We spent one month in the South East Asian country of Thailand exploring Bangkok, as well as moving around to a bunch of the different islands in the south. All prices are in Thailand Bhat with Canadian conversion, and with the current exchange at the time of publishing this (Oct 2023).
We arrived in Thailand with no real plan. We started in Bangkok and ended in Bangkok. Initially, we wanted to go explore north to Chaing Mai etc, but it was rice field burning season and the air quality wasn’t that great so we decided to head south to explore the islands instead.
Accommodation: 50,000 Bhat ($1855.30 CAD)
We stayed in hotels, and mostly booked through the Agoda app, sometimes a few days in advance and sometimes the day of. Once in awhile we would book through Booking.com but more often than not Agoda came in less expensive. Almost everywhere we stayed also had a pool; a perk that is much desired when you have kids.
Transportation: 22,900 Bhat ($858.82 CAD) – We flew to Phuket from Bangkok, took a speed boat to Koh Phi Phi, general ferry to Railay Beach, long-tail boat/mini bus to Koh Lanta, general ferry back to Railay Beach, long-tail/mini bus/ferry to Koh Lanta, long-tail/mini bus/general ferry/pickup truck to Koh Pha Ngan, pickup truck/general ferry to Koh Tao, catamaran/bus to Bangkok.
The flight from Bangkok to Phuket was 7700 Bhat ($290 CAD) for all four of us. We looked into taking the overnight train but that was going to be more costly and time consuming, so we opted for this quick flight instead. Our kids were free with all of the rest of the transport, with the exception of the catamaran/bus back to Bangkok; as this was a long travel day we opted to pay for a seat for the girls vs them sitting on our laps for the 8 hr travel day. So in the end we paid for 3 tickets for this leg.
Activities: 12,315 Bhat ($462.30 CAD) – Elephant park, Koh Phi Phi boat tour, Railey Beach cave walk through, two Koh Lanta boat tours, Four Koh Tao scuba diving, temples, museums, and a river boat tour.
With all of the activities we did we only paid admission for us adults, our girls were always free.
Food and other spending: 36,850 Bhat ($1383.47 CAD) – This was all our food, clothing, souvenirs, SIM card, and laundry service.
Total amount: 121,460 Bhat ($4559.59 CAD)
We do live a rather simple and basic lifestyle with minimal material luxuries. Our girls don’t eat all that much so we could usually get away with ordering two dishes for meals with a couple extra snacks throughout the day. Nothing was planned out in advance either so you may have better luck cutting costs if you have time to snoop around for the best deals on hotels and such. We as a family are rather content relaxing on the beach, swimming in the ocean and walking the streets for entertainment.
Extra added costs not included in total:
- Flights from Denpasar, Bali to Bangkok: $660 CAD (for the 4 of us)
- Travel insurance for the duration of our six months away: $1800
For more detailed information about our Thailand experience be sure to click HERE!
restlesscrusade.com 