11+ Best Thailand Travel Tips: Things to Know Before Visiting

Planning a trip to Thailand and looking for some travel tips? You’re in the right place! These are 11 Thailand travel tips for you to know before visiting the amazing country.

Even if it’s not your first time in Thailand, you may want to read these tips for travelling to Thailand – so you’re extra prepared and ready to go! (Also bonus tips at the end.)

Thailand is the most visited country in South East Asia and it’s also one of the most popular backpacking spots. With interesting culture, perfect beaches and delicious cuisine it’s hard not to resist a trip to Thailand – but there are some important travel tips for Thailand that you need to know before visiting.

In this travel tips Thailand guide, we’ll show you how to get around Thailand, what you should know before visiting, an introduction to Thai cuisine and more! Follow along so you’re fully prepared for your first trip to Thailand (and it will definitely make you more excited to visit)!

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Important Thailand Travel Tips

• Thailand Currency – Thai Baht (Compare the currency here)
• Sim Cards – TrueMove
• Apps – Grab & FoodPanda
• Thailand Power Voltage – Plugs A & C (220 V)

Best Time to Visit Thailand

The best time to visit Thailand is between November and April. This is the dry season in Thailand and you have a higher chance of better weather with minimal rain. It’s possible to visit Thailand all year, however, the rainy season is from July to October which means your beach days may have a bit of rain.

How to get around Thailand?

Thailand has most of the normal types of transport you’ll find in a lot of countries. For fast travel, you can use flights to get around the country with airports in Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and Chiang Mai (plus many more).

The best way to get around the country is by bus, train or flight! You can rent cars and scooters for daily travel or you can catch tuk-tuks or taxis whenever you need!

Want to be more sustainable in Thailand? 
Check out these 18 Great Eco-Friendly Travel Products You Need to Swap!

11+ Best Thailand Travel Tips: Things to Know Before Visiting Thailand (2024)

After reading these tips, look out for extra information at the end of the post! Enjoy our tips for Thailand travel and don’t forget to write them down for your trip to Thailand!

1. Prices in Thailand

We’re starting our Thailand travel tips with a rough guide on the costs in Thailand. As you have probably heard, Thailand is affordable to travel to, which is one of the many reasons why it’s so popular to visit!

If you’re on a budget, you can expect local Thai food to be your go-to meal every day, with Western dishes costing two or three times more. Here’s a breakdown of a few important costs whilst you’re travelling in Thailand.

Food:

• Fruit Shakes – ฿40-70
• Street Food – ฿50-90
• Thai Restaurants – ฿60-140
• Western Food – ฿100-300

Accommodation:

• Hostels – from ฿200 per night
• Budget Private Rooms – from ฿400 per night
• Mid-range Accommodation – from ฿650+ per night

Vehicle Rental:

• Scooter Rental – ฿150-200 per day

2. Be respectful of the Buddha statues and temples

When visiting any Buddha statues or places of worship throughout Thailand, make sure to always be respectful of their religion. This means dressing appropriately (covering the shoulders and knees), removing shoes when prompted and speaking with a low volume, especially around people who are praying.

Remember, these are places of worship not just points of interest for travellers. You should also not take photos of Buddhas with your back facing them (such as a selfie). This is considered disrespectful and unfortunately, we still see many photos of this happening!

3. Don’t wear shoes inside

Another one of our tips for Thailand travel is to take your shoes off when entering someone’s house or shop. In Thailand, it’s considered disrespectful to wear shoes inside the house. Most places will have a sign out the front, stating no shoes inside.

If you are ever unsure, simply double-check with someone before entering. This is especially important at sacred temples, statues and places of worship. But again, look out for signs!

Planning on visiting the Thai Islands? Here's our detailed 2-week South Thailand itinerary!

4. Renting a scooter in Thailand

Can I rent a scooter in Thailand? This depends on what type of driver’s license you carry. For example, on the gov.uk website it states you need to acquire an International Drivers Permit (IDP) in order to legally rent and ride a scooter in Thailand. (Another one of the most important tips for travelling to Thailand)

If your licence and IDP both have the motorbike section stamped then you are good to go! We were pulled over by the Thai Police once as they were doing licence checks and we were thankful to have the correct paperwork with us!

