Thailand Travel Guide: The Rules That Matter, Sorted by Topic

Thailand is the easiest country in the region to arrive in unprepared, and that’s exactly why people get caught out. The rules changed twice in about eighteen months. The paper arrival card became the online TDAC in May 2025, and on 15 September 2026 the visa-free stay for most Western passports dropped from 60 days to 30. Plenty of Thailand travel guides still quote the old numbers.

This page gathers our Thailand guides in the same six lines we use for every country. There are fourteen so far, covering entry, money, your phone, getting into Bangkok, the trips north to Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai, west to Kanchanaburi, south to Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui and down the coast to Pattaya, the local rules, and the calendar. If you’re traveling to Thailand soon, start with the arrival card and work down. Each guide lists its official sources at the bottom.

Start here: fourteen guides for a first trip to Thailand

If you read one before you fly, make it the TDAC guide. The other thirteen will save you money or a queue; that one keeps you out of the wrong queue.

• Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC): how to fill it in, the fake sites to avoid, and the new 30-day rule.
• Best time to visit Thailand, month by month and coast by coast.
• Thailand currency: the baht, the 220-baht ATM fee, cards, exchange booths and the proof-of-funds rule.
• Tipping in Thailand: how much to leave in restaurants, spas, taxis and hotels, and when to skip it.
• Thailand eSIM or tourist SIM: AIS, True and dtac prices, the two kinds of eSIM, and the 2025 face check.
• Suvarnabhumi Airport to Bangkok: Airport Rail Link, taxi, Grab or bus, what each costs, and Don Mueang.
• Bangkok to Chiang Mai: the overnight train, flights and VIP buses compared, with fares and how to book the sleeper.
• Bangkok to Ayutthaya: the new 50-baht Bangkok Connex train, faster and ordinary trains, minivans, the river cruise and the temple tickets.
• Bangkok to Kanchanaburi: the 100-baht Thonburi train, buses and vans, the bridge over the River Kwai, Hellfire Pass and Erawan Falls.
• Bangkok to Phuket: flights from both airports, the overnight bus, the train via Surat Thani, and Phuket Airport to the beaches.
• Bangkok to Krabi: flights from both airports, the night bus, the train via Surat Thani, and Krabi Airport to Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta.
• Bangkok to Pattaya: the coach from Ekkamai, bus 389 from Suvarnabhumi, taxi and Grab fares, the 31-baht train and Pattaya’s baht buses.
• Bangkok to Koh Samui: the Bangkok Airways flight, the cheaper Surat Thani combo, the train, bus and Donsak ferries, and Samui Airport to Chaweng.
• What to wear in Thailand: the temple dress code, wai and monk etiquette, the vape ban, the new alcohol hours and the cannabis rules.

A · When to go: two coasts, two monsoons

November to February is the cool, dry season for Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the Andaman coast, and it’s when prices peak. March to May is hot, with April the hottest month of the year. After that the southwest monsoon brings rain to Phuket, Krabi and the Andaman islands until about October.

The Gulf islands, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, run on a different clock. Their wettest months are roughly October to December, when the Andaman side is drying out. That’s the useful trick for a beach trip: pick the coast by the month, not the other way round. Two dates move crowds as well. Songkran, the water festival, runs from 13 to 15 April every year, and Loy Krathong falls on 24 November 2026.

• Best time to visit Thailand, month by month, coast by coast, with rainfall, sea conditions and the national park closures.

B · Money and payments

Cards and QR payments are everywhere in Bangkok, but the baht in your pocket still does most of the work at markets, street stalls and on the islands. The cost that adds up is the ATM. Thai banks charge foreign cards around 220 baht per withdrawal, on top of whatever your own bank takes, so a few large withdrawals beat many small ones. When a card machine or an ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, say no. That “conversion” is where the worst rate of the trip hides.

• Thailand currency guide: the notes, today’s rate, ATM fees and limits, and what to declare at customs.
• Tipping in Thailand, with amounts in baht for every situation, plus the 10% service charge and 7% VAT on bills.

C · Transport: getting into Bangkok

Suvarnabhumi is about 25 km from central Bangkok. The Airport Rail Link reaches Phaya Thai in about 27 minutes for 45 baht, but it’s short of trains this autumn and its operator changes in early 2027. A metered taxi from the Level 1 rank comes to about 300 to 400 baht with the 50-baht airport fee and the tolls, and Grab picks up at Gate 4. Don Mueang, the budget-airline airport, has its own train on the SRT Dark Red Line and the A1 to A4 buses.

Heading north? Chiang Mai is an hour and a quarter by air, or a night on the train from Krung Thep Aphiwat, not Hua Lamphong. The berths on train 9 are the ones to book, and they sell out first.

Want a day trip? Ayutthaya’s ruins are about 80 km north of Bangkok. A new air-conditioned Bangkok Connex train from Krung Thep Aphiwat costs 50 baht until 31 October 2026, faster trains and minivans also run, and the temples charge 80 baht each or 300 for seven.

Prefer the countryside? Kanchanaburi is about 116 km west of Bangkok. A third-class train from Thonburi costs a flat 100 baht, with only two a day, and buses and vans run from the Southern Terminal and Mo Chit. The bridge over the River Kwai is free, Erawan Falls charges 300 baht, and by public transport the waterfall means a night in town.

Heading south? No railway reaches Phuket, so most people fly: about an hour and a half from either Bangkok airport, with Thai AirAsia back at Suvarnabhumi since 1 October 2026. At Phuket Airport, the 100-baht Smart Bus runs down the west coast to Patong, Karon and Kata.

