Being our first time to Southeast Asia, I was excited to see how little we could spend for a few days in Thailand. We were staying on Krabi, specifically in Ao Nang. Prices on Thail islands such as Krabi tend to be a bit higher than mainland cities like Chiang Mai, but I was still determined to see how much we could stick to a budget.
How Much We Spent For 4 Days in Ao Nang, Thailand
Where To Stay In Ao Nang:
We originally chose to stay at J Mansion, which was about $15 usd a night for a private room with a/c right by the beach – an extremely good deal! While the place was clean and a terrific value, the a/c wasn’t very strong and it got very hot, so we only paid for 1 night and moved to Panan Krabi Resort afterwards.
At $52 usd a night Panan is on the higher end of accommodations in Krabi, but still extremely affordable when you compare it to prices in Hawaii or the states! It was a brand new resort with multiple pools (including the gorgeous one seen above), beautiful amenities and the kindest staff. We highly recommend it! There are also hostel beds in Ao Nang for $10 usd a night or less – many options for any budget.
**For conversion reference. $1 usd = 32 baht
Day 1:
Transportation:
300 baht – 2 one-way bus tickets from Krabi Airport to Ao Nang.
Food:
80 baht – Mango Sticky Rice
50 baht – Fruit Smoothie
80 baht – Spring Rolls
***We hardly ate this day what the heck? Haha I know I was feeling sick but dang all Jarden had were some spring rolls lol.
Miscellaneous:
650 baht – 1 hour foot massage for Jarden, 30 min. manicure and 30 min. foot scrub for Tasha.
= 1,160 baht or $36 usd
Day 2:
Food:
630 baht – 2 fruit smoothies, strawberry waffles, and french toast at 898 Cafe. Amazing Western breakfast, but you will pay a lot more here than getting traditional Thai food.
520 baht – Pizza, Pasta, and a coke at Spaghetti House. Again, higher prices for Western food, but the food here was also REALLY GOOD.
40 baht – Orange Shake
10 baht – 1 mangosteen (LOL they sold 1 kg. for 150 THB but we wanted to try just one. It was a delicious cross between lychee and orange but it was creamy! Currently regretting not buying the entire kilo.)
***Our lack of eating yesterday explains this indulgence in 2 Western restaurants! We just ate, got massages, and shopped way too much this day lol.
Miscellaneous:
400 baht – 2 1-hour massages.
=1,600 baht or $50 usd
Day 3:
Transportation:
400 baht – 2 return tickets to Railay Beach on long tail boat.
100 baht – I bought 1 more one-way ticket to Railay because the boat won’t leave until it’s full, and I figured I’d take one for the team so we don’t have to wait LOL.
Food:
280 baht – Mcdonalds. (Each country has some unique menu items for Mcdonalds so we like to try it once in every new country if we can! Thailand Mcdonalds have pineapple pie, corn pie, and even churros!)
260 baht – 2 fruit shakes, toast, and fried rice at restaurant on Railay East.
370 baht – Garlic Naan and Tikka Masala takeaway from Bawarchi Delight
=1,410 baht or $44 usd
Day 4:
Transportation:
800 baht – We rented out an entire long tail boat and took it to Centara, or Phai Plong Beach, one way. It was a short 10 minute ride, but we wanted the boat alone to take pictures, and we were short on time so we didn’t want to book an entire day trip.
An entire boat to Hong Island and Hong Lagoon costs 2,500 THB for 4 hours, not including 300 THB national park fee per person. This would have been our choice if we had more time. It would also be very affordable if you had a few friends to split the boat with.
Food:
515 baht – 2 smoothie bowls and Nutella toast from Lion and Shark. Higher prices here again, but excellent smoothie bowls and nice rooftop area 🙂
240 baht – 1 coconut fruit shake and grilled lemon shrimp at small Thai restaurant.
550 baht – 2 1-hour Thai Massages with Oil
690 baht – A burger, sliders, and a coke at TJ’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. Normally I would have never chosen to eat at a pricey sports bar in THAILAND, but we were really craving burgers LOL. I’m gonna hide in shame now….
=2,795 baht or $87 usd
AND THE GRAND TOTAL FOR 4 DAYS IN AO NANG…..
6,965 baht or $218 USD!
Okay, we had a bit of a splurge fest on eating and massages LOL. Not our most cultured moments, but it was fun to relax, indulge, and get pampered! All our our spa treatments alone would have cost upwards of $350 back home, so this was a real treat.
That equates to about $55 a day for 2 people, or $27.50 a person per day!
This total doesn’t include accommodation. It also doesn’t include tip for massages/meals, but that’s very miniscule.
Of course if you stick to eating traditional Thai food, your costs will be much, much lower. We probably could have cut our costs in half or more! You can find many cheap meals like fried rice for only 50-80 baht.
If you stayed in a hostel, ate traditional Thai, and didn’t indulge in daily spa treatments, it would be easy for someone to get by on $20 usd a day or less in Thailand including accommodation. We had an amazing time and can’t wait to return to the land of smiles!
