The baht, the currency of British winter sun favourite Thailand, is continuing to strengthen, making a holiday in the Southeast Asian country significantly more expensive for UK tourists than it was five years ago. 

 

The baht has dipped slightly in recent weeks - currently at 43 to the pound - after a surge in July but it's still by far the strongest currency in the region, rising nearly 7 per cent against the pound since 2020. 

 

Travellers from the UK and Europe are particularly feeling the brunt of rising prices in a destination that has traditionally been known for its great value. 

 

 

Edited to fair use

13 minutes ago, Dan747 said:

The baht has dipped slightly in recent weeks - currently at 43 to the pound - after a surge in July but it's still by far the strongest currency in the region, rising nearly 7 per cent against the pound since 2020. 

 

The pound was 40 against the baht in 2020, so the baht got weaker instead of stronger.

 

Well if you are not going  send your kids to a decent school or even school then,  i suppose you budget is ok, just avoid getting sick or getting into an accident  

So a British couple with 2 kids say Thailand is cheap?What a stupid compared to what thousands of other tourists say.

16 minutes ago, Dan747 said:

On a reddit thread this summer, one European traveller reported they'd paid 7,000 baht - around £162 - for a meal for two. 

 

Serves you right for following influencer advice and chasing after 3500-baht omelettes.

In the last six months, the USD has LOST 5.2% to the Mighty Baht.

Yet the USD has GAINED 3.1% on the Vietnamese Dong.

Make it make sense.

One is baht the other one is DONG, duh

Or you can use your dong more in Vietnam

because of the better exchange rate.

18 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Or you can use your dong more in Vietnam

because of the better exchange rate.

Naughty boy!

Thailand hasn't been a bargain for a long time. Sadly Thais and especially those in charge have their heads firmly up their rrrrs when it comes to just how good they think they are. Been here 20+ years. I know. 

1 hour ago, Dan747 said:

SNIP

Do you have a link to this cr4p or did you make it up yourself? 

 

Very 1st Paragraph about THB being stronger against the GBP since 2020 is absolute bolox (I know I was living here before & after then and bringing money in regularly) so I stopped reading at that point...

 

 

 

https://www.exchange-rates.org/exchange-rate-history/gbp-thb-2020

 

 

Lets compare that with 2025 so far... 

https://www.exchange-rates.org/exchange-rate-history/gbp-thb-2025

 

 

 

 

45 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Or you can use your dong more in Vietnam

because of the better exchange rate.

 

My dong hasnt seen action in a long long time. 

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, blaze master said:

 

My dong hasnt seen action in a long long time. 

 

 

 

 

Whose fault is that?

22 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

Do you have a link to this cr4p or did you make it up yourself? 

 

The clue is in the thread title and I think this is it.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-15113823/Thailand-expensive-bargain-winter-sun-holidays-baht.html

Does that mean there's a chance that fewer Brits will be coming to Pattaya this high season?    

1 minute ago, treetops said:

 

The clue is in the thread title and I think this is it.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-15113823/Thailand-expensive-bargain-winter-sun-holidays-baht.html

Isn't there a "Fair Usage" rule on AN where you should only quote the 1st couple of sentances of an article and then add a link to it?

 

1 hour ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Serves you right for following influencer advice and chasing after 3500-baht omelettes.

For 2 people; my meals at the fish night market in Hua Hin can easily be 1500-2500 baht.  A decent steak dinner  is 2500-3,000 baht.

Even breakfast at McDonalds can be 350-500 baht. A meal at one of the top quality restaurants here is 3500-5,000 baht (without wine). The breakfast buffet at the Bangkok Airport Hyatt is now 850 baht before tax. 2 people is 1700 baht and the omelettes are nothing special, but at least the  buffet still has bacon, something which is no longer present in many hotel breakfast buffets. There is a cost to pay if one wants fresh, better quality food.

1 hour ago, FlorC said:

Or you can use your dong more in Vietnam

because of the better exchange rate.

Yes with the lower prices, you will use your dong more........

7 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

Isn't there a "Fair Usage" rule on AN where you should only quote the 1st couple of sentances of an article and then add a link to it?

 

There's a couple of pages titled forum rules and you're probably referring to this on one of them.  Rule #27

 

Quote

27. You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Only post a link, the headline and three sentences from the article. Content in the public domain is limited to the same restrictions.

 

From a quick look it doesn't seem to apply in this section.

26 minutes ago, DezLez said:

Whose fault is that?

 

My wife. Since her brother moved in she keeps saying she is too shy with him here.

2 hours ago, Dan747 said:

The baht, the currency of British winter sun favourite Thailand, is continuing to strengthen, making a holiday in the Southeast Asian country significantly more expensive for UK tourists than it was five years ago. 

The baht has dipped slightly in recent weeks - currently at 43 to the pound - after a surge in July but it's still by far the strongest currency in the region, rising nearly 7 per cent against the pound since 2020. 

