Sleep by a station, ride the train: a first-timer's Bangkok guide

Book somewhere near a BTS or MRT station and use the train for most trips. The paperwork and the heat are easier to fix than a hotel an hour from the line.

Who it’s for: first-timers planning four to seven days in the city. Who can skip it: repeat visitors with a base they like, and anyone on a fully organised tour.

Pick your month

Bangkok has three seasons. Thailand’s government dates them as cool from mid-October to mid-February, hot from mid-February to mid-May, and rainy from mid-May to mid-October, with August and September the wettest.

• Hot season: afternoons are brutal. Do outdoor sights before 11am and go indoors after lunch.
• Rainy season: downpours come in bursts, and streets in low-lying areas can flood. Keep a day or two spare.
• Cool season: the best weather and the highest prices.
• Haze: the cool season overlaps with haze, when particle pollution (PM2.5) can climb, usually between December and April. Anyone with asthma or a heart condition should check Air4Thai, the Pollution Control Department’s site, before and during the trip.

The flaw in every option is the same: there is no month that is cool, dry, cheap and clear at once.

Landing: entry rules

Get these right at home, because they are the only part of the trip that can stop you at the border.

• Passport: valid for at least six months after you arrive, with at least one blank page.
• Arrival card: every foreign visitor must file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) on the official site, tdac.immigration.go.th. It’s free, and you file it up to three days before you land, counting the day of arrival. Any site that charges is an agent. Save the QR code to your phone.
• Kiosks: if you forget, there are kiosks before immigration, but the queue will cost you time.
• Questions at the desk: an officer may ask for the TDAC confirmation, an onward or return ticket and your first night’s address. Keep all three on your phone.
• Funds: officers can ask you to show money for your stay. Embassies quote 20,000 baht per person or 40,000 per family, though some quote half that and checks are uncommon. Carry the higher figure to be safe.

Since filming: the visa-free stay for most Western passports is now 30 days, for tourism only. The entry rules board has the current rules and the TDAC guide goes through the form.

Get cash the cheap way

Don’t change money at home. Rates are better in Thailand, at dedicated exchange counters (SuperRich is one chain) rather than at hotel desks or bank windows. Bring clean, undamaged notes and your passport, and refuse any offer made on the street.

At an ATM, three habits save money:

1. Expect a fee of roughly 250 baht a withdrawal, more on some Mastercards. The machine shows the fee before you confirm. Withdraw larger sums less often, and consider a travel card that refunds ATM fees.
2. Choose baht. When the machine offers to convert to your home currency, decline. That option, called dynamic currency conversion, gives a worse rate than your bank.
3. Take your card back. Thai machines can pay out the cash before they return the card. Wait for it.

Ask for an uneven amount such as 4,900 baht. You get 100-baht notes, which are easier to spend than a stack of 1,000s.

Get a SIM or eSIM

An eSIM is the simplest option if your phone supports it, and works for onward travel in other countries if you pick a regional plan. For a week or two, buy a tourist SIM at the airport counters of AIS or True.

For a stay longer than a month, a prepaid SIM from a phone shop or 7-Eleven gives you a Thai number and cheaper data. Foreign buyers must register with a passport.

Choose where to sleep

Distances on the map mislead in Bangkok. Traffic turns a 5km hop into an hour, so the station outside your hotel matters more than the pool.

Before you book, sort reviews by most recent and read the one-star ones. Look for broken pavements, construction next door and, in the rainy months, any mention of flooding.

Think twice about short-stay condo rentals

Short stays in a private condo are generally not allowed under Thai hotel law unless the building has a hotel licence, and many juristic boards also ban them. Some buildings restrict pool and gym access for short-stay guests. Guests have been turned away at the door.

A serviced apartment is the safer alternative: a single-owner building that is allowed to take short stays, with a front desk and housekeeping. The catch is a higher price than a private condo listing.

Move around the city

Rail

The Airport Rail Link, BTS Skytrain and MRT reach most places visitors go. First trains run around 5:30am to 6am, and the last around midnight.

The catch: each system charges its own fare. Changing from the BTS to the MRT means leaving one gate and paying again.

For the full fare table, see getting around Bangkok.

Boats

The Chao Phraya boats are the cheap way to reach Wat Arun and the old city, and a decent attraction in themselves. Buy river-boat tickets at the pier. On the canal boats you pay the conductor, so carry small notes.

