Budget Bangkok Trip: Under $50/Day
Bangkok is one of the cheapest capital cities in the world to visit, and most people still overspend. They stay in riverside hotels, eat at restaurants with English menus, and take tuk-tuks everywhere. Here's how to do Bangkok properly for under $50 a day — including a clean room, three good meals, transport, and attractions. All prices are in Thai baht and USD (40 baht = approximately $1).
Accommodation: 500 Baht ($12.50)
The cheapest clean rooms in Bangkok are in the Old City (Rattanakosin area) near Khao San Road, or in the Sukhumvit area near Nana station. You don't need to stay on Khao San Road itself — it's loud and full of drunk tourists. Stay one street away.
Best budget guesthouses:
- Lamphu Treehouse (Soi Rambuttri): 600 baht/night. Clean rooms, air conditioning, shared bathroom. The location is perfect — 2 minutes from Khao San but quiet. The treehouse terrace is where you'll meet other travelers.
- Buddy Lodge (Khao San Road): 800 baht/night. If you want to be on Khao San. Clean, air-conditioned, private bathroom. Loud at night.
- Suk 11 Hostel (Sukhumvit Soi 11): 450 baht/night for a dorm bed. The best hostel in Bangkok — wooden floors, plants everywhere, and a breakfast of toast and fruit included. Near Nana BTS station.
Budget: 500-600 baht ($12.50-15) per night. If you share a twin room, that's $6-7.50 per person.
Food: 300 Baht ($7.50)
Thai street food is the best cheap food in the world. You can eat three meals for $7.50 if you eat where Thais eat — at street stalls and food courts, not at restaurants with menus in English.
Breakfast (40 baht / $1): Jok (rice porridge with pork and ginger) from a street cart. Every neighborhood has a jok cart — look for the one with the longest line of locals. Or khao tom (rice soup with pork) — 40 baht. Add a Thai iced tea (cha yen) for 20 baht.
Lunch (60-80 baht / $1.50-2): Pad thai from a street cart — 50 baht ($1.25). The best pad thai in Bangkok is at Thip Samai (313 Maha Chai Road) — 60 baht for the regular, 80 baht for the shrimp wrapped in egg. The queue is 30 minutes but it's worth it. Or go to a food court — MBK Center 6th floor has 50 stalls with meals for 50-70 baht. The food court at Terminal 21 is even better and cheaper.
Dinner (80-120 baht / $2-3): Eat at a night market. The best is Or Tor Kor Market (near Chatuchak) — it's a food market, not a tourist market. Grilled fish (pla pao) for 150 baht ($3.75) — a whole sea bass grilled with salt, served with chili sauce. Som tum (papaya salad) for 50 baht ($1.25). Khao niao (sticky rice) for 10 baht ($0.25). Total: 210 baht ($5.25) for a feast.
Snacks: Mango sticky rice (khao niao mamuang) — 60 baht ($1.50). Fresh fruit from a cart — 20 baht ($0.50). Roti (Thai pancake with banana and condensed milk) — 30 baht ($0.75).
Water: 7-Eleven sells 1.5L bottles for 7 baht ($0.17). Buy two a day. Don't drink tap water.
Food total: 300-400 baht ($7.50-10)
Transport: 100 Baht ($2.50)
River ferry (Chao Phraya Express Boat): 15-20 baht ($0.40-0.50) per trip. The orange-flag boat runs every 20 minutes from 6 AM to 8 PM and stops at 30 piers along the river. This is the cheapest way to see the main sights — the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, and Wat Pho are all on the river. Take it from Sathorn pier (connected to the BTS Saphan Taksin station).
BTS (Skytrain): 16-59 baht ($0.40-1.50) per trip depending on distance. The BTS is air-conditioned, fast, and covers the Sukhumvit and Silom areas. A one-day pass is 140 baht ($3.50) — worth it if you make 3+ trips.
MRT (subway): 16-42 baht ($0.40-1.05) per trip. Covers the Hua Lamphong train station to Chatuchak route.
Bus: 8 baht ($0.20) for a non-air-conditioned bus. The cheapest transport in Bangkok. Routes are in Thai but the number is in Arabic numerals. Use Google Maps — it shows bus routes.
Tuk-tuk: Avoid for transport. Tuk-tuks are 3-5x the price of a taxi and the drivers often take you to gem shops or tailors for commission. If you must ride one for the experience, agree the price before you get in — 100 baht ($2.50) for a short trip is fair.
