I'm going on my first trip to Thailand in November and have no idea what to expect as far as prices for eating a day. How much should I budget a day for food for two people? I'll be staying in Bangkok and Phuket. Does anyone have any reccomendations of good food at cheap prices?
it depends on your taste and if you can handle hot peppers and if you know enough Thai to order food from a vendor stall. if you can your only pay about 40 baht a dish. You can order without hot peppers also if it's not pre made food. However eating western food in a hotel will cost more but still cheaper then in the USA. i would say about $5 to $8 dollars per person. You may also find some small Thai restaurant that have English menus, again the price will be a little higher then a small Thai stand. My point is food will be cheaper it just depends on your taste how much cheaper.
a noodle dish is 30 baht only
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You don't need this answer now but you will later: Imodium can be purchased from the main pharmacies (Watsons and Boots) and well as from the supermarkets that have pharmacies in them - Tops & Tesco-Lotus. Normal price = Baht 30 for 4 tablets - about a US 1dollar. There is nothing wrong with the local food (in my experience), its just that your body won't be used to the local bacteria. It took about about 2 years before I stopped getting sick in which time I became accustomed to having a supply of Imodium close to hand, just in case. The more local food you buy the more likely you are to get ill with this. Your chances are better the higher up the quality spectrum you go - although no guarantees even then. Reckon spending Baht500 a day each (about US$15 I think - not including drinks) to get decent quality meals or else you are liable to miss your vacation as you'll be spending most of your time bent over the toilet becoming very familiar with the floor in your hotel bathroom.
cheap cheap hehe
you can catch the street vendors for less than a dollar a meal. water is about 5 baht a bottle (500ml). The meals around KhoaSan Rd are fairly cheap.
Four dollars and twenty-two cents per day.
It depends on your style.
If simple as other Thai people, the cost about 30-40 baht only (about 1 dollar a little bit more â€" 1 USD = 36 baht approx.)
If you would like to take fast food, the normal set per 2 people cost about 200-300 baht. (6-9 USD)
For hotel , good restaurant. About 500-1000 baht.
I think the suitable place for foreigner to eat mostly in good restaurant and hotel. You must better prepare the budget around 20 USD per each per day
Eat like a local, I've got by on as little 300b a day! Ok its not too everyones taste (thai food ) but give it a try. Look for a vender who is constantly busy doing the "locals" and remmember the phases that were posted before this one.
PS
Try the grasshopper things, you'll be surppised!
You can find 10 baht per dish in Thailand too.
But you have to eat about 4 dishes to full your stomach :D.
The normal rate of local food shop is about 25 - 40 baht. with can full thai people's stomach. But i think for foreigner, they should eat more dishes because the quantity per dish is not the same to your country. (You serve a lot more than our country !!)
Like in any country if you can learn to live like the locals a couple of bucks a day ,but if you eat like Americans are use to it could cost twenty dollars or more a day.
I am working in Phuket for about more than 2 years now so I'll be more than happy to recommend for Phuket side.
However, generally dining in Thailand is cheap if you are dining from local stalls. Food is clean enough. I've dined by roadside stalls and don't have too much problem.
One bowl of noodles cost abt 25 Baht (1 USD = THB 38 approx), one plate of rice with a side dish costs about 25 - 35 Baht. Do tell the vendor "mai phet" (not spicy) if you cannot take spicy, or if you want to try, tell him "mai phet mark" (not too spicy) esp if it's your first try of spicy food. Drinks lots of bottled water.
A nice air-conditioned cafe around costs about 60 - 70 Baht per dish. And I don't mean international restaurants like MacDonalds, though a burger set from either KFC or MacDonalds goes abt 99 - 129 Baht per set. Try local hit restaurants like MK Restaurant (they have steamboat / suki - where you dump all the raw ingredients into a hot pot, wait for it to boil and dine from it - it's delicious!) which should cost about 300 - 500 Baht for 2. Do order the roasted duck there, it's great. Try also cafes like Black Canyon, which serve local fare from about 70 - 80 Baht per dish.
You can find food everywhere in Thailand, so not to worry.
In Phuket, you must try this famous seafood restaurant called Laem Hin Seafood Restaurant (most taxi drivers should know). It's down a rather secluded lane at first, but you'll emerge by the seaside onto a wooden structure that is the restaurant. Freshest and cheapest seafood here. Soft shelled crab fried w garlic is great, order boiled crab to eat with the seafood chili, order Thod Maan Goong (fried shrimp cake), a whole fish boiled in lemon sauce etc. It should be about 300 - 400 Baht per person, if you don't over-order.
Another place to dine is the food street near Ocean Robinson's in Phuket Town. It's a whole street full of food, from Chicken Rice to order your own Thai dishes to eat w rice. Chicken Rice is 25 - 30 Baht per plate, dishes cost about 60 Baht for an entire dish, rice is about 5 Baht per plate. Lots of choice there. If you are staying at Patong, the street opposite Royal Paradise Hotel is lined with seafood restaurants as well.
Hope this is enough information to start off for you.
Average Meal Prices:
Low = Bht 25-100 , Mid = Bht 100-200, High = Bht 200-500.
- Arawy (Budget) Banglamphu (Delicious Veggies),
- Cabbages & Condoms (Mid Range) Sukhumvit,
- Eat Me Restaurant (Mid Range) Silom, International Eats,
- Harmonique (Mid Range) Bang Rak,
- Khrua Nopparat (Budget) Banglamphu,
- La Piola (Deluxe) Sukhumvit, Beautiful Italian,
- Royal India (Mid Range) Phahurat,
- Soi Polo Fried Chicken (Mid Range) Lumphini, Thai-Fried Treats,
- Ton Pho (Mid Range) Banglamphu, By the River,
- Vientiane Kitchen (Mid Range) Sukhumvit, Frog Salad.
Check this website. It's very helpful for travellers. Good luck! (- -,)
Stay in hotel that offers free breakfast, lunch will run you around 100-300 Baht, dinner can go up if you eat lobster and order cocktails, it's okay to buy a bottle and take with you. Booze is my biggest expense more than butterfly.