Taxis and apps

Book Grab or Bolt where you can. Both show the fare up front and track the ride. At Suvarnabhumi, follow the pick-up point the app shows.

If you hail a street taxi, insist on the meter. From the airport taxi queue a 50-baht airport surcharge applies on top of the meter, plus tolls. If a driver won’t use the meter, get out and take the next one. The Department of Land Transport takes complaints on 1584.

Motorbikes

Skip renting one if you’re inexperienced. Riders need a licence valid for motorcycles. For most visitors that means a home motorcycle licence plus an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category; a car-only permit does not cover it. Insurers can refuse claims after an unlicensed crash, and helmets are required for rider and passenger.

Don’t overpack the days

One day does not cover Bangkok, and even two rush it. Group sights by area, so the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun share a morning and the malls around Siam share an afternoon. Leave the rush hours (roughly 7am to 9am and 5pm to 8pm) for sitting down.

Walk less, and carefully

Bangkok is walkable only in pockets. Elsewhere pavements break up, stop at a junction or double as motorbike lanes, and drivers do not reliably stop at zebra crossings. Cross where others cross, and don’t step off a kerb while looking at your phone.

Plan your days so you walk in the parks, along the river and in the neighbourhoods built for it, and ride the train between them.

Eat well, carefully

Street food is generally fine at busy stalls where the food is cooked in front of you. The risk sits in trays of food that have been standing out. Start gently, then build up.

Streets around the biggest sights price for passing trade, so walk a few streets away. Fruit shakes and cut fruit are only as safe as the stall’s hygiene, so look at the setup before you order.

If you do get sick, a quick visit to a hospital or clinic for fluids and treatment gets most people back on their feet fast.

Shop in the right place

• Chatuchak Weekend Market: the best single stop for clothes, souvenirs and homeware. Go in the morning.
• Tourist-district markets and malls: fake goods are common, so compare prices and expect lower quality.
• Large malls: fixed prices and authentic goods, but branded and luxury items can cost more than at home.

Bargain at markets for clothes, souvenirs and unpriced goods, not for food or in shops with price tags. Start well below the ask and stay friendly; if a vendor has already marked a fair price, a small discount for several items is all you’ll get.

For a VAT refund, shop at stores displaying the “VAT Refund for Tourists” sign. You need at least 2,000 baht in one shop on one day, and the goods must leave Thailand within 60 days; the airport VAT desk checks the minimum total. Keep the receipts and forms and allow time at the airport.

Book tours with care

Taxi drivers and street touts push tours that cost more and deliver less. Book through an operator you chose beforehand, check recent reviews, and buy attraction tickets from the official counter or site.

Temples and the Grand Palace require covered shoulders and knees. Sleeveless tops, shorts, sheer or tight clothes and flip-flops can get you turned away. The Grand Palace opens at 8:30am; check its official site for the last entry time.

Recognise the scams

Nearly all of them start the same way: someone you didn’t approach speaks to you first, in a tourist hotspot. The usual lines are that the sight is closed today and a friend can take you somewhere better, or that a cheap tuk-tuk ride includes a stop at a shop.

Don’t engage and don’t explain. Keep walking. Legitimate businesses do not chase customers down the street, and people with nothing to sell do not stop strangers to chat. A few streets from the main sights, the pressure disappears.

If a dispute turns serious, stay calm and call the tourist police on 1155, which has English-speaking operators.

Sort out health cover

Private hospitals in Bangkok are good and used to foreign patients, and they bill accordingly. Admission usually brings a deposit or proof of insurance before treatment starts.

Buy travel insurance before you fly, and read it for two things: medical evacuation, and whether it still pays if you ride a scooter. For a medical emergency call 1669. The tourist police number is 1155, and the general police number is 191.

Heat is the quieter problem. Headaches and tiredness on day two are as often dehydration as jet lag. Drink bottled water, which any convenience store sells, and skip the tap.

Mind your manners

Most manners come down to keeping your voice down and your temper in. Shouting at a shop assistant or a taxi driver loses the argument, whoever is right.

• Shoes: take them off when asked, at temples, homes and some shops.
• Feet: keep them off chairs and tables, and don’t point them at people or at a Buddha image.
• Heads: don’t touch anyone’s head, children included.
• Temples: don’t sit on steps or touch sacred objects, and give monks room.

The catch with all of this is that nobody will tell you when you get it wrong. Copy the people around you.