Money Recommendations for Thailand

CountryWise

Hi folks,

Just wondering whats the best way of getting/using money in Thailand, is there loads and loads of ATM's which saves on worrying about money before I go, the reason i ask is because it can be difficult to get Thai Baht in Ireland I believe.

Also whats the common currency in Thailand apart from their own, I have heard that the US Dollar is very well accepted in places as exchange in Asia and is easier to get here too. or what about some Euro?

Any thoughts welcome........Thanks

Jugs82

Dont worry too much, there are lots and lots of atms in Thailand, so just make sure that your atm is maestro or cirrus enabled so you can use them abroad

I found AIB very good as there charges for withdrawing money when abroad where far less than the other banks (compasision with other travellers)

Baht is used in 99% of transactions or so i found, dollars are more commonly used in Cambodia and Vietnam.

CountryWise

Cheers that helps

MrJoeSoap

Just don't go to an ATM in Koh Lanta at two in the morning on your tobler on a moped. I did so and as I hit the last button to withdraw the last bit of cash from my account (€400) or so, there was a powercut on the whole island and my card was lost.

I got the money once I got back but was f*ck all use to me then!

CountryWise

Cheers, also regarding the money situation is it best just to carry around the nessecary money only, in other words does it feel dangerous?

MrJoeSoap

CountryWise wrote: »

Cheers, also regarding the money situation is it best just to carry around the nessecary money only, in other words does it feel dangerous?

Never really felt that dangerous to me to be honest. There's probably as much chance of it being robbed from your room etc... as there is of you being mugged. I used to take out big chunks of cash from ATM's (mainly because of the charges) and never really had a problem with keeping it safe.

Plus, when I was there, a few days worth of money over there wasn't exactly a huge sum.

Lazers pew pew

CountryWise wrote: »

Cheers, also regarding the money situation is it best just to carry around the nessecary money only, in other words does it feel dangerous?

nah, leave it in the bank
i was there last march and am going again next week
i used to go to the atm in the morning to pay for my accomodation (1000 baht)
then at nightime for the night ahead (about 3000 baht)
then to pay the hoor later (about 1500 baht)

mac123

i usually took out about €200 at a time, enough for about 10 days. never had any trouble regarding safety but my room was broken into once and about €100 was taken. i used safety boxes in guesthouses shops etc after that!
overall thailand is pretty safe!

kraggy

Atm's aplenty over there.

Just withdraw money as you need it as you do at home. No need to keep wads of cash on ya. But maybe keep an extra 50 on you in case you lose a card or can't find a machine though there's probably more machines over there than there are here.

breadmonkey

kraggy wrote: »

Just withdraw money as you need it as you do at home. No need to keep wads of cash on ya. But maybe keep an extra 50 on you in case you lose a card or can't find a machine though there's probably more machines over there than there are here.

I have to disagree. You would get absolutely totalled by bank charges if you were to do this.

cooperguy

Lazers pew pew wrote:

then at nightime for the night ahead (about 3000 baht)

3000 Baht thats €60 is that not a very expensive night out in Thailand. i was under the impression you could have a good night out much cheaper than that!

Neamhshuntasach

Yeah not sure how he was managing 3000 baht a night. I was paying in the region of 30-60 baht a scoop depending on the place. that's around 50 drinks

Lazers pew pew

dinner, drinks, whiskey buckets and hoors

Lazers pew pew

breadmonkey wrote: »

I have to disagree. You would get absolutely totalled by bank charges if you were to do this.

thats not true
you get charged a percentage for each transaction
lets just say 3% for every transaction
if you took out 100 baht you get charged 3 baht commission
if you took out 1000 baht you get charged 30 baht and so on
so it doesnt matter how many times you use the atm, it depends on what you take out each time

mac123

yeah but he did mention getting a "hoor" later on so he was probably spending his nights in the gogo bars and what not! that would work out a little bit more expensive me thinks!
but about 60 a beer sounds right, depends on what part of thailand tho. you can get large changs for 40 in some shops just off haad rin on koh phangan! chaing mai is cheaper than bkk too, theres a bar called the chaing mai saloon near the night market that sells large chang for 60, very cheap for a bar!

Lazers pew pew

i was quoting samui prices
i was only joshing about the hoors, samui isnt the greatest place for them

breadmonkey

Lazers pew pew wrote: »

thats not true
you get charged a percentage for each transaction
lets just say 3% for every transaction
if you took out 100 baht you get charged 3 baht commission
if you took out 1000 baht you get charged 30 baht and so on
so it doesnt matter how many times you use the atm, it depends on what you take out each time

I was being charged like €5 each time I used an ATM.

CountryWise

think my bank charges 2.50 or something per transaction standard so it was always worth taking out as much as responsibly possible, thats with AIB, think il go with ATMS to be honest with a credit card back up if something happens

kraggy

breadmonkey wrote: »

I was being charged like €5 each time I used an ATM.

You were ripped off Monkey.

I was gettin charged about €1.50 per transaction with a good currency exchange rate. That was AIB.

5 euro was robbery.

breadmonkey

kraggy wrote: »

You were ripped off Monkey.

I was gettin charged about €1.50 per transaction with a good currency exchange rate. That was AIB.

5 euro was robbery.

I was using AIB as well