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Thailand Trip Cost from India: 7 Days, Flights and Visa, Itemised

Thailand is the first trip abroad for many Indians, and the cheapest one to get wrong. The flight is short, the visa is free, and the money goes on rooms and food. Here is a full week, line by line, for one person and for a couple, with the visa rule that changed in September 2026.

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Text added by Trip Under.

The route is the one first-timers love for good reason: three days in Bangkok for the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, the river and Chinatown street food, then the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai for old temples, a day at an elephant sanctuary and the gold temple on Doi Suthep. A short flight brings you back to Bangkok for the flight home.

Every ground price below comes from the research behind our 7-day Thailand itinerary, checked on 30 October 2026: the Grand Palace's own site, the Elephant Nature Park's price list, train fare guides and 2026 food guides. Some prices in that research are in US dollars, which we convert at 33 baht to the dollar. Baht become rupees at the rate the rest of Trip Under uses: ₹1 = THB 0.35188, so THB 100 is about ₹284. Flight fares are from HappyFares' fare data, read on 4 November 2026.

Seven days for one person, itemised

• The flight is the big line. HappyFares puts December returns from Indian metros at about ₹17,000–32,000. We use the top of that range. Book early and land the low end, and the same week costs about ₹60,000.
• Rooms: a Bangkok hostel bed was about US$18 a night in October 2026 booking-site snapshots. A basic room in Chiang Mai's Old City was THB 1,079 (₹3,066). Travel with a friend and split it, and you save about ₹4,600.
• The night train replaces a hotel night. Special Express Train 9 leaves Bangkok at 18:40 and reaches Chiang Mai at 07:15. A 2nd-class upper berth is THB 941 (₹2,674); the lower berth, wider and with the window, is THB 1,041.
• Food at THB 500 a day (₹1,421) is built from real dish prices: khao soi THB 80–100, egg-wrapped pad thai about THB 150, rolled-noodle soup THB 70–150.
• Not included: travel insurance, cooking classes, shopping and the Indian airport ride.

Only 5 days? The ground cost on this plan averages about ₹6,100 a day. Five days in Bangkok and nearby, plus a December flight at the top of the range, come to roughly ₹63,000. That is simple arithmetic, not a costed plan. Five days is also too short for the night train and Chiang Mai.

Thailand trip cost for a couple

• Rooms are where couples save. One double costs the same as for one person, so a couple pays half per head. A 3–4 star room in Silom or Sathorn was about US$70 a night; a boutique room in Chiang Mai's Old City about THB 2,536.
• Book the whole 1st-class cabin on the night train: THB 2,453 (₹6,971) for a private two-berth compartment.
• The full-day elephant programme is THB 3,500 each (₹9,947) at Elephant Nature Park, a rescue sanctuary with no riding and no shows.
• A budget couple sharing rooms spends about ₹38,500 each on the ground, so about ₹1,10,000–₹1,40,000 for two with flights.

Budget, mid-range or comfortable: the gap

The biggest jump is rooms and food, not sights. Temples cost the same on every budget: the Grand Palace is THB 500 (₹1,421), Wat Pho THB 300 and Wat Arun THB 200 for foreigners. A 5-star river hotel in Bangkok averaged about US$148 a night in October 2026 snapshots, against US$16–32 for a budget room.

Thailand visa for Indians: the rule now

• No visa for tourism, up to 30 days. Indian passport holders can enter Thailand visa-free for tourism and stay up to 30 days. The rule took effect on 15 September 2026, after it was published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026 (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 1 September 2026; Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, 27 July 2026).
• The old 60-day exemption has ended. Many Indian sites still say 60 days. That rule stopped on 15 September 2026.
• Longer than 30 days? Apply for the right e-visa before you go, on the official site thaievisa.go.th, as the embassy in New Delhi advises.
• Visa on arrival is no longer the Indian route. Under the new rules it applies only to Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia. Indians use the 30-day exemption.
• Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC): required for all foreigners since 1 May 2025, by air, land or sea. Fill it in at tdac.immigration.go.th within 3 days before you land. It is free.
• At immigration: carry a passport valid for 6 months with a blank page and proof of a return or onward flight. You can be asked to show THB 10,000 per person in funds (about ₹28,400).
• Entering by land on the exemption is limited to twice a calendar year. This does not affect a fly-in trip.

Flights from Indian cities

Thailand is close. Kolkata to Bangkok is under three hours, and most metros are four to four and a half. The Tourism Authority of Thailand counted 11 airlines and 427 weekly flights between India and Thailand in October 2026. Air India Express added Visakhapatnam to Bangkok, twice a week, on 27 October 2026.