Krabi is the other Andaman choice, and it has no station either. Flights take about an hour and 25 minutes from both Bangkok airports, with Thai AirAsia back at Suvarnabhumi since 1 October 2026. The night bus takes 11 hours or more, and the train stops at Surat Thani, a bus ride short. For Railay you take a longtail boat from Ao Nang, and the boats stop when the sea is rough.

Want a beach without a flight? Pattaya is about two hours from Bangkok by coach from Ekkamai, for around 145 baht, and bus 389 goes there straight from Suvarnabhumi every hour. Once you’re there, the baht buses now cost 15 baht a ride.

Heading for the Gulf islands? Only Bangkok Airways flies to Koh Samui, from about 2,500 baht on sale and usually more. A low-cost flight to Surat Thani plus a minivan and ferry costs less and takes three or four hours longer, and from October to December the boats can be cancelled when the sea turns rough.

• Suvarnabhumi Airport to Bangkok: Airport Rail Link fares and hours, taxi costs, Grab and Bolt, the S1 bus, Don Mueang and the free shuttle between the two airports.
• Bangkok to Chiang Mai: the five daily trains, sleeper fares, flights from both airports, VIP buses from Mo Chit and getting into the Old City.
• Bangkok to Ayutthaya: the Bangkok Connex, faster and ordinary trains, minivans from Mo Chit, the river cruise, getting around the ruins, temple tickets and the October floods.
• Bangkok to Kanchanaburi: the two daily trains from Thonburi, buses from the Southern Terminal, minivans, tours, the Death Railway, the war museums, Hellfire Pass and the bus to Erawan Falls.
• Bangkok to Phuket: which airport to fly from, baggage fees on low-cost fares, the bus from the Southern Terminal, the train to Surat Thani and Phuket Airport transfers.
• Bangkok to Krabi: Don Mueang or Suvarnabhumi, the night bus from Sai Tai Mai, the train to Surat Thani, the trip back, and Krabi Airport to Ao Nang, Railay and Koh Lanta.
• Bangkok to Pattaya: buses from Ekkamai, Mo Chit, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, taxi and Grab prices, the train from Hua Lamphong and getting around Pattaya.
• Bangkok to Koh Samui: why only Bangkok Airways flies there, the Surat Thani bus and ferry route, the train, the Donsak piers and Samui Airport transfers.

D · Staying connected: eSIM, tourist SIM and Wi-Fi

Every Thai airport has tourist SIM counters just after customs, where AIS, True and dtac sell eight days of data for roughly 300 to 450 baht, with a Thai number. Bring your passport: since August 2025, registering a new SIM includes a quick face check. The alternative is a travel eSIM installed before you fly. It works on landing but is data only, so it can’t call 191 or 1669. The Thai carriers also sell their own tourist eSIMs, number included.

• Thailand eSIM vs SIM card: the three brands after the True and dtac merger, tourist SIM prices, registration rules and the apps that want a Thai number.

E · Local rules: temples, vapes and alcohol hours

Thailand’s written rules matter more to a visitor than its unwritten ones. Temples want shoulders and knees covered, and the Grand Palace publishes a longer list of clothes it turns away. E-cigarettes are banned, and bringing one in can mean confiscation, a heavy fine or prison. Alcohol has been on sale from 11:00 to midnight since 29 May 2026, but not on the main Buddhist holy days, and cannabis now needs a prescription.

• What to wear in Thailand: what to pack by season, the Grand Palace dress code, the wai, monks, the vape ban, alcohol and cannabis rules, and what counts as indecent on a beach.

F · Entry and documents: Thailand travel requirements

Two things to do, one thing to check. File the TDAC at tdac.immigration.go.th in the three days before you land. It’s free, and around one arrival in ten has been caught by a paid lookalike site. Then check the length of your stay against the new limit: 30 days visa-free for 60 countries, the US, UK, Canada and Australia among them. A month on the islands followed by a few weeks in Chiang Mai no longer fits in one visa-free stay, so a longer trip needs a tourist visa from thaievisa.go.th before you leave.

The thing to check is your paperwork. Immigration can ask for an onward ticket and proof of funds, 20,000 baht per person or 40,000 per family. It rarely happens to tourists with a return flight. The 450-baht tourist entry fee you may have read about was approved in principle in August 2026, and nobody pays it yet.

• TDAC Thailand, step by step: every section of the form, the 30-day rule, the land-border cap and the entry fee that isn’t in force.

Things to know before going to Thailand

Small rules, mostly unwritten, that visitors learn the awkward way.

• Cover your shoulders and knees for temples. The Grand Palace in Bangkok turns people away at the gate, and a sarong from a stall outside costs more than the one in your suitcase.
• Never speak badly of the royal family, even as a joke. Insulting the monarchy is a crime in Thailand, and that includes stepping on a banknote with the King’s portrait to stop it blowing away.
• Leave the vape at home. E-cigarettes are banned in Thailand, and carrying one can mean confiscation and a fine.
• Keep a screenshot of your TDAC confirmation. Airport wifi likes to fail at the front of the immigration line.
• Take off your shoes when you see a pile of them at a door, whether it’s a temple, a home or a small shop.

Thailand travel checklist: what to do, and when

Sorted by lead time. The TDAC has the tightest window: it can’t be filed more than three days ahead.

What’s next for Thailand

Local rules has its first Thailand guide now, and Kanchanaburi has just joined the transport guides. The next ones on our list are Grab and Bolt around Bangkok and the ferries beyond Koh Samui. New guides appear on this page as they’re published.

Other countries on the network

Heading on from Bangkok? Our Japan travel guide covers all six lines. The Vietnam travel guide and the South Korea travel guide follow the same layout as this page. For everything we’ve published, newest first, see all guides.

Data checked: 2026-10-06