To help you plan your budget for a Thailand family trip, I have broken down all of our expenses to give you an example of what a family trip to Thailand might cost. This is our real-life spending from our 3-week family trip to Thailand as 2 adults and 2 kids aged 10 and 7. We travelled to Thailand from Australia in January 2023. I will be stating all costs in THB because that is the currency we paid in.
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Cost of flights to Thailand
I won’t include flight costs because they depend on where you’re coming from, time of year etc.
Cost of SIM card in Thailand
Our phones can’t use eSIM so we bought a physical SIM card from the airport in Thailand. For our 3-week trip, we paid 1,000THB.
Thailand accommodation costs
Our family of four stayed in hotels during our time in Thailand and our total accommodation cost was 57,087THB. Thai Thai Sukhothai was our favourite accommodation of the trip. We stayed in a little bungalow and the rate included daily breakfast.
- Golden Jade Suvarnabhumi 1 night stay = 1,610THB
- Thai Thai Sukhothai 2,190THB per night x3 = 6,570THB
- The Warehouse Chiang Mai 2,370THB per night x8 = 18,957THB
- Hill Myna Condotel Phuket 3,583THB per night x6 = 21,500THB
- The Cotton Saladaeng Bangkok 2,816THB per night x3 =8,450THB
Cost of rental car in Thailand
We rented a car and drove from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Sukhothai and Chiang Mai.
Rental car cost: 10,272THB
Toll roads: 60THB
Fuel: 1300THB
Check out the deals available on Rentalcars.com
Transport costs in Thailand
Total transport cost: 4,204THB
Examples of transport costs:
- Bangkok MRT costs: 76THB, 104THB
- Taxi from the airport to Bangkok: 405THB
- Taxi from rental car drop off to market in Chiang Mai: 150THB
Cost of laundry in Thailand
We dropped our laundry off to a lady in Chiang Mai. It was washed, dried and folded for 250THB for about 5kg of clothes. A second time we had fewer clothes and paid 100THB. We used a laundromat to wash and dry our clothes in Phuket and this cost 250THB.
Sightseeing expenses in Thailand
For our family trip to Thailand, our total sightseeing cost was 2,385THB.
Examples of our sightseeing expenses:
- Temple entry fees: 40THB – 400THB
- Bike rental: 120THB
- Sukhothai Historical Park: 640THB
- Cave entry: 80THB
- National park with waterfall: 330THB
- Orchid & Butterfly Farm: 120THB
Cost of food and drinks in Thailand
We travelled in Thailand for 3 weeks as a family of four and the total cost of food and drinks was 17,665THB
Examples of food & drink costs in Thailand:
- Coffee: 50 – 60THB
- Dinner at a restaurant for family: 200THB – 900THB
- Mango sticky rice: 50THB
- Noodle restaurant lunch for family: 160THB
How much does a family trip to Thailand cost?
Our family of four spent 3 weeks in Thailand visiting Bangkok, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai and Phuket. During our trip, we stayed in hotels, rented a car, used public transport and taxis, ate in restaurants and at markets, bought snacks and drinks from 7-11’s and visited places that charged entry fees as well as free ones. Phuket was more expensive for accommodation and eating out.
Our 3-week family trip to Thailand total cost came to 94,573THB
Thailand trip cost per day
For our family of four, our average daily cost came to 4,503THB per day
Budget tips for Thailand family travel
Thailand is quite an affordable country to travel in compared to many others. We were able to eat out every day which is something we often can’t stretch the budget for. As a family, we were also able to stay 3 weeks in Thailand which is the longest we have ever stayed in one country. Here are some of our budget tips for holidaying in Thailand as a family:
- Visit sights that are free to enter. We are happy to pay a small entry fee for most places as we understand they cost money to maintain. Finding places that are free to enter means we can include more fun experiences for our family on a budget. The sticky waterfall in Chiang Mai was free to enter and was so much fun.
- Dine in restaurants away from the main tourist areas. Our most expensive dinner was at a restaurant on the beach in Phuket. While we were happy to pay this price as a once-off treat, it is not something we would do every night.
- Be careful of over-charging taxi drivers. We told our taxi driver at the airport to turn the meter on. Check the average price of your trip so you know whether the price stated is reasonable.
- Go strolling. Our favourite thing to do in a new country is to stroll around neighbourhoods and view all of the interesting things along the way.
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