Jingjok

Moving to Thailand: the first 90 days

Nastia’s checklist after about two years in Thailand: what to sort out before you fly, in your first week and in your first month, with the Thai you need for each step. Same checklist as in the app.

Before you fly

Easier from your sofa than from a hostel bunk.

• Pick the right visa
  Up to 30 days: most passports enter visa-free (since 15 Sep 2026, down from 60; some get 15). Before any flight, fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online, within 3 days of landing. Longer: the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) for remote workers, Muay Thai and cooking students, or a Non-O for retirees and partners. Apply online before you fly; an agent is worth it the first time.
  Say it in Thai →
  Get your DTV or long-stay visa handled for you · partner link
• Health insurance that works here
  Thai hospitals are excellent and they ask for payment or an insurer at the door. Travel insurance from home often stops at 30 or 90 days; nomad plans renew monthly.
  Say it in Thai →
  Nomad health insurance from about $2 a day · partner link
• Data from the moment you land
  Install a Thai eSIM at home so Grab, maps and LINE work at the airport. A local SIM with a Thai number can wait until you have an address.
  A Thai eSIM that works the moment you land · partner link
• Pick a place by how you live
  Bang Tao in Phuket felt urban and social to me, Krabi is for hiking, Koh Phangan is for parties, and Bangkok is a real city with cinemas and onsens. Picture a normal Tuesday, then pick.
• Fly into the nearest airport
  In Sri Lanka I landed in Colombo and then drove eight hours each way. In Thailand check Phuket (HKT), Krabi (KBV), Samui (USM) and Surat Thani (URT, for Koh Phangan). Bangkok has two airports, BKK and DMK: check which one is on your ticket.
  Say it in Thai →
• Check transit rules first
  I once booked a ten-hour layover just to have dinner in Doha, and it was worth it. I have also missed Singapore because of a transit-visa rule I had not checked. Look up the rules for your passport before you buy.
• Book only the first week
  In four months of travel in 2025 I slept in more than 35 places. The first week tells you which neighbourhood you actually want: take a serviced apartment for seven nights, then look for a condo on foot.
  Say it in Thai →
  A first week in a serviced apartment, cancel free · partner link
• Let AI draft the route
  I planned a solo week-long motorbike trip through Thailand, with camping spots, using GPT deep research. It makes a great first draft; then confirm every campsite and fuel stop locally.
• Learn ten words
  Hello, thank you, sorry, not spicy, how much, this one, the polite particle. Ten words change how Thais treat you on day one.
  Say it in Thai →

Your first week

Getting around, eating, the sea, and finding a place.

• Ride apps, not street taxis
  Grab and Bolt show the price up front. For a street taxi, ask for the meter before you get in.
  Say it in Thai →
• Eat where the queue is
  Street food and food courts are safe where locals eat. Say how spicy before you order: I once burned my mouth so badly on a soup that I still remember it, and here “a little spicy” is still spicy.
  Say it in Thai →
• Respect the sea in the rainy season
  I nearly drowned in Phuket on a big-wave day. From about May to October the Andaman coast gets heavy swell. If the lifeguards fly a red flag or the sign says “no swimming”, stay on the sand.
  Say it in Thai →
• Order coffee your way
  Thai iced coffee comes very sweet. I only drink iced coffee, so the first thing I say at a new cafe is “not sweet”.
  Say it in Thai →
• Meet your house gecko
  The small lizard on your wall is a jîng-jòk, the gecko this app is named after. It is harmless and eats mosquitoes. The big one with the loud call is a dtúk-gaae, a tokay.
  Say it in Thai →
• Walk the soi, then ask the monthly price
  Pick the neighbourhood by how you will commute, then view five rooms in a day. In July 2026 I rented in Bang Tao for $350 a month; monthly rates are far below nightly ones. Ask about the deposit, the bills per unit and the minimum contract, then ask again for a longer one.
  Say it in Thai →
• Test the Wi-Fi before you sign
  In Sri Lanka my only internet was my phone’s hotspot. If you work online, run a speed test in the room you will work from before you pay a deposit.
  Say it in Thai →
• A Thai number
  Banks, deliveries and your landlord all use LINE and a Thai number. Any phone shop in a mall does it in ten minutes with your passport.
  Say it in Thai →

Your first month

The admin first, then the routine that turns a long stay into a life.

• Open a Thai bank account
  Possible with a long-stay visa and a residence certificate or a letter from your condo. Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn are the usual choices. Then move money in at the real exchange rate instead of your home bank’s.
  Say it in Thai →
  Send money to your Thai account at the real rate · partner link
• Know your immigration dates
  Long-stay visas need a 90-day report (online or at immigration) and an extension before the stamp runs out. Put both dates in your calendar on day one.
  Say it in Thai →
• Find your pharmacy and hospital
  Pharmacists in Thailand can sell most things without a prescription and most speak some English. Know where the nearest private hospital is before you need it.
  Say it in Thai →
• Motorbike: licence, helmet, empty street
  I have six driving licences from three countries, so trust me on the paperwork: shops rent to anyone, but insurers do not pay without the A category or a Thai licence. I have taught five designers to ride; practise in a quiet soi first. Helmets are checked at police stops.
  Say it in Thai →
• Build a routine in week two
  Mine in Phuket: yoga or Lagree in the morning, a swim every day, work, then a massage or the cinema. A routine turns a long holiday into a life, and the gym is where you meet people.
• Try one Muay Thai class
  I train Muay Thai. Beginner classes are everywhere, and counting “one, two, three” with the trainer teaches you Thai numbers faster than any textbook.
  Say it in Thai →
• Meet Thai people, not only expats
  In Sri Lanka a few local words in the surf lineup got me more than ten local friends in a week. Learn your neighbours’ names and your vendors’ nicknames, use the polite particle, and use your Thai where you go every day.
  Say it in Thai →
• Keep a base
  After about five years of moving, I can tell you constant moving gets tiring. I keep a base in Bangkok and travel from there.
• Pick a rhythm you can keep
  I am learning Mandarin at three lessons a week. Choose a pace you will still keep in month three; a few minutes of Thai a day counts.

Some links are partner links: if you buy through them, Jingjok earns a commission at no extra cost to you. They are the services Nastia uses herself.