Taxi: 35 baht ($0.85) flag fall + 5-7 baht per km. A 5-km trip is about 70 baht ($1.75). Insist on the meter — if the driver refuses, get out and find another. There are plenty.
Transport total: 80-120 baht ($2-3)
Attractions: 200 Baht ($5)
Free:
- Wat Benchamabophit (the Marble Temple): Free. The most beautiful temple in Bangkok, built from Italian Carrara marble. Quiet and uncrowded.
- Erawan Shrine: Free. A shrine to Brahma on a busy intersection. Watch the traditional dancers that devotees hire to perform. The most Bangkok experience you can have for free.
- Lumpini Park: Free. The largest park in central Bangkok. Monitor lizards (1-2 meters long) live in the lake. Free outdoor yoga on weekends.
- Chatuchak Weekend Market: Free entry. 15,000 stalls selling everything — food, clothes, art, plants, animals. Go at 9 AM — by noon it's an oven.
- Pak Khlong Talat (flower market): Free. Open 24 hours, busiest at 2 AM when the flower trucks arrive. The most beautiful market in Bangkok.
Paid:
- Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew: 500 baht ($12.50). The most expensive attraction in Bangkok but worth it. The Emerald Buddha and the gold-covered buildings are extraordinary. Go at 8:30 AM (opening) — the heat and crowds are unbearable by 11 AM. Dress conservatively (covered shoulders and knees) or you'll have to rent clothes.
- Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha): 300 baht ($7.50). A 46-meter-long Buddha covered in gold leaf. Also a traditional Thai massage school — a 1-hour massage is 420 baht ($10.50). Get the massage. It's the best value massage in Bangkok.
- Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn): 100 baht ($2.50). On the west bank of the river. Climb the steep steps for the view across the river to the Grand Palace. Best at sunset — take the river ferry from Tha Tien pier (4 baht).
- Jim Thompson House: 200 baht ($5). The house of an American who revived the Thai silk industry. Beautiful teak house and garden. Guided tour included.
Attractions total: 200-500 baht ($5-12.50) — depends on how many paid temples you visit. One day, do the Grand Palace + Wat Pho + Wat Arun (all walking distance from each other). Another day, do the free ones.
Daily Budget Breakdown
| Item | Baht | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Guesthouse (shared twin) | 300 | $7.50 |
| Food (3 meals + snacks) | 350 | $8.75 |
| Transport (ferry + BTS + bus) | 100 | $2.50 |
| Attractions (1 paid + free) | 250 | $6.25 |
| Water + misc | 50 | $1.25 |
| Total | 1,050 | $26.25 |
This leaves $23.75 under the $50 budget. Use it for: a Thai massage ($10.50), a beer or two (60 baht/$1.50 each), a nice dinner one night (300 baht/$7.50), or a day trip to Ayutthaya (train: 15 baht/$0.40 each way, entry: 220 baht/$5.50).
Money-Saving Tips
- Eat at 7-Eleven: 7-Eleven is everywhere in Bangkok (there are 13,000 of them). They sell meal deals (rice + curry) for 40-50 baht ($1-1.25). Not as good as street food but cheaper and available 24/7.
- Use the canal boats: The Saen Saep canal boat is 10-20 baht ($0.25-0.50) and skips all traffic. It runs from Panfa Leelard to Pratunam. Not for the faint of heart — the boats are fast and the water splashes — but it's the most efficient transport in Bangkok.
- Visit temples early: Most temples open at 8:30 AM. Go at opening — you'll have the place to yourself and the heat won't kill you yet.
- Don't buy water at tourist spots: Water at the Grand Palace is 30 baht. Water at 7-Eleven is 7 baht. Buy before you enter.
- Get a SIM card: AIS Tourist SIM is 49 baht ($1.25) for 15 days with unlimited data. You'll need Google Maps to navigate. Available at the airport or any 7-Eleven.
When to Go
Bangkok is hot year-round (30-35°C) but the best time is November-February — cooler (28-30°C), dry, and less humid. March-May is the hottest (35-40°C). June-October is monsoon season — it rains hard for 1-2 hours every afternoon, but the rest of the day is fine. Hotel prices drop 30-40% in monsoon season.
How Long
3-4 days is enough for Bangkok. Day 1: Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Pak Khlong Talat. Day 2: Chatuchak (weekend), Jim Thompson House, Lumpini Park. Day 3: Day trip to Ayutthaya (the old capital, 1.5 hours by train). Day 4: Food tour of Chinatown (Yaowarat) — eat your way through the street food stalls at night.