Hello Grasshoppa,
This marks my first international travel post-pandemic & I am really happy that I am able to travel back to my second home after being stuck in Malaysia for 2 years. Traveling to Thailand has always been my yearly routine for food, shopping & training. For this trip, I am traveling to Thailand for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition & also BJJ training. To be honest, after being in lockdown for 2 years, traveling seems to be odd to me since I have forgotten my travel routine & I find it quite hard to adapt to it now, however, I am pretty excited to be finally back in Thailand again.
If you are keen to know how to save money while traveling to Thailand, below are some of the useful tips to help you with it.
1. TransportationDepending on which part of Thailand you are in, you can try to opt for public transport such as a monorail or bus. Monorail service is pretty convenient if you are in Bangkok, whether you are arriving in Don Mueng or Suvarnabhumi Airport, you are able to travel to the city via monorail. It is definitely cheaper compared to Grab or Taxi to or from the city.
There is also another app that you should consider which is inDriver where you can bid for your transportation cost. For my Phuket trip, the taxi from the airport to my hotel cost THB1000 but I only paid THB600 using inDriver. Please take note that apps such as Grab & inDriver are not allowed in certain parts of Thailand & you have to be really careful while using the app. In my case for using inDriver app in Phuket airport, few people actually confronted me when they noticed that I was using the app & I have to sneakily use it & I have to walk to the airport exit to hop on my ride. Grab & inDriver drivers are not allowed to fetch passengers from Phuket airport.
You can also try metered taxis & do remember to insist on the meter as the majority of them will charge you based on their own rates which are usually more expensive than the meter charges. If you are using their Tuk Tuk, always negotiate 30-50% lesser than what they are offering.
2. FoodIt really depends on the choice of food that you eat. It is pretty hard to negotiate on food prices but in order to save money, you can always eat food that is available in 7/11 or even their street food which usually costs lesser than restaurant food.
3. ShoppingIt is hard to negotiate the price if you are shopping in the mall but if you are shopping in their morning or night market, you are able to negotiate for most items. You can always try to negotiate between 20-50% of the actual offered price. For example, if your item was offered by the seller at THB500, you can try to ask if they can sell you at THB300, they will usually counteroffer with another price such as THB400, you can counter-offer them at THB350 & find ways to meet in the middle. Another tactic that I will use if they can’t go any lower is to walk away where they will pull you back & counteroffer with their best price. It sounds pretty bad, but it works most of the time. You can also make comparisons based on similar items, especially in the markets where you can find similar items at a few different shops.
4. Currency ExchangeIt is very important to change money in advance before entering the country as the exchange rate that you can get from your country is better than changing it in the Thailand currency exchange shop. If you are short of cash & you need to change it, you can head to any nearest malls where they have few currency exchange shops or banks. Always compare each shop as they have a different exchange rate. Don’t forget to bring your passport along with you.
Your credit card exchange rate may not be the best as well. If you plan to use any credit card to make a transaction, you can consider BigPay or Wise Card where they are offering better exchange rates compared to your existing credit cards.
5. Planning Your TravelThis requires a lot of effort to plan the best route & place to go to avoid high expenses on your traveling fees. If you are planning to go a few places within your few days of traveling, always plan the best route based on each location that is close to each other to avoid high transportation fees.
Conclusion:
Thailand is definitely a nice country to be in especially with the nice Thai food at an affordable price, it is a also shopping heaven for ladies. If you are keen to explore around, they have many natural attractions to offer such as beaches. For people who like to drink, it is definitely an affordable place to drink & party. Overall, it can be expensive or cheap depending on how you actually spend your money. The above guide will definitely help you if you are looking to save money & enjoy your trip to the fullest.
OSS!
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