Golden temples, paradise beaches, extraordinary street food and warm people: Thailand is the heart of Southeast Asia.
Thailand is, for most travellers, the gateway to Southeast Asia: a country that combines gold-covered Buddhist temples, northern jungle, a frenetic megacity and some of the most famous beaches on the planet, all with a well-oiled tourist infrastructure and prices that stretch a budget a very long way. It is a place where you can travel comfortably on little money, the people are genuinely warm — hence 'the land of smiles' — and the street food is, on its own, a reason to go.
Geographically it breaks into four blocks. Bangkok, in the centre, is the arrival hub and a city of contrasts between skyscrapers, markets and temples. The north — Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai — is mountainous, cooler and calmer, with Lanna culture, trekking and elephant sanctuaries. The south splits into two coasts: the Andaman Sea side (Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta) with its limestone cliffs, and the Gulf of Thailand side (Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao) with cheap diving and party islands. A typical trip combines Bangkok, a few days in the north and one or two southern islands.
The best of it is how easy it is to move around and how far the money goes; what surprises people at first is the humid heat, the ordered chaos of the traffic and how touristy certain places have become. Go with an open mind, dodge the obvious traps, and it is one of the destinations that gives back the most for what it costs.
The local currency is the baht (THB, symbol ฿), divided into 100 satang. In the cities and tourist areas more and more is paid by card and by apps like PromptPay, but for markets, street food, tuk-tuks and small towns you should always carry cash. ATMs are everywhere, though almost all of them charge a flat fee on foreign cards, usually around 220 baht, so withdraw larger amounts at once and use a card with no foreign transaction fee. Change money at official exchange offices such as Superrich, which give better rates than the banks or the airport, and tell your bank before travelling. Tipping is not obligatory, though rounding up in restaurants and with guides is appreciated.
Full converter for THB →The great gateway is Bangkok, with two airports: Suvarnabhumi (BKK), the main one for long-haul international flights, and Don Mueang (DMK), the low-cost base. There are direct long-haul routes from London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Paris and other European hubs, while from North America you almost always connect through Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Doha or Dubai. Once in the country, getting around is easy and cheap. For long distances, domestic flights are comfortable and inexpensive with AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air, which mostly operate from Don Mueang, and Bangkok Airways or Thai Airways from Suvarnabhumi, with connections to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui. The state SRT trains link Bangkok with Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai and the south; the overnight sleepers are an experience in themselves. Long-distance buses and minivans reach almost anywhere at very low prices. For the islands you combine a flight or bus with ferries and speedboats: Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are reached from Surat Thani or Chumphon, and Koh Phi Phi or Koh Lanta from Phuket and Krabi. Most visitors need no visa for a short tourist stay, but the rules changed on 15 September 2026, so confirm the current allowance for your citizenship before booking.
The best time for almost the whole country is the cool dry season, November to February: clear skies, less humidity and friendlier temperatures, though always hot. It is high season, so flight and accommodation prices rise and the top spots fill up, especially between Christmas and New Year. From March to May comes the extreme heat, with Bangkok and the interior easily passing 35-40 °C; April brings Songkran, the Thai New Year on 13-15 April, a nationwide water fight that is an extraordinary festival to live through but chaos if you need to travel.
From May or June to October is the rainy monsoon season: it rains hard but generally in short downpours rather than all day, the landscape turns green and prices drop. Watch one key detail: the two southern coasts have offset monsoons. The Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi) is better from November to April; the Gulf coast (Koh Samui, Phangan, Tao) copes better and its worst month is usually November. If you go in the rainy season, pick whichever coast is dry that month.
Thai food is among the best in the world and eating it is half the reason for the trip. The essentials: pad thai (stir-fried noodles), pad krapow (minced meat with basil and a fried egg over rice, the everyday dish of any Thai), green, red and massaman curries, tom yum goong (hot and sour prawn soup), som tam (green papaya salad, ferociously spicy), mango sticky rice for dessert, and khao soi, a northern curry noodle dish. Wash it down with fresh fruit juices, Chang or Singha beer, or the famous orange Thai iced tea.
The best place to eat is usually the street and the markets, not the restaurant: a plate of noodles or a curry with rice costs 50 to 100 baht, USD 1.50 to 3, verified July 2026, and wherever there is a queue of Thais you will almost certainly eat well. Ask for 'no spicy' or 'little spicy' if you are not used to it, because the local level is fierce. Tipping is not obligatory; at street stalls you do not tip, and in restaurants rounding up or leaving some coins is plenty.
