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 five so far, covering entry, money, your phone 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.
Thailand at a glance
- Visa: 30 days visa-free for 60 countries since 15 September 2026, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU
- Arrival: the TDAC, a free online arrival card filed in the 3 days before you land
- Currency: Thai baht (THB), roughly 33 to the US dollar. Foreign cards pay about 220 baht per ATM withdrawal
- Emergency: 191 for police, 1669 for medical emergencies, 1155 for the English-speaking tourist police
- Power: 220 volts, and most sockets take both flat and round two-pin plugs
- Tipping: never required. Rounding up and small change for good service are normal
- Driving: on the left
Start here: five guides for a first trip to Thailand
If you read one before you fly, make it the TDAC guide. The other four 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.
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.
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.
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.
| When | Do this | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| When you book | Pick the coast by the month: Andaman side from November to April, Gulf islands outside October to December | Best time to visit |
| A month or more ahead | Staying longer than 30 days? Apply for a tourist visa on thaievisa.go.th | TDAC and 30-day rule |
| Before you fly | Carry an onward or return ticket, and be ready to show 20,000 baht per person in funds | Thailand currency |
| Before you fly | Install a travel eSIM, or plan to buy a tourist SIM at the airport with your passport | Thailand eSIM |
| 3 days before landing | File the TDAC for your whole group on tdac.immigration.go.th and screenshot every confirmation | TDAC guide |
| On landing | Withdraw a large amount once rather than small amounts often: each withdrawal costs about 220 baht | Thailand currency |
| At the table | Check for a 10% service charge before leaving a tip | Tipping in Thailand |
What’s next for Thailand
Transport and luggage and local rules are the two lines we haven’t covered for Thailand yet. Getting from Suvarnabhumi into Bangkok is first in the queue. 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: 2026-09-28