Travellers from the UK and Europe are particularly feeling the brunt of rising prices in a destination that has traditionally been known for its great value. 

British tourists have flocked to the Thailand - known for its winter sun, balmy islands and cheap food - since the Seventies but ever-rising prices are putting off travellers.  

On a reddit thread this summer, one European traveller reported they'd paid 7,000 baht - around £162 - for a meal for two. 

Even staple foods such as pad thai have become more expensive, with the street costing around 300 baht - £7 - in major beach destinations. 

In the popular resort of Pattaya, where budget-conscious travellers have flocked in recent decades, tourism has dropped by 7% year-on-year with hotel bookings and tourist numbers affected all year. 

With peak season between November and February around the corner, many travellers are likely to plump for countries where hard-earned holiday

spends go further for accommodation, travel and excursions. 

'The baht's strength comes at a bad time ahead of the peak tourist season, which is likely to prompt holiday makers to shop elsewhere for better value,' Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of Capital Markets Research at Kasikornbank, told Reuters this week.  

The depreciating Vietnamese Dong, for example, makes Vietnam a more affordable option, with, Cambodia, Indonesia, including the island of Bali, and the Philippines also better value alternatives. 

Overall, 65 per cent of expats said they were satisfied with their financial situation in Vietnam, with decent wages and a low cost of living. 

This week however, a British couple suggested that life in Thailand was still significantly cheaper than back home - after they sold up to travel the world with their children.

Sheffield couple Josh and Katie, both 33, said a holiday to Mexico was the final spur they needed to ditch their lives in the UK.

After putting their home on the market in April, they're currently residing in Thailand with their children, seven and three. 

They say they're getting by easily on £35-a-day for four - with a £500 monthly spend on accommodation.

The South Yorkshire couple estimate their monthly spend back at home was £4,000 - almost double what they are spending currently. 

Katie explained why they decided to travel, saying finances still go much further in this corner of the globe: 'I didn't want to work five days a week and not see the kids. In places like southeast Asia you can stretch your money.

'We haven't got a route planned. We just want the simple way of life and to spend quality time together as a family.'

Monkey prices for touristas...= irrelevant.

33 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

For 2 people; my meals at the fish night market in Hua Hin can easily be 1500-2500 baht.  A decent steak dinner  is 2500-3,000 baht.

Even breakfast at McDonalds can be 350-500 baht. A meal at one of the top quality restaurants here is 3500-5,000 baht (without wine). The breakfast buffet at the Bangkok Airport Hyatt is now 850 baht before tax. 2 people is 1700 baht and the omelettes are nothing special, but at least the  buffet still has bacon, something which is no longer present in many hotel breakfast buffets. There is a cost to pay if one wants fresh, better quality food.

 

The article is using the most excessive intertubes anecdote to imply Thailand has gotten too expensive.  It really hasn't.  This is not the norm, this is not the average, this is not a trend.  It's stupid people paying stupid prices, then posting it on the interwebs for some kind of social media clout.

 

2 hours ago, Dan747 said:

On a reddit thread this summer, one European traveller reported they'd paid 7,000 baht - around £162 - for a meal for two. 

 

1 hour ago, treetops said:

 

There's a couple of pages titled forum rules and you're probably referring to this on one of them.  Rule #27

 

 

From a quick look it doesn't seem to apply in this section.

That’s only the case if the Daily Mail is not a news outlet (which could be argued either way). 
 

joking aside the article was lifted from the DM site so rule #27 surely applies. 

11 hours ago, blaze master said:

 

My dong hasnt seen action in a long long time. 

 

 

 

 

Yes , but using cash , you can hold your Dong as often as you like.

13 hours ago, blaze master said:

 

My wife. Since her brother moved in she keeps saying she is too shy with him here.

Keep the noise down and carry on........

Go to veneazuala it’s very cheap now

16 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

Go to veneazuala it’s very cheap now

 

Bloody difficult to find though😁

21 hours ago, Dan747 said:

The baht, the currency of British winter sun favourite Thailand, is continuing to strengthen, making a holiday in the Southeast Asian country significantly more expensive for UK tourists than it was five years ago. 

The baht has dipped slightly in recent weeks - currently at 43 to the pound - after a surge in July but it's still by far the strongest currency in the region, rising nearly 7 per cent against the pound since 2020.

THB hasn't fared as well against the Swiss Franc vs GBP & USD.

 

https://www.tradingview.com/x/kaAQUDHL/

 

I park my spare fiat in CHF at Wise, unless there is a "good deal" to be had in CHFTHB, in which case I convert some CHF to THB and leave it at Wise until needed.

19 hours ago, Trippy said:

Does that mean there's a chance that fewer Brits will be coming to Pattaya this high season?    

I suspect fewer everyone will be coming through Pattaya this high season.