Planning a trip to Thailand and thinking about what apps are a must-have for tourists? Some of Thailand apps can really make your traveling in the kingdom much easier. When you are preparing for a trip, download the 10 best apps for Thailand travel on your smartphone, as these apps can be very useful during your stay in the "land of smiles".
Thailand SIM card
During your trip in Thailand, internet access on your phone can greatly simplify your life. It’s best to buy a local SIM card with an internet connection to stay conveniently connected on your holiday in Thailand. Local SIM cards are not expensive and easy enough to get upon arrival so you can use all the apps right away. To save money, pre-book a Thailand SIM card online and pick it up at the airport.
Otherwise, if your mobile phone is eSIM compatible, you can get eSIM Thailand by instant email delivery and use it right after landing in Bangkok.
Best Apps for Thailand Travel
Your Thailand trip will be much easier if you download most of the below-listed apps to use in Thailand. 10 best apps for Thailand travel that will be really useful on your trip are the following.
1. KLOOK
If you are planning to visit Thailand and looking for the best deals on attraction tickets and activities, then KLOOK is one of the must-have Thailand apps for tourists. KLOOK is the platform where you can order a SIM card or book travel activities, tickets to amazing tourist attractions, and local experience tours around Thailand significantly cheaper and faster than buying directly at the counter. It's hassle-free and easy to use. Various promotion codes offering additional discounts are also available for the users of this app!
To get the best offer, we usually compare deals on KLOOK with another great app for tours and tickets - GetYourGuide.
2. Hotel Booking App - Agoda or Booking
Agoda and Booking.com are the tools for you to find hotels and other accommodations all over Thailand. These applications are easy to use and let you check the price, hotel location, and daily deals fast. You can switch to the map and see the rates of hotels in your preferred location. These apps make comparison of the hotels in Thailand for tourists really easy. Normally, the prices are lower if you are using the app on a phone than on a desktop computer.
Even if Booking.com is better known worldwide, it’s not uncommon to get better hotel deals on Agoda when it comes to finding a hotel in Thailand, so it can be said that Agoda is the best app to book a hotel in Thailand.
3. Grab
Grab, similar to the Uber application, is an app that allows you to get a taxi fast and easily without advance reservation. Grab also offers a wide range of travel options, including taxis, personal cars, motorcycles, and delivery services. All you need to do is choose the origin and destination; this app will calculate the distance, expected time, and estimated fare, and you will only have to wait for your taxi to arrive and take you to your desired destination. It's one of the best and most popular Thailand apps for locals and tourists, as in addition to transportation bookings, it is possible to use the delivery service feature and order food, parcels, and even bulky or heavy items from nearby restaurants or supermarkets.
If you're planning to use Grab for exploring Bangkok, purchase the Bangkok City Ride Voucher Pack to enjoy a special discount on your rides.
Using Grab is convenient, as you can choose to pay your fare in cash or with a credit card, and you will receive an email receipt every time after the trip. Grab app in Thailand can also be used in English, and you do not need to worry about the language. There is a texting section for contacting the driver, where the message will be automatically translated into English and Thai.
4. Google Translate
One of the major issues when going abroad is the language, and not many Thais know English well. Knowing “Sawaddee” for saying “hello” or “Khop Khun” for saying “thank you” is not enough for travelling in Thailand. This is why the Google Translate application needs to be installed on your phone. It's just a straightforward and simple way to translate text into a foreign language quickly, and Google Translate works well enough with the Thai language. You can even scan the text with your mobile camera and translate it automatically into the language you want. This application is very useful for translating restaurant menus, signs, or transport tickets in real time.
5. 12Go
12Go is one of the best apps for booking transport tickets in Thailand and Southeast Asia. This app is very convenient, as you can book flights, bus, train, ferry tickets, and even private transfer with the use of just one app. On the 12Go app, tourists can compare different transportation options between a wide range of destinations. Even if you are not looking to book tickets online, the app is a very useful comparison tool of different means of transportation.
6. Line
You may think WhatsApp or Skype are the most popular applications for chatting, but it's not like that in Thailand. Line is more essential and used by locals to communicate via instant messaging. Line is a free application that only needs your phone's internet connection to send and receive messages, calls, photos, videos, documents, and voice messages to your friends and family. Most people in Thailand use Line to stay in contact with everyone; therefore, having this app will make it easier for you to contact your new Thai friends.
In case you are looking for the best Thai dating application to know someone there before going to Thailand, give ThaiFriendly a try.
