Bangkok & Phuket
Thailand
The visa-free stay is still 60 days, whatever the headlines said. The cut to 30 has been approved but is not in force.
Contains affiliate links — what that means.
- Entry
- 60 days visa-free for the UK, US, EU, Australia, China, India and the GCC states — currently. See the warning below.
- Also required
- The free Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC), submitted within 72 hours of arrival
- Currency
- Thai baht (THB)
- Best months
- November to February for Bangkok and Phuket. The Gulf islands are the opposite.
Checked 15 August 2026. Prices and visa rules change — tell us if something here is wrong.
The visa story, correctly
Thailand's visa exemption is still 60 days. It has not been cut to 30.
In May 2026 the Thai Cabinet approved replacing the 60-day exemption with a tiered system — 30 days for most countries. Dozens of outlets published this as though it were live. It is not. The measures take effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette, and as of today they have not been published and no date has been announced. Thailand's own tourism authority states that current entry conditions remain in place until then.
Anyone admitted before the change takes effect keeps their original permitted stay. This page is checked weekly — but verify with your airline or a Thai embassy close to departure, because when it does change there will only be 15 days' notice.
Entry, in practice
60 days visa-free currently applies to the UK, US, all EU states, Australia, China, India and the GCC countries. You can extend once by 30 days for 1,900 THB at an immigration office, giving up to 90 days total.
Overstaying costs 500 THB per day, capped at 20,000 THB, with possible detention, deportation at your own expense and re-entry bans of up to ten years for serious cases.
Immigration does flag back-to-back visa-exempt entries. Arriving repeatedly with no return ticket and vague plans invites questions.
TDAC — mandatory and free
Every foreign national entering Thailand by air, land or sea must submit the Thailand Digital Arrival Card within 72 hours before arrival. You get a QR code.
It is free, at tdac.immigration.go.th. The official site's own page title says "No Fees Required" because the copycat sites charging for it are such a problem.
The proposed 300 THB tourist fee is not being collected. It has been repeatedly postponed with no implementation date. Ignore guides that list it as a cost.
Bangkok: getting in from the airport
Suvarnabhumi (BKK)
The Airport Rail Link costs 45 THB to Phaya Thai (BTS interchange) or 35 THB to Makkasan, takes about 26 minutes, and is completely immune to Bangkok traffic. It runs from roughly 05:30 to midnight. This is the right answer most of the time.
Public taxis are at Floor 1 between Gates 4 and 7, 24 hours. It's the meter plus a 50 THB airport surcharge plus expressway tolls you pay. Realistically 350–650 THB into central Bangkok, 45–70 minutes depending on traffic. Grab works normally and removes the haggling.
Don Mueang (DMK)
The SRT Red Line reaches Krung Thep Aphiwat in about 20 minutes, and the station connects to Terminal 1 by pedestrian bridge. Buses A1–A4 cost 30–50 THB, and A4 goes to Khao San Road. Taxi or Grab runs 200–750 THB plus the 50 THB surcharge. Insist on the meter.
Phuket: getting in from the airport
| Option | To Patong | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Metered taxi | 800–1,000 THB | Includes a 100 THB airport surcharge; 50–60 min |
| Grab | 750–950 THB | Pick up at the GrabMeet booth outside Exit 8 |
| Phuket Smart Bus | 100 THB | Catch at the Domestic Terminal (T3), Exit 3, departures level — not arrivals. This catches everyone out. |
| Shared minibus | 200–250 THB/person | — |
| Private van | ~700–1,000 THB | Up to four people — usually best value for groups |
Allow two hours or more for the return trip from Patong to the airport; the 4–7pm rush adds 30–45 minutes. Booking a transfer through your hotel usually costs meaningfully more because of commission.
Where to stay in Bangkok
| Area | Good for | The downside |
|---|---|---|
| Sukhumvit | Default first-timer choice — sits on the BTS, so you can skip taxis entirely | Long and sprawling; runs from grubby (Nana, Asok) to polished (Thong Lor). Pick your station carefully |
| Silom / Sathorn | Great food, strong nightlife, on both BTS and MRT | Corporate and quiet at weekends |
| Riverside | The upscale, romantic option — hotel boats, near the historic sights | Poor mass-transit access; you rely on boats and taxis |
| Old City / Khao San | Walk to the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun; cheapest beds | No BTS or MRT — the single biggest practical drawback. Khao San is noisy until very late |
Hotels in Bangkok
One rule that saves you hours: stay within a few minutes' walk of a BTS or MRT station. Bangkok traffic makes everything else unpredictable.
