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I'm going to Thailand the first week of January 2023 for 10 days. I will take some cash (Euro) with me. I'm thinking to exchange maybe 200 Euro at the Airport for Baht first to get by.

After that I would like to exchange more Euro for Baht, what would be the best place to do so? Is it recommended to exchange money at the bank in Thailand? I'm looking to get the most value for my Euro.

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You will usually get the best rate when using a debit card from an ATM.

Make sure however that:

  • You check your card issuer's currency exchange and foreign transaction fees and commissions. Most banks are reasonable, some will charge through the teeth, others are really cheap. It may be useful to open an account with one of the "neo-banks" (Revolut, Wise, etc.) to get the cheaper rates.
  • If the ATM gives you the option to charge in your home currency, usually don't accept that, as you'll generally get a worse rate.
  • The ATM doesn't charge large fees. Don't know the practice in Thailand, but in some countries like the US or UK you should use ATMs in bank branches rather than ATMs in convenience stores for instance, as those charge very large fees.
  • Before leaving, make sure you have notified your card issuer of your travel plans so they don't block your card.
  • It's always a good idea to have at least two cards from two different issuers, ideally on different networks. Even if you warn them, sometimes use in foreign countries may trigger security alerts and block your card, so it's good to have a backup.

Depending on the fees (either from your bank or from the ATM), it may make more sense to make fewer larger withdrawals rather than a lot of small ones.

Generally, do not use a credit card, as ATM withdrawals are cash advances, and those usually mean high fees on credit cards (exceptions for "deferred debit" in France for instance, which are labelled as "credit" but act like debit cards for ATM withdrawals).

Currency exchange will usually be a lot more expensive, and would require you to carry large amounts of EUR.

Note that generally, your best option is to use your payment card directly for purchases, but again, check your card issuer's fees.

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    +1. Most all Thai ATMs charge a flat 220 baht for foreign card transactions, at last check Aeon was still a bit cheaper at 150 baht
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Dec 5, 2022 at 13:02
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    Thai banks (i.e. bangkok bank) usually give decent rates when converting cash to thb, though I only did that with USD in the past. They'll also service you even if you're not an account holder. One problem with using ATMs is that they tend to give out a bunch of 1000THB bills which can be harder to spend.
    – ave
    Commented Dec 5, 2022 at 16:57
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    For some reason Thailand has had the worst ATM fees of anywhere I've been. Most Thai banks collude on ATM fees. I have a strong preference to spend my money on average local businesses than the banking elites. Aeon seems to consistently be the best at holding out when everybody else increases their fees. Some banks or individual ATMs may have a low withdrawal limit. You definitely want to avoid having to do two withdrawals with two 220THB fees to withdraw the amount you want. Most countries have some online expat forum with people discussing ATM fees and limits. Do some Google research.
    – hippietrail
    Commented Sep 18, 2023 at 6:04
  • Don't get the currency in the US, Chase and most big banks have terrible conversion rates. You are far better off to do such at the airport.
    – Pete B.
    Commented Nov 7 at 11:55

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