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Essential information to help you get connected seamlessly
This virtual SIM only includes data. It does not allow you to make cell phone calls or send SMS messages. You can still use WhatsApp or Skype to call your contacts.
Make sure your phone is both unlocked and compatible with eSIM technology.
Scan the QR code from your smartphone settings and add the data plan. You can either print it and scan it, or open it on another device to scan it. But don't activate it until you land at your destination.
A digital arrival card you fill before you land, a strict palace dress code, and no free roaming anywhere
Thailand now starts before you arrive: every foreign visitor has to complete a digital arrival card online in the three days before landing, and there is no paper form at the airport to fall back on. Once you are in, the country rewards a bit of preparation, from a dress code that can turn you away at the Grand Palace to a transport map best read on your phone. This guide covers that arrival card, the dress code, the money, getting around Bangkok, and why data here matters more than in Europe.
The Grand Palace, with the dress code respected
Bangkok's Grand Palace and its Temple of the Emerald Buddha enforce a strict dress code: shoulders and knees must be covered, and see-through or tight clothing is refused. The dress code is applied at the gate, and while sarongs can be rented at the entrance, the queue for them eats into your visit, so it is easier to arrive already covered.3
Our take: go at opening, dressed for the code, and do the Grand Palace first before the heat and the crowds peak. It sits by the river, so pair it with a Chao Phraya boat rather than fighting road traffic to reach it.
Bangkok's traffic has a fast way around it
The BTS Skytrain and the MRT metro skip Bangkok's notorious road traffic entirely, running on overhead tracks and underground across the areas most visitors spend time in. They are the quickest way between the main districts, and a stored-value card or a contactless tap saves buying a single ticket each ride. Both connect to the airport rail link, so you can often reach your hotel by train rather than sitting in a taxi queue.5
Our take: base yourself near a BTS or MRT station and plan days around the lines rather than the map's straight-line distances. A hotel a short walk from a station is worth far more than one that looks central but needs a taxi through gridlock.
VAT is 7% and already in the price
Thailand's VAT rate is 7%, a reduced rate held below the statutory 10% for decades and extended again through 30 September 2026. It is generally included in displayed prices, though some upmarket hotels and restaurants add VAT and a service charge on top, which is shown on the menu.4
The currency is the baht
Prices are in Thai baht (THB). Cards are widely accepted in cities, malls and hotels, but markets, street food and small shops still run largely on cash, so a modest amount of baht is worth carrying alongside a card for the parts of a trip that never see a card machine.
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card is mandatory
Since 1 May 2025, all foreign nationals arriving by air, land or sea must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online, no more than 72 hours before arrival, on the official site tdac.immigration.go.th. It replaced the old paper form, and only passengers transiting without clearing immigration are exempt.1
Many nationalities enter visa-free for a short stay
A large number of nationalities can enter Thailand without a visa for tourism for a limited stay, with longer or different trips needing a visa arranged in advance. Eligibility and the exact length depend on your passport, so check the official Thai e-Visa portal before you travel.2
The Tourist Police hotline is 1155
Thailand runs a dedicated 24-hour Tourist Police hotline on 1155, with interpreters on hand, aimed specifically at helping foreign visitors with everything from emergencies to scams and lost property. It sits alongside the general emergency lines, and it is the number to save as a traveller.6
The arrival card is free — beware paid lookalikes
The TDAC costs nothing on the official government site. Third-party pages that charge a fee to file it for you are not official, so submit it yourself at tdac.immigration.go.th and treat any site asking for payment as one to avoid.1
Thailand is where a local eSIM earns its keep most, because none of the free-roaming arrangements that cover Europe reach here: whatever your home country, roaming in Thailand is charged, often steeply, so a Thai plan is usually the difference between using data freely and rationing it. Coverage is genuinely good where visitors go, across Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the main islands, with fast mobile data the norm in cities and tourist areas. You will lean on it constantly: the arrival card is online-only, ride-hailing and maps run the day, and a data connection is what makes the transit apps and translation tools useful. Get connected at or before the airport rather than after, because the first thing you may want on landing is to show a completed arrival card and call a ride, both of which need to be online.
Yes. Since 1 May 2025 every foreign visitor arriving by air, land or sea must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online, within the 72 hours before arrival, on the official site tdac.immigration.go.th. There is no paper form at the airport, and only passengers transiting without clearing immigration are exempt. It is free, so ignore any site that charges to file it.1
Cover your shoulders and knees, and avoid see-through or tight clothing; the code is enforced at the gate and you can be refused entry. Sarongs are available to rent at the entrance if needed, but arriving already dressed for it saves the queue. The same standard applies at many temples across Thailand.3
Usually not. Thailand is outside every regional free-roaming zone, so home-plan roaming here is billed, and often expensive, whatever country you come from. A local eSIM keeps data at a predictable Thai price, which is why it matters more here than on a trip within Europe.
Save 1155, the 24-hour Tourist Police hotline, which has interpreters and is set up specifically for foreign visitors, from emergencies to scams and lost property. It complements Thailand's general emergency services and is the most useful single number for a traveller to keep.6
Every price, date and rule above is taken from the operator, museum, city or ministry that sets it, and was checked against that source on September 5, 2026. Lines marked "Our take" are our own recommendation, not a sourced fact. Fares, fees and opening hours change — confirm anything your trip depends on before you book.