Arriving in Thailand: your step-by-step airport arrival guide

Everyone who goes through Thai immigration needs a Digital Arrival Card — including children, who each need their own. You can only start filling it in 3 days before you arrive in Thailand. If you try earlier, the website won’t accept it. It takes about 10 minutes.

It is free on the official website: tdac.immigration.go.th. Any website asking you to pay is not the official one.

You will need your passport details, flight number, arrival date and your first hotel’s name and address. Keep the confirmation on your phone.

💡 A group of up to 10 people can be sent together, which is handy for families.

From 15 September 2026, visitors from 60 countries — including the UK, the USA, Australia and every EU country — can enter Thailand without a visa for up to 30 days for a holiday. This replaced the old 60-day rule.

Rules differ by nationality, so check yours with your nearest Thai embassy before you book. Make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months, with a blank page for the stamp.

💡 Staying longer than 30 days? Apply for a visa before you travel.

Screenshot your hotel booking: the name, full address, phone number and a map pin. Many hotels show their address in Thai on the booking — that is the easiest thing to show a driver.

💡 Save it as a photo, so it works even with no signal.

If your phone takes an eSIM, buy a Thailand eSIM before you fly and install it at home while you have Wi-Fi. Switch it on when you land and you are online straight away.

Your passport, phone and charger, any medicines (in their original packaging), a bank card, a pen and your hotel details. A light layer helps too — airports and planes are cold.

Make sure your travel insurance covers medical care and emergency transport — and check it covers anything you plan to do, such as scooters or diving.

Join the queue for foreign passports. Have your passport ready, with your Arrival Card done. You may be asked for your fingerprints and a photo, and occasionally to show a return ticket or your hotel booking.

💡 Queues can be long at busy times — be patient, and keep your phone charged.

After immigration, check the screens for your flight’s baggage belt. If a bag is missing or damaged, go to your airline’s baggage desk before you leave the hall.

If you have nothing to declare, walk through the green channel. Your bags may be scanned.

Avoid changing money at the first booths you see before baggage claim. Collect your bags and go through to the arrivals hall first — in Bangkok, the best rates are down in the basement (see Money, below).

At Suvarnabhumi, the exchange counters on the basement (B) floor, next to the Airport Rail Link, usually give much better rates than the booths upstairs. SuperRich has a counter there, open from about 5:30am to 11:30pm.

At other airports, compare two or three counters and change just enough for your first day or two. Rates in town are usually better.

💡 Bring clean, undamaged notes — torn notes are often refused.

There are ATMs in every arrivals hall and all over Thailand. Thai ATMs usually charge foreign cards a fee of around 200–250 baht per withdrawal, so take out larger amounts less often.

If the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose baht instead — it is usually cheaper.

Ask for some 100 baht notes and coins. Taxi drivers often can’t change a 1,000 baht note, and expressway tolls are paid in cash.

Cards are accepted in hotels, malls and most bigger restaurants. Markets, street food and small shops usually want cash.

Install it at home, switch it on when you land, and you are online before you reach the taxi queue. Check your phone is unlocked and takes an eSIM first.

The big Thai networks — such as AIS and TRUE — have counters in the arrivals hall selling tourist SIMs and eSIMs. Bring your passport, as they need it to register the SIM. Some eSIMs can also be booked online and collected at the counter.

The big airports have free Wi-Fi — useful for messaging your hotel or booking a ride while you sort out your SIM.

Follow the signs to the official taxi queue (in Bangkok, Level 1 at Suvarnabhumi). Take a numbered slip and go to that taxi. In Bangkok you pay the meter, plus a 50 baht airport surcharge and any expressway tolls — the expressway is quicker, and you can ask to stay on the normal roads if you prefer.

💡 Keep the slip until you arrive — it has the taxi’s details on it.

From Suvarnabhumi, the Airport Rail Link goes to the city in about 30 minutes, roughly every 10–12 minutes. From Don Mueang, the SRT Red Line goes to Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) in about 20 minutes. Both are cheap and easy with luggage.

Grab and Bolt work at all the big airports and show the price before you book. Follow the pick-up point shown in the app — it is often a different floor from arrivals.

The calmest option after a long flight, especially with children or lots of luggage, or if you land late at night.

Inside the terminal, people sometimes offer rides. Just smile, say “no, thank you” and head to the official taxi queue, train or your app.

Show your driver the hotel name and address on your phone, ideally in Thai as well as English. Some hotels have similar names, so check you are at the right one before you get out.

Most hotels ask for your passport at check-in, and many take a small deposit. Check-in is usually from about 2pm or 3pm.

If you land in the morning, most hotels will keep your bags so you can head out, or let you check in early if a room is ready.

Our area guides show the best places to stay, eat and explore in every destination. See all our Thailand guides →