How to plan a budget Thailand trip ?

Thailand is the most visited country in the South-East Asian region. With its geo-graphical vibrancy, clean beaches, delicious food, amazing adventures avenues and reasonable prices makes it one of top countries for tourist.

Whatever your budget or interest may be, Thailand has something for everyone. You can plan a trip on a limited budget or you can live a luxurious travel life in top-notch resorts. Best way to explore Thailand is on a modest budget to get most value out of it.

Since the country is a such well-worn destination on the backpacking trail, everything is convenient and easy. However, some destination are secluded an can be explored at higher but reasonable prices.

This complete guide on ‘How to plan a budget couple trip to Thailand for 10 nights and 11 days?’ can show you how to travel Thailand like an expert, things to avoid, cost for the trip, amazing experiences in Thailand, and almost everything!!!!

Best time to visit Thailand

Although the climate varies throughout Thailand, you can visit all year round. The best season to Thailand trip is from November till early April. This is when the heavens are no longer pouring and the sky clears up. The days are warm and perfect for an outing at the beach or for checking out the numerous heritage sites. April onwards the heat gets oppressive and June is the start of the rainy season again.

The Thai new year festival Songkran (also known as water festival) is generally celebrated on 13th April to 15th April. The event attracts many tourists to Thailand. 

Days required to explore popular destinations in Thailand:

• Bangkok – 3 days
• Chiang Mai – 2 days
• Krabi – 2 daysA
• Phi Phi island – 2 days
• Phuket – 3 days

Flights

The connectivity from India to Thailand is pretty good and the travel time is also easy going (max. 5 hours for a direct flight form Mumbai / New Delhi).

Many of the domestic airlines are now flying to Thailand ; mainly to Bangkok and Phuket. Connectivity to Krabi is also good.

We had booked Mumbai to Bangkok flight – GoFirst for onward journey and Phuket to Mumbai – Indigo for return journey.

It is recommended to book the flights well in advance to avoid any high price rise. It is also important to book flights with reliable airlines to avoid any last minutes schedule changes.

Our onward direct flight to Bangkok was cancelled just a week before the scheduled journey.😓

Visa/ Visa on Arrival

Thailand grants visa-on-arrivals for Indian passport holders. The visa is valid for 15 days from the date of arrival.

The cost for the same is THB 2200 (INR 5,500/-) per person.

We found the process to get Visa-on-arrival to be very well organized. It took us around 30-40 mins to get out passport stamped at the Bangkok – Suvarnabhoomi Airport.

    Required documents for Visa-on-arrival :

1. Valid Indian passport with more than 6 months validity left.
2. Flight tickets for return journey scheduled within 15 days from the date of supposed arrival in Thailand
3. Proof of sufficient financial resources. (i.e. THB 10,000 per person or THB 20,000 for a Family)
4. Proof of stay in Bangkok (Hotel booking confirmation)
5. THB 2200 per person to be paid in cash only.

There is also an option to apply for visa at the Thai Embassy with less cost. But as per the online reviews, it is not as efficient as the Visa-on-Arrival

Currency – Thai Baht (THB)

Thailand’s official currency is Thai Baht (THB). At the time of writing this blog, the bank exchange rate is quoted as INR 2.5 / 1 THB.

In Thailand all the transactions are done in cash only. There is not many shops  which accepts forex cards/ credit cards. Generally a transaction fee of 3% is levied wherever card payments are accepted. Some of the 4 star / 5 star hotels do accepts card payments without any charges. Almost all the 7-Eleven store and FamilyMart stores accept card payments. (except for the one opposite Dewan Hotel Bangkok at Khao San Road 😑😑)

It is important to exchange the currency in your home country and take sufficient Thai currency in cash to cover all of your expected expenses during your tour.

Forex prepaid cards are not recommended as the ATMs in Bangkok levy hefty charges (around THB 220) on each cash withdrawal.

Credit card can be used for payments at some places if the rewards earned on the forex transactions covers the conversion charges and the forex markup cost. (I will be writing on topic in coming days…)

Cellular Network/ Tourist SIM

Tourist SIMs are very easy to use and readily available at Airports/ Convenience stores like 7-Eleven. Wifi network with good internet connectivity is available at almost every hotel and shops. A photo of the cellular packages available at the airport is as below:

Transportation and Bike rentals

Public transportation are easily available in popular destinations. Apps like Grab, Bolt and Go12asia are great ways to book cab, ferry and shared Vans. 

Another way (the cheaper one) is to hire a bike/ scooter on daily rentals. The rentals starts from 300 THB for a day. You may require to keep THB 2500 to 3000 as a security deposit for the rental period.

It is important to apply for International Driving License (permit) in your home city. This process takes around 15 days to get the IDL at your home. Driving without IDL is punishable with fine in Thailand (fine upto THB 1000).

For inter-island transportation, try to book it in advance through online portals or agents in Thailand to avoid any confusion and time wastage.

We found the rates offered by agents were better than the rates available on Go12asia. When dealing with agents always ask for discount on the initial price offered.😁 Minimum 10% discount is common norm. 

For Island tour e.g., 4 island tour at Krabi and Phi Phi island – Maya Bay tour, it is better to book speedboat, for better time at snorkeling at the lagoon and less crowd at Maya bay. Speedboats are slightly costlier when compared with tail boats, but it is worth it.