What to Take with You to Thailand

When planning a vacation, it’s important to prepare for the local climate and culture. If you’re visiting Thailand for the first time, you might pack too much or miss essential items. Here’s what you’ll need in Phuket.

Documents and Money

Make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months from your entry date to Thailand. This is crucial!

Consider getting an international driver’s license, as you won’t be able to rent vehicles without one. More details are in the Car Rental and Bike Rental sections.

The Thai baht is linked to the US dollar, so bringing American currency will give you the best exchange rate. Euros are also accepted. It’s most advantageous to exchange large bills – $50 and $100 denominations. The rule is: smaller bills get lower rates. The year of issue also affects the exchange rate. New-style US dollars (blue color) are exchanged at the maximum rate. Old-style bills (green) from 1996, 2001, 2003, and 2006 also get good rates, but “vintage” bills from before 1996 will likely be rejected. Small denominations ($1-20) are accepted at reduced rates. Therefore, it’s best to bring new, large-denomination dollars.

Clothing and Footwear

Thailand is a tropical country with hot, humid weather. Light, breathable fabrics like cotton, linen, or quick-drying synthetics are ideal. Essentially, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, and flip-flops are your vacation basics. If you plan to visit an upscale restaurant (like those in the The best ones and Panoramic sections), bring “formal attire” – closed shoes, a dress, or pants with a shirt. Some establishments won’t admit people wearing flip-flops and sleeveless tops.

Warm clothes in Phuket are only useful during flights – planes and airports are often quite cool.

Don’t forget to pack light, modest clothing – you’ll need it for visiting Temples. Although you can usually purchase appropriate items at the entrance for 100-200 baht, and some places even offer free scarves or long skirts.

If you plan to go snorkeling, bring “coral shoes” – special footwear for walking on coral reefs. However, these and other shoes and beach clothes can be purchased locally at Night Markets, where everything you need is available.

Protection Items

Sunscreen. Essential with high SPF (preferably 50+), as the sun in Thailand is very aggressive, and even people with darker skin can get burned. It’s better to apply SPF even for a quick trip to buy bread – you can burn quickly and then suffer from pain and fever.

Insect repellents. The humid climate creates conditions for active mosquito breeding (read about dangerous insects in Phuket here), and repellents will help avoid bites. You can buy them at any 7-Eleven.

Antiseptics/wet wipes. In exotic countries, hygiene can become a serious issue for many, so always keep antiseptic products handy to, for example, eat safely at a Night Market.

First aid kit. You can buy almost all common medications locally – we’ve already written about which Thai equivalents to choose in the article First Aid Kit from 7-Eleven. But if you need specific prescription medications, bring them with you.

Food Products

In Phuket, you can buy almost everything, including “specific” products like kvass, tvorog (cottage cheese), kefir, pelmeni (dumplings), sprats, pickles, grains, and sunflower seeds. There are stores with local goods on the island, but they tend to be quite expensive.

If you can’t live without certain products, here’s a list of items that are difficult to find in Phuket:

• Tea. In Thailand, they mainly drink matcha and powdered tea, while the black tea familiar to many is not as common. You can find it, but a package of tea will be expensive.
• Candies. The loose candies familiar to Slavic people aren’t available here, so if you like to drink tea with candies, see the first and second points.
• Grains. Buckwheat, semolina, pearl barley, millet, and barley are only sold in specialty stores and on marketplaces. But the price will be significantly higher than what you’re used to.
• Herring and dried fish. These are very specific products that can’t be found in Phuket.
• Sausages. Large supermarkets have European meat delicacies, but you won’t find the familiar cervelat.
• Bread. In Thailand, mainly sweet toast bread is sold. Rye, Borodinsky, and other grain breads can only be purchased in specialty stores at high prices. If you can’t live without bread, bring it with you – if necessary, bread can be frozen for long-term storage.
• Baby food. It is available for sale in Phuket, however, if your child is used to a specific brand, it’s better to bring their “favorite” food.

Even if you forget something, don’t worry: in any case, the most important things are documents and money. Everything else can be bought in Phuket.

Thailand is not only a place for relaxation but also a unique opportunity to get acquainted with a different culture and nature. Explore the island and its surroundings by visiting the Excursions and Attractions sections.