Thailand

Understand

thumb|Garlanded statue, [[Bangkok/Rattanakosin|Wat Rajanadda, Bangkok]]

Called the "Land of Smiles", Thailand is the heart of the Southeast Asian mainland. It has relatively good infrastructure, with Bangkok being an intercontinental flight hub, and the country is the gateway to the region for most foreign visitors. The country is extremely well developed for tourism, and yet outside the backpacker hubs and expat hangouts, you'll find an underlying soul, culture and kindness that will leave you with a lifelong and perhaps life-changing impression. Whatever your cup of tea is, they know how to make it in Thailand.

This is not to say that Thailand doesn't have its downsides, including the considerable growing pains of an economy where an agricultural labourer is lucky to earn 100 baht per day while the nouveaux riches cruise past in their BMWs. Bangkok, the capital, is notorious for its traffic jams and rampant development has wrecked much of once-beautiful Pattaya and Phuket. In heavily touristed areas, some lowlifes, both Thai and farang, have made scamming tourists into an art form.

Finally, despite being relatively economically developed, Thailand still suffers from problems that afflict most Southeast Asian countries, such as new towns and neighbourhoods built haphazardly and with no concern for architectural beauty, the lack of accessibility and pedestrian-friendliness in large cities, and often, presence of trash and litter in both cities and rural areas.

Get in

Starting 1 May 2025, foreigners entering or transiting Thailand need to fill in a Digital Arrival Card online within 72 hours of arriving. The form includes questions about your reason for travelling to Thailand, where you will stay, when and how you will arrive and depart and so on. It is possible to fill this digital arrival card upon arrival but there may be a long queue in peak hours.

Get around

Thailand is a large country, but the good news is that there are plenty of affordable and comfortable ways to get around. Domestic flights are a good option for lengthy trips like Bangkok to Phuket or Chiang Mai, with very competitive fares on the main routes if booked in advance, while plush VIP intercity buses ply the highways to every city of any size and there's a reasonable train network as well.

Renting a car or motorbike to drive yourself is a more questionable proposition, since while the road network is quite good, Thailand's traffic safety record has a lot of room for improvement and large cities, especially Bangkok, are snarled in perpetual traffic jams. Nevertheless, rentals for a step-in 125/150cc bike start from about 1000 baht/week including helmet, making this an attractive option to get around and explore nearby areas. Most any hotel or lodging will be more than happy to help you arrange a rental.

Eat

thumb|A platter of miang kham (leaf wrap) ingredients thumb|Green curry (kaeng khiao wan) with chicken, served with roti thumb|A classic [[Isaan meal: som tam papaya salad, larb meat salad and sticky rice]]

The food alone is really reason enough for a trip to Thailand. Curries, fruit shakes, stir fries, noodles, fresh fish made a zillion ways - and that's just the beginning. Food in Thailand can be as cheap and easy as 25 baht pad Thai (ผัดไทย, Thai fried noodles) cooked at a street stall or as expensive and complicated as a USD100 ten-course meal by a royal chef served in one of Bangkok's luxury hotels.

Since most backpackers will be sticking closer to the first than the second, one of the great things about Thailand is that food from stalls and tiny sidewalk restaurants is usually quite safe. Unlike some Asian countries, travellers should worry more about overeating or too much curry spice than about unclean kitchens and bad food. In fact, street restaurants, where you can see what you'll get and everything is cooked on the spot can be a safe option.

Yelp or Tripadvisor are generally not popular in Thailand, and reviews there are usually posted by tourists, not locals. Instead, Wongnai is the go-to directory for restaurant reviews among Thais. While the interface is available in English, the downside is that almost all reviews are in Thai.

Drink

thumb|Go-go bar in Soi Cowboy, [[Bangkok]]

Thailand is infamous for its nightlife, which ranges from acoustic guitar and smoking perfectly legal blunts at a beachside hut to superstar DJs and fancy cocktails at hip nightclubs. The Full Moon Party in Ko Phangan draws backpackers all around the world, every Thai beach resort has its nightlife area, and the offerings in Bangkok run the gamut from smoky jazz clubs to enormous open-air beer gardens where kuk thung and mor lam country music singers from Isaan croon nightly.