Keep in mind, that the IDP needs to be acquired in your home country before travelling, these cannot be issued in other countries. If you do not feel comfortable riding a scooter, it’s best to not risk it without experience. It’s also against the law to ride topless, so don’t be ‘that’ person!

5. Do not disrespect the Royal Family

The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. It is against the law to speak ill of, criticise or threaten the Royal family of Thailand. This also includes deliberately stepping on Thai currency (Thai Baht) as the King is pictured on the notes. Be sure to avoid this while travelling to keep yourselves out of trouble! This is definitely one of the more important things to know before visiting Thailand.

6. Watch out for Thailand Scams

Another one of our tips for travelling Thailand is to be extra careful with people selling you things that are too good to be true. Thai people are very friendly and usually some of the nicest people, however just like in other countries there will be a few ‘scammers’.

Be careful when taking taxis or tuk-tuk’s and agree on a safe price beforehand, their meter should never be broken and it shouldn’t cost the same price as your home country (it should cost less). If you’re not happy with the price, then walk away, they may even call you back with a better price!

A popular Bangkok scam is people telling you temples are closed and that they can take you to another one. So you hop in his tuk-tuk but they will take you to a random temple in a couple of hours, visiting all his friend’s shops trying to sell you things and of course, they will charge you for the ride in the meantime. The main problem was – that the temple was never closed!

When renting a scooter you usually have to leave a deposit of your passport or ฿2000. This is normal, however, some people try to take advantage by saying you scratched their scooter and they won’t give you your passport back until you pay $$$.

To avoid this – Make sure you take photos of your bike and helmet. Your photos are proof that the scratch was already there. We have never had this problem after renting many scooters in Thailand, but it’s good to be careful.

There’s also a fake baht scam – where someone swaps your real note for a fake one. Or in general, people trying to sell you things you don’t need, but they’re really good at convincing you that you need a ‘special gem’. We have never had any problems in Thailand as long as you know that these things happen, you’ll be very safe here!

7. Bring your own water-filter

Like many other countries in South East Asia, tap water is not really safe to drink. If you do, you may develop a stomach bug which nobody wants while travelling! This means that the country has to use filtered water or plastic bottled water. We always want to reduce the amount of plastic we use, so we carry a water filter around with us.

You can also find many water machines around Thailand, which usually cost 1 THB per litre. If you do use bottled water, which is widely available in all shops, such as 7-Eleven – Make sure to responsibly recycle the bottles and not litter anywhere!

Read more about water filters in our eco-friendly travel products guide.

8. Using ATMs

All ATMs charge a fee of around 220 baht to withdraw cash, even with Starling/Monzo/Fee-free debit cards. Sadly, these ATM fees seem to be unavoidable as all banks charge a fee. As mentioned, even if you are travelling with a multi-currency bank card, such as Starling or Monzo, you will still be charged.

The best thing you can do is select “Continue without exchange rate” in order to get the best rate through your bank to save a bit of money each time you withdraw.

Looking for a Thai Island itinerary? Check out our 2-week South Thailand itinerary!

9. Be prepared to see a lot of street dogs (Soi dogs)

Generally, with any street animals, you should avoid stroking them due to bacterial illness or in very rare situations, rabies. Be careful when around wild animals (monkeys) or street dogs, as you don’t want to add a hospital trip to your Thailand bucket list. Street dogs in tourist beach areas are usually very friendly and may even have owners with or without a collar on.

10. Do not contribute to unethical animal tourism in Thailand

Yes, it is still a problem in 2024. Unfortunately, you are going to witness unfair Elephant tourism on your travels, as it is sadly still very popular and people are still paying for it.

Elephants are still chained and used for tourist rides and it’s not fair to the elephant. Many of the ‘sanctuaries’ and ‘orphanages’ are using elephants to make money instead of the main motive of saving elephants.

It’s just another way to label them to make them sound better than they really are. This is the same for tiger sanctuaries in Thailand. The best way to stop unethical animal tourism is to not contribute any money towards this.

Of course, some sanctuaries out there are 100% legitimate and are doing it for the right reasons. Be sure to do your research thoroughly before booking anything animal-tourism related. We can recommend visiting Lanta Animal Welfare in Koh Lanta if you want to learn about the amazing things they do for dogs & cats in the area.

