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Is Thailand Still Cheap? An Honest Answer for 2026

Last checked: 17 Oct 2026. Pound figures use £1 = 44.59 baht, the Xe mid-market rate on 17 October 2026, rounded. Your card’s own rate will differ slightly.

The short answer is no, not in the way it once was, and not everywhere. The longer answer is more useful. Thailand has become a country of two price levels. One is set by tourism at its most concentrated: the island resorts, the beachfront, the hotel tour desk. The other is the price of ordinary Thai life, which is still, for a visitor paid in pounds, very good value. Whether Thailand feels cheap now depends almost entirely on which of the two you spend your money in.

What “cheap” used to mean

Much of the British idea of Thailand as cheap was formed when the pound was strong. In 2015 a pound bought an average of 52.29 baht over the year. By 2019 that had fallen to 39.68. Today it buys 44.59.

Those numbers explain a good deal of the nostalgia. Compared with 2015, every pound now buys about 15 per cent fewer baht before a single Thai price has moved. Compared with the low of 2019, it buys about 12 per cent more. A traveller returning after ten years notices the first. A traveller returning after the pandemic may find things slightly better than remembered.

Thai prices themselves have not been racing ahead. Headline inflation was 2.82 per cent in the year to September 2026, and averaged 1.54 per cent across the first nine months of the year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. That is within the Bank of Thailand’s target range of 1 to 3 per cent. The national picture, in other words, does not describe a country pricing visitors out.

So why do so many visitors come home saying Thailand has become expensive? Because national averages are not where tourists spend their money.

Where prices really have risen

The islands

The clearest rises are where demand is most concentrated. Knight Frank’s hotel research puts the average daily rate across the Phuket hotels it tracks at 7,117 baht (£160) in the first half of 2026, up 5.3 per cent on a year earlier, and that came despite a fall in occupancy. The new supply is aimed upmarket: about 89 per cent of the rooms due to open in Phuket between 2026 and 2028 are in the luxury or upscale categories. That reflects stated policy. The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s 2026 strategy puts more weight on value per visitor than on the number of visitors.

Everyday prices follow the same pattern. Numbeo’s crowd-sourced figures put a meal at an inexpensive restaurant at 150 baht (£3.35) in Phuket, against 100 baht in Bangkok and 75 in Chiang Mai. A simple lunch on the island costs twice what it does in the north. Traveller-reported daily spending tells the same story: a mid-range visitor spends about 4,422 baht (£99) a day in Phuket and 1,936 baht (£43) in Chiang Mai, according to Budget Your Trip.

Fees that apply only to visitors

Thailand charges foreign visitors more than Thai citizens at national parks, and it does so openly. A foreign adult pays 400 baht (£9) to enter Mu Ko Phi Phi, the marine park that includes Maya Bay, and 500 baht (£11) for the Similan Islands. On top of this, a 450-baht tourist entry fee and a 1,000-baht air departure tax are both under consultation. Neither is law yet. Each of these is small on its own. Together, on a trip built around island boat days, they become noticeable.

Fuel, and what follows from it

Fuel costs rose sharply in 2026 as the conflict in the Middle East pushed up oil prices. Thailand’s Department of Land Transport approved public transport fare increases from 6 April, and some local routes rose further. One songthaew route into Chiang Mai went from 25 to 35 baht. Fuel and food were the main drivers of the September inflation figure. These are not large sums for a visitor, but they are a reminder that “Thai prices” are not fixed in time.

Imported things

Anything that has to be shipped in costs roughly what you would expect it to cost after shipping and import duty. Numbeo puts a mid-range bottle of wine from a Bangkok shop at about 500 baht (£11). Imported cheese, spirits and familiar Western brands are priced for people who want them, not for people looking for a bargain. If a holiday budget relies on imported comforts, Thailand will not feel cheap, and it was never really designed to.

Where Thailand is still excellent value

Food

This is the strongest argument for Thailand as a value destination, and it has not weakened. In Bangkok a simple meal costs around 100 baht (£2.25). In Chiang Mai a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant costs about 650 baht (£15). The quality of everyday food at those prices still has few equals anywhere a British traveller is likely to go. The catch is that you have to eat where Thai people eat, which in resort areas often means walking a few streets back from the sea.

Getting around

Bangkok’s metered taxis still start at 35 baht (about 80p), a fare unchanged since January 2023. The Airport Rail Link into the city costs 45 baht (£1). An overnight sleeper from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, a journey of about 750 km with a proper bed, costs around 938 to 1,038 baht (£21 to £23) in second class, and saves a night’s accommodation. Even in Phuket, the public bus from the airport to the beaches costs 100 baht (£2.25). The value is there. It is simply less visible than the alternatives.

Bangkok hotels

Bangkok has a great deal of good hotel stock competing for guests. In the first half of 2026, Knight Frank found luxury rates in the city broadly flat at 7,010 baht (£157) and upscale rates down 4.4 per cent to 4,197 baht (£94). Few capital cities offer that standard of room at those prices.

The north

Chiang Mai is the clearest case. The same comfort level that costs about £99 a day in Phuket costs about £43 there. The temples, the markets, the food and the mountains are mostly cheap or free to enjoy. The biggest saving available to most visitors is not a tip or a trick. It is moving a few nights from the south to the north.

The real change: the price of convenience

What has changed most is not the price of Thailand but the price of not paying attention. Thailand is now a mature, very popular destination. Tourist arrivals were 23.94 million in the year to 10 October 2026, including more than 750,000 from the UK. Mature destinations develop a layer of services designed to save visitors effort: the airport transfer booked in advance, the boat trip sold at the hotel desk, the restaurant on the beachfront. Each is reasonable on its own terms. Each also carries a premium, and most visitors pay several of them without noticing.

That is the source of most “Thailand has become expensive” stories. Someone spends a fortnight in a beach resort, uses the convenient option every time, pays ATM fees on small withdrawals and accepts currency conversion at the card machine. They then compare the total with a memory from 2012. The comparison is not really about Thailand.

So, is Thailand still cheap?

Our answer is this. Thailand is no longer cheap by default. It is still excellent value by choice. A visitor who spends most of the trip in the north and in Bangkok, eats locally and uses public transport where it exists will find the country as rewarding for the money as anywhere in the region. A visitor who spends a fortnight in an island resort and uses the convenient option at every turn will find prices that bear little resemblance to the Thailand of popular memory.

Neither of these is the wrong trip. But only one of them is cheap, and it is worth knowing which one you are booking.

Sources

All checked 17 October 2026 unless stated.