Currency

The currency of Thailand is the baht. One Thai baht is equal to 100 satang and coins come in denominations of tiny golden 25 and 50 satang coins as well as 1 baht, 5 baht and 10 baht coins. There are also 20 baht, 50 baht, 100 baht, 500 baht and 1,000 baht notes.

Exchange

The Thai baht has strengthened considerably in recent years and while in 2003 US$1 was roughly equivalent to 40 baht, these days the exchange rate is somewhere around 30 baht to US$1. While this strengthening of the baht means that Thailand is not such a cheap place to explore as it once was, it is still comparatively cheaper than countries such as Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.

Credit cards are widely accepted in all of Thailand’s major cities as well as tourist destinations such as Samui and Phuket. The most widely accepted card is Visa, which can be used in virtually every major hotel, restaurant and shopping mall, while Mastercard is also widely accepted country-wide.

Travelers checks in US dollars and British pounds can be exchanged relatively easily in most of Thailand’s banks, provided that you produce ID in the form of a passport. There are also money changing offices located all over the country which also offer to change money into baht for a small fee.

ATMs can be found all over Thailand, even in remote towns and villages, and shopping centers are good places to hunt for ATMs, while they are also often attached to branches of 7-11.

Banks in Thailand are usually open from Monday to Friday (except on holidays) from 09:30 to 15:30, while selected branches (usually in shopping centers) are open from 09:30 to 11:30 on Saturdays.

Currency regulations

Visitors can bring unlimited foreign currencies into Thailand, and up to 50,000 baht per person. Amounts of foreign currency that exceeds US$20,000 or the equivalent must be declared upon arrival. Each passport holder may export up to 50,000 baht and must declare amounts of currency that equate to more than US$20,000.