How Much Should You Budget for 2 Weeks in Thailand? Our Prices and Expenses
Thailand remains a destination where you can travel comfortably without needing a huge budget. But the cliché that “everything costs nothing” deserves some nuance.
A street-food dish may cost just a few euros, while a domestic flight, an island excursion or several nights in Phuket can quickly push the total higher.
After spending several months in the country, we would budget around €70 to €80 per day per person for a comfortable two-week trip, excluding international flights.
That works out to around €1,000 to €1,120 per person for 14 days.
This is obviously only a benchmark: your itinerary and travel style will affect your budget far more than the price of a pad thai.
For practical information about currency, payments and exchange rates, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is also a useful reference before departure.
Accommodation: from €10 for a dorm bed to €30–40 for a room
Accommodation remains very affordable across much of the country.
Among the prices we actually encountered:
- Dorm bed: around €8–15
- Comfortable double room: around €30
- Family room: from around €55
But prices vary considerably depending on the destination. For example, our double room cost us €16 in Krabi, compared with €75 in Phuket for a significantly more comfortable stay.
Over two weeks, the region you choose therefore makes a major difference.
Eating in Thailand: one of the easiest expenses to control
This is probably where Thailand remains particularly good value.
During our trip, we observed prices of around:
€2.50 for a local meal,
€8.75 for a Western-style meal,
€1.25 for a local breakfast,
€5 for a Western-style breakfast.
And saving money here certainly does not mean eating badly: markets and food courts are an integral part of the experience.
Transportation: the expense to watch
This is where the budget can really start to climb.
A scooter costs only around €5 per day based on the prices we found locally. But once you start crossing the country, the total changes quickly.
On our route, for example, we paid around:
- Bangkok → Phuket by plane: around €65 including transfer
- Krabi → Koh Samui: around €25
- Koh Samui → Chiang Mai: around €125
- Chiang Mai → Chiang Rai: around €9
So it is your itinerary, far more than your daily spending, that determines a large part of the budget.
Our article Thailand 2-Week Itinerary: What to See in 15 Days? helps you visualize the main stops and transfers before you go.
Activities: a few major expenses are enough to change the budget
Temples and waterfalls are often inexpensive.
It is mainly organized excursions, boat trips and specific activities that increase the overall budget.
So the best strategy is not necessarily to book as many excursions as possible.
We would rather identify two or three experiences that genuinely matter, then alternate them with beaches, temples, markets, walks or scooter days that cost much less.
That is also what makes it possible to keep the overall budget around €70–80 per day without feeling like you are missing out.
Small expenses you should not forget
A few useful benchmarks from our trip:
SIM card: around €10
Laundry: around €1.50/kg
Local beer: around €3
Cocktail or glass of wine: around €7
Water or a simple coffee: around €0.50
Taken individually, these amounts are small.
Over fifteen days, however, they still add up to several dozen euros.
How much should you budget in total for 2 weeks in Thailand?
For a trip similar to the one we recommend, we would therefore budget around €1,000 to €1,120 per person for two weeks, excluding international airfare.
You can spend less by choosing dorms, using more overland transportation and booking fewer excursions.
You can also exceed this budget very quickly with nicer hotels, several domestic flights or frequent boat trips.
Thailand allows both.
So the real question is less “How much does Thailand cost?” and more “What kind of trip do you want to have there?”
The time of year can also have a major impact on prices. Our article When Is the Best Time to Visit Thailand? Weather, Monsoon & Islands by Season will help you choose your dates based on both the weather and visitor numbers.
The complete TAMAP Guide then brings together the prices we observed, transportation, activities and accommodation so you can build your own budget before departure.
Planning your trip?
If you want to follow this route without having to rebuild all the logistics yourself, the TAMAP Thailand Guide details the actual journeys, travel times, best areas to stay, access, prices we observed, excursions and alternatives. Its itineraries are flexible: you can follow them as they are, keep individual days or build your own route using the same framework. Then it is yours to turn into your own trip.