quality shops, hotels and restaurants. Visa is the most useful, followed by MasterCard.
Currency
Name Baht
Symbol ฿ Baht notes come in denominations of 20 (green), 50 (blue), 100 (red), 500 (purple) and 1000 (beige).
There are 100 satang in one baht; coins include 25-satang and 50-satang pieces and baht in denominations of 1, 5 and 10.
Changing Your Money
Banks or legal money-changers offer the best rates. ATMs that accept Visa and other credit cards are widespread throughout Thailand, and many exchange booths will give you a cash advance on your credit card.
Money Tips
If you’re travelling on a budget, you should be able to get by on around ฿500.00 a day anywhere in Thailand. Visitors staying in comfortable hotels and eating at restaurants should budget around ฿600.00 – ฿1000.00 a day outside Bangkok and around double this amount when in the capital. If money is no object, you can spend to your heart’s content in Bangkok, since the capital has several of the world’s most sumptuous hotels and some unbeatable shopping diversions. Your spending levels will be curtailed by the scarcity of luxury accommodation and quality restaurants when you get off the beaten track.
Items sold by street vendors in markets or in many shops are flexibly priced – that is, the price is negotiable. Thais respect a good haggler. Always let the vendor make the first offer then ask ‘Is that your best price?’ or ‘Can you lower the price?’. This usually results is an immediate discount from the first price. Now it’s your turn to make a counteroffer; always start low but don’t bargain at all unless you’re serious about buying. Negotiations continue until a price is agreed – there’s no set discount from the asking price as some vendors start ridiculously high, others closer to the ‘real’ price.
Sample Price Guide
national park admission ฿ 400.00 1l bottled water ฿ 5.00-10.00 large Singha beer ฿ 150.00 street vendor noodles ฿ 25.00-30.00 souvenir t-shirt ฿ 300.00 1st-class bus Bangkok to Surat Thani ฿ 450.00 beach bungalow on Ko Pha-Ngan ฿ 300.00 one-day Thai cooking course, Chiang Mai ฿ 800.00-900.00 Average Room Prices
Low Mid High
฿130-600 ฿600-1500 ฿1500+
Average Meal Prices
Low Mid High
฿25-180 ฿180-500 ฿500+
Tipping
Tipping is not generally expected in Thailand. The exception is loose change from a large restaurant bill; if a meal costs ฿488.00 and you pay with a ฿500.00 note, some Thais will leave the change. It’s not so much a tip as a way of saying ‘I’m not so money-grubbing as to grab every last baht’.
At many hotel restaurants or other upmarket eateries, a 10% service charge will be added to your bill and tipping is not expected. Bangkok has adopted some standards of tipping, especially in restaurants frequented by foreigners.
Thailand: Getting there & around
Getting There
It may be a bit pricey to get to Thailand by air, but once you’re there