We live in Thailand and constantly hear the same question from friends planning a holiday: how much money to bring with you. There is no universal answer, it all depends on the resort, the season and your style of holiday. But there are working guidelines and a clear logic that make it easy to calculate a budget to suit you. Below everything is laid out neatly, with prices for 2026 and no fluff.
A rough guideline per person per day, excluding accommodation and flights: budget from 1000 to 1800 baht, a comfortable holiday from 2500 to 4500 baht, premium from 5000 baht and up. In rubles that is roughly 2500, 6000 and 12000, but the baht-to-ruble rate jumps around, so calculate with a buffer. For a standard holiday of 10-12 days, people usually bring the equivalent of 800-1000 dollars per person, part in cash, part on a card.
There are essentially three budget multipliers. The first is the season: in the high season from November to March everything gets more expensive, from accommodation to excursions. The second is the resort: Phuket and Samui are noticeably more expensive than Pattaya and the mainland cities. The third is your style: some live on street food and a motorbike, while others go to a seafood restaurant every evening and travel by taxi. So do not blindly rely on other people's figures, work out your own set of expenses.
Let us break down three levels. The figures are daily, per person, excluding the hotel and the air ticket.
Budget, from 1000 to 1800 baht. You stay in a guesthouse, eat at food carts and food courts, get around by motorbike and songthaew, and your entertainment is the beach and the occasional excursion.
Comfort, from 2500 to 4500 baht. A three- or four-star hotel, lunches and dinners at cafes and restaurants, taxis and Grab, a couple of excursions per trip.
Premium, from 5000 baht. Five-star hotels or a villa, restaurants, car rental, diving, tours and spa.
The spread in the budget level is large for a reason. It all comes down to what you count in the daily budget, whether it includes excursions and alcohol. A day without an excursion can cost 800 baht, while one with a boat trip jumps straight to around three thousand.
Street food costs from 50 to 120 baht per dish: pad thai with chicken 70-120, tom yum 80-160, kuay teow noodles 50-100, a smoothie or coconut 40-80. A food court is 120-250 baht per dish, a local cuisine cafe 150-300, a seafood restaurant 250-600. For two people with mixed meals, budget around 2000-2500 baht per day. Over the past couple of years eating out has gone up by some 10-20 percent, so feel free to raise the old figures from blogs.
A bed in a hostel costs 400-1200 baht per night, a simple guesthouse from 1500, a three-star hotel 1800-3500, four stars 4000-8000, five stars and villas from 9000 baht. If you are staying for a long time, a monthly rental is better value: a studio from 12000, a one-bedroom condo from 8000 to 40000 depending on proximity to the sea. With a contract for six months or a year you can almost always negotiate a discount outside the season.
Renting a scooter will cost 250-500 baht a day plus a deposit, a car 1000-1500 baht a day. A taxi around the city is 150-350 baht, a tuk-tuk with mandatory haggling 200-600, Grab a bit more than a regular taxi, a ride from the airport to the hotel 700-1000 baht. A domestic flight from Bangkok to Phuket costs roughly 3000-6000 rubles. An important point about motorbikes: the deposit is often asked for in cash or with your passport, so always hand over cash, not your passport.
An hour of Thai massage costs from 300 baht, a group excursion with a guide 700-800 baht per person, an island tour from 1500 baht, a water park about 1200 baht. Shows and evening entertainment are usually 1500-3000 rubles, diving 7000-12000 rubles. For entertainment it is reasonable to budget 1000-3000 rubles a day, depending on your appetite.
Air tickets from Russia are the biggest expense. Moscow to Bangkok return is usually 45-80 thousand rubles, Moscow to Phuket 50-90 thousand, from Siberia noticeably cheaper. Booking early saves a lot, the high season is the opposite, more expensive. A package tour for two for a week in a three-star hotel starts from roughly 170 thousand rubles.
Besides the holiday itself, there are several mandatory expenses and actions.
Visa. Russians currently have visa-free entry, but the terms are changing: a reduction from 60 to 30 days is being discussed. Be sure to check the current period right before departure, this really matters.
