Hi all
I'm going on my first trip to Thailand in October and wanted some advice on what would be the best currency to take.
I am currently tossing up between Japanese yen (i'm earning this currency now from a working holiday visa) or the Australian dollar (saved up).
Also what is considered enough money to take to Thailand. I will mainly be in Phuket and only for a week.
Appreciate any advice.
Thanks
https://daytodaydata.net/ so you can see which banks offer best rates, or compare with rates at booths.
superrich, vasu, etc at top of list are mainly in Bangkok, but you may find an outlet for them in Phuket.
I usually take AUD when I go, or Citi Visa Debit if also going to Bkk. Seldom do I use ATMs.
Amount to take is hard to judge - depends on your spending patterns and how many activities you want to participate in
I always like to obtain local currency with ATMs, but Thailand is the ONE place where I don't. They charge an exorbitant fee ontop of whatever fees/conversion your bank gets you for. Money exchangers are better value, esp if you make it to Superrich in Bangkok, where there is an insanely small margin between buy/sell (~0.3% for AUD/JPY, half that for USD).
Personally I'm fine carrying cash around for a week or two and keeping it locked in the hotel safe, others might disagree.
agree on the insanely small margin.
for my Cambodia trip I exchanged AUD->THB->USD at superrich for a much better rate than I could possibly get in Aus for direct AUD->USD.
OP may in fact find that useful for converting JPY to AUD if that is desirable (would need to do own research though)
If you have Yen already in cash i would exchange it at a currency booth, superrich normally has the best rates. Otherwise get a Citibank plus account, Citbank ATMs are free to use with the Citibank plus account but are available only in Bangkok. Other ATMS in Thailand charge 200 Baht per withdrawal about $A7.50.
How much you need for a week in Phuket? Well depends on what activities you like.
If you were going to convert the YEN into another currency anyway, then use the YEN.
That way you're exchanging less overall currency (i.e. you're just changing x amount of YEN into THB, instead of y amount of AUD into THB + x amount of YEN into AUD or something else).
Compared to THB, AUD is quite low right now, whereas the YEN has been on the rise this year.
Take Yen.
You're currently earning it now so it's more comparable to what you would otherwise be spending and give you an overall feel of how expensive something really is.
There are plenty of money changers in the tourist populated areas of Thailand.
There is no point to withdrawing from ATMs as fees are high.
Unless you already have the AUDs in cash on you i strongly suggest just taking Yen in cash.
Phuket was where our card got skimmed at an ATM. Watch your account carefully. We travel 2 to 3 times a year to various places but Phuket has been the place where we had trouble. Our bank was good and got on top of the issue.
Hey Emli, can you give more info on what happened in Phuket please? I travel to Thailand a lot. Regards Peck
For cash, the worst margin that you will pay at Thailand money changers(excluding airports) over XE rates (Aud to THB.) will about 1 THB.. The best about 0.5 THB. Excluding hotel booking I doubt that you would spend more than 3,000 THB per day. My first few trips I took cash with a credit card for back up. You can always get a CC cash advance at a bank if an emergency. Now I use a CitiBank Plus ATM card in Bangkok for a perfect rate & fee free, but I don't know about Phuket. BTW carry a photocopy of your passport with you - carrying ID is the law, and is also needed at money changers. Keep actual passport secured in hotel.
I always use ATMs which are everywhere. Think you pay about AU $5 for each withdrawal so take out larger rather than smaller amounts each time. If you can speak fluent Thai or have reliable contacts you can probably manage to get better rate. I can't be bothered with the hassle. I only use AU dollars.
Look at exchange rate on XE currency converter so you have idea of which is most effective currency for you to use. Good luck and enjoy your trip.