Thailand - where to change money

longwalks1

When i went to thailand 10 years ago we got a much better rate in Thailand itself, so changed money either in BKK airport or a exchange shop (cant remember where as it was so long ago), is this still the case?

Am going to take £100 worth of Baht with me as i know you now pay 1000 bht to enter Thailand, but will i get a better rate if i change my sterling up over there once i land?

PompeyPete

britishboy wrote: »

When i went to thailand 10 years ago we got a much better rate in Thailand itself, so changed money either in BKK airport or a exchange shop (cant remember where as it was so long ago), is this still the case?

Yep. Best place at Bangkok Airport is on the Air Rail Link level. You'll get slightly less than in the city.

britishboy wrote: »

Am going to take £100 worth of Baht with me as i know you now pay 1000 bht to enter Thailand, but will i get a better rate if i change my sterling up over there once i land?

Are you a UK passport holder? If so, you'll get a 30 day visa exemption...

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

longwalks1

Yeah I knew about the 30 day visa rule, just read somewhere you have to pay 1000 baht at the airport to enter? ts been 10 years I think since i last went and cant remember if we paid it back then or not

PompeyPete

britishboy wrote: »

Yeah I knew about the 30 day visa rule, just read somewhere you have to pay 1000 baht at the airport to enter? ts been 10 years I think since i last went and cant remember if we paid it back then or not

So far as Thailand airports are concerned everything is included in the price of the air ticket these days.

Doshwaster

britishboy wrote: »

Yeah I knew about the 30 day visa rule, just read somewhere you have to pay 1000 baht at the airport to enter? ts been 10 years I think since i last went and cant remember if we paid it back then or not

You may be thinking of the departure tax which had to be paid in cash before leaving but that hasn't existed for about 10 years and is now included in the ticket price. I've never seen any Thai airport charge for entry and even if some of the smaller ones did then there's no way it would be as much as BHT 1000.

The old cash payment used to catch a lot of people out as they'd spent their last Bhat before heading to the airport.

longwalks1

Doshwaster wrote: »

You may be thinking of the departure tax which had to be paid in cash before leaving but that hasn't existed for about 10 years and is now included in the ticket price. I've never seen any Thai airport charge for entry and even if some of the smaller ones did then there's no way it would be as much as BHT 1000.

The old cash payment used to catch a lot of people out as they'd spent their last Bhat before heading to the airport.

Thats probably it actually DW, i knew it was a payment at the airport just couldnt remember where it was payable. (or that its now included in the ticket price). Cheers for clearing it up

fifeken

britishboy wrote: »

Yeah I knew about the 30 day visa rule, just read somewhere you have to pay 1000 baht at the airport to enter?

Visa on arrival fee is currently 1,000 baht, but not applicable to UK passport holders.

coffeehound

Do they still prohibit taking Thai currency out of the country? I remember in the 90s getting stung when they found some banknotes in my luggage on departure.

eDicky

britishboy wrote: »

but will i get a better rate if i change my sterling up over there once i land?

Yes, you will still get a better rate for cash when you are in Thailand. If you need to change on arrival at the airport go down to the rail station, Super Rich Exchange, the banks give a lousy airport rate.

NiftyDigits

fifeken wrote: »

Visa on arrival fee is currently 1,000 baht, but not applicable to UK passport holders.

Changes to 2000 baht in four weeks, for some passport holders.
Tourists from the following countries are entitled to apply for VoA which will allow them to stay in the country up to 15 days. They include Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Thailand-doubles-fees-for-visas-on-arrival

PompeyPete

A simple question attracts some really complex replies:D

After giving the up-to-date, easy to digest answer for UK passport holders at the top of the thread I had a look through my scrapbooks, and found that in 2003 the cash Departure Tax was 200 baht pp.

Fortunately, and in order to streamline and do away with completely avoidable queues, the departure tax was included in with the price of the air ticket not long after 2003.