Thailand also has a large sex industry, which to tourists is most visible in the flashy go-go bars of Bangkok, Pattaya, and Patong (Phuket), which are very much targeted at visitors. While these are thinly disguised fronts for prostitution, legally a grey area in Thailand with all the risks that entails, it's generally OK to visit them only for drinks and the show.

In 2022, cannabis was completely legalized and over 10,000 retailers sprouted up overnight. In 2025, the government tightened up the rules and medical marijuana prescriptions are now required, although they're straightforward even for visitors to obtain. There are restrictions on where you can smoke, and almost all other drugs remain strictly banned, with draconian penalties. See Drugs for details.

Sleep

thumb|[[Khao San Road is likely the best place in Bangkok to find budget accommodation]]

Thailand has accommodation in every price bracket. Always take a look at the room (or better still several rooms, sometimes owners offer the cheaper rooms first) before agreeing a price. In smaller establishments also do ask for the agreed price in writing to avoid problems during check out.

Airbnb is illegal in Thailand except for stays of more than 30 days.

The best prices (30-50% off rack rates) for accommodation can be found during Thailand's low season, which is during May-Aug, which not surprisingly also coincides with the region's monsoon season. The peak season is during Dec-Feb.

The prices listed are average for the country, and vary depending on the region and season. Smaller provincial towns will not have fancy hotels or resorts, while on popular island beaches it may be hard to find something cheaper than 300-400 baht even during the low season.

Another issue for westerners to be conscious of, is the unusual bathroom set up found almost everywhere, except perhaps in the four and five star hotels. In Thailand as in other Asian countries as well, the bathrooms even in many new and well kitted out establishments, tend to have the shower system without any kind of water isolation, be it a curtain or door or whatever, to prevent water splashing all over the place. To most, this is quite irritating as a simple floor water containment and drainage with some shower curtain would …

Stay safe

The number one cause of death for visitors to Thailand is motorcycle accidents, especially on the often narrow, mountainous and twisty roads of Phuket and Samui. Drive defensively, wear a helmet, don't drink and avoid travel at night.

Violent crime is in general rare, and the foreigners who get into trouble are typically those that get into drunken fights.

E-cigarettes and vapes are strictly illegal. Being caught with one at the airport or in the city can lead to large fines, deportation and even imprisonment.

Sunscreen containing oxybenzone or octinoxate is banned in all marine national parks to protect coral reefs. Violators face a fine of 100,000 THB.

Under the Playing Cards Act, possessing more than 120 playing cards without a government seal is illegal and can lead to imprisonment.

Stay healthy

Being a tropical country, Thailand has its fair share of exotic tropical diseases. Malaria is generally not a problem in any of the major tourist destinations, but is endemic in rural areas along the borders with Cambodia (including Ko Chang in Trat Province), Laos, and Myanmar. As is the case throughout Southeast Asia, dengue fever can be encountered just about anywhere, including the most modern cities. The only prevention is avoiding mosquito bites. Wear long pants and long sleeves at dusk in mosquito areas and use repellent (available at any corner shop or pharmacy).

Food hygiene levels in Thailand are reasonably high, and it's generally safe to eat at street markets and to drink any water offered to you in restaurants. Using common sense — e.g., avoiding the vendor who leaves raw meat sitting in the sun with flies buzzing around — and following the precautions listed in our article on travellers' diarrhea is still advisable.

Tap water is usually not drinkable in Thailand outside of Bangkok. In many places in Bangkok however, particularly in new buildings, drinking tap water is perfectly safe. However, if you don't want to chance it, buying a bottle of water is the obvious solution. Bottled water (น้ำเปล่า naam plao) is cheap and ubiquitous at 5–20 baht a bottle depending on its size and brand, and drinking water served in restaurants is always at least boiled (น้ำต้ม naam tom). Ice (น้ำแข็ง naam khaeng) in Thailand usually comes packaged straight from the f…

Respect

Thai people in general are friendly and polite people.

Go next

Thailand borders Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. Vietnam is beyond Cambodia and Laos, and southern China, Singapore and Indonesia are also in the overall region. Budget airlines offer flights from Bangkok to destinations as far away as Japan and Australia.