Cost of My Four Weeks in Thailand

I spent from September 8th to October 6th in Thailand. I thought it would be interesting to summarize the cost of my four weeks in Thailand in case you too are considering a substantial Thai getaway but can’t quite figure out if you can afford it or not. (Also, I don’t think us people on the Internet talk about money enough in a clear and transparent way especially when it comes to food and travel.) To be fair, I am not a backpacker and I’m too old for hostels. I have this thing where I appreciate a good value but I also *really* appreciate fine linens and fine wine. (Don’t we all though?) So the below is exactly a 90% 3-star (25 nights) and 10% four and five star experiences (3 nights) which feels like a reasonable ratio.

Week 1 (7 nights): Long Beach Chalet, Koh Lanta. Jungle bungalow. Including laundry, some meals, and transfer from Krabi Airport: $462.62

Week 2 (7 nights): Long Beach Chalet, Koh Lanta. Direct reservation for beachview bungalow plus laundry, some meals, and transfer to Ao Nang. (10% discount for booking room directly with the hotel.)  $606.46

Week 3 (5 nights): Whalecome Resort Ao Nang. I loved this place. It was very simple, clean, and friendly. $278.61.

Week 3A: Two nights at Holiday Inn Koh Phi Phi. (Actually one night was free on points. Then I had to pay the speedboat transfer there and back plus one night plus food and a private Muay Thai class.): $407.00

Week 3B: One night at Rayavadee Krabi Resort + Food & Beverage because I am a sucker and I had food poisoning and was feeling a little meh and I wanted to see how the 1% live: $500.00

Week 4 (6 nights): Whalecome Resort Ao Nang (same room) + Transfer to Krabi Airport: $292.00

Total on Accommodation & Transfers: $2546.69 or ~$90 USD per night.

Spending Money: $574 which I spent all of. I may have a few baht in the bottom of my purse but not much. This figure is basically all the cash I withdrew from my bank account in September to pay for food and Muay Thai lessons and tours and random stuff like laundry and dry bags plus one charge to my credit card for KoHub, the coworking facility in Koh Lanta. I think ~$20 per day is pretty reasonable for food and entertainment.

Total Cost of My Four Weeks in Thailand as a Digital Nomad: $3060.69 USD.

Money I Didn’t Have to Spend: I upgraded to a sea view bungalow in Koh Lanta for about $150 more total than a jungle bungalow and I really didn’t have to. It was nice though! I also probably could have skipped Rayavadee and the Holiday Inn Koh Phi Phi, saving me about $1000. (That Phi Phi beach tho…) It kinda kills me that these three nights alone cost me $1000. And I had food poisoning for two of the nights! Also, I went with private transfers and I could have saved a lot of money with shared transfers. That being said, shared transfers could have taken double or triple the amount of time as private transfers and if I’ve learned anything in life, I’ve learned that there are certain false economies. (i.e., Trying to save money on a transfer that then costs you five hours instead of 90 minutes is dumb.)

Money I Handled Well: I could have flown all over Thailand, but instead I based myself around Krabi for a month. Two weeks in Koh Lanta and two weeks in Ao Nang. This saved on transportation costs. I also think Ao Nang was a very good value. I mean, personal training/Muay Thai for 550 baht ($17!) per session?? That’s amazing. And while I originally thought Ao Nang was a bit over-touristed, once I got the lay of the land, I really really liked the setup for island hopping and bumming around.

Money I Haven’t Included Here: I did not include my flight or transportation from my (former) flat in London to Heathrow. I should, but it’s not entirely representative of a typical spend because of the way I did it. I bought a one-way business class ticket to Krabi for $1700 USD. Round-trip in economy would have cost $1400 USD but I’ve been in that circle of round-trip ticket hell before and knew that I had no idea if/when I would have needed the return. So I just went with one way and spent it all on business class. Don’t be like Krista. I took an Uber to Paddington and then Heathrow Express (30 day advance purchase) so you can estimate $50 USD for that. So if we factor in the flight, then you can say I spent $4760.69 on these four weeks. But back out those three “splurge” nights and factor in a one-way economy ticket, and you’re probably looking at ~$3000 USD for a month if you ever want to do something similar at a 3-star level and in economy.

In all of this, bear in mind that I no longer have a fixed abode! Also, I’m traveling by myself and need to feel safe.

This is all very honest. Maybe I’m being too honest, but transparency is not a bad thing. Everyone has a different travel style and budget and different people make different compromises.

You Might Also Enjoy…

My Long Term Travel Packing List