets can be stretched a lot further. However, there are exceptions to this. Asia can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. This depends on the type of accommodation you are staying in, where you are eating and the type of activities you are doing. In this post will be showing you how budget travel in Thailand is not only possible, but also very simple!
We found Thailand varied a lot in prices throughout the country, with some parts being a lot more expensive than we initially thought. The more touristy places in Thailand such as Phuket and Bangkok had much higher prices for food and accommodation than in the North of Thailand. We found the less touristy places such as Pai and Kanchanaburi were so much cheaper than the likes of Phuket and Bangkok. Even the night markets seemed to have cheaper food, and more options.
Travelling Thailand on a budget all depends on where you are visiting. With this being said, don’t miss out on a place you want to go to purely because you think it is too expensive. There are so many ways to cut down your expenses, and that is what this post is going to focus on.
1. Cut down eating at restaurants:
Eating at cafe’s and restaurants can be a big dent in your budget, especially those in the main tourist areas. It is much better to eat street food or shop at supermarkets. Night markets are also the go to place for street food, as there are plenty of cheap and tasty options. However, these only tend to open at 4-6pm. This doesn’t mean stop eating at cafe’s and restaurants all together as there are some cheaper options out there. The best thing to do is walk away from the main tourists streets and the food prices will start to become a lot cheaper. There also seems to be quite a few places that have lunch deals which include a drink. Another way to save on eating out is to cut down on the western meals and have Asian food instead. Often Asian meals such as noodles can be less than half the price of western food.
2. Use hostels to your advantage:
We always book double rooms as we love having the privacy as a couple, rather than staying in dorm rooms. Often it can be just as cheap or even cheaper to stay in a double room in Thailand if there are two people. Despite this, we still always look to see if there is a good hostel option. Hostels tend to have really good reviews and the private rooms always seem to be really comfortable. We love staying in good hostels, as often there is free breakfast and a kitchen facility which we use to our full advantage. This means we can buy food from the local supermarkets for our meals which is miles cheaper than eating out all the time.
3. Prioritise the activities you want to spend money on:
In Thailand there are endless activities that you can choose from ranging from elephant experiences to numerous boat tours. These prices can often be haggled down unless you are booking them online of course. We knew that we wanted to go on an ethical elephant experience, and also knew that we would have to set aside some money for the numerous temples we wanted to visit. If an activity didn’t super excite us we didn’t bother paying for it. The many tours and activities in Thailand can be a massive blow to any budget, so it is best to prioritise the ones you really want to go on.
4. Look for the cheapest transport offers:
When booking transport such as sleeper buses, or transport between towns it can be cheaper to book them online. We tend to use websites such as 12GoAsia, and Easybook and then print out the boarding passes. If you aren’t comfortable with booking transport online there are multiple tour companies you will see by the side of the street, or you can get your ticket directly from a bus station. Make sure you shop around for prices, as often there can be quite a difference in price between companies. We have also read that many people haggle down the price of their bus tickets, although we don’t have experience with this as we book most of ours online.
5. Try to avoid the Tuk Tuks and Taxis:
Tuk Tuks and Taxis are a really popular option when travelling throughout Thailand, and of course they are a necessity sometimes. However always check if there is another option and if there is take it. They can be very expensive, especially in the tourist areas of Phuket. Drivers will often try and charge you an extortionate price because the area is so popular. We found quite often there was a public transport option if we took the time to look into it. Yes the times may not be reliable, but if you are not in a rush you can save big pennies. In Phuket they have public buses that take you from beach to beach, however they are not very well known.
Another option if you are comfortable enough is to rent a scooter. These are helpful in areas where there isn’t great public transport links. They are really cheap and allow you to reach areas otherwise inaccessible or that would be really expensive to get to. Our advice is to only hire a scooter in Thailand if you are comfortable as the roads can get pretty crazy. We didn’t hire one for this reason but if you have the experience it will really help.
6. Invest in a sim card:
Sim cards in Thailand like other Asian countries are really cheap. We paid roughly £12 for a 30 day unlimited data sim card. This saves you the expense of using data roaming abroad, and it also gives you the chance to google things while you are out and about. This can really help your budget as it helps you look for options on the go.
7. Check taxi prices at different times of the day:
We’ve used the taxi app Grab in most countries we have been to in Asia. In Malaysia especially, it was an absolute lifesaver at times and had very reasonable prices. However in Thailand quite often the prices Grab offer you on the app change depending on the demand for taxis. We looked at the price to go to a destination one night, and then the next morning it could be nearly half the price because ‘there was less demand’. Be aware of this if you are planning to use Grab in Thailand, as you can be duped by the increase in prices.
8. Make sure you haggle prices down:
Another way to keep the prices down in Thailand is to haggle for everything. This can vary from clothes on street markets, taxi journeys and activities. Often sellers will charge you a hefty amount compared to what they would sell it for, hoping to get a very good profit. We’re not saying the clothes are expensive here, as compared to western prices they aren’t but you will get them cheaper if you haggle. Taxi and Tuk Tuk journeys are where haggling is a must because you can save a lot of money by getting the price down each taxi ride. However make sure you are reasonable with the prices, and don’t take advantage.
9. Do your own laundry:Â
There are so many options for laundry in Thailand ranging from hostel services, one day laundry services and self service laundry. We always go for self service laundry if we can find the option as it works out so much cheaper. This is because you pay for the washing machine not your clothes by the kg. It also means you can get your clothes back the same day as it takes roughly 2 hours for a wash and dry. Usually we would just take some snacks and our notebooks, and stay in the laundromat. If you can’t find a self service option go for the next best thing which is to find a laundry shop in town. They usually have a 24 hour service, so you will come back for your clothes the next day and we have always had good service when we have used them. Hostel laundry services are usually a lot more expensive than the other two options so it is best to steer clear if possible.
10. Be aware of big ATM costs:
The one thing that did shock us was the ATM charges, they are huge! If possible bring over money that you can exchange while you are here. This will work out much cheaper. Often though as backpackers or long term travellers this option isn’t always available unless you are travelling to Thailand first. In this case when you are using ATM’s make sure you get a large amount of money out. You don’t want to make the same mistake as we did at first and only get out a small amount; this meant we had to pay multiple ATM fees and they aren’t pleasant! ATM costs can be a big impact on your budget travel throughout Thailand, so try to avoid them as much as possible.
Thank you so much for reading this post. We hope it has given you some tips on budget travel within Thailand.
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Thanks,
Jack & Abbie.
I’m one half of Acouplescalling. I'm passionate about all things travel and photography and I love sharing my experiences with others. I've seen a lot of the world already and I want to help as many people as I can do the same thing!
