As I come to the end of 2 months in Thailand, I thought I would put up a quick post covering my costs for this section of the trip and such things.

Now the costs I am going through in this post do not include the cost of actually getting to Thailand / South East Asia. I have covered that elsewhere. What really affects what you spend in country are the type of trip you want to have and something called the “farang tax”, i.e. paying more for being a westerner – and honestly even that seems to be going away in the post-Covid recovery, unless I am just not seeing it.

Bangkok

Bangkok is a national capital and regional hub for airlines/trains and so on needs a special mention. On this trip so far I have spent a total of two weeks in this city spread across visits at either end of my time here in Thailand. Mostly as its my number 1 favourite city to spend time in given how big, noisy, ever changing it is; as well as having a great food offering, which someone like me loves. 

For the two weeks Bangkok breaks down like so:

• Accommodation – £275. Average £18 a night. Most of the time prices are the same if you book or just walk in, for when it isn’t either pay at the desk or pop outside, book online and go back in depending which price is better. I have had instances of desk staff tell me to book online and then check me in right away, which is brilliant. Stayed in a mixture of guesthouse style round Banglamphu and some nicer chain hotels up off Sukhumvit.
• Excursions & Sights – £110. This includes temple / museum entry fee’s where they had them as not every where I have been does, also includes any transport costs to these places & around Bangkok in general. Especially included as I stumped for a tour group to some of the places I have been while in Bangkok. Sights worth visiting include The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, King Power Mahanakhon Tower, Train market, Floating market & Ayutthaya as a day trip.
• Shopping, Food & Drinks – £295. While that will not seem like a considerable amount to many especially if on holiday, it can be considered a lot when I have been munching on street food for the large part. However, while I was the proverbial bird back home, here with the plethora of options and availability of good street food, I have found myself nibbling as I go to places, sitting down for meals more often, paying over the odds in sky bars and what not, its all roughly added up to the above.

Now I am probably missing some things, but looking at my notes & any relevant card transactions looks like I spent around £680. Now I could have spent loads more than that, but the joy of just being here walking about some days meant I paid for food & tuk-tuks/cabs or skytrain and not much else, as I was just walking and munching and taking pics.

Andaman Coast / Southern Thailand

Originally, my plan for the start of this trip was Bangkok down to Koh Lanta via Prachuap Kiri Khan, then up north to Chiang Mai following which I would have made my way down towards Udonthani before heading into Laos.  Well, the plan did not last long at all. I spent time in Bangkok, took a train to Prachuap, which was lovely and so very relaxing for a few days. Got to Koh Lanta and it was too quiet, very much still in Covid-recovery. Gave it some time as it is my favourite Thai island after all.

However I moved on, wildly changing my plan. Moved up to Phuket, then Koh Phi Phi, Khao Sok, Khao Lak, Ao Nang, Koh Lanta, Trang, Ko Mook & Koh Kradan. A lot of new places for me, and new experiences & sights.

All of this took up a good 7 weeks or thereabouts and while it looks “busy”, it really wasn’t. Biggest expense was the trip to Khao Sok – transport, bungalow over water, bungalow on land, food, treks & boats = £150 for 3 nights. The 7 weeks in “the south” cost roughly £2000 including Khao Sok.

• Accommodation – £750. Roughly £16 per night. Would have been lower, but in Phuket, Phi Phi & Khao Lak I opted to stay in nicer places, that were high priced even after deals. Although I stayed in good accommodation everywhere else I went, clean, tidy, all had decent wifi and that averaged out at £12 per night.
• Excursions & Sights – £500. Includes Khao Sok package, elephant sanctuary, boat tours from Phuket & Phi Phi, snorkelling off Lanta, National Park fee’s where appropriate, 
• Shopping, Food & Drinks – £700. Some restaurants and chains, mostly lots of street food / night market eats. 7-11 got a fair chunk of this. Phuket certainly ate up a lot (no pun intended) as well, given the variety available there.
• Transport – £180. This figure includes scooter rentals for 20 days; ferries, long tail boats, taxi’s (mostly in Phuket), songthaews, fuel when needed and overnight train to Bangkok.

There we have it. 65 days or so in Thailand, pretty good spend overall, totalling £2700 or thereabouts. Remember, some places I – and you will – would spend more than others. Days with big excursions versus days where you chill by the pool or on the beach for example. Same if I was doing western style restaurants & good hotels without deals all the time too. Of course the opposite is true, this part of my trip could have come in at less if I stayed in hostels in dorm rooms and stuck to local transport and so on, but I’m getting on in years guys!

I do hope this is helpful to someone in planning either a long term trip, a couple of months or even just a fortnight. Ask if you need any advice of course.

Update – 21/12/22: Chiang Mai & Pai

Following a month in Cambodia, and with Christmas coming up, I made the decision that I would return to Thailand and try and get more of the country seen. This time heading to the north and the city of Chiang Mai. All while happily enjoying my first Christmas out of retail in over a decade. Being in the north/north east would just make it easier to get into Laos for the next country on this trip.

I flew in from Cambodia for a little over 60$ (£45) to Bangkok, spent the night there then took a train the next night up north. Overnight train cost about £24 for a second class sleeper. Chiang Mai is just a great city to base from. Surrounded by gorgeous hills, mountains, rainforest, rice fields, small villages and so much more. Hell, the city itself is just brilliant. Very walkable and is both ancient and modern at once. And the food, so so good!

As well as Chiang Mai I took time to go to Pai a hill town made up of hippies, backpackers, Thai holiday makers, influencers and such. Gorgeous place though; Mae Hong Son, like Pai just less hippies! And a few other points in the hills like Chiang Dao & Ban Rak Thai. I am sorry to say I never made it beyond that and yet again the Thai North East (Issan etc) is yet to be explored by myself. I am back in Chiang Mai and readying to head out to Laos a little earlier as I want to have Christmas somewhere it really isn’t an interest at all. Again I am just winging things, instead of trying to stick to any sort of long term plan.

So after nearly another 4 weeks in Thailand have my costs changed wildly from my average spend in my earlier time here? Overall I found myself spending about £30–£35 a day this past few weeks. This down to generally the north being cheaper than other parts. Even when I wanted some comfort it was possible to spoil myself for no more than £15 a night! However for those keeping score, the past 4 weeks has cost nearly £900, including train to Chiang Mai, the flight I am taking Thursday out of here and plenty of minibus trips around the region.

Money Thailand Travel

Jon

He's just this guy, you know.