How much does two weeks in Thailand really cost?
The cost of two weeks in Thailand has a wider range than almost any country we work in. The same fortnight, the same route and the same weather can be a fourteen hundred dollar trip or a seven thousand dollar one, and the difference is almost entirely where you sleep and which week you fly.
Everything below is land only, per person, based on two people sharing a room. It excludes international flights, because those depend on where you fly from. It includes accommodation, food, ground transport, domestic flights, entries and the guiding we would normally build in.
The four anchors we price against
These are the same numbers used in our complete Thailand guide, because the guide and the magazine should not contradict each other.
| Style | What it looks like | Per person, per day |
|---|---|---|
| Careful | Simple but decent hotels, mostly independent days, shared boats, public ferries | $100 |
| Comfortable | Good four star hotels, private transfers, guides on the days that need one | $170 |
| Boutique | Design hotels and small properties, private guiding, private boat days | $290 |
| Luxury | Top-tier resorts, private vehicles and guides throughout | $520 |
Over fourteen days that gives roughly $1,400, $2,380, $4,060 and $7,280 per person.
Two observations before the detail. The gap between careful and comfortable is almost all hotels. The gap between boutique and luxury is mostly beachfront: a headland villa is where the last two thousand dollars goes, and it buys a view rather than a better trip.
And the month matters more than the tier. A beachfront room in Krabi over the turn of the year can cost three times the same room in June. Moving flexible dates is the largest single saving available to you.
Accommodation, night by night
This is where the budget is won or lost. Rates below are per room per night for two sharing, as planning ranges rather than quotes. Thai hotel pricing swings hard with the season, so we confirm live rates for your exact dates before anything is booked.
| Type | What you get | Per room, per night |
|---|---|---|
| Simple guesthouse or town hotel | Clean, air-conditioned, a pool if you are lucky | $30 to $55 |
| Good three star, Bangkok or Chiang Mai | A proper room, breakfast, a decent neighbourhood | $65 to $110 |
| Four star city hotel | Space, a pool worth using, a bar worth sitting in | $130 to $220 |
| Boutique hotel, Chiang Mai old city | Small, particular, usually the reason you remember the town | $180 to $320 |
| Mid-range beach resort, Krabi or Koh Lanta | Garden room, a beach two minutes away | $110 to $190 |
| Good beach resort, high season | Sea view, two restaurants, a proper spa | $250 to $450 |
| Top-tier island resort, high season | Villa, pool, the headland to yourself | $600 to $1,800 |
| Khao Sok raft house, Cheow Lan lake | Floating room, no road access, meals included | $120 to $260 |
The line that surprises people most is the first one. A perfectly good air-conditioned room with a pool in Chiang Mai costs very little. The line that surprises them second is the last but one: island beachfront in December and January is priced like Europe, because the supply is finite and the whole northern hemisphere wants it in the same six weeks.
Food, which is the good news
Thailand is one of two countries in our library where we routinely tell people they are budgeting too much for food.
- Bowl of khao soi at a Chiang Mai noodle shop: $2 to $4
- Street plate of pad kaphrao with a fried egg: $2 to $3
- Market dinner for two, several dishes and drinks: $10 to $16
- Sit-down dinner for two at a good local restaurant with beer: $20 to $30
- Dinner at a Bangkok restaurant with a reputation: $40 to $80 per person
- Beach resort dinner, which is where the money actually goes: $30 to $60 per person
- Cooking class, half a day including market: $35 to $55
A realistic daily food budget for someone eating well and eating widely is $20 to $30. You can eat superbly at $15. The number rises sharply only when you are on an island where the resort is the only kitchen within walking distance, which is a real cost and one people forget when they choose the quiet bay over the busy one.
Getting around
| Leg | Approximate, per person |
|---|---|
| Bangkok to Chiang Mai, domestic flight | $45 to $90 |
| Bangkok to Krabi or Phuket, domestic flight | $50 to $110 |
| Chiang Mai to Phuket, direct domestic flight | $60 to $120 |
| Bangkok to Chiang Mai, overnight sleeper, second class air-conditioned berth | $30 to $45 |
| Krabi to Koh Lanta, ferry | $12 to $20 |
| Phuket to Koh Yao Noi, speedboat | $15 to $25 |
| Private car with driver, half day in Bangkok | $60 to $90 for the car |
| Private car with driver, Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and back | $120 to $170 for the car |
| Licensed private guide with a car, full day | $130 to $200 for the party |
| Private long-tail or speedboat, full day in Phang Nga bay | $180 to $350 for the boat |
Two things worth knowing. Domestic fares here are genuinely cheap, but the low-cost carriers sell fares with almost no hold baggage, and adding a real luggage allowance often doubles the headline price. We quote the fare you can actually use. And Koh Samui’s airport is privately owned, which makes it the most expensive short flight in the country; where the fare is unreasonable we fly you to Surat Thani and put you on the ferry instead.
Three complete two-week budgets
Each is fourteen days, per person, two people sharing, land only.
The careful trip, about $1,400
Simple hotels and guesthouses, one internal flight each way, public ferries, no private guiding, and eating where Thai people eat.
| Line | Total |
|---|---|
| Accommodation, 13 nights | $560 |
| Food | $310 |
| Domestic flights | $150 |
| Ground transport, ferries and local travel | $200 |
| Entries, national park fees and incidentals | $180 |
| Total | $1,400 |
The compromises here are all in room size and location, not in what you see or eat. This is a genuinely good trip, and in Thailand it is more than respectable.
The comfortable trip, about $2,380
Good four star hotels, a private car and driver on every transfer day, three guided days, a private boat day on the coast, and a mix of market eating and booked dinners.
| Line | Total |
|---|---|
| Accommodation, 13 nights | $1,150 |
| Food | $450 |
| Domestic flights | $190 |
| Private transfers and ferries | $280 |
| Guiding, three days | $250 |
| Entries and incidentals | $60 |
| Total | $2,380 |
This is the most common shape of trip we build and the one we would choose ourselves for a first visit. It maps closely onto classic Thailand in 14 days.
The boutique trip, about $4,060
Design hotels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, a serious beach property for five nights, private guiding on four days, private boats rather than joined ones, and dinners our partner team books by phone.
| Line | Total |
|---|---|
| Accommodation, 13 nights | $2,350 |
| Food | $650 |
| Domestic flights | $290 |
| Private car and private boat days | $420 |
| Guiding, four days | $290 |
| Entries and incidentals | $60 |
| Total | $4,060 |
See boutique Thailand in 12 days for what this looks like day by day.
What actually moves the number
- The fortnight. Christmas and New Year on the Andaman coast can add 60 to 200 percent to accommodation alone. The same trip in June is a different price band entirely.
- Which island. Everything on Koh Kood and Koh Yao Noi arrives by boat and the rates reflect it. Koh Lanta and the Krabi mainland deliver the same standard for noticeably less.
- How much guiding you take. Our standing advice is three or four guided days across two weeks, not fourteen. Beach days do not need a guide and a guide will not improve them.
- How many internal flights. Each one costs money, but more importantly each one costs most of a day. Two flights in a fortnight is right. Four is a routing mistake with a price attached.
Plan this trip
Tell us your dates, your rough budget and the shape of trip you have in mind, and a Thailand specialist will build you a first outline with real hotels and real numbers. Free, and with no obligation.
Keep reading
- Thailand: the complete guide to planning your trip
- Thailand’s two coasts have opposite seasons
- What we would skip in Thailand
- How far ahead to book Asia, country by country
- Classic Thailand in 14 days
- All our Thailand trips
Frequently asked questions
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