What a week in Bangkok and Pattaya actually cost me

Before I went to Thailand I read a dozen posts telling me it was cheap, and not one of them told me what a week actually cost. So here’s mine, receipts and all, from a real trip split between Bangkok and Pattaya. Your numbers will be different, but at least you’ll have something honest to plan against.

Quick disclaimer: I’m not a hardcore backpacker sleeping in eight-bed dorms, and I’m not doing five-star either. This is the middling, comfortable-but-careful version most people actually travel in.

A Bangkok street food vendor grilling skewers with baht price signs

Where the money went

I’ll start with the honest total and work backwards. Seven nights, flights not included, I spent roughly 21,000 baht, which was about 600 US dollars. That covered a decent mid-range hotel, all my food, getting around, and a handful of proper experiences. It could have been half that if I’d skipped the paid activities and eaten only street food, and double if I’d stayed somewhere fancy.

Sleeping

Hotels were where I chose to spend a bit. In Bangkok I paid around 1,400 baht a night for a clean, modern room near a BTS station, which turned out to be the smartest money of the trip. Being a two-minute walk from the Skytrain meant I skipped the traffic every single day.

In Pattaya I went slightly cheaper, about 1,000 baht a night, for somewhere a short walk from the beach. Both were comfortable. Neither was memorable, which is fine, because I wasn’t there for the room.

Eating, which was almost free

This is the part that lives up to the hype. My best meals were the cheapest. A bowl of noodles from a street cart ran 50 to 60 baht. Grilled pork skewers were 10 baht each. A plate of pad kaphrao with a fried egg, maybe 60. I could eat brilliantly for 200 baht a day if I stuck to the stalls.

I did have a couple of sit-down restaurant meals for the sake of air conditioning, and those jumped to 300 or 400 baht each, which by Thai street standards felt outrageous even though it’s nothing back home. My advice: eat where the locals queue, and save the restaurants for when you genuinely need to cool down.

Getting around

Cheaper than I expected, as long as I avoided taxis in traffic. The BTS Skytrain in Bangkok was 20 to 50 baht a ride and never once got stuck. When I needed a car I used the Grab app so there was no meter argument, and most rides came to 80 to 150 baht.

The one splurge I’d repeat: the Chao Phraya express boat at sunset, 16 baht, gliding past the lit-up temples. Sixteen baht for the best view of the trip.

The experiences, which is where I actually spent

This is the bit the “Thailand is so cheap” posts skip. If you want to do things, tours and day trips cost real money, and honestly they were worth it. I booked a few of the better-known things to do in Bangkok ahead of time so I knew the real price instead of haggling with a tout in the heat, which saved me both money and the sinking feeling of being overcharged.

In Pattaya I did the same, comparing a couple of experiences in Pattaya before I went, mainly the island boat trip and a show. A day out to Koh Larn with the ferry and lunch came to a very reasonable amount, and the evening show was the priciest single thing I did all week and still didn’t break the bank.

If you’re on a tight budget you can absolutely skip all of this and just wander and eat, and you’ll have a lovely time. But a couple of paid experiences turned a nice trip into a memorable one, so I’d rather cut a hotel night than skip them.

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What I’d budget for next time

If someone asked me for a rough daily number, I’d say 3,000 baht a day, around 85 dollars, is a comfortable middle-ground budget that covers a nice room, great food, easy transport, and one paid activity most days. You can do it in half that if you’re careful and skip the tours. You can spend triple without trying if you chase rooftop bars and beach clubs.

The thing nobody tells you is that in Thailand the expensive stuff is optional and the cheap stuff is the good stuff. The 50 baht noodles beat the 400 baht restaurant. The 16 baht boat beat the taxi. Spend where it counts, which for me was a couple of real experiences and a hotel near the train, and let the rest stay gloriously cheap.