Vapes, alcohol, helmets, reviews: the Thai laws that catch visitors

Leave the vape at home, wear the helmet, keep online reviews factual and carry ID. Those four habits head off the most common ways visitors get caught out. The other rules below catch fewer people.

Who it’s for: anyone arriving soon, especially first-timers who plan to rent a scooter or post about the trip. Anyone who will never ride a scooter or post online can skim those sections. The catch: enforcement varies by province, so treat a stated fine as indicative.

The laws at a glance

Your passport and your stay

Carry your passport, or at least a copy of the photo page and the page with your latest entry stamp. Officials give mixed signals on whether the original is required, so a copy is the safer minimum if you do not want to carry the passport itself.

Since filming: visa-free stays are now 30 days, tourism only (see the entry rules board).

Overstaying costs 500 baht a day, capped at 20,000 baht, paid at the airport when you leave. An overstay of more than 90 days can bring a re-entry ban of a year or more. Leave or extend before the date on your stamp.

Vapes: the one people still get wrong

Vapes are on sale in plain sight, which tempts visitors to assume they are legal. They are not. Government travel advice treats any vape, pod or heated-tobacco device as illegal to own or use, with no exception for tourists or personal use.

Vapes can be confiscated and the owner fined, and importing them can carry prison under the Customs Act. Do not pack one, and do not buy one here. Declaring it at the airport does not make it lawful.

Cannabis and other drugs

Cannabis is medical-only. Flower is sold only on prescription, smoking it in public can be treated as a public nuisance, and you must never carry it out of Thailand: export is illegal and airport checks are strict.

Every other recreational drug is heavily criminalised. Even small quantities can mean long prison terms. The simple rule is none.

Alcohol

The legal drinking age is 20. Expect venues to ask for ID, so carry your passport photo page or a licence.

Alcohol sales are limited to set hours. Drinkers can be fined too for drinking where it is not allowed.

Drinking is banned in some public places such as temples, schools, government offices, parks and petrol stations. Check the signs.

On a motorbike

Rent from an established shop and read the scams guide first.

• Helmet. Rider and passenger both. Fines are in the low thousands of baht, and police check. A helmet carried but not worn is still an offence.
• Licence. A licence valid in Thailand is required. For most visitors that means a home licence plus an international driving permit. Check the permit covers motorbikes, because the class matters.
• Pavements. Riding on the footpath is illegal, however many people do it.
• Drinking. The limit is 0.05%. Penalties are prison and fines, and checkpoints are common at night.
• Insurance. Travel policies commonly refuse a claim if you were unlicensed or had been drinking. A crash then costs you the bill too.

Online reviews and filming people

Criminal defamation, including online, carries prison. A review that damages someone’s reputation can become a police complaint, though honest opinion expressed in good faith is a recognised defence. Write what happened, in plain words, and leave out insults and guesses about motives.

Filming is a separate issue. Taking a photo in public is rarely a problem, but posting identifiable strangers without consent invites trouble over privacy. Do not film an argument and upload it. Keep any evidence for the police.

Temples and litter

Temple dress is a custom of the site rather than a statute, but it is enforced at the gate. Cover your shoulders and knees, and stay covered on the whole grounds, not just inside the hall.

Littering is an offence, including cigarette ends, and it can be fined.

Save the numbers before you need them: Tourist Police 1155, police 191. The emergency page lists the rest.