Traveling Thailand on a budget – Complete guide

Traveling Thailand on a budget doesn’t have to be difficult or uncomfortable – in fact, with a little bit of planning and research, you can experience all the beauty, culture, and adventure that this amazing country has to offer without breaking the bank. In this blog post, I’ll share some practical tips, tricks, and insights to help you plan your next budget-friendly trip to Thailand.

Accommodation

One of the biggest expenses while traveling is accommodation. However, there are plenty accommodation options in Thailand and we managed to find decent places to stay for a reasonable price. Our budget was more or less 15€ per night for two people and we were looking for a double room with private bathroom. We searched for hotels, homestays, and bungalows with good ratings on Booking.com and Google maps. Surprisingly, we found some great deals for nice hotels for less than 20€ per night. We even found some amazing deals for 4 stars hotel for the few times we wanted to splurge (but those were important occasions). In total, we spent around 450€ per month on accommodation for two people.

Here are some of our favorite budget accommodations for different locations in Thailand:

Koh Samui: PTK Beach

Koh Phi Phi: Uphill Cottage

Ko Lanta: Lanta Riviera Resort

Phuket: C&N Resort and Spa

Krabi, Ao Nang: Kokotel

Transportation

We tried to walk as much as possible when exploring cities or islands, but when that wasn’t an option, we rented scooters for around 5.5€ per day, including gas. You can usually rent from the accommodation, but there are usually a lot of shops everywhere.
We used public transportation when traveling from the ferry to our hotel or from the airport to our hotel. public transportation is really affordable, the only downside is that it can be unpredictable. For example, you can take the bus from Phuket Airport all the way to the South of the island for less than 3€.
However, some transfers between locations were pricey, especially when moving from one island to another or from one region to another. In total, we spent approximately 250€ per month on transportation for two people.

For transportation we used Bookaway  and 12Go Asia.

Food and Drinks

Thai cuisine is delicious and inexpensive, especially if you eat at small family restaurants or street markets. If you want to eat international cuisine (pizza, burgers, pasta) it would be a bit pricier, but still the prices are really affordable for European standards. We spent around 6-7€ per meal for two people. For breakfast, we bought fruits from the market a day before to keep the cost down. We never cooked as we didn’t have a kitchen in our accommodation.

Also, you’ll find at Seven Eleven a lot of food options – some really delicious and with super cheap prices. We had a lot of ham and cheese toasts (yumm!) for less than 1€ each. And they have pretty good coffees and teas – Matcha was one of our favorites and even now we still crave it!

Alcohol can be expensive, so we mostly stuck to beer, which cost around 2€ per bottle. One cocktail was around 5€. 
In total, we spent approximately 20€ per day on food and drinks for two people, which adds up to 600€ per month.

Activities and tours

We’re the kind of travelers who prefer to explore on our own rather than joining expensive tours. However, we did join at least one tour per month because some places are simply not accessible without a guide. For example, on our first month, we went on a tour around Phi Phi islands, which cost us 80€ for two people. In the second month, we visited an elephant sanctuary for around 115€ per person. In total, we spent approximately 200€ per month on activities for two people.

You can book tours online or on the spot, because everywhere you will find small local companies selling them. The only downside when booking offline is that you can’t check other peoples review whilist online you can. When we booked the tours for Phi Phi islands and for James Bond Island we went to some several shops and tried to get the best price and they turned out great, and at a very good price. Don’t be afraid to negociate, you’re most likely to get a better price if you just ask!

If you want to book online, you can check Get your guide and Tripadvisor.

In conclusion, traveling Thailand on a budget is definitely possible. We spent around 1300-1400€ per month for two people, which is roughly 45€ per day. By following our tips for accommodation, food and drinks, transportation, and activities, you can make the most out of your trip without breaking the bank. Don’t be afraid to explore on your own, try the local cuisine, and have fun!

PS: If you want to learn how to travel more for less, you must read my Ebook! It’s the complete guide for every beginner who wants to travel the world, but doesn’t know how to start!