Add khrap or kha. Works morning to night.
Essentials- Capital
- Bangkok
- Currency
- Baht (฿)
- Language
- Thai
- Best months
- Nov – Feb
- Visa
- 60 days on arrival
- Daily budget
- $38 mid-range
Thailand is the country I know best and the one I am most often asked about badly. The usual mistake is treating it as a single destination — three nights in Bangkok, a flight to an island, home. That itinerary works, and it will also give you a completely misleading impression of the place.
The four regions barely share a cuisine. Bangkok and the central plains are sweet and coconut-heavy. The north eats bitter herbs, pork and sticky rice with Burmese and Yunnanese influence. Isaan, in the north-east, is sour and violently hot and is where most of the dishes foreigners think of as Thai actually come from. The south is Malay-inflected, seafood-driven and the spiciest of the four.
Getting between them is cheap and easy, which is the real argument for spending two weeks rather than five days.
When to go
Jan: Best time to visit
Feb: Best time to visit
Mar: Good time to visit
Apr: Mixed time to visit
May: Mixed time to visit
Jun: Mixed time to visit
Jul: Mixed time to visit
Aug: Mixed time to visit
Sep: Avoid time to visit
Oct: Good time to visit
Nov: Best time to visit
Dec: Best time to visit
Best Good Mixed Avoid
Cool dry season November to February is the obvious window — comfortable everywhere, and the only time the north is properly pleasant. March to May is brutal, 38–40°C in Bangkok with air quality problems in Chiang Mai from crop burning. September is the wettest month; the Andaman coast in particular shuts down. October is a good gamble: shoulder prices, thinning rain.
What it costs
| Item | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Guesthouse room, private, AC | $16 / night | $480 |
| Food and drink | $9 / day | $270 |
| Inter-city transport (6 legs) | — | $140 |
| Local transport, BTS and songthaew | $3 / day | $90 |
| Temples, parks, entry tickets | — | $55 |
| SIM, laundry, sundries | — | $35 |
| Thirty days | $1,070 |
Two lines move this total more than anything else. Staying ten minutes further from a BTS station reliably takes a third off the room rate for the same room. And the airport rail link into Bangkok is 45 baht against 400-plus for a taxi — that single decision, made twice, is a night's accommodation.
What to eat
Boat noodles
฿20–40 per bowl
Tiny, intense, pork-blood-thickened broth. Ordered three or four bowls at a time — that is the format, not greed. Victory Monument in Bangkok is the classic strip.
Khao soi
฿50–70
Northern curry noodle soup, coconut-rich, with crisp fried noodles piled on top. Chiang Mai only, really. Add the pickled mustard greens and lime that come with it.
Som tam
฿40–60
Green papaya pounded with chilli, lime, fish sauce, dried shrimp. Say "mai pet" for mild and they will still make it hotter than you expect.
Moo ping
฿10–15 per skewer
Grilled marinated pork on a stick, sold from carts from 6am. Buy three and a bag of sticky rice. Breakfast solved.
Khao man gai
฿50–60
Poached chicken over fat-cooked rice with a ginger-chilli sauce that is the entire point. Look for the pink-shirted Bangkok chain or any shop with hanging birds.
Gaeng som
฿60–90
Southern sour orange curry, sharp and hot, usually with fish. The dish that shows how different the south is.
Where to base yourself
| Place | Notes | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| Bangkok | Base in Phra Khanong or Ari rather than Khao San or Sukhumvit proper. Both are on the BTS, cost half as much and have the food. | 4–5 nights |
| Chiang Mai | Stay just outside the old city moat. The Nimman side is where the cafés are, the east side near Warorot market is where the food is. | 3–4 nights |
| Isaan (Khon Kaen or Ubon) | The region almost no visitor sees and the best eating in the country. Fly in cheap, take a night train out. | 2–3 nights |
| Andaman or Gulf coast | Krabi and Trang for limestone and quiet; Koh Tao and Koh Phangan on the Gulf side, which has an opposite rainy season to the Andaman. | 3–4 nights |
A route that works
Bangkok: arrive, eat, sleep
Airport rail link in. Do nothing ambitious. Eat at whatever street stall is busiest near your room and go to bed early to break the jetlag.
Bangkok: markets and the river
Or Tor Kor market in the morning for produce, Chinatown after dark for the seafood stalls. Use the Chao Phraya express boat between, not taxis.
Bangkok: temples early, neighbourhood late
Wat Pho and the Grand Palace open at 8am and are unbearable by 10. Afternoon in Talat Noi or Bang Rak on foot.
Night train north
Second-class sleeper to Chiang Mai, roughly 13 hours and $32. Book a lower berth — it has the window.
Chiang Mai: old city and khao soi
Walk the moat, eat khao soi for lunch at a shophouse rather than a restaurant, then Warorot market late afternoon.
Chiang Mai: mountains
Doi Suthep by songthaew, or hire a scooter for the Samoeng loop if you actually ride. Not if you do not.
Chiang Mai: cooking class or day trip
A morning market-plus-cooking class is the single most useful thing you can do for the rest of the trip.
Fly to Isaan
Cheap domestic hop to Khon Kaen or Ubon Ratchathani. The food changes the moment you land.