7. Wise
Wise is an app that lets you check exchange rates, send money, receive payments from abroad, pay bills, or send money back home to your loved ones – wherever you are. As Thailand has its own currency and Thai baht is only accepted in Thailand, this app will help you to convert between Thai baht and the currency of your country of origin to avoid confusion. You will know if the thing you want to buy is cheap or expensive and how much you pay by just entering the amount and automatically converting it to your currency or vice versa at the exchange rate of the day. Wise is one of the best Thailand apps that is very useful for tourists as it makes controlling travel money easier.
8. Google Maps
Google Maps is a must-have app on your smartphone when traveling to Thailand. Google Maps lets you know your location and traffic conditions with a single click. It helps you decide which means of transportation you should use to reach your destination. This application will also help you plan your trip in advance by making a list of the tourist places you want to visit, the hotels you want to stay at, or the best restaurants to eat at without getting lost.
An interesting function and undoubtedly a great advantage of using Google Maps is that this app lets you download maps of the city beforehand so you can use it offline in case you have no network coverage in certain areas of Thailand.
9. Traveloka
Before your long holidays in Thailand, you must conclude your travel plan, and the first thing to do is book flights and hotels. The Traveloka app can help you to book flights cheaper than normal. This application covers all the main worldwide airlines. Booking with Traveloka is a good choice if you are looking for domestic flights. Traveloka also has special offers in the "ongoing promos" section for people booking through the application, so we’ve booked tickets many times with this app and always got a price better than on the websites of airlines. After the booking and payment are completed, the app will send the electronic ticket or booking confirmation via smartphone, so you won’t need to carry the documents and will be able to access the information at any time.
For international flights, you can always keep an eye on SkyScanner.
10. AirVisual
AirVisual is an app that is useful for everyone who is concerned about their health. As the environmental standards in Thailand are quite poor, sometimes the polluted air covers the entire city, especially Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The app is designed to be convenient to use, with detailed pollution information and division into colors according to air quality. This app will help you to understand the environment you're travelling to and act accordingly to protect yourself.
Install these useful applications on your smartphone and make your travelling around Thailand much easier!
Bonus Apps for Thailand
ViaBus
ViaBus is a cool app for public bus riders that is very useful when traveling by Bangkok public bus, as with the use of it you no longer have to stand and wait for the bus without knowing when it will come. The new buses are equipped with GPS, so you can check the current location of each bus, bus route, and bus stop, and it also tells you how to connect to other means of public transportation, such as BTS, MRT, or river boats, and gives you an approximate time required.
Foodpanda
Foodpanda was the first and is still one of the best apps for food delivery service in Thailand, used by locals and tourists. With this application, you can search the restaurants nearby and choose to order your favorite dishes, from Thai food to pizza and gourmet dishes, to be delivered right to your hotel or accommodation without having to go out. The menu displayed includes reviews and ratings of the restaurants from other customers. Foodpanda is packed with special offers from many restaurants, such as free delivery or special menus. Foodpanda accepts both credit card and cash payments.
Get this Thailand app in case you can't find the food you want on the Grab app or to compare the offers between these two food delivery apps.
Shopee
Shopee, the Thailand version of eBay or Amazon, is one of the most famous online shopping apps in Thailand. This is an app that allows you to search and order all the products relatively easily. The delivery is possible throughout Thailand, and you can also check the delivery status on the app. Shopee is ideal for those who intend to stay in Thailand for longer periods.
There is also another app called Lazada, which is good for ordering goods. You can compare prices between these two Thailand apps before buying.
Thai Best Dict
This is a dictionary application that can be used offline. It will be a good translator for your trips or when no internet connection is available. With the Thai Best Dict app, you will be able to translate words both from English to Thai and from Thai to English. We like using it because the translation of word meaning is quite detailed, and you can listen to the correct Thai pronunciation.
Wongnai
Wongnai is an application that helps you choose a restaurant in Thailand from more than 250,000 restaurants around the country. With this application you can find nearby restaurants with detailed information and real user reviews that can help you to decide on where to go. You can instantly share reviews or food photos as well. It will also help you to discover great spas and many other beauty services.
Tips
Consider buying a local Thailand SIM card to stay conveniently connected on your holiday in Thailand. Booking a Thailand SIM card online is much cheaper and easy enough to get upon arrival so you can use all the apps right away!
Discover more information about Thai mobile phone service providers and SIM cards offered for tourists here: Getting a Thailand SIM card.
For an extended list of useful apps, check 35 Must-Have Thailand Travel Apps.