Thailand is a safe destination: violence against tourists is rare and you can move around comfortably, including women travelling alone, with the usual common sense. What is abundant is minor scams, above all in Bangkok: tuk-tuks or taxis that will not use the meter, the classic 'the temple is closed today, let me take you somewhere else' — a lie to divert you to a jewellery shop — motorbike hire with invented damage charged on return (take photos and video first), and cons on Khao San Road. Use apps like Grab or Bolt for taxis, which removes the haggling. The biggest real risk to travellers is motorbike accidents: ride only if you know how, wear a helmet and check that your insurance covers it.
There are no compulsory vaccinations, but hepatitis A and typhoid are recommended, and ask about dengue — there are mosquitoes, so use repellent. Tap water is not drinkable: drink bottled water, which costs next to nothing. Private healthcare in the big cities is excellent but you pay for it, so travel insurance with good medical cover is essential, especially if you are going to ride a motorbike or dive. In an emergency the general number is 191, and the Tourist Police, who answer in English, are on 1155, verified July 2026.
Thailand stretches a budget enormously, which is why it is so popular with backpackers. On a backpacker profile you can travel comfortably on about USD 30 to 40 a day; a mid-range profile runs USD 60 to 90 a day; and from USD 130 a day you are travelling in real comfort, with nice hotels and the odd treat, verified July 2026. These figures exclude international flights, which are the most expensive part of the trip.
Concrete references, July 2026: a hostel dorm bed costs USD 8 to 14; a decent private double room USD 20 to 40. A street food dish runs USD 1.50 to 3 and dinner at a tourist restaurant USD 6 to 12. Urban transport is very cheap: the Bangkok metro and BTS cost around USD 1 to 1.50 a leg, and a short Grab ride USD 2 to 4. Overnight buses and trains between cities cost USD 10 to 30. Entry to a major temple is USD 3 to 14, and hiring a scooter for a day USD 5 to 8. A local beer in a bar costs USD 2 to 3.
The language is Thai, which uses its own alphabet, so you will not be able to read much of anything; in tourist areas plenty of people manage basic English, but outside them the level drops, so download Google Translate with Thai offline. Learning four words — sawasdee for hello, khop khun for thank you — opens doors. There is etiquette worth respecting: the monarchy and the Buddha are sacred subjects, and disrespecting images or the king is a criminal offence; shoes come off entering temples and homes; you never touch anyone's head or point with your feet; and temples require shoulders and knees covered. The traditional greeting is the wai, palms together with a slight bow.
The plug is type A/B/C, taking both flat and round pins, and the voltage is 220 V, so European devices work directly while North American ones may need a converter as well as an adapter; a universal adapter never hurts. Connectivity is excellent and cheap: buy a tourist SIM or an eSIM from AIS, True or dtac as soon as you land, around USD 8 to 15 for 15 to 30 days with plenty of data, and there is wifi everywhere. Two pieces of advice from having been there: haggle with good humour and a smile at markets and with tuk-tuks, but not in fixed-price shops or at food stalls; and slow down, because the heat is real and trying to see everything in a few days ends up exhausting.
Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never colonised by a European power, and that singularity explains a good part of what it is today. While Burma fell to the British, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to the French, and Indonesia to the Dutch, the kingdom of Siam manoeuvred between empires, gave up territory on its edges to save the centre, and modernised by force to remain master of its own house. The result is a country with seven hundred years of monarchical continuity, a Theravada Buddhism that permeates everyday life, and a national pride that revolves around the idea of freedom: 'Thai', the name of the people and of their language, means precisely that, 'free'.
But behind the postcard of turquoise beaches and golden temples lies a dense and often harsh history: the Mon kingdoms of Dvaravati, the shadow of the Khmer empire, the dawn of Sukhothai, the cosmopolitan splendour of Ayutthaya and its total destruction at the hands of Burma in 1767, the founding of Bangkok, the 1932 revolution that ended absolute monarchy, the uneasy alliance with Japan in the Second World War, the Cold War with the United States as a partner, and a string of military coups that reaches into the 21st century. This is that long history, told with names, dates and figures.
Read the full history of Thailand →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