Isaan: markets and grilled everything
Som tam, laap, grilled chicken, sticky rice, and the sour fermented pork sausage that is the region’s signature.
Isaan: temples and countryside
Khmer-era stone temples if you are near Buriram or Ubon; otherwise a slow day and a night bus or flight south.
Fly south
Krabi or Trang. Switch mindset entirely — the pace drops and the curry gets hotter.
Coast: boat day
Longtail to the limestone islands. Go early, be back by two, when every tour group arrives.
Coast: nothing
Deliberately empty. Southern Thai breakfast, a beach, a market dinner.
Fly back to Bangkok, out
One last night, one last plate of boat noodles near the airport line.
Practical notes
| Arrival card | The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is mandatory for every foreign national arriving by air, land or sea, replacing the old paper TM6. Submit it within three days of arrival at tdac.immigration.go.th and save the QR confirmation. It is free — any site charging a fee is not the official one, and there are many. | |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | Most Western passports get 60 days on arrival as of 2026, extendable once by 30 days at an immigration office for 1,900 baht. Rules move — check your own foreign ministry before booking. | |
| Money | ATMs charge 220 baht per foreign withdrawal, which is punitive. Take the maximum each time. Cards work in malls and chains, cash everywhere else. Street food is cash only. | |
| SIM | AIS or TrueMove tourist SIM at the airport, roughly $8–12 for 15–30 days with plenty of data. Passport required. | |
| Transport apps | Grab for cars and motorbike taxis. Bolt is cheaper in Bangkok. Metered taxis are fine if the driver agrees to use the meter — if not, walk away. | |
| Water | Do not drink the tap. Refill stations are everywhere at 1–2 baht a litre; most guesthouses have one. | |
| Health | No mandatory vaccinations. Dengue is a genuine year-round risk in the cities — mosquito repellent matters more than malaria tablets, which most travellers do not need here. | |
| Etiquette | Never touch anyone’s head, never point your feet at a person or a Buddha image, and take shoes off when the pile by the door tells you to. Criticism of the monarchy is a criminal offence. | |
| Tipping | Not expected. Round up a taxi fare, leave small change at a restaurant, nothing at a street stall. | |
Where your time is better spent
The Grand Palace is worth it once, early. The floating markets near Bangkok are not — Damnoen Saduak is a coach-park experience and the food is bad. Amphawa on a Friday or Saturday night is the version that still functions for locals.
Skip the elephant attractions entirely unless you have verified the specific place is a genuine sanctuary with no riding and no bathing. Most are not. Also skip the Full Moon Party unless it is specifically why you came; it has almost nothing to do with anywhere else in this guide.
Before you book
Visa rules, park fees and prices in this guide were checked in September 2026 and they move. Confirm entry requirements with your own foreign ministry and current fees with the relevant authority before committing money.
A street food night in Yaowarat
Bangkok's Chinatown after dark, stall by stall. It is the easiest first night of eating in Thailand, and this is what it looks like.
Say It Yourself
Back to the route
Twelve phrases in Thai
Thai is tonal, so the same syllable said on a different pitch is a different word. Nobody expects you to get the tones right — they do expect the polite particle. Men end sentences with khrap, women with kha, and adding it to any of these turns a blunt phrase into a courteous one.
The most useful two syllables in the country.
EssentialsAlso how you get past someone in a crowded market.
EssentialsSay it anyway. It will still be hotter than you expect.
EatingSay it to the cook, not the cashier.
EatingPoint while you say it. Solves any menu.
EatingStreet stalls are fixed price. Markets are not.
MoneySaid with a smile, this is the opening move.
MoneyOnly in markets and for souvenirs, never for food.
MoneyHong nam alone, with a questioning look, also works.
Getting aroundFor taxis and songthaews.
Getting aroundMore useful than pretending you do.
Getting aroundThe 5 tones, drawn
Mid
flat
Low
flat, lower
Falling
high then down
High
flat, higher
Rising
dips then up
One to ten, for price tags
1๑neung
2๒song
3๓sam
4๔si
5๕ha
6๖hok
7๗jet
8๘paet
9๙kao
10๑๐sip
Thai numerals still appear on temple signs and dual-pricing boards. Sip is ten, so twenty is song-sip and twenty-five is song-sip-ha.
Thailand Questions
The four I get asked most
How many days do you need for Thailand?
Two weeks is the minimum to see more than one region. Ten days works if you cut Isaan. Five days means Bangkok plus one other place, and that is fine — just do not conclude you have seen the country.
Is Thai street food safe?
Yes, and it is generally safer than a mid-range restaurant because the turnover is faster. Eat where there is a queue, where the cooking happens in front of you, and where the stall does one thing.
What is the cheapest way to get around Thailand?
Buses and second-class sleeper trains. A night train doubles as accommodation, so the effective cost is lower than the ticket. Domestic flights on Nok Air, Thai Lion and AirAsia are often only slightly more and save a day.
Can you drink alcohol everywhere?
Sales are restricted to 11am–2pm and 5pm–midnight, and banned on major Buddhist holidays. Bars work around it inconsistently; convenience stores do not.
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