Bangkok on a budget: how much to plan and how to save

Getting around: BTS, MRT and boats for a few baht

Public transport is the first way to save money in Bangkok: it avoids the traffic jams and costs far less than a taxi. How the network works is explained in our guide to transport in Bangkok; here is what you need to know about prices.

The BTS (Skytrain)

• Single ticket: 17 to 47 baht on the Sukhumvit and Silom lines depending on distance, up to 65 baht for journeys continuing onto the extensions. It is sold at the station ticket machines.
• Gold Line (3 stations, towards Iconsiam): 17 baht per ride since 1 January 2026.
• One-day pass: 150 baht, unlimited rides on the Sukhumvit and Silom lines until midnight, sold at the ticket counter. It pays off from four rides in a day.
• Rabbit card: a rechargeable card sold for 200 baht, including 100 baht of travel credit. It saves queueing at the ticket machines if you stay several days.

In October 2026, the BTS still does not accept contactless bank card payment at the gates: you need a ticket or a Rabbit card.

The MRT (metro)

On the Blue Line, a ticket costs 17 to 44 baht since 3 July 2026 (the maximum applies from 12 stations). On the Blue, Purple, Yellow and Pink lines, you can go straight through the gate with a Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay contactless bank card: this is the simplest option for a visitor. The old MRT stored-value cards have no longer been accepted since 1 June 2026.

What about the 20-baht flat fare?

The heavily publicised 20-baht fare cap never applied to foreign visitors: it was reserved for Thai nationals registered on a government app with their ID card. Tourists pay the normal fare. The government then approved, on 23 June 2026, a common ticket of 17 to 45 baht for all lines, paid by contactless card, but it only comes into force on 1 January 2027.

The express boat and the ferries

The Chao Phraya Express boat remains the most pleasant and cheapest way to reach the Grand Palace, Wat Pho or Chinatown from BTS Saphan Taksin station (Sathorn pier). Tickets are paid in cash, at the pier or on board:

• Orange flag: 18 baht per ride since 21 August 2026. Since 30 March 2026, it only runs on weekdays, early in the morning and in the late afternoon.
• Yellow flag: 23 baht. It replaces the orange flag during the day on weekdays, and all day at weekends and on public holidays.
• Red flag (air-conditioned, weekday rush hours): 32 baht.

The blue flag tourist boat, which costs more, adds nothing for a small budget. To cross the river, for example from Tha Tien to Wat Arun, the small ferries cost only a few baht, paid in cash at the turnstile.

Taxis, Grab and airports

The taxi meter starts at 35 baht for an ordinary car, a rate unchanged since January 2023. Insist on the meter before getting in: a driver who quotes a flat price will almost always charge more. With the Grab app, the price is shown before booking and paid by card; it is often slightly higher than the meter on short rides, but it does not climb in traffic jams.

From Suvarnabhumi airport, the Airport Rail Link costs 15 to 45 baht depending on distance, 45 baht to the Phaya Thai terminus. Taxis leaving the airports add a 50-baht surcharge to the meter. All the options are compared in our guide to Bangkok's airports.

Temples: what you pay for, what is free

The major sights on Rattanakosin Island are free for Thai people but charge foreign visitors. Here are the current prices:

• Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew: 500 baht, a ticket that also covers the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. Free for children under 120 cm.
• Wat Pho: 300 baht, free for children under 120 cm.
• Wat Arun: 200 baht.
• Golden Mount (Wat Saket): 100 baht to climb the 344 steps to the terrace; the temple courtyard is free to enter.

With these four sights, the bill reaches 1,100 baht per person. If your budget is tight, choose: Wat Pho and its Reclining Buddha offer a lot for 300 baht, and Wat Arun photographs very well from the opposite bank, without a ticket.

Come in suitable clothing (shoulders and knees covered) so you do not have to rent clothes at the entrance. Many neighbourhood temples, the parks and the markets remain free: our selection of free things to do in Bangkok reviews them.

Eating and drinking for little

Street food is both the best and the cheapest meal in Bangkok. At neighbourhood stalls, a dish (pad thai, fried rice, noodle soup, grilled pork with rice) generally costs 50 to 80 baht. The same dishes cost noticeably more on very touristy streets, such as Khao San Road or central Sukhumvit: walk a few streets away to find local prices again. Night markets and shopping mall food courts, where you pay with a prepaid card refunded on the way out, are other cheap options.

In restaurants, check the menu: a price followed by "++" means that service and the 7% VAT are added to the amount shown.

7-Eleven convenience stores

The 7-Eleven stores, found on almost every street corner, help out at low prices: bottled water, drinks, cut fruit, toasted sandwiches and snacks. Prices are displayed and the same for everyone, which also makes them a good benchmark to tell whether a drink is overpriced near a monument.

Water: refill rather than buy

Tap water is treated, but the state of the pipes varies from building to building, and drinking it is not recommended. Rather than buying one small bottle after another, use the self-service refill machines found in the streets and residential areas: they dispense filtered water for about 1 baht per litre into your own bottle.

Sleeping: choose the neighbourhood before the category

Accommodation is the biggest expense. The range is very wide, from youth hostels with dormitories to luxury hotels, and prices vary greatly with the season and the neighbourhood. Banglamphu, around Khao San Road, has the highest concentration of cheap places and is within walking distance of the major temples. Neighbourhoods well served by the BTS or MRT, even slightly out of the centre, often offer better value than the immediate surroundings of the Siam shopping malls. Our guide on where to stay in Bangkok compares the neighbourhoods by budget.

Entry fee and VAT refund: where do things stand?

The tourist entry fee

Announced since 2023, the entry fee for foreign visitors is still not being collected in October 2026. The planned amount of 300 baht for air arrivals has been revised: the national tourism policy committee approved on 14 August 2026 the principle of a single 450-baht fee, which then went to public consultation. Collection can only begin 180 days after the text is published in the Thai Royal Gazette, so not before 2027.

The VAT refund for tourists

Foreign visitors can get the 7% VAT refunded, a rate kept until 30 September 2027, on purchases made in shops displaying "VAT Refund for Tourists". You must spend at least 2,000 baht in the same shop on the same day, and at least 5,000 baht in total. Show your passport at the till to get the P.P.10 form with the original invoice: it cannot be issued later. The refund is claimed at the airport on departure, within 60 days of the purchase.

Exchange rate

At the end of September 2026, 1 euro was worth about 38 baht. This rate varies: ATM withdrawal fees, currency exchange and tipping are covered in our guide to paying in Bangkok.

Sample budget for one day

Example calculated with the prices above, for one person, excluding accommodation: a day on Rattanakosin Island with two BTS rides, a return trip by express boat, a visit to Wat Pho and three street food meals.

With the yellow flag during the day (23 baht), add 10 baht. At the end-of-September 2026 rate, this total comes to about €14 to €18.

Typical prices table

Prices checked in October 2026, subject to change.

Further reading

To go further, see our page on the Chao Phraya River to make the most of the boats, our advice on avoiding scams in Bangkok, which sometimes cost more than the rest of the trip, and our guide to the best time to visit Bangkok, because accommodation prices follow the season.