11. The national anthem plays twice a day

In some public spaces, such as markets, you might notice that everyone comes to a standstill while the national anthem plays. If you happen to be here at this time, be sure to stop what you are doing throughout the duration of the national anthem out of respect. You can expect to hear this around 8 am and 6 pm daily.

More Important Things to Know Before Travelling to Thailand

After reading our 11 things to know before visiting Thailand, we have a few more Thailand travel tips for you to enjoy. It’s best to be prepared for your next trip to the land of smiles!

Get Travel Vaccinated

Before travelling to Thailand, double-check with your doctor what vaccines you may need to travel abroad. Vaccines to consider: Diphtheria; Hepatitis A; Hepatitis B; Tetanus; Typhoid & Rabies.

Is Thailand safe?

Yes! Thailand is considered safe for all types of travellers, almost 40 million people visit Thailand every year to enjoy the Thai culture and beautiful beaches. Of course, with any type of travel, it’s best to exercise your caution and always use your gut feeling to know if something doesn’t feel right.

Planning a trip to Thailand as a family? Find out some tips on how to travel around Thailand with kids!

What to pack for Thailand

One of the best things to know before visiting Thailand is what to pack! You will need to pack for the summertime in Thailand as it will be hot! Remember if you don’t have something, you can always buy it in Thailand (Bangkok is full of malls). Here are a few things we recommend you should pack!

• Sarong (to cover up for temples)
• Bring insect repellent or buy some in 7/11 (Mosquitos are almost everywhere!)
• As much sunscreen, you can carry!
• Water Filter (reduce your plastic consumption)
• International Drivers Permit (if you want to rent a vehicle)
• Padlock (for hostel lockers)
• Raincoat & Bag Raincover (lifesaver!)
• Universal Adaptor (Great if you’re travelling to more countries)
• Thin Laundry Bag (So easy to carry your laundry when getting it done)

What is Thai Cuisine?

Thai Cuisine is one of the reasons travellers keep returning to Thailand each year, there’s so much to choose from, and you will not be bored of Thai food. Here are a few of the most popular dishes here in Thailand:

• Pad Thai
• Drunken Noodles
• Red Curry, Green Curry, Panang Curry & Massaman Curry
• Khao Soi
• Papaya Salad
• Tom Yum
• Morning Glory
• Mango Sticky Rice

We have a few posts you might like about food in Thailand: Phuket Vegan Food Guide & Top 8 Vegan Restaurants in Koh Samui!

Festivals in Thailand

Another one of our tips for travelling Thailand is to focus your travels on a Thai holiday if you want to. Songkran is an awesome time to be in Thailand and you can dive deep into the Thai culture!

• Songkran! Songkran is Thai New Year and the world’s largest water fight. It’s usually around mid-April starting on the 13th but check here for the exact dates.
• The Vegetarian Festival in Phuket (October)
• Chinese New Year (January or February)
• Loy Krathong – Lantern Festival
• Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai (November)

What to pack for travelling Thailand

Read on to find a few essentials we always have in our backpacks!

• Amazon Basics Packing Cubes – We won’t go on a trip without our packing cubes!
• Stainless Steel Water Bottle – The best way to drink Romania’s free drinkable tap water!
• Anker Power Bank – A portable charger is always useful for those train journeys in Romania!
• Rain Mac in a Bag – A lightweight raincoat to help with any rain on your 1 week Romania itinerary.
• Worldwide Travel Adaptor – If you’re travelling to multiple countries, this is perfect!
• Joby GorillaPod 3K Pro Kit – GorillaPods are our favourite tripod to carry as they’re lightweight and can fit in a carry-on bag. They capture amazing photos when there’s no one around to take a photo of you. We love our Joby GorillaPod and use it for our Sony A600. There’s also a version for a phone – Joby Phone Tripod.

That’s the end of our 11 Things to Know Before Visiting Thailand Travel Tips (2024)! Enjoy Thailand and if you need any more help planning – send us a message on Instagram (@thesunrisedreamers) or leave a comment below!

Check out our other Thailand Posts:

• The Best 2 week South Thailand Itinerary (2024)
• 3 Day Koh Samui Itinerary: The Best Koh Samui Guide
• Ultimate Vegan Restaurants in Phuket – Vegan Food Guide in Thailand
• Top 8 Vegan Restaurants in Koh Samui, Thailand 2024
• Or browse our travel blog for more inspiration!

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