Travel information
T
hailand is a traveller’s paradise and it’s easy and cheap to eat, sleep and get around. If you have your heart set on staying at a particular place you should book it. But, if you’re a bit flexible, outside the busiest periods of the high season you can pretty much just turn up and make all your decisions as you go. No immunisations are required, visas are easy to obtain, and seats on discount flights or on comfortable long-distance buses and trains keep most of Thailand within easy reach for not much money. Food and accommodation are plentiful and the
beauty of Thailand is such that, even on a shoestring, you can see everything and still have money left over for a shopping binge before you head home.
When to go
T
he best time to visit coastal Thailand is during the tourist high season between November and April. Accommodation prices are at their highest but almost everything in the country is open, the weather is mainly dry and temperatures are reasonable. During this time the mid-December to late January period is busiest (and priciest). Local festivals ( p19 ) also cause spikes throughout the year, notably for a week either side of Songkran (Thai New Year; 13–15 April). At either end of the high season, resorts, tours and ferry routes will be just opening up or closing down. The rest of the year (May to October) is the low season and prices for accommodation plummet. However, many resorts and islands shut down completely and ferry routes don’t run due to stormy seas and dwindling demand. Water visibility for diving also drops dramatically. Between May and October the southwest monsoon drenches the country and during this time you can expect some rain every day, although often not that much. While this period is known as the rainy season, southern Thailand also receives rain from the northwest monsoon from November to January, so it can never be said to be truly ‘dry’ in the south. If you want to maximise your chances of sunny days, visit between December and March and prioritise the gulf coast over the Andaman coast, which gets more of the northwest monsoon and is generally wetter year-round. Temperatures from November to March hover between 22°C and 30°C throughout Thailand, then rise from March to May when they almost always peak above 30°C. The south is usually a few degrees cooler during the monsoon, which can make the weather more bearable if the humidity isn’t too bad.
Thailand is cheap by Western standards and it’s possible to get by on as little as US$25 a day and still live reasonably comfortably. If you stay only in budget guesthouses, eat at street stalls or local restaurants and travel by train or government buses, you can get by on less, but even the smallest appetite for beer will soon stretch your budget. Guesthouse accommodation ranges from US$10 to US$30 a day on most beaches. For a little more pampering (air-conditioned bungalows, flights in and out, romantic dinners, boat tours and motorbike rental on the islands), raise your daily budget to about US$50. Style costs more but it’s possible to get a quality room for between about US$50 and US$100, depending on the season. The upper midrange and associated lifestyle (think mud masks, diving, cocktails) is expanding fast, and you’re looking at US$100 a day minimum. At the top end, the sky (actually, maybe it’s the outer atmosphere) is the limit. Luxury resorts start at about US$150 and attached restaurants, bars and spa facilities are also expensive; though you can always pop out for a 40B green curry. To all these prices add about 20% to 30% in Bangkok. Children can usually stay free in their parents’ room. Discounts for children are available at museums and on internal flights, trains and some tours and activities.
