Internet in Thailand for tourists: what to sort out before you land

Why your EU plan is not the answer in Thailand

The EU's Your Europe portal lists where roam like at home applies. Beyond the EU it reaches Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Moldova and Ukraine; other countries are not covered by the regime, although it notes that many operators extend their offers to some of them. Thailand is not on the list, so data on your usual line follows whatever your operator charges for that country, and Your Europe warns that roaming outside the EU can be expensive.

Its advice is to check the cost with your provider before travelling. If the answer is a daily pass you are happy with, that settles it. If not, the safe setup is to switch off data roaming on your usual line before the flight, so that nothing runs up in the background when the phone wakes up in Bangkok. The steps for iPhone and Android are in how to turn off roaming on your home line.

Turning off data roaming does not switch the line off. It can stay on for calls and SMS, such as your bank's codes, at whatever price your operator sets for them in Thailand, while the internet comes from somewhere else.

Before you fly: the digital arrival card

Since 1 May 2025, Thai embassies say all non-Thai nationals entering Thailand by air, land or sea must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card, known as TDAC, which replaced the paper TM6 form. It is submitted online at tdac.immigration.go.th, and the window opens three days before your arrival in Thailand.

The embassies stress two more points. The card is free of charge, and the Royal Thai Embassy in London tells travellers not to make a payment if they are asked for one, since fraudulent sites exist. The embassy in Manama adds that it is an electronic disembarkation card, not a visa, so it does not replace