Thailand is one of the countries where it’s easy for me to live on a $30 a day budget. In January, I spent 18 days in Northern Thailand, but I knew I wanted to go back and explore the south. The second time I stayed for just under 4 weeks (27 days), and managed to stick to my Thailand backpacking budget. I attended an 11 day silent retreat which was a big help since it only cost $60 including all food and accommodations. Here’s what I spent in 18 days in Northern Thailand and 27 days in Southern Thailand.
Southern Thailand Itinerary
1 night in Surat Thani – Since I only stayed for one night, I chose a cheap hostel. I wouldn’t really recommend spending a lot of time in this city as there isn’t much to do.
5 nights in Khao Sok – This town is one of the cheapest places I’ve ever stayed. My room cost less than $5 a night and I never spent more than $4 on a meal. I did go on an overnight trek for $75 which included several activities, accommodations, and food.
8 nights in Koh Samui – I fell in love with Koh Samui. I stayed at an amazing hostel with a beautiful pool. I was also right next to the beach, so it was easy to stay under my Thailand backpacking budget there. I did splurge on a couple of Muay Thai boxing classes though.
1 night in Surat Thani
11 nights in Suan Mokkh Monestary – If you’re interested in “finding yourself” this is the place to do it. For $60, you can live like a monk for 11 days. It was extremely difficult and the living conditions were pretty basic, but it’s a great way to save money, and it’s a life changing experience. You can read more here and here.
1 night by the airport
Southern Thailand Backpacking Budget
Itemized Average Prices Per Day
Since the silent retreat skewed the information below drastically, I did not include it in the average prices per day. The information below is for the 16 days where I paid for everything and tracked my budget. I spent an average of $36.94 per day over 16 days.
Breakfast $1.49 – Breakfast in Thailand is super cheap, especially if you eat the local cuisine. In Koh Samui, my friend and I found a great little place where you could get veggies, rice and a fried egg for $1.
Lunch $2.30 – Again, if you eat the local food, it’s super cheap here. I was on a soup kick for some of this journey and soups are really inexpensive. I also started eating more vegetarian meals which kept the price down as well.
Dinner $3.86 – I found dinners to be very inexpensive. This price even includes going out drinking one night at an island party.
Shelter $8.03 – Shelter is reasonably priced as well. A lot of times, I chose the most basic place, but in Koh Samui I stayed in a beautiful hostel with a pool. Even then, it was under $12 a night.
- Surat Thani – The Port Hostel
- Khao Sok – Khao Sok Hostel
- Koh Samui – Sirinsamui Boutique Hostel
Transportation $4.28 – I took a couple of buses and ferries to get to each city/town. I also took a few taxis/ tuk-tuks for shorter distances.
Tourism $8.17 – This included an overnight stay in Khao Sok National Park, tubing down a river, and two Muay Thai boxing lessons.
Other $4.51 – This was money spent on items not listed above. Mostly it was laundry, souvenirs, postcards, and my SIM card. I also splurged on some clothes when I arrived.
Itemized Totals Spent Over 27 Days
These prices take into account the 11 day silent retreat, which is included in the tourism category.
Breakfast – $23.83
Lunch – $36.80
Dinner – $61.79
Shelter – $128.53
Transportation – $68.53
Tourism – $189.54
Other – $72.16
Total – $581.17
Average Spent Per Day in Southern Thailand
I went to Thailand with a budget of $30 a day and actually came in WAYYY under budget at only $21.52 per day. Since I spent 11 days living in a monastery, I was able to save up some major money. I was also able to save during my time in Koh Samui where I mostly sat by the pool or went to the beach each day.
Northern Thailand Itinerary
6 nights Bangkok – This was my very first time traveling solo, so I actually came in under budget. I was still adjusting to eating by myself and finding restaurants that had an English menu, so I’d skip breakfast and just have brunch to avoid extra stress.
1 night Ayutthaya – The hostels in Ayutthaya are a little on the expensive side ($16) but almost everything else is extremely cheap in the area.
1 night Lopburi – Lopburi was on the cheap side since it’s a small city. I even went out to dinner and had drinks with friends for under $8.
1 night Phitsanulok – The only reason I stopped here was to break up the long train ride to Chiang Mai. I barely spent any money since I spent most of my time in the hotel relaxing.
