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Bangkok on $50 a Day: Actual Budget Breakdown

$50 a day in Bangkok gets you a private room with AC, three good meals, transport across the city, and temple visits. Not hostel dorms and instant noodles — actual comfortable travel.

Here's exactly where that money goes.

That's the whole thing. Now the details.

Where to stay

Skip Sukhumvit unless you like paying ฿1,500+ ($43) for what costs ฿700 ($20) elsewhere.

The move is staying near a BTS station in a local neighborhood. On Nut is my go-to — it's 20 minutes from Siam but feels like actual Bangkok. Morning markets, street food everywhere, elderly folks playing chess outside shophouses. The Box Hotel runs ฿630-700/night ($18-20) and has a rooftop pool.

Other solid areas:

• Ari — trendy, local, great cafes. ฿700-875/night ($20-25)
• Silom — central, near BTS. ฿700-875/night ($20-25)
• Saphan Khwai — very local, excellent food. ฿525-700/night ($15-20)

Book on Agoda, not Booking.com. Agoda's based in Asia and their Thailand prices consistently beat everyone by 10-20%.

Khao San Road? Fun for a night out, but you'll pay 30% more for accommodation. Stay elsewhere, visit for beers.

Food: where your money goes furthest

Street food in Bangkok is legitimately good and costs almost nothing. This isn't "cheap food" — it's excellent food that happens to be cheap.

Breakfast: Joke (rice porridge) from a street cart — ฿40 ($1.15). Or 7-Eleven coffee and toastie — ฿55 ($1.60).

Lunch: Khao man gai (chicken rice) at any local shop — ฿50-60 ($1.45-1.70). Add soup and drink, still under ฿100.

Dinner: This is where you can go wild. Night market spread: som tam ฿50, grilled pork skewers ฿60, pad krapow ฿70, fresh lime juice ฿35. Total: ฿215 ($6.15) and you're stuffed.

Best cheap eating is in Yaowarat (Chinatown) when the streets close at night. Go hungry, follow the smells, don't overthink it.

Heads up: Khao San Road charges ฿150-200 for pad Thai that costs ฿60 ten minutes away. Tourist tax is real.

Getting around

Bangkok looks chaotic from street level. Rise above it — literally — and it's easy.

• BTS Skytrain: ฿16-59 per trip, air-conditioned, runs above the traffic
• MRT Subway: Same deal, underground
• Chao Phraya boats: ฿15-32 per hop, great for temple areas
• Grab: For when you're tired, usually ฿80-150 across town

I budget ฿200-250/day ($6-7) for transport. That covers: BTS to the river, boats to temples, BTS to Chinatown, Grab home late at night.

Get a Rabbit Card at any BTS station (฿300 minimum load). No ticket lines, works at 7-Eleven too.

Skip tuk-tuks for actual transport. They're ฿200-300 for what costs ฿80 on Grab. Fun for photos, terrible for getting anywhere.

Activities

The Grand Palace costs ฿500 ($14.50) — the most expensive thing in Bangkok. Worth it, but go at 8:30am when it opens. By 11am you're melting.

Other paid stuff: Wat Pho ฿200, Wat Arun ฿100 (best at sunset), Jim Thompson House ฿200.

Here's the thing: most of Bangkok's best experiences are free. Chatuchak Weekend Market, Lumpini Park, Chinatown at night, neighborhood temples. I've spent entire days wandering and spending nothing except ฿45 on coconut ice cream.

Budget ฿250-400/day ($7-12) for activities. Some days you pay ฿700 for temples, other days you browse markets for free. It averages out.

What I'd actually do

For a week in Bangkok on $50/day:

1. Stay in On Nut or Ari near the BTS — ฿700/night
2. Eat street food for breakfast and lunch, night markets for dinner
3. Do Grand Palace + Wat Pho on day one (get it done early)
4. Spend one full day just eating through Chinatown
5. Use BTS/MRT for everything, Grab only after midnight
6. Skip rooftop bars — a cocktail costs your entire day's food budget

The honest downside

$50/day means making choices. You're not doing rooftop bars and fancy restaurants. The private room is clean but basic — don't expect a gym or fancy lobby. You're walking more than taking Grabs. You're eating street food, not white tablecloth Thai.

For most people? That's the better experience anyway. But if you want cocktails at Lebua and AC taxis everywhere, budget $80-100/day instead.

Bottom line

Bangkok at $50/day isn't sacrifice mode. It's actually how the city works best — street food on plastic stools, temples at sunrise, boats on the river, cold Singha at the end of the day.

The woman making pad see ew charges me the same ฿50 she charges the construction worker next to her. That's becoming rare. It won't last forever.