How to Prepare for Your First Trip to Thailand from Sri Lanka

A long and cool vacation is something that everyone dreams of to escape the same old routine.

We just wrapped up the most wonderful 10-day vacation in Thailand. Today, I'm sharing how we planned our perfect getaway. I hope this helps you when planning your next trip to Thailand!

1. Understanding the Purpose

Visiting Thailand can serve multiple purposes shopping, nightlife, beaches, wildlife, food, wellness, temples, ancient ruins, cannabis, you name it! It’s a country where you can be anyone you want. So, knowing your objectives will help you decide on your destinations.

Our objectives were capturing some colorful Instagrammable moments, exploring islands, visiting bucket-list places, experiencing local transportation, and shopping.

After researching, we narrowed our destinations to Phuket and Bangkok based on these goals.

We set aside places like Krabi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pattaya because we wanted to make the most out of the time we had.

2. Researching

Research is the life-saving step of any plan. We started casually researching Thailand in April, and by May, we were actively following travel agencies on social media. We hadn’t finalized the dates yet. You can follow Thailand news sites to keep updated on the latest incidents and rules.

During this phase, we found that Maya Bay closes from August to October, so waiting till then felt like missing a golden opportunity. On the other hand, May to October is Thailand’s rainy season.

Even with that concern, we decided to go at the end of July. We kept checking real-time weather updates from people in Thailand. Bangkok’s rain doesn’t last long, which we later experienced ourselves. But we were worried about storms during the Maya Bay visit. Still, it was a “Now or Never” moment, so we locked in our dates.

3. Travel Agent or DIY?

This was a big decision. At first, we thought we could do everything ourselves. But after comparing time and costs, we realized some things are more efficient through an agent.

We contacted several agents, but none covered 100% of what we wanted. So, we chose the best-reviewed one that covered most destinations and added a few extra days for personal exploration.

We booked a 5-night package with the agent and arranged the rest ourselves.
If you have many bucket list items, a hybrid approach works best!

4. Deciding the Number of Days

We based this on our budget and satisfaction. Travel agent itineraries didn’t cover everything we hoped for. We fixed a budget for shopping, estimated transport and food expenses, and built a 10-day itinerary around that.

5. Itinerary Planning

The agent we picked was FlyPort. The agent gave us a base itinerary, which we adjusted. For example, we swapped out some temples and requested one free day in Phuket. Their itinerary included two activity days in Phuket and two in Bangkok, with transport included.

The agent picked hotels in both cities, and we booked a third hotel ourselves based on YouTube reviews. While planning, we chose activities close to the hotels to minimize travel time.

We first listed all desired places in Phuket and Bangkok, checked reviews, distance from hotels, entry fees, and transport options. Then we trimmed the list to match our bucket list and budget.

🔸 Most major attractions like temples and museums have entry fees ranging from 500–1000 Baht. It’s important to account for this when budgeting.

6. Air Tickets, Hotels, and Leave

As they say, the earlier, the better, but we booked just a month in advance. The agent handled air tickets and two hotel bookings. We booked one additional hotel near Pratunam Night Market (also close to Platinum Mall) via booking.lk.

If you choose “bed and breakfast” only, make sure there’s a 7-Eleven or food stalls nearby. Also, if you need a bidet shower, note that most public places don’t have them, consider this when selecting a hotel.

Our departure was on a Sunday night, letting us start sightseeing on Monday morning. The return flight was at night too, giving us a full final day.

We applied for 10 days of annual leave, including two extra days to rest after the trip and totally worth it!

7. Currency Exchange

We planned to carry USD to Thailand and exchange it there, as Thai Baht isn’t available in Sri Lanka. We also set up Google Pay as a backup.

We visited several banks (Sampath, HNB, Pan Asia, NTB, Commercial), and here’s what we learned:

• Each bank has different rates (of course).

• Some branches, especially in smaller towns like Ambalangoda, are hesitant to exchange currency.

• It's easier to exchange at airport counters or head office branches.

• You need to show your passport, air ticket, and visa to exchange money.

• Banks charge around 2% commission.

• They’ll stamp your passport with the exchanged amount.

We exchanged a small amount at HNB head office, and later used a licensed money exchange agent, Crowns (no commission, better rates). This saved us time and money.

🔸 We saw some exchanges in Thailand give a lower rate to old Doller notes. Not sure what is the reason but at Crowns they specially mentioned us that taking New Doller notes to Thailand is better. HNB gave few older looking notes but sill we could exchange : )

8. Baggage

We each carried one 7kg bag (AirAsia didn’t weigh our small backpacks). We skipped laptops to save weight, but we could’ve taken them without issue.

Since shopping was a priority, we added baggage only for the return. Initially 20kg, later upgraded to 25kg. We bought luggage in Bangkok—great quality and cheaper than in Sri Lanka!

9. What to Pack

For island-hopping and speed boats, we packed:

• Raincoats, waterproof phone covers, water-resistant side bags

• Swimwear, sunscreen, sunglasses

• Extra slippers

Generally,

• A small set of clothes (due to weight limit—we bought more there)

• Essential medicine (vomiting, headaches, colds, stomach issues) in a transparent pouch

A hat or cap is ideal, but we purchased them from there.

Liquid, cream, and gel items were packed in a transparent pouch with a zipper. It is only allowed to take 100ml or less from each liquid item in hand luggage. So we moved items to small-sized containers and placed them inside transparent pouch.

Do some research on airport rules to ensure you're compliant.

We also brought a waterproof chest bag for cash and passports. We carried passport photocopies, which helped us when a police officer asked to see them.

And yes.. bring a jacket for the plane and airport. It's freezing inside!

10. Other Important Tips

i. We set both Sri Lankan and Thai time zones on our phones. Thailand is only 1.5 hours ahead.
ii. We removed one SIM card before the trip to easily insert the new one.
iii. We used an AIS SIM even had 5G on Phi Phi Islands! Amazing coverage.
iv. We pre-ordered our SIMs on the Klook app—cheaper than airport counters.
v. Only exchange a small amount of currency at the airport. Better rates outside.
vi. Online tickets are cheaper than walk-in prices.
vii. Install Bolt and Grab. Bolt is cheaper. Despite what some say, we found Bolt very reliable.
viii. Install a language translator app and one that translates photos. Most labels are in Thai and locals speak limited English.
ix. Use the ‘ThaiWeather’ and ‘THE SKYTRAINs’ apps if you're using public transport.
x. Bangkok is notorious for traffic. Start early or use BTS/SkyTrain and boat rides for faster travel.

Hope this guide helps you plan your own memorable Thailand adventure!