TDAC. Since May 2025 you need to fill in the digital arrival card online before departure. It is done free of charge on the official website.
Insurance. Medicine in Thailand is expensive, insurance is mandatory and costs from 50 dollars per trip. This is not something to skimp on.
Connectivity. The most convenient option in 2026 is an eSIM: it is set up before departure so the internet works right on arrival. A monthly package costs around 10 dollars. If the eSIM did not work out, on arrival you can buy a tourist SIM card right at the airport or at any 7-Eleven for a few hundred baht, and the internet will work at once.
The 300 baht tourist fee has not been introduced yet, the date has been postponed many times and they plan to build it into the air ticket price. It has almost no effect on the budget.
Here is the key point for the current situation. Russian Visa, Mastercard and Mir cards do not work on the spot in Thailand, this has to be accepted as a fact and prepared for in advance. You can still book accommodation and tickets online with a Russian card, but paying in a cafe or withdrawing from an ATM is no longer possible.
Which currency to bring. The best rate in Thailand is for dollars, slightly worse for euros. Bringing cash rubles is not worth it, you lose a noticeable share of the sum on the exchange. Bring large, new dollar banknotes.
Cash or card. With cards it is all complicated. UnionPay currently works only with non-sanctioned banks, mainly Rosselkhozbank, and even such a card does not work everywhere: you cannot link it to Grab and Bolt or pay for a Booking reservation. Cards from the large banks under sanctions no longer work abroad. Cash is the most reliable, and among cards the one that works best is a foreign Visa or Mastercard, if you have one. So keep your main spending on cash, and use a card as a backup.
ATMs. A Thai ATM charges a fixed fee of around 220 baht per transaction plus your own bank's fee, and often gives no more than 20000 baht at a time. If the ATM offers to recalculate the sum into your currency, decline it and withdraw in baht.
Where to exchange money. Not at the airport and not in small sums. We cover exchange in detail on the baht rate page with a calculator and in a separate guide on where to exchange money on Phuket.
Let us boil it all down to practice. For the first while, before exchanging, keep at least a couple or three thousand baht on hand as an equivalent in dollars, so you can get to the hotel and eat. After that, a guideline by duration, with the hotel and flight already paid for, per person:
for a week: 7000-11000 baht
for 10 days: 10000-15000 baht
for 2 weeks: 14000-21000 baht
This is for food, transport and entertainment. If you plan a lot of excursions, shopping or accommodation rental, add on top. And always build in a buffer of 10-20 percent, prices have been steadily rising in recent years.
A couple of things people often forget. For a motorbike rental a deposit is almost always asked for, in cash or with a passport, and it is better to hand over cash. For long-term accommodation a deposit of two months' rent is usually taken, this is standard. And keep a separate cash reserve in case a card or ATM lets you down, apart from your main wallet.
Calculate your budget from your own style of holiday, not from other people's figures. Russian cards do not work on the spot, so bring cash dollars and, if possible, a card from a friendly country's bank. Exchange money in the city in large sums, not at the airport. Before departure check the visa period, complete the TDAC and insurance, and set up an eSIM. And build in a buffer of about twenty percent, it is calmer both for you and for your wallet.
Visa, Mastercard and Mir cards from Russian banks do not work there. UnionPay works only with non-sanctioned banks (mainly Rosselkhozbank) and even then with limitations. Cash dollars are the most reliable option.
The best rate is for dollars, slightly worse for euros. Bringing cash rubles is not worth it, you lose a noticeable share on the exchange.
With the hotel and flight already paid for, a guideline is 14,000-21,000 baht per person for food, transport and entertainment, plus a 10-20 percent buffer.
Visa-free entry currently applies, but the allowed period may be shortened, so check the current information before departure. Do not forget to complete the TDAC online.
We recommend a trusted licensed exchange chain with offices throughout Thailand: a good rate, a safe deal, Russian cards and SBP.
⚠️ Promised a "much better rate" in a random Telegram chat? It is almost always a scam. Exchange only at licensed exchangers.