Are you planning a trip to Thailand ? If you’re anything like me, you’re probably researching the things you need to know before travelling to Thailand.

This post is organised in 11 chapters for 11 essential things to keep in mind before going to Thailand. From Visa Requirement, to health or safety, this post will provide everything you need to know to visit Thailand safely and relaxed.

After this post you’ll know everything you need to know before travelling to Thailand… And you can steal my pre-travel checklist at the end of this post.

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How to Get to Thailand

11 Essential things to know before travelling to Thailand

How to Get to Thailand

By Plane:

There are two airports in Bangkok : Suvarnabhumi for international flights and Don Mueang for budget airlines and domestic flights.

From one of these airports, the easiest way to get to the city center is the app Grab. It takes about 45ming to 1h and costs around 10$-15$. I won’t recommend you to take the metro because it will take you a LOT of time to get to your hotel.

By Bus :

Long distance buses from neighboring countries operate. You can check on 12go.asia.

By Train:

If you’re arriving from neighbouring countries, you can take an international train to Bangkok.

Personal experience: we chose to take the train from Bangkok, Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal to the border of Laos at Nong Thai. It took 10h with the night train ( including beds that were very comfy) and we paid 1350THB (32$USD/ 31€/ 29CHF) per person on 12GO with Thai Railways. The train was on time, comfy and the landscapes were beautiful. Keep in mind to buy your own food at the train station before leaving.

11 Essential things to know before travelling to Thailand

1. When should I visit Thailand?

The best time to visit Thailand depends on what you want to see.

From November to February/March, you will enjoy dry season which means it is rare to get rain. It’s the best if you want to travel around the islands and the South of Thailand. This season is the best to visit all Thailand as the temperature are little bit colder than usual.
April: If you want to celebrate buddhist New Year then you need to go mid April. It’s always around the 10th-15th of April. It’s a 3 days celebration where everybody poor water on everybody with huge celebration around the country.
From March to May : It’s the hot season and in some rural region, especially the north, fire season. It means that farmer are burning their fields for the rebirth of the soil (if that makes sense.) The temperature are very high and the atmosphere is quite polluted.
From June to October: It’s going to be rainy season which means you’ll get some rain at some point. It is very unpredictable but make sure to take your raincoat. You can still visit and as it’s considered off season, especially in June, September and October, you’ll find less crowds and cheaper prices.

You probably want to know the best time to visit because you want less crowded places, I’d recommend avoiding any public holidays like Easter, Christmas and NY or the summer holidays.

If you are looking for guided tour or activities to book in advance you can check GetyourGuide website. If you want to book on sight it’s not a problem, just ask your hotel or guesthouse to help you. They are usually very helpful.

2. What documents do I need to enter Thailand ?

It’s decided ! You’re going to Thailand! But now, you need to figure the requirements to enter the country out. Do you need a visa? a valid passport? any files to provide at the border?

Visa: The tourism industry in Thailand is huuuuge and they make a lot of profit out of it. That’s why the government opened the border more easily.

If you’re travelling in a very touristy country there a big chances that getting into the country is easy… but that’s just my opinion obviously.

Visa and requirements per country:

Switzerland, UE, UK, USA: You do not need a visa before arrival. You need a passport that will be valid in the next 6 months. For example, you are going to Thailand the 10th of April, your passport must be valid at least 6 months after this date. At the immigration, they stamp your passport and you can stay a maximum of 60 days.

In total 93 countries can enter without a visa for a tourist purpose during a maximum of 60 days. Here is the list of the Thai embassy.

It includes most of the European countries, the UK, Australia, some south and Central American countries and some asian and central asian countries. Make sure to check the list and see if the country that delivered your passport is in it.

All the other countries need to apply for a tourist visa. It is a single entry visa valid for 3 month from the date of issuance. You can stay 60 days and ask for an extension of 30 days maximum.

3. Do I need vaccinations for Thailand?

Going to a foreign country means different uses and customs. You are usually use to your own environment and so is your body. There are no mandatory vaccines but here are some recommendations:

Hepatitis A: You can contract hepatitis A when ingesting food or water that contained the virus. It can happened anywhere if the the hygiene is poor. There are no treatment for hepatitis A and it can take weeks or months to recover.
Tetanus: It’s a vaccination recommend for everyone one general. You can caught it when you have a wound that touched an infected object.

4. Should I carry cash in Thailand?

Thailand uses the Baht currency and the rate is around 1$USD for 34Baht.

Using cash in Thailand is still very common especially in more remote areas. In Bangkok you can pay a lot of things by card but it is still good to carry cash for public transport, tuktuk or street food for example.

Therefore you always need to cary cash in Thailand but you don’t need it for everything. I’d recommend withdrawing some at the arrival of the airport. What I’d do is paying by card whenever I can and save my cash when there is no other option.