6 nights Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai itself isn’t expensive, but a lot of the things I wanted to do were outside the city. If you don’t know how to ride a motorbike, you end up booking tours anytime you want to see something. They are overpriced and often I’d end up skipping something because of that.
3 nights Pai – Pai was incredibly cheap, however I did a cave trek, which put me over budget for the days I was there.
1 night Chiang Mai – Bangkok on the night train – Many people told me to do a night train to save money, however it cost almost $40 which was four times more than I’d spend on any hostel. Considering how I barely slept, I’d recommend stopping at a few places on the way back and taking the regular train if your itinerary allows it.
1 night Bangkok – After arriving on the night train, I spent one night near the airport before my flight to Myanmar. I mostly relaxed in the hostel which meant I barely spent any money.
1 night Bangkok – After arriving on the night train, I spent one night near the airport before my flight to Myanmar. I mostly relaxed in the hostel which meant I barely spent any money.
Northern Thailand Backpacking Budget
Itemized Average Prices Per Day
Breakfast $2.24 – Unlike other countries, breakfast usually wasn’t included with my hostel.
Lunch $1.67 – A lot of days I ate a late breakfast/brunch to stay on budget. Some days I’d get noodle soup for $1. Honestly, the biggest cost I had around lunchtime was water. I probably spent $1 on water a day because it was so hot.
Dinner $4.85 – Dinner in Thailand had a wide range in prices. A local place would give you a feast for $2 while some place fancy and westernized might cost $8.
Shelter $12.74 – Nice hostels (dorm style) are very inexpensive in Thailand. Almost all the places I stayed were clean and comfortable (I’ve excluded the ones that weren’t on my list below). The average price would be lower, but this includes the $40 night train.
- Bangkok – CHERN Hostel
- Ayutthaya – Chommuang Guest House
- Lopburi – Noom Guesthouse
- Chiang Mai – Green Sleep Hostel
Transportation $2.75 – This includes buses, taxis, trains, etc. This doesn’t include the night train since I counted that in shelter. Also, it does not include airfare. I got my flights for free using points.
Tourism $11.19 – This includes a cooking class ($27), Sak Yant tattoo ($100), cave trek ($60), tours, temple entrance fees, donations, tips, etc.
Other $2.58 – This was money spent on items not listed above. Mostly it was laundry, souvenirs, elephant pants, and my SIM card.
Optional Extra Expenses
Elephant Nature Park $168.00 – I created an extra budget for special experiences on my trip. One of those experiences was riding an elephant. After doing research, I realized how bad it is to ride an elephant and decided to visit an elephant sanctuary and swim with elephants instead. I did not include the $168 in my breakdowns for this post because it skews the data a lot, and there are cheaper sanctuaries (that don’t allow riding). I chose this one based on reviews and how much it does to protect elephants and educate people. To me the high price was worth it.
Itemized Total Spent Over 18 Days
*None of this includes the Elephant Nature Park
Breakfast – $40.40
Lunch – $30.14
Dinner – $87.22
Shelter – $229.29
Transportation – $49.57
Tourism – $201.47 ($369.47 including the Elephant Nature Park)
Other – $46.51
Total – $548.60 ($716.60 including Elephant Nature Park)
Average Spent per day in Northern Thailand
I’ve read about a lot of people who travel for $10 a day or even $20 a day, but I feel like it would be impossible to enjoy yourself on that kind of budget. I had a $30 a day budget, plus I put aside $170 for the Elephant Nature Park before leaving home. $30 a day was a really comfortable budget for Thailand. A lot of days I stayed under and other days I went over by doing excursions. The only time I struggled to stay on budget was in Chiang Mai when a lot of things I wanted to do were outside of the city and the tour groups were overpriced. I ended up spending $30.48 a day on average. If I did it again, I would budget $50 a day for that week so that I wouldn’t have to pick and choose.
Have any questions about my backpacking Thailand backpacking budget? Ask in the comments!
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Michelle Della Giovanna
Writer at Full Time Explorer
I’m just your average New Yorker who quit her job in the fashion industry to explore the world. Come find out what it’s like to trade in five-inch heels for squat toilets.
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