[WannaGo]

Hi, I'm a n00b, too...and have never been to Thailand. It's one of the places on my list to visit in the next 5 years (Costa Rica and New Zealand are two others). My stepmother was Japanese and introduced a lot of that culture into your house, so I've always been fascinated with Asia. I'm interested in Thailand especially because it seems more free-wheeling than Japan and less polluted and restricted than China. Plus, the country is just so damn beautiful. I mean every time I see pictures of it, it's like a hundred shades of green. And, I'm a little embarrassed to admit, I want to do all the tourist things...see the Buddhist temples, see the villages where they use the elephants to work, go to Lumpini Stadium to see the fights. Who knows, maybe I'll even get lucky enough to live there for a little while.

[smoker]

It's also much, much cheaper than visiting Japan.

[WannaGo]

So I'm saving for a trip in the next few years. I'd like to be able to stay at least a month. Do you think $5,000 would do it for airfare, place to stay, food, in-country travel, entertainment, the whole bit?

[Thaimo]

WannaGo, on 15 September 2009 - 09:14 PM, said:

So I'm saving for a trip in the next few years. I'd like to be able to stay at least a month. Do you think $5,000 would do it for airfare, place to stay, food, in-country travel, entertainment, the whole bit?

If you stay in moderately priced hotels and eat at moderately priced restaurants, that ought to be enough, but if you can save two or three-thousand more, even better.

[smoker]

It's always better to bring more money than you'll think you'll need.

[Beer Chang]

$5000 is plenty.

Since airfare is an expensive compoment, try to figure out how you can fly for free.

You'd be surprised how many frequent flyer miles you can get for things other than flying.

[Wino]

WannaGo, on 15 September 2009 - 09:14 PM, said:

So I'm saving for a trip in the next few years. I'd like to be able to stay at least a month. Do you think $5,000 would do it for airfare, place to stay, food, in-country travel, entertainment, the whole bit?

I do not think you would have any problem staying within a $5,000 a month budget. If you take $1,000 for airfare that leaves $4,000 or $133 a day. Buy a Lonely Planet guide before you leave. You will find it very helpful.

[Thaimo]

Wino, on 23 September 2009 - 06:34 PM, said:

I do not think you would have any problem staying within a $5,000 a month budget.

It all depends on the manner by which you wish to stay. You can find decent rooms for as little as 300 baht per day. I would say the average price for hotels, other than luxury hotels, is between 1000 to 1500 baht per night. Food can cost whatever you want. If you want to stick to Thai street food, you can easily eat for 100 to 200 baht per day. Public transportation is relatively inexpensive. Entertainment depends on what interests you and how much you are willing to spend.

If, as WannaGo said, you want to stay for more of a long term, then if you are going to stay in the same city mot of the time you can rent a condo for about half the price, often less, than you would pay in a hotel. Most condo holiday rentals charge a minimum of a one month stay, but if you do the math you might discover that paying for a month at a condo, even if you are not going to stay for a full month, may still be much less expensive than staying in hotels.

[WannaGo]

Hey, cool tip about staying in a condo. That definitely deserves some looking into. I live here in Florida, and it's almost always better to rent a condo from a private owner for a longer stay than to get a hotel room.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. Looks like I will need to aim for $5,000 to $7,000 to make sure that I have a comfortable, enjoyable stay for a month.

OK, now I'm off to sell some blood plasma. That savings account isn't going to fill itself. (j/k)

[nyoen]

Quote

Hi, I'm a n00b, too...and have never been to Thailand. It's one of the places on my list to visit in the next 5 years (Costa Rica and New Zealand are two others). My stepmother was Japanese and introduced a lot of that culture into your house, so I've always been fascinated with Asia. I'm interested in Thailand especially because it seems more free-wheeling than Japan and less polluted and restricted than China. Plus, the country is just so damn beautiful. I mean every time I see pictures of it, it's like a hundred shades of green. And, I'm a little embarrassed to admit, I want to do all the tourist things...see the Buddhist temples, see the villages where they use the elephants to work, go to Lumpini Stadium to see the fights. Who knows, maybe I'll even get lucky enough to live there for a little while.

hi wannago... hope that your wish list will come true in 2010.
nice to meet you...
i was so exciting to know from other country.