How to Travel Thailand on a Budget

Thailand is one of the most beautiful, yet cheapest countries to travel to. I’m talking about $30 or less per day including food, accommodation, and meals. I was lucky enough to spend three months exploring this place, and cannot express how much I recommend people to travel to Thailand. Even though traveling to Thailand is very cheap from the get-go, below are some of my tips on how I saved even more money when traveling here. 

Tips on traveling to Thailand on a budget 

Avoid tourist trap areas such as Phuket and the island of Koh Samui.

Instead, stay at equally beautiful places such as Krabi, Koh Phangan, Koh Kood, or Koh Tao. I found the island of Koh Samui and the area of Phuket extremely expensive for Thailand prices, and because it's overpowered by tourists, I felt as if it wasn’t as pretty. 

Use Booking.com or Hostelworld for accommodation

I would recommend staying at hostels because you will make lots of friends, but if hostels aren’t for you, booking.com has the best deals on accommodation for any budget. 

Use grab instead of a taxi 

Grab is pretty much like Uber but in Asian countries. I found Grab being a lot cheaper. 

You can travel the country on overnight buses or sleeper trains

Traveling this way will save you lots of money. One way tickets can cost as little as $20 to get across the whole country. 

I like to use 12goasia for the best prices and easiest bookings. 

Eat Local

There are food stands EVERYWHERE. The food here is absolutely to die for! One tip would be to make sure to go to a food stand that a few other people are at so you know it's probably a good one :) 

Book excursions when you are there

There is no need to book excursions in advance in Thailand online. Booking online only makes the prices higher. You can book excursions right in the area you are staying at. Sometimes there are even locals that will give you tours for a super low cost or even free. Hostels also offer tons of discounted tours, so I recommend looking into a tour with your hostel on Hostelworld. 

Carry cash and use a debit card that does not charge ATM fees

Thailands main form of payment is cash. Use a Charles Schwab Debit Card to withdraw cash from ATMs without getting the ATM fees. 

Rent a motorbike

If you are on an island or somewhere less populated (NOT BANGKOK), I suggest you rent a motorbike. Renting these is a great way to see the area you are staying in and they can cost as little as $5/day. I rented a motorbike almost everywhere I went in Thailand besides Bangkok and it was awesome! 

Get a local Sim card or Use the Airalo App to have an eSim card

Make sure your phone is unlocked before departing to Thailand. You can pick up a local data sim card here for cheap. Another option I would highly suggest would be getting the Airalo App and downloading an eSim Card instead. Airalo is an app that allows you to have affordable cell data plans all over the world without needing a physical Sim Card which is what makes using your phone without wifi extremely convenient. Use my code ARIAHN516 for $ off!

I hope this article was helpful! Please feel free to comment or ask me any questions regarding your upcoming trip. For more information about traveling to Thailand, you can book a consultation call with me or request a custom itinerary by heading to this page. Happy traveling!