Available in: German

After much deliberation I decided to write down a list of my expenses for a 4-week flashpackers stay in Thailand. This article will make you realize what costs how much and where you spend maybe too much money and there are definitely savings options.

Expenses four weeks in Thailand as Flashpacker

My list of expenses Thailand is not intended to serve as a good example or recommendation, but allowed a rough idea of who should spend as much what / can. Low-budget backpackers should not be deterred! This is a little discipline to do quite well.

The journey costs from Germany to Bangkok were disregarded.

My expenses (as in 2013) for 4 weeks Thailand as flash packer (1 person)

• Accommodations – mixture of relatively good hotels and higher Bungalows: 44500 Baht
• All transfers (taxi, tuk tuk, mini bus, ferry, etc.): 6,500 Baht
• Domestic flights – Pattaya to Koh Samui / Koh Samui to Bangkok (Business Class): 4400 + 6900 = 11300 baht
• Shopping – small gifts for friends and relatives at home: 5000 Baht
• Catering – Food and drink (no alcohol) very generously calculated with 3-4 meals: 15,500 Baht
• Going out – often and extensively celebrated (Bangkok, Koh Samui – New Year’s Eve), sometimes escalates;-): 20,000 Baht
• Leisure / pleasure – jet skiing, riding elephants, etc .: 6800 Baht
• Massages – very frequent massages: 7500 Baht
• Rent Scooters – about 14 days: 2,750 Baht

=119750 THB → 2688 Euro (89 Euro/day)

This list shows you the cost of a single traveler over a period of 4 weeks. (All expenses are estimates)

Here comes my optimized expenses (1 person) Thailand: 4 weeks

• Accommodations – cheaper rooms and bungalows not directly on the sea side and without air con reduce the cost enormous: 20,000 Baht
• All transfers – Sharing is the magic word here. Speak to other backpackers and travelers to share taxis and Tuk tuks. Increases on public transport to just go sometimes on foot. The savings potential is enormous: 2500 Baht
• Domestic flights – flights dispensed instead take buses and trains. Not holding a flight in business class usually easy on the wallet;-): Example for travel by train and bus (Bangkok-Pattaya-Koh Samui-Koh-Samui-Bangkok Phanghan): 2,200 Baht
• Shopping –  3500 Baht
• Meals – Out of the restaurants right on the beach and into the small food stall on the roadside. It tastes better anyway: 8000 Baht
• Socializing – Who needs that every night? 10,000 Baht
• Leisure / pleasure – Sightseeing is a must do, but do you really need to rent the 200hp Jetski? 4,000 Baht
• Massages – Yes! But not every day! (1 time per week): 1,000 Baht
• Rent scooters – Who wants to be mobile can hardly do without it. Also, you thus saving a lot of taxi fees: 2750 Baht

=51200 Baht → 1150 Euro (38 Euro/day)

Even with this bill you are still doing very well and hardly have to make any concessions.

The largest potential savings, however, is to go together on travel. If you travel in pairs, you can again make the following savings:

Accommodations: 20000/2 = -10000 Baht
Scooter: 2750/2 = -1375 Baht

=39825 Baht → 895 Euro (29 Euro/day)

Of course, it should be possible to find cheaper accommodation and even get along with less than 20 euros a day. You has to be really extremely efficient. I can’t manage that(unfortunately)!

Overall I would rate a daily budget of 35 Euro. So you can definitely explore Thailand free anddont have to make cuts actually nowhere.