Wanted to give all of my readers a glimpse of the finance/budgeting that went into my Two Weeks in Thailand. There were some “splurge” moments and some “cheap-o” haggle moments. I’d also like to provide a deeper dive so you can understand what exactly is involved, and be as transparent as possible. Keep in mind I stayed at mid-range properties, some high end, but no cheap hostels. So really, your costs could be significantly cheaper. Here is a closer look at my Thailand Expenses.
Most people know that once you are already in Thailand, it is very cheap to “live” – food and entertainment. Currently, $1 USD is equivalent to 34.66 Thai Baht. Make sure when you bring cash to exchange, you only provide $100 bills and $50 bills as the exchange rate is higher and in your favor. They offer a much lower exchange rate for $20s, $10s, $5s, and of course $1s.
It is important to note, that a large portion of the trip was grouped together by GoWay Travel. I will explain what the total price was for the ‘Land Only’ custom tour they created. Before I do, I want to give Steve Perkins from GoWay Travel a special Thank you for helping me plan this trip. It was organized and detail-oriented, which I can appreciate as a Travel Agent.
International Flights
Round-trip International Flights: $614.76 USD
I flew Air China with a layover in Beijing, China. Here was my schedules:
3/18: Depart IAD airport at 4:35p
3/19: Arrive PEK airport at 6:35p
3/20: Depart PEK airport at 12:15a
3/20: Arrive BKK airport at 4:30a
The 6 hour layover in Beijing was pretty miserable I must say. I didn’t want to leave the airport, afraid I wouldn’t be back in time to catch my flight. There is quite a bit of variety in terms of food/drinks so it has that going for itself. The only other flight alternative was a 2 hour layover, and I really don’t advise that short duration of a layover for international flights.
4/1: Depart BKK airport at 1:00a
4/1: Arrive PEK airport at 6:20a
4/1: Depart PEK airport at 12:45p
4/1: Arrive IAD airport at 2:35p
Yes, yet another 6 hour miserable layover. Contacted several layover tour guides in Beijing, to see if I could do a day trip to the Great Wall, but no such luck. Apparently that wasn’t enough time. Womp womp.
Side note: Air China has probably the worst airline food I’ve ever had. Bleh!
GoWay Travel Land Package
GoWay Travel Land Package: $1386 USD*
*Because I received commission off of all 4 passengers’ trip I was able to knock off about $800 off of my tour price
Here is what the package included:
- Bangkok Hotel Accommodations: Century Park Hotel w/ breakfast buffet
- Chiang Mai Hotel Accommodations: Rimping Village Hotel w/ breakfast buffet
- Phuket Hotel Accommodations: Deevana Patong Beach Resort w/ breakfast buffet
- Bangkok Tours
- Floating market tour (lunch included)
- Manohra Dinner Cruise one of the evenings
- Chiang Mai Tours
- Elephant Nature Park day trip
- Phuket Tours
- Speedboat Tour to Phi Phi Islands (lunch included)
- Domestic Flights ($175 USD value)
- Bangkok (BKK) > Chiang Mai (CNX) > Phuket (HKT)
- All admission fees and gratuity where applicable
For Goway Travel, if you want them to come up with a custom tour, just $300 per person is required as a deposit + the price of domestic flights if applicable. Remaining balance due 60 days prior to departure.
Remaining Phuket Hotel
Aquamarine Resort & Villas for 2 Nights: $178 USD*
*I shared this room with another person so my price was just $89 USD.
As a Travel Agent, I try to stay in different regions of a country if I’m visiting so I can see as much as possible. The GoWay tour left off at Patong Beach area. I wanted to head up to Kamala Beach area for some R&R and check out the beach there and the town.
Remaining Domestic Flight
Remaining Domestic Flight (HKT -> BKK): $45 USD
My trip with GoWay Travel technically ended in Phuket, so I was responsible for booking my own flight back from HKT airport to BKK airport. Price with Thai International Airways was $45 USD.
Remaining Bangkok Hotel
Lebua State Tower for 1 Night: $158.50 USD*
*I split this room with another person so the price for me was technically $79.25
The group wanted to stay at Lebua Tower in Bangkok, where the Hangover 2 was filmed so we splurged a little for our last night in Bangkok. This hotel is beyond beautiful. The service is excellent. They have a fantastic gym with a sauna and nice dressing room. Breakfast buffet was something dreams are made of – sushi, fresh donuts, Indian food with naan, ham, eggs, bacon, different cheese and charcuterie boards. Loved every minute of it. Their turndown service in the evening was heavenly
Remaining Tours/Entertainment
I left a few “free days” open for the group if anyone wanted to do something different besides tours every single day. But, we opted for doing more tours. ha So, here’s what wasn’t included in GoWay, but we took advantage of:
- Chiang Mai Doi Inthanon National Park + Hike – $76 USD
- Cat Up Cat Cafe in Bangkok Visit – $6 USD
- Strip Club in Patong Beach & Take photos of Lady Boys (100 Baht/ladyboy) – $25 USD
- Shopping/souvenirs – 100 USD
- The only souvenirs I came back with was a cheap $4 USD shirt with an elephant on it, a $5 USD shot glass for my boyfriend as well as a mango soap scrub thing $6 USD, a silly putty face thing for my nephew for like $1 USD, a pashmina scarf with elephants on it for my Mom ($4 USD) , and a scented fan for my Dad ($5 USD)
- The rest of the shopping was on frivolous things like a floaty for the infinity pool or pharmacy goods (ran out of lady products while I was there!), birthday balloons for Minhaz’ birthday celebration in Phuket.
Food & Drinks
Remaining food outside of the hotel: $250 USD
Keep in mind that breakfast was pretty much included in all of the hotels (and I took fullwide advantage), so I really only needed lunch (which was included in some of our tours) and dinner. Food was pretty cheap in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It was cheap by American standards in Phuket, but we got spoiled so by the time we went to Phuket it felt so much more pricey.
It should be noted that I’m not a huge alcohol drinker, so your expenses will go up dramatically if you drink a lot of alcohol. I had a few Singha beers with lunch/dinner. Nothing too major. I can count on one hand the number of alcoholic drinks I consumed.
I ate at several restaurants, not so much the street stalls, but I did try a few things. Wasn’t too adventurous in fear of my immune system. Did enjoy many fresh coconuts right on the beach. Great way to stay hydrated. Drinks at the street stalls were very cheap. I purchased an ice-cold, homemade Thai Black Tea for just 15 Thai Baht ($0.50 USD), pictured below.
Fresh fish on the beach with a side of french fries (I’m a horrible American I know…) cost about $10 USD with a drink. The delicious Thai meal at the bottom of red curry chicken with steamed rice at Tealicious was also about $10 USD.
So overall, with my commission I spent a total of about $2,011.26 total for 2 weeks, everything included. If there’s a trip you’re planning near or far, contact me. I’m happy to help you budget and plan for the trip of your lifetime: cassandra@accent-on-travel.net.
