Getting around
Bangkok

Both now have their own page. File the TDAC free no more than 3 days before arrival, and know that visa-free is 30 days from 15 September 2026, not 60 — most guides still say 60: TDAC and Thai visas.

Check the airport code on every ticket. BKK (Suvarnabhumi) and DMK (Don Mueang) are 45 km apart, and every route into town is priced here: Suvarnabhumi to the city.

Trains: tap a bank card — except on the BTS. The MRT's stored-value cards stopped working on 1 June 2026, and contactless Visa/Mastercard (EMV) tap now covers the MRT lines (Blue, Purple, Yellow, Pink) and the Airport Rail Link: tap in, tap out, no top-up card. Not every foreign card is accepted, so carry a backup. The BTS Skytrain (Green and Gold lines) does not take bank cards — buy a single-journey ticket at the machine or a Rabbit card at the counter. Fares run roughly ฿17–65 on the BTS and ฿17–44 on the MRT Blue Line (new table from 3 July 2026). And the ฿20 flat fare you may have read about is gone: it was for Thai ID holders only, and the Cabinet revoked it on 23 June 2026. Its replacement — one common ticket with a ฿17 start and a ฿45 cap per trip across lines — is targeted for 1 January 2027, and whether foreign visitors' cards will qualify is not yet clear.

Boats are transport and sightseeing at once. The Chao Phraya Express orange flag runs ฿19 a ride, Monday to Friday only for now — the fare is fuel-linked and has moved repeatedly in 2026 — and it is still the best cheap 'cruise' in Bangkok. The blue-flag tourist boat sells a one-day pass (reported at ฿150) that pays off only if you're hopping piers all day. The Saen Saep khlong boat is the fastest Sukhumvit-to-Old-Town shortcut for pocket change and feels like a water rollercoaster; that's a feature.

Road: the meter starts at ฿35 — the Transport Ministry kept the base fare and approved a ฿10–20 service fee for rush hours and late nights from December 2025. If a driver refuses the meter, walk away and open an app: Bolt is often a little cheaper than Grab, and both surge hard in rain. Motorbike taxis (orange vests) beat everything for short hops in gridlock — agree the price before you get on. 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 State Railway's official D-Ticket site. Landing soon? Every airport route is priced on Suvarnabhumi to the city.

~฿33.6 per USD (October 2026), the ฿220-plus fee most Thai ATMs add to a foreign-card withdrawal, why the street needs cash despite PromptPay, and the eSIM case: money in Bangkok.

Vapes are illegal to bring in, buy or possess, cannabis is prescription-only, alcohol sales: 11:00–24:00 by law since 29 May 2026, and one habit defuses nearly every scam: Bangkok rules that bite.

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 usually drain in 30–60 minutes, with September–October the wettest and cheapest months — and the riskiest: in late September 2026 flooding had all 50 Bangkok districts declared disaster areas, so check conditions before you book those weeks.