Thailand spending money help

shaunskankdog

Thailand is so cheap...only the exchange rates are poor..I think you get 480 THB to £10 over there. I can easily live off £2 a day, but tend to spend £...which includes several large beers and water, and two or three fantastic street meals..... I go every year for a few months......one of the buzzes is haggling....if you learn basic Thai numbers, you can usually get 30% off whatever they offer and if you know the general price. It is by far the most amazing country with the most amazing people in the world.

Johnnyy_Boy

Not as cheap as it used to be due to exchange rates but still great value for money.
Best way with money is get a Halifax Clarity Credit Card which you can find threads about it on this site.
I used in Thailand last year, took out about £1800 and by paying off immediately when I got back it only cost £8 in interest charges. Only other cost is BHT150 on each transaction.

sarah69696pink

I found Thailand as cheap (or expensive!) as you want it to be.
When there we ate a variety of places, from street food up to a luxury meal on a boat trip and we did various trips (again at different prices).
Food wise we tended to prefer the cheaper places that locals also frequent, we found more touristy places to be lacking in flavour compared!
As far as trips go you get what you pay for we did some excellent trips and then others that we bargain cheap to get us to where we wanted to go but then we had to endure unscheduled stops where they attempted to sell stuff to us and then shortened stops where we wanted to be. We didn't tend to mind as we had paid so little, but depending how you feel about this, this may be where you want to spend a little more.
I loved Thailand and am planning to go back again this year...enjoy!

knighterrant

We're regular visitors to Thailand and KNOW that you'll have a wonderful honeymoon there. Because we have a 5* timeshare villa in Koh Samui that's where we spend most time, but we have also stayed in Bangkok and Chiang Mai at 5* hotels. You will already have discovered that the hotels are good value compared to most other locations in the world. And as for Koh Samui, you'll soon find that it's magnificent from the moment you land at what is probably the most beautiful airport in the world!

The amount of money that you'll need there depends on many things. If you've paid for your accommodation and internal flights up front then that's the major expenses already sorted. All the "posh" restaurants (and there are plenty ) accept credit (and debit) cards and we always pay this way. The exchange rate generally works out quite well.

Pretty much everything else is best paid for in cash. Apart from the big department stores in Bangkok, it's almost compulsory to barter for everything other than propper restaurant food. At roadside stalls selling goods, start your offer at around half the asking price and you'll find you won't have to go too far above that! Make sure you don't take too much with you in your suitcases because you'll be buying a lot, including some tat!

Before you go change about £50 into Thai Bhat so that you have plenty for the taxi from wherever you first arrive in Thailand. The taxi won't cost this much but it's always good to have a little in reserve. Take a good amount of sterling with you (depending on what you think you may need) but split it between you both and keep in different places. The exchange rate you'll get in Thailand is better than you can get in the UK. The main banks in Bangkok may charge commission, but most other places don't.

I wouldn't recommend a pre-paid card. I used one last year in Florida and had all sorts of problems with it. The main problem is when you check in to hotels because they take a "holding charge" for expenses you MAY run up (mini bar, restaurant, etc). Even if you don't spend anything at the hotel, this "charge" can be quite large and can remain on your card for up to 7 days after you leave, therefore significantly reducing the amount of money you have available on it.

Chiang Mai is Thailand's food capital Some of the top restaurants in Chiang Mai rival those in Bangkok, but at half the price. The old town and Night Market areas are full of cheap al-fresco eateries that serve great food.

There's a massive choice of restaurants in Koh Samui. We mostly eat on the beach at Choeng Mon (North East of the island) where a good evening meal for two of us, including drinks, costs under £20.00!! Sitting under the stars with sand between your toes and a cool sea breeze while you eat freshly caught fish washed down with a cold beer will blow your mind! All the top hotel restaurants on Koh Samui are fabulous, but of course more expensive - although still nothing like the prices of good UK restaurants. Wine choices are generally more limited but still OK. Koh Samui's cookery classes are good too - go with an empty stomach because you'll make more than you can eat!

I hope all that helps. I could go on for hours about how wonderful Thailand is, especially the people. It's called the land of smiles for good reason. Have a great honeymoon. :beer:

TakeThis

With reference to the post above....It was not sensible to use a Prepaid card for the purpose that you stated. So it follows that your advice not to use a Prepaid card is based on an error on your part and nothing to do with the Prepaid card at all.

CCs are best use for hotels and car hire.

Commission free Sterling TCs from Lloyds will be convenient and cost effective.

The 150 baht Thai ATM charge makes debit card use less cost effective, especially if you are using a card that levies charges of it's own.

Unless the OP has rented a vehicle, getting over to Tesco Lotus on Samui or Central in Chiang Mai to use the AEON machine there will not be viable.

knighterrant

TakeThis wrote: »

With reference to the post above....It was not sensible to use a Prepaid card for the purpose that you stated. So it follows that your advice not to use a Prepaid card is based on an error on your part and nothing to do with the Prepaid card at all.

I agree - but I only discoverd that it wasn't sensible AFTER trying to use it for car hire and then using it at hotels. When I bought the card at FirstChoice I was told that I could use it exactly the same way as a credit card. The Ts&Cs that came with it (which were written in print so small that I had to enlarge it on my PC to read) didn't warn me about the charges that hotels make. That's why I put the warning here so that others don't have the same problem.

I had an additional problem with the FirstChoice pre-paid card in that I spent about £50 in a phone call to the UK trying to get it sorted. They didn't have any other contact number and their rep was slower than a granny at Tesco's check-out! Their response to my written complaints on returning to the UK was insulting at best. Their "customer service" turned out to be no better than Atilla the Hun's. Needless to say I'll never buy another thing from them.

TakeThis

knighterrant wrote: »

I agree - but I only discoverd that it wasn't sensible AFTER trying to use it for car hire and then using it at hotels. When I bought the card at FirstChoice I was told that I could use it exactly the same way as a credit card. The Ts&Cs that came with it (which were written in print so small that I had to enlarge it on my PC to read) didn't warn me about the charges that hotels make. That's why I put the warning here so that others don't have the same problem.

I had an additional problem with the FirstChoice pre-paid card in that I spent about £50 in a phone call to the UK trying to get it sorted. They didn't have any other contact number and their rep was slower than a granny at Tesco's check-out! Their response to my written complaints on returning to the UK was insulting at best. Their "customer service" turned out to be no better than Atilla the Hun's. Needless to say I'll never buy another thing from them.

Ugh! A travel agent branded prepaid card. Just about the worst example.
Wouldn't touch them. The supermarket versions are acceptable at short notice, but the only one that I would use is the GLOBE card direct from TRAVELEX.

Sorry to hear of your pain. £50 is just too much to get it sorted. If I'd had spent a pound it would have been enough.