Withdraw cash costs a big fee depending on the bank so you want to withdraw a big amount once or twice and that’s it.

5. Do Thai people speak English?

In Bangkok and the major touristy area like Phuket, Chiang Mai, etc. Lots of people speak well or approximative English. You’ll always be able to understand and communicate between gesture and vocabulary.

If you go to lesser known places then I’d recommend you to at least download the app Google Translate. In the app you can download the Thai language so it still works when you’re offline.

Nowadays, it’s easy and cheap to get a local SIM card and I can’t recommend it enough. I use it all the time for transport schedule, ordering a taxi or even in restaurant. Yes, so many restaurants don’t have menus anymore and you have to scan the QR code.

You can usually get a SIM card at the arrival in the airport. In Bangkok I got mine for 10$USD. However there was not many options. If you like to be prepared in advance or if you want to choose between Giga options I recommend buying a E-sim card.

The E-simcard are very easy to install and everything is explained. You can get a E-sim on Airalo! They have a great service and their website and app is handy. The E-sim for Thailand is the same price as the one you can have at the airport but you get more giga.

6. Is it safe to travel to Thailand?

If you type this question on Google the first thing you will see is a bit scary. Governments websites are saying that you should be very cautious and of course you should keep this in mind but they say that for most of the non-westernize countries.

In my opinion Thailand is totally safe as long as you behave reasonably.

What can you expect?

Travelling means you’re going as a guest in another country. You shouldn’t expect to behave like at home. There are things you can do and things you can’t. Here are the my recommended rules to follow:

Respect the Royal family (see chapter 10).
Dress appropriately, especially in temples.
Respect the monks.
Avoid public display of affection.

Thailand is really open to tourism so people won’t be shocked by some of your manners in the touristy areas. It doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want… which unfortunately some tourists think they can in Thailand.

If you stay in the usual touristy places you shouldn’t worry about safety. It’s going to be totally fine. If you’re going to the beach, keep in mind that natural disasters can happened and take a look at the safety recommendations.

The most common things you’ll face is scam. Some tuktuk drivers or guide will try to make you pay more. It happens and I don’t think it’s a safety issue. It’s a common thing that happens everywhere when you travel.

7. What are the unspoken rules in Thailand?

Here are a few other recommendations if you want to respect the customs of the locals.

Never touch the head of anyone. This is very disrespectful as the head is the highest part of the body.
Never point your feet at someone’s head and never ever point your feet at Buddha!
Take your shoes off when entering a temple or someone’s house… even in some shops.

8. Can I carry medicine in Thailand?

You can carry prescribed medicine in Thailand for the equivalent of 90 days. However it must be controlled drugs. You can check this link for more informations.

However I will always recommend you to carry a copy of your prescriptions when you travel. When crossing a border the security is allowed to ask for it and check if your medicine match with your prescription. If you can’t live without your medicine it’s the safest thing to do.

9. Should I tip for services?

The tipping culture in Thailand exists. It’s not mandatory but appreciated, especially from a tourist I’d say. I know, sometimes it’s hard to know how much you should leave. In general, round off the bill or give between 40-100 bath for an average restaurant.

My personal way to do is I always ask myself what they could get with this money. If I give 40 bath I know they can have a meal at the street food stall (and street food is the best in Thailand.)

Of course it really depends on your bill. If we payed 350 bath at the restaurant I’ll give 400bath. It’s around 10-15% the tip.

10. Is it easy to go around in Thailand?

It is pretty easy to go around Thailand but some distance are very long. You have plenty of options from buses, trains, boats or flights. There are many airports around Thailand especially if you want to hop between islands that are far from each other.

I uses trains and buses and it always went smoothly. I bought all my tickets through 12go.asia

11. What is the 112 rule in Thailand?

The article 112 of the criminal code makes the criticism of the monarchy punishable up to 15 years of prison.

So please keep your jokes outside the country and bring only the genuine and kind person that you are in the land of smiles.

Bonus: What does 555 and 520 mean?

If you meet locals and start chatting with them you might bump into these numbers and be completely lost. So here are the translations:

555 means « hahaha » because 5 is pronounced « ha » in Thai! By the way other languages use it too like in Laos because the lao language is very similar to Thai and 5 is also pronounced « ha ».

520 means « I love you » and comes from China where the numbers together sounds like I love you in Chinese (mandarin I guess.)

Conclusion

Thailand is an easy and touristy country to travel too. As long as you respect the basic rules and you behave appropriately you won’t have any issues. Thailand is a friendly country and you’ll probably want to come back as soon as the holidays ends.

For more informations check these posts:

11 Things you need to know before travelling to Thailand

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