• Return fares in December run about ₹17,000–32,000, depending on city and date (HappyFares December guide).
• Avoid Christmas and New Year week. HappyFares reports fares 60–100% above normal then; the first half of December is softer.
• Check the airport. Some flights use Don Mueang (DMK), not Suvarnabhumi (BKK). If your flight home leaves from BKK, book the Chiang Mai flight into BKK too: crossing Bangkok between airports costs hours.
• Low-cost carriers charge extra for checked bags. Add that before you compare.

What things cost on the ground

Photo: Ninara from Helsinki, Finland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The route behind these numbers

We chose Chiang Mai over the islands for a first trip in the cool season. November to February is its best weather, it is one train from Bangkok, and the night train saves a hotel night. The Gulf islands are in their rainy season from November, and the Andaman islands cost half a day each way in flights, transfers and ferries.

Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The full 7-day plan has every day hour by hour: which train and which berth, where to stay in each city, what to eat and where, and what to do if it rains.

Money tips that save real rupees

• ATM fees are high. Thai ATMs charge foreign cards THB 220–250 a withdrawal (about ₹625), some up to THB 350. AEON ATMs, inside Big C, Lotus's and Makro stores, charge THB 150. Take out larger amounts less often.
• Always choose to be charged in baht, never in rupees, when an ATM or card machine offers to convert. The conversion rate is worse.
• Carry cash for street food, songthaews, temple ticket booths and markets. Cards work in hotels, malls and chain restaurants.
• Buy your SIM in town. A 7-Eleven or an operator shop sells tourist SIMs for 30–50% less than the airport kiosks.
• Skip the transit passes. A BTS day pass covers only the BTS, not the MRT, boats or airport train. It pays off only with four or more longer BTS rides in a day.
• Taxis: insist on the meter. At Suvarnabhumi use the official public-taxi queue: the only legal extras are a THB 50 airport surcharge and expressway tolls.
• Ignore "the Grand Palace is closed today". It is a scam that ends at a gem shop. The palace opens daily at 08:30.

Best time to go

• November to January is the sweet spot: dry, and cool in Chiang Mai. It is also peak season, so book the train and rooms early.
• Late February to April is smoke season in the north. In 2026 Chiang Mai was ranked the world's most polluted major city for several days around 1 April. Swap Chiang Mai for Krabi or Phuket on the Andaman coast in those months.
• May to October is the rainy season. Bangkok flooded in late September 2026; the water receded within days, but check before travelling in September and October.
• In November, check the Yi Peng lantern festival dates in Chiang Mai. Rooms sell out and prices jump.

Photo: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เทวประภาส ม, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Frequently asked questions

Sources and how we priced this

• Visa: Tourism Authority of Thailand, "Thailand introduces new 30-day and 15-day visa exemption rules from 15 September" (1 Sep 2026; Royal Gazette announcements of 31 Aug 2026); Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi, "Latest update on revision to Thailand's visa exemption scheme for Indian passport holders" (27 Jul 2026); Thai e-Visa portal, thaievisa.go.th. TDAC: Royal Thai Embassy, London, TDAC required from 1 May 2025 (29 Apr 2025); tdac.immigration.go.th. Funds and passport rules: UK FCDO Thailand entry requirements (updated 12 Oct 2026). Entry fee status: Wego (checked 30 Oct 2026).
• Flights: Tourism Authority of Thailand, Air India Express Visakhapatnam–Bangkok launch and India–Thailand capacity (28 Oct 2026); HappyFares December international fares guide (2026) and route fare pages for Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Kochi to Bangkok (read 2–4 Nov 2026). Booking sites are named, not linked.
• Ground costs: Trip Under Thailand 7-day itinerary research (checked 30 Oct 2026), including the Grand Palace official practical information, Elephant Nature Park price list, Train 9 fares (Thai Train Guide, Train36), Chao Phraya boat fares (Thaiest), Airport Rail Link and BTS fare guides, food prices (Thai Holiday Guide, Trvlogue, Daniel Food Diary, Mad Monkey), hotel booking-site snapshots (Oct 2026), ATM fees (The Longest Way Home, 2026) and SIM prices (Saily, 2026). US$ prices converted at 33 THB (early October 2026 range 33.1–33.7). Rupees: Trip Under site rate, ₹1 = THB 0.35188.
• Weather and safety: NASA Earth Observatory on northern Thailand smoke; Chiang Mai CityLife (Apr 2026); Khaleej Times on the Bangkok floods (Sep 2026); UK FCDO travel advice (12 Oct 2026).

Costs come from Trip Under's place data and our cost model (see methodology). They are indicative ballparks for budget travel and move with season and demand. Check live bus, train and room prices before you book. Trip Under is reader-planned, not an agency, and takes no commission on any booking.