Essentials

• Fill in the free TDAC arrival card at tdac.immigration.go.th up to 3 days before landing; lookalike sites charge.
• Visa-free: 30 days since 15 Sep 2026. Check at thaievisa.go.th.
• Suvarnabhumi: Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai, ฿45, 27 min, 05:30–midnight. Contactless card or token.
• Official taxi queue: Floor 1, Gates 4–7, meter + ฿50 + tolls.
• Don Mueang: Red Line to Krung Thep Aphiwat (฿33, 17 min), then MRT, or bus A1 to Mo Chit (฿30).
• Landing after 23:30? Take a taxi.
• Layover: 24 h bag storage (Floors 2, 4), ฿150–200 a bag. Trains can run 20 min apart; leave early.

Each operator has its own gates: changing operator means paying again. Tap one contactless credit card in and out; foreign debit cards may fail.

Chao Phraya Express boats go by flag colour; fares change often.

• Orange: weekday rush hours only (06:00–07:45, 16:00–18:05), ฿19.
• Yellow midday: the same stops, all day, every day.
• Last boats: about 18:05 weekdays (19:05 yellow express from Sathorn), 17:00–17:45 weekends.
• Blue tourist boat: hop-on hop-off every 30 min, about 08:30–20:00, ฿40 a ride or ฿150 a day.
• Cross-river ferries cost a few baht, cash. For Wat Arun, take the ferry from Tha Tien.

Royal Barge rehearsals (15, 21, 28 Oct) and the procession (6 Nov 2026) close parts of the river from about midday; boats split or stop.

• Taxis: hail on a main road; say “meter, na khrap” (men) or “meter, na kha” (women). Meters start at ฿35, plus tolls.
• Safest: official taxi stands, or the Grab and Bolt apps.
• Tuk-tuks: agree price and destination first. Drivers often open at about ฿100 for a short hop (April 2024), more than a taxi.
• Motorbike taxis: orange-vest riders at stands, often with posted prices. Fares are capped by law (฿25 for the first 2 km). Wear the helmet.
• All get scarce in rain and at rush hour.
• Tap “Show the driver” to show your destination in Thai.

• “It’s closed today.” The Grand Palace opens daily; check its official schedule, not a stranger.
• The cheap tuk-tuk tour that ends at a gem shop. The stones are overpriced and promised refunds rarely come.
• Taxis that refuse the meter and quote a flat fare. Get out and take the next one.
• Fake TDAC sites that charge a fee. The real arrival card is free.
• ATM skimming. Use ATMs inside banks and cover your PIN.

Trouble? Call the Tourist Police on 1155.

• Grand Palace: cover shoulders and legs. No shorts, sleeveless, see-through or tight clothes, no mini skirts. ฿500, tickets 08:30–15:30.
• Temples: cover shoulders and knees and take your shoes off before entering a hall. Women don’t touch monks or hand them things.
• Rooftop bars: smart casual. No sportswear or flip-flops, and no sleeveless shirts for men.
• Never criticise the monarchy, in person or online. It is a serious crime.
• Vapes are illegal; cannabis needs a Thai prescription.
• 15–19 Dec 2026: royal cremation at Sanam Luang (16 Dec). Expect closures and crowds there and at the Grand Palace; dress soberly.

Street food is simple: point at what you want and pay the stall. Most take cash or a Thai QR code.

No Thai bank account? Scan with TAGTHAi Easy Pay, a tourist e-wallet, or your home banking app if your country is listed under Money.

We don’t list restaurants. The Food chip on the map shows night markets, food streets and food halls.

• Cash is still common at stalls, on boats and in taxis. Carry small notes.
• Thai banks charge foreign cards a flat fee for each ATM withdrawal, plus your own bank’s fees. Fewer, larger withdrawals cost less.
• Use ATMs inside banks. Change money at banks or licensed exchange booths.
• TAGTHAi Easy Pay links a foreign card so you can pay by Thai QR code.
• Banking or wallet apps from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Laos and Cambodia can scan Thai QR codes directly.

• Every tourist SIM is registered to your passport, so have it ready.
• Easiest: buy an eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land.
• At Suvarnabhumi, AIS, True and dtac counters in arrivals (Floor 2) are open 24 h. Don Mueang has counters in Terminal 1 arrivals.
• Tourist SIMs last up to 60 days.

• Hot season: mid-February to mid-May. Rainy season: mid-May to mid-October, wettest in August and September.
• Storms bring flash floods fast. Take the BTS or MRT: trains kept running through the September 2026 floods.
• As of 10 Oct 2026, parts of eastern Bangkok, including Lat Krabang near Suvarnabhumi, are still flooded.
• Malls are the best stops for air conditioning, toilets and water. Few BTS stations have public toilets.
• Sightsee early or late, and carry water.

• 1155Tourist Police
• 1669Ambulance
• 191Police
• 199Fire

International private hospitals:

• Bumrungrad, Sukhumvit Soi 3 (Nana)
• BNH, Convent Road (Silom)
• Bangkok Hospital, New Petchburi Road
• Samitivej Sukhumvit, Sukhumvit Soi 49
• Phyathai 2, Phahonyothin Road (Phaya Thai)
• MedPark, Rama IV Road (Khlong Toei)

Hospitals ask for a payment guarantee before treatment. Carry your passport and insurance details.

• Ayutthaya: roughly 1½–2 h by train. Faster trains leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat, ordinary ones from Hua Lamphong.
• Maeklong railway market and Amphawa: train from Wongwian Yai (a walk from the BTS) to Mahachai, ferry across the river, then train from Ban Laem to Maeklong.
• Damnoen Saduak floating market: van or bus from the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai).

Ayutthaya and Samut Songkhram (Maeklong, Amphawa) were on the flood-affected list on 10 Oct 2026. Check before you go: State Railway 1690, buses 1490.