Getting Around Thailand

Never leave your passport as a deposit.

This is the first heading rather than a footnote because it is the sourced fact most likely to be tested on your trip. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states plainly: do not hand your passport over as a guarantee, for example to motorcycle or jet-ski rental businesses, because companies may hold on to passports against claimed damage.

The difficulty is that leaving a passport is exactly what a counter will often ask for, and refusing feels awkward in the moment. Decide before you get there. Offer a cash deposit, a photocopy, or a different form of identification, and be prepared to walk away and rent somewhere else. A passport held against a disputed scratch is a problem that can take over the rest of a trip.

In the cities.

Bangkok has an elevated rail system and a metro alongside metered taxis, motorcycle taxis and tuk-tuks. The tuk-tuk is the one visitors want to try and the one with no meter, so the fare is agreed before you get in rather than discovered when you get out. That is not a warning, it is just how it works; agreeing first removes the only thing about it that goes wrong.

Metered taxis are metered, and the meter is the point. Where a driver prefers a fixed price to the meter, you are free to prefer another taxi.

Between cities, and on the water.

Thailand has long-distance rail, an extensive intercity bus network and cheap domestic flights, and the choice between them is usually a trade of time against comfort rather than a question of availability. Rail is slow and scenic; buses reach places trains do not; flights turn a long overnight into an hour.

On the rivers and around the islands, longtail boats and ferries do work that roads do not. They are transport rather than an excursion, and they are how a good deal of the country actually moves.

The safety notes that belong to moving around.

The FCDO's safety page records that people have arrived in Thailand and been illegally transported to neighboring countries on the promise of high-paying jobs that turned out to be scams, and that they may then be detained on re-entry while their immigration status is validated. It is not a tourist-district fact, and it is the source's own, so it is stated here rather than left out.

It also advises against sleeping on buses and trains where possible, because people have had items taken from bags while asleep, and it notes that drinks served in bars are often stronger than those at home, which bears on how anyone gets home afterwards. Pre-arranging transport so you are not accepting a lift in an unlicensed vehicle is the source's own suggestion.

If something goes wrong.

The FCDO gives the emergency instruction for Thailand as dial 191 and ask for an ambulance, with 1669 given as the local number. Both are worth having written down rather than only one, because they are different services and a page that gives you one has given you half the answer.

The travel safety guide sets out the fuller picture, and the accessible travel guide covers what can and cannot be said about step-free routes.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: the Thailand safety and security page: that criticizing the Thai monarchy is illegal, that the law can be interpreted broadly and carries a long prison sentence, and that journalists, human rights defenders and members of the public have faced charges over political comments and shared articles; that travelers should not hand a passport over as a guarantee, for example to motorcycle or jet-ski rental businesses, because companies may hold on to passports against claimed damage; that people have arrived in Thailand and been illegally transported to neighboring countries on the promise of high-paying jobs that turn out to be scams, and may then be detained on re-entry while their immigration status is validated; that drink spiking and drug-assisted sexual assault happen in tourist areas with both male and female victims, that attacks are most common during full moon parties or similar events and near bars late at night, and that drinks served in bars are often stronger than those at home; that there have been incidents of ATM skimming and that a traveler should use an ATM in a bank and protect the PIN; and that people have drowned in strong riptides, that Thailand has lifeguards at designated beaches and operates a flag system for safe swimming, and that warning signs and especially red flags should be followed. Accessed 22 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: the Thailand health page: that the emergency medical instruction is to dial 191 and ask for an ambulance, with 1669 given as the local number; and that a traveler should check vaccination and health advice at least 8 weeks before the trip. Accessed 22 September 2026.