Thailand

Understand

Called the "Land of Smiles", Thailand is the heart of the Southeast Asian mainland. It has relatively good infrastructure, with Bangkok being an intercontinental flight hub, and the country is the gateway to the region for most foreign visitors. The country is extremely well developed for tourism, and yet outside the backpacker hubs and expat hangouts, you'll find an underlying soul, culture and kindness that will leave you with a lifelong and perhaps life-changing impression. Whatever your cup of tea is, they know how to make it in Thailand. This is not to say that Thailand doesn't have its downsides, including the considerable growing pains of an economy where an agricultural labourer is lucky to earn 100 baht per day while the nouveaux riches cruise past in their BMWs. Bangkok, the capital, is notorious for its traffic jams and rampant development has wrecked much of once-beautiful Pattaya and Phuket. In heavily touristed areas, some lowlifes, both Thai and farang, have made scamming tourists into an art form. Finally, despite being relatively economically developed, Thailand still suffers from problems that afflict most Southeast Asian countries, such as new towns and neighbourhoods built haphazardly and with no concern for architectural beauty, the lack of accessibility and pedestrian-friendliness in large cities, and often, presence of trash and litter in both cities and rural areas.

History The earliest identifiable Thai kingdom was founded in Sukhothai in 1238, reaching its zenith under King Ramkhamhaeng in the 14th century before falling under the control of the kingdom of Ayutthaya, which ruled most of present-day Thailand and much of today's Laos and Cambodia as well, eventually also absorbing the northern kingdom of Lanna. Ayutthaya was sacked in 1767 by

See

Historical and cultural attractions Bangkok is at the start of many visitors' itineraries, and while a modern city, it has a rich cultural heritage. Most visitors at least take in the Grand Palace, a collection of highly decorated buildings and monuments. It is home to Wat Phra Kaew, the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand that houses the Emerald Buddha. Other cultural attractions include Wat Pho, Wat Arun and Jim Thompson's House, but these are just a fracti

Getting there

Starting 1 May 2025, foreigners entering or transiting Thailand need to fill in a Digital Arrival Card online within 72 hours of arriving. The form includes questions about your reason for travelling to Thailand, where you will stay, when and how you will arrive and depart and so on. It is possible to fill this digital arrival card upon arrival but there may be a long queue in peak hours.

Entry requirements

Citizens of the following countries may enter Thailand for tourism visa-free for up to the following number of days:

14 days: Myanmar (for entry by air only). 60 days: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China (mainland) (limited to a total of 90 days in any 180-day period), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. 90 days: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and South Korea. Check the latest information from the Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa. The visa exemption is only granted up to twice per calendar year if entering by land or sea. Citizens of the following countries may apply for a visa-on-arrival for a stay of up to 30 days: Bulgaria, Bhutan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua

Getting around

Thailand is a large country, but the good news is that there are plenty of affordable and comfortable ways to get around. Domestic flights are a good option for lengthy trips like Bangkok to Phuket or Chiang Mai, with very competitive fares on the main routes if booked in advance, while plush VIP intercity buses ply the highways to every city of any size and there's a reasonable train network as well. Renting a car or motorbike to drive yourself is a more questionable proposition, since while the road network is quite good, Thailand's traffic safety record has a lot of room for improvement and large cities, especially Bangkok, are snarled in perpetual traffic jams. Nevertheless, rentals for a step-in 125/150cc bike start from about 1000 baht/week including helmet, making this an attractive option to get around and explore nearby areas. Most any hotel or lodging will be more than happy to help you arrange a rental.

By plane

If sitting in a bus for 11 hours is not your idea of a fun time, you may well want to consider domestic flights, which can whisk you from Bangkok to anywhere in the country in an hour. Never terribly expensive to begin with (at least by Western standards), the deregulation of the industry has brought in a crop of new operators: with a little research, it's possible to fly pretty much anywhere in the country for less than 2,000 baht. On highly competitive routes like Bangkok to Phuket it is possible to fly for less than a bus ticket if you book in advance. Various taxes and (often hefty) surcharges are invariably added to advertised prices. Don't forget to bring the credit card you used to book the ticket, as these are sometimes required when checking in. While most flights still lead to Bangkok, popular regional hubs like Chiang Mai and Phuket are