Plan Bangkok:
the 2026 rules

TDAC first. Thailand's digital arrival card has been mandatory since May 1, 2025: file it free, online, no more than 3 days before arrival, and show the QR code at immigration. The only trap is the ecosystem of paid lookalike sites charging for the free form — use the official Thai immigration site only, and treat any 'TDAC processing fee' as a scam by definition.

Visas: 30 days, not 60. In 2026 Thailand rolled its blanket 60-day visa-free entry back to 30 days for 54 nationalities (US, UK, EU, Australia, Japan among them). Most guides and old forum threads still say 60 — they're out of date. Need longer? One 30-day extension costs ฿1,900 (~$57) at an immigration office. Overstaying costs ฿500/day, and past 90 days it's a one-year ban.

Bangkok has two airports 45 km apart, and mixing them up is the most expensive mistake on this page. BKK (Suvarnabhumi) handles most international carriers; DMK (Don Mueang) is the AirAsia/Lion/Nok budget hub. Check the airport code on every ticket — especially self-transfer connections, where a cross-town dash through traffic can eat 90 minutes.

One regional note: the Thai–Cambodia land crossings remain closed and Bangkok is entirely unaffected — if Cambodia is on your route, fly there.

Trains: one bank card is the answer. MRT stored-value cards died on June 1, 2026 — EMV contactless tap (any Visa/Mastercard) now covers MRT, BTS and the Airport Rail Link. Tap in, tap out, done; no queue, no top-up card. Fares run BTS ฿17–62, MRT ฿17–43. And the candid bit other guides dodge: the famous ฿20 flat fare (September 2025) is for Thai nationals only — it requires the Tang Rat app and a Thai ID. Tourists pay full fare. It's dual pricing; grumble and tap anyway, the trains are still cheap.

Boats are transport and sightseeing at once. Chao Phraya Express orange flag: ฿20 flat — the best cheap 'cruise' in Bangkok. The blue-flag tourist boat runs ฿30–35 a ride or ฿150–200 for a day pass (worth it only if you're hopping piers all day). The Saen Saep khlong boat (฿15–25) is the fastest Sukhumvit-to-Old-Town shortcut and feels like a water rollercoaster; that's a feature.

Road: the meter starts at ฿40 now — many guides still say ฿35; they're wrong. If a driver refuses the meter, walk away and open an app: Bolt runs 10–25% cheaper than Grab on most routes, and both surge 2–3× in rain. Motorbike taxis (orange vests, ฿15–30) beat everything for short hops in gridlock. Tuk-tuks are a 10-minute experience, not transport — negotiate ฿100–200 up front or skip. For intercity trains — Ayutthaya, the sleepers north — book at the station or via the official D-Ticket site.

The baht is on your side in 2026: ~฿33.6 per USD mid-year — the best tourist rates in over a year. Exchange order of preference: SuperRich > Thai banks > airport booths. Thai ATMs charge ฿220–250+ (~$7) per withdrawal regardless of amount — withdraw big, rarely, and always decline dynamic currency conversion ('convert to your home currency?' means 'pay extra').

Cards vs cash: cards are fine in malls, hotels, chains and every train gate — but the street runs on PromptPay QR, which does not accept foreign banking apps. Carry ฿1,000–2,000 (~$30–60) per day in cash and keep small notes; a ฿1,000 bill at a ฿50 noodle stall is a social event.

Connectivity: an eSIM before you land is the default play — from ~$9 for Thailand data, installed at your departure gate, working the moment you clear the jet bridge. That matters, because Grab, maps and your TDAC QR all start at the airport. Prefer physical? Airport counters sell tourist SIMs at ฿299–399 for 8 days; the market is AIS vs True, and both are excellent in Bangkok.

Health: Bangkok's private hospitals (Bumrungrad, Bangkok Hospital) are genuinely world-class — and they bill upfront, so travel insurance isn't paperwork, it's the payment plan. Dengue is year-round: DEET at dawn and dusk. Tap water no; factory ice (the cylindrical kind with the hole) yes. Tourist police: 1155.

Scams, condensed to one sentence: ignore anyone who approaches you first near a major attraction. That single habit defuses the 'palace is closed' redirect, the gem-shop tuk-tuk circuit and the friendly-student shop steer. Taxi refuses the meter? Grab or Bolt has already defanged that one. Bangkok's scams are opt-in — you have to say yes to a stranger for almost all of them to work.

Rules that changed, 2025–26 — the freshness list: alcohol sale hours are now a unified 11:00–24:00 (the 53-year-old afternoon sales ban is gone; Buddhist holy days stay dry, with hotel and airport exemptions). Vapes are fully illegal — fines run to ฿30,000 and there are documented shakedowns of tourists carrying them; leave it at home, full stop. Cannabis is back to medical-prescription-only since June 2025 — the dispensary free-for-all is over. Lèse-majesté laws are enforced and severe: exercise extreme caution about the monarchy anywhere, including online, and stand when the royal anthem plays. Drones require registration before you fly one — the penalties are draconic. And the overstay math again: ฿500/day, one-year ban past 90 days.

Weather in one paragraph: November–February is the sweet spot — but PM2.5 smog season runs December–March, and January–February is the worst air in the best weather; pack an N95 and check the IQAir app. April is 40°C and Songkran (April 13–15) — avoid unless the water fight is the trip. May–October is rainy season: short violent downpours that drain in 30–60 minutes, with September–October the wettest and cheapest months.