Ritika Sharma

What preps do I need to make for my Thailand trip?
Where all do u suggest should I go?

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Hi and welcome to FT!

The answer to your question all depends on what sort of activities you enjoy... temples, markets and other attractions, or beach? Or a bit of both?

Bangkok has plenty to do... a day for the temples and Grand Palace. Another day for the floating markets, or trip to the Bridge on the River Kwai, or to the elephants. Use night time to go to a roof-top bar (like Vertigo at the Banyan Tree) and to visit night markets for cheap shopping (like clothes/watches/all sorts of fake goods).

If you like the beach, consider a couple of days on an island such as Koh Samui or Phuket (both easy to fly to from Bangkok).

The mix of how many days you spend in Bangkok and the beach is up to your preference.

Essentials: travel insurance and any vaccinations you need. Plus visa if you need it.

Wait to book your tours till you arrive, easy to do and you'll generally get a good price. Change money on arrival in bangkok. Credit cards are widely accepted in all major tourist areas. For cash, either exchange on arrival or use credit card (but be warned there's a hefty surcharge for tourists each time they use an ATM so plan your needs and take it out as few times as necessary).

Taxi from the airport to the city will cost you about THB500 all up, and you'll need about the same again for the first day for food and other incidentals. After that you should have a good idea of what you need on a day to day basis and can take out a lump sum from an ATM.

For more ideas on what to see and do in each place, or how to get around Thailand, check out the other threads here on FT in the Thailand forum.

ChrisFlyer66

You also can't go wrong with Chaing Mai. It is a very fun city in the Northern part of the country. Cleaner air (except in March-May when the air is awful) and better weather than Bangkok, and cheaper than Bangkok too.

If you have a debit card that reimburses your ATM fees (such as the Schwab ATM/debit card), then just get cash at ATM's. If you plan to exchange cash, you generally won't get a great exchange rate at the airport, so exchange a little bit there the exchange the rest of your cash at a bank in town.

CrazyInteg

Where's your passport from? Where are you coming from? How long will you stay? What is your budget? What do you plan to do there? What do you wish to do there? Are you traveling alone? I assume you're female (based on your username)?

ft101

I disagree with both airport and in town comments.

Go down the airport level where the Rail Link is and there are "off airport" exchanges which are not governed by the airport rules and offer a similar rate to those in town. Super Rich is one.

When in town, do not go to the banks but to the money exchanges which will generally give a much better rate.

Laci Smith

I've been to Bangkok, Thailand and I've booked with a travel agent with city tours and hotels. If you have not bought tickets yet and it is advisable to go on a package if its your first time because transportation there is expensive. You have to ride a taxi or "Tutuk" for a minimum of 100 -150 THB. Unless, you like to take for a walk to some shopping malls nearby. You should experience the elephant ride, the dinner cruise and the Siam Niramit Show aside from their beautiful temples within the city.

dsquared37

While these exchange booths in the basement do give a significantly better rate than bank booths scattered throughout the airport their rates are still set below those of their respective main, in town, branch. If exchanging only a few hundred US they likely do offer a better end point than a trip to an intown branch however....

As for Super Rich, Green tends to give the best rates and is the one I use irrespective of location.

CrazyInteg

This is not true.

dsquared37

Agreed, I've never taken a 'tutuk'. I don't even know what one is...

The post you quote sounds more like an advertisement than anything else though.

:D!

The difference in buy rate is usually something like 3 baht per US$100 (at least in the afternoon - but also the airport locations are open a lot longer) and the selling rates are the same.

If you change too much, you can always exchange it back at the end to $1, $5 and $10 bills and make a profit

Not always true, I've just returned from a trip where I deliberately routed through BKK in order to exchange between 9 currencies, and I found Orange to have the best rates overall, both at the airport and headquarters. By going to the one with the best rate for each currency I needed, I saved 400 baht over just doing everything in one go.

Now, some people might not care about 400 baht but queue length is also an important factor. For USD at the airport nobody ever queues at Value Plus yet they usually have the same rates.

dsquared37

Perhaps not, but I've never encountered a situation where Orange had a better rate than Green and I can only relate my experiences. I can see how it would be a YMMV situation however.

ChrisFlyer66

I think he/she meant 'tuk tuk', which is a motorized rickshaw.

I think taxis and tuktuks are very cheap if you negotiate (or with taxis, make sure they use the meter). Motorcycle taxis and uber are even cheaper. However, in Bangkok traffic can be awful much of the day, so subways and the skytrain are the best option in Bangkok.

dsquared37

Check your sarcasm detector. Of course they meant a tuk tuk, the meat of my post should have been focused on the fact that I responding to a veiled attempt at an advertisement for a travel agency.

1. Never negotiate with a taxi.
2. See 1
3. Unless you know the cost to the destination do not engage tuk tuks.
4. Never use a stopped a vehicle waiting for a sucker, er fair, ALWAYS FLAG DOWN A TAXI
5. Uber is often more expensive than taxis these days.
6. See 1 and 4
7. MRT and BTS are excellent options most times of the day but they don't cover sufficient ground necessitating the use of ground transportation too often.

8. Check your sarcasm detector, the 'low battery light' might be lit.

kalderlake

If you're near the river in BKK, the river-boats are a good alternative.

No traffic to contend with, cheap as can be, they access several of the main tourist attractions, and a lot of fun to boot.

ChrisFlyer66

Uber might be more expensive than a metered taxi sometimes, but I often have trouble getting taxis to use the meter. The price they are willing to offer is almost always more than what an Uber would charge. With an Uber I get a cheap ride without having to argue with 20 taxis about using the meter.