Where to stay in Phuket
| Area | Good for | The downside |
|---|---|---|
| Patong | Nightlife, everything open late, most transport connections | Loud and crass; the busiest beach; the heaviest concentration of scams and touts |
| Kata | Widely rated the best beach on the island; calm but not dead. Strong first-timer pick | Fewer late options than Patong |
| Karon | Long white-sand beach, family-friendly, quieter | Spread out, fewer dining options |
| Bang Tao | Resorts and Laguna — self-contained luxury, good for families | Almost nothing outside the resorts; transport needed for everything |
| Phuket Town | Sino-Portuguese old town, the best local food, cheapest beds, most authentic | No beach — it's a 30–40 minute drive |
Hotels in Phuket
Kata or Karon if you want a beach you'll actually enjoy. Patong only if the nightlife is the point of the trip.
Compare on Agoda
Agoda is often cheapest in Southeast Asia — worth checking against Booking on the same property.
What things cost
| Item | Bangkok | Phuket |
|---|---|---|
| Street food meal | 100–200 THB | 40–80 THB/dish |
| Mid-range restaurant | 150–300 THB pp | 80–200 THB |
| Mid-range hotel | 1,200–2,200 THB | 1,500–3,000 THB |
| Hostel | — | 300–800 THB |
| BTS / MRT trip | 17–65 THB | — |
| Grab, short trip | 80–150 THB | 200–300 THB Patong→Kata |
| Scooter per day | 200–400 THB | 200–400 THB |
| Thai massage, 1 hour | 400–520 THB | — |
| Grand Palace | 500 THB | — |
| Wat Pho / Wat Arun | 300 / ~200 THB | — |
| Phang Nga Bay day tour | — | 1,800–3,500 THB |
The Grand Palace ticket includes the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and its museums, and is valid seven days for the Arts of the Kingdom museum. Open 08:30–15:30. The Big Buddha in Phuket is free.
Renting a car or scooter
Bangkok: no. The BTS, MRT and Grab beat driving comprehensively, and parking and traffic are punishing. Phuket: yes — the island is large and hilly, public transport is thin, and taxis and tuk-tuks are expensive.
An International Driving Permit is mandatory, and for motorbikes it must carry a motorcycle endorsement. It has to be issued in your home country before you travel — Thai embassies cannot issue one. Checkpoint fines run 500–1,000 THB, and as in Bali, riding unlicensed generally voids your travel insurance.
Never leave your passport as a rental deposit. Once a shop holds it they can invent any repair fee and you have no leverage. Reputable shops take a 1,000–2,000 THB cash deposit or a photocopy. Film the whole bike before you ride off.
Compare car hire in Phuket
Covers local Thai agencies the big international sites leave out, and shows the excess before you pay.
Staying connected
AIS and True/dtac (now merged) are the two networks. True's tourist SIM starts at 449 THB for 8 days of unlimited data, with 15 and 30-day tiers. Passport registration required, maximum three SIMs per person per brand, and the SIM cannot be topped up after it expires. Sold at 24-hour airport shops.
Unlike Indonesia and Türkiye, Thailand has no IMEI restriction, so eSIM is straightforward here.
When to go — and the two coasts are opposite
This is the most useful weather fact about Thailand and most guides bury it.
- Bangkok: cool season November to February is the sweet spot. March and April are hot — often 36°C — plus Songkran on 13–15 April. June to September is rainy, but as afternoon bursts rather than all-day rain, so sightseeing continues fine.
- Phuket and the Andaman coast: dry November to April — flat seas, good diving and island-hopping. May to October is a genuine monsoon: rough seas, red-flag beaches, and some smaller operators and islands close entirely.
- Koh Samui, Phangan and Tao (Gulf coast): roughly the inverse — good January to August, wettest October to December. If you want beach time during the Andaman monsoon, go here instead.
Traps and scams
- Bangkok taxi meter refusal. Endemic at tourist ranks, malls and airports. Use Grab or Bolt so the price is fixed in the app, or flag a moving taxi and confirm "meter" before getting in.
- Phuket jet-ski scam. You are shown pre-existing damage on return and pressured for a large cash repair payment, sometimes with intimidation. Police make arrests and it keeps recurring. Film the whole craft before boarding — or just don't rent one.
- Phuket taxi and tuk-tuk pricing. Local ranks set high fixed prices and refuse meters; tuk-tuks work on a roughly 200 THB minimum with no negotiation. Grab and Bolt are legal but have been blocked at some ranks and piers.
- Dual pricing. Widespread at national parks. The sharpest current example: Bangkok's 20 THB flat rail fare is restricted to Thai nationals with a registered national ID. Foreigners — including long-term residents — pay standard distance fares. So a Thai pays 20 THB on the Airport Rail Link where you pay 45.
- ATM fees. Thai banks charge a large flat fee per foreign-card withdrawal on top of your own bank's charge. Withdraw the maximum in one go rather than several small amounts, and always decline dynamic currency conversion — choose to be charged in baht.
- Paid TDAC sites. The real one is free at tdac.immigration.go.th.