What's the budget for a trip to Thailand?

The flight is the bulk of the budget, and usually the majority on a short trip. At €278 return minimum, it weighs more than four full weeks of living in Bangkok on a budget. It is the one line on which Thailand is not cheap, and it is the line that dictates how long you should stay.

On the ground, the prices have no equivalent in this comparator. Our 15 October 2026 survey covered the 4,100 Bangkok properties available: 1,990 in the budget tier, 1,152 mid-range and 958 upscale. The median per tier comes out at €6 for a well-rated hostel, €30 for a three-star and €60 for a four-star. For scale: the London three-star measured at the same time sits at €96, close to four times more.

The gap is not only in the averages, it is in what you get. At €30 a night you are not sleeping in the Thai equivalent of a European hotel at that price: Bangkok Saran Poshtel scores 9.2 out of 10 across 5,754 reviews, at €17 a night. European properties at that price never reach that rating, because €17 in Europe buys a dorm bed.

Hence the country's rule: go for a long time. Over ten days the daily cost lands around €75 all in. Over three weeks it drops below €50, because the ticket spreads across three times as many days while nothing else rises. The arithmetic is mechanical: a €278 flight is €26 a day over ten days, and €12 over three weeks. A week in Thailand costs more per day than a month does.

Food barely registers, and it is the line that surprises people most on the way home. A street dish runs €1 to €3, a restaurant meal €4 to €8. Across three meals a day, plan €6 to €10 per person eating Thai, against €35 to €50 for the equivalent in Western Europe. It is one of the few countries where the food budget question simply does not arise.

The dry season, November to February, is the best window. Bangkok then sits around 26 to 28°C with very little rain: 10mm in December and 15 in January. It is also tourist high season, so island rates rise, but conditions are at their best.

March to May is the hottest period, up to 30°C on average in April, with high humidity and rainfall climbing again. It is punishing for walking Bangkok.

The monsoon settles in from May to October, peaking sharply in September: 241mm in that month alone, against 10mm in December. It does not make travel impossible, showers often being brief and intense rather than continuous, and it is the cheapest period. But crossings to some islands can be disrupted.

One useful particularity: the South's two coasts do not share the same rainy season. When the Andaman coast is being soaked, the Gulf of Thailand is often kinder, and vice versa. That lets you adapt your itinerary rather than give up.

The flight starts at €278 and varies noticeably: on a ticket of that size, comparing dates has a real return, unlike European destinations.

Eating. This is where Thailand is unbeatable. A pad thai, a noodle soup or a curry bought on the street costs €1 to €3, and it is often better than the same dish served in an air-conditioned restaurant at €4 to €8. Night markets are the best place to eat, on price and on quality alike. The rule is the reverse of Europe's: the humblest places are frequently the best.

The food-budget trap is Western food. A pizza or a burger in a tourist district costs €8 to €12, the price of four Thai meals, for quality that rarely matches. It is the spending that quietly pulls budgets off course: three Western meals a week is enough to double the food line.

Getting around Bangkok. The skytrain and the metro skip considerable traffic for a few tens of cents. River boats on the Chao Phraya are cheap and serve a good share of the historic sites. Taxis are affordable but insist on the meter, without which the quoted price can triple. Ride-hailing apps remove the negotiation entirely.

Getting between cities. Night trains and night buses save a night's accommodation on top of the journey: on a multi-stop itinerary that adds up quickly. Domestic flights remain very affordable and save a full day over long distances, which often makes them worth it on a short trip.

Sightseeing. The Grand Palace and the major temples charge admission, with noticeably higher rates for foreign visitors than for residents: this is standard practice, it is not hidden, and it simply needs to be in the budget. Beyond those headline sites, much of the experience costs nothing or close to it: Lumphini Park, the markets, the Chatuchak district, the secondary temples, the national museum at a modest rate.

What the brochures leave out and you pay for anyway. Air conditioning in transport and cafés becomes a comfort expense you end up accepting in the hot season. Bottled water is essential and costs a few tens of cents a litre. And laundry by the kilo, around €1 to €2, lets you travel very light, which changes the checked-bag calculation on the flight.

Currency. The baht, not the euro. Cash remains heavily used, particularly for street food, markets and local transport. ATMs charge a fixed fee per withdrawal: taking out larger amounts less often noticeably reduces the cost.

Language. Thai, with its own alphabet. English is spoken in tourism and the major cities, less elsewhere, but the country is very used to travelers and communication comes easily.

Dual pricing. Several major sites charge a higher rate for foreign visitors. It is not a scam but an official practice, to be built into the sightseeing budget.

Customs. Temples require clothing covering shoulders and knees, and shoes come off before entering. The head is considered sacred and feet impure: avoiding pointing at someone with your foot is a simple reflex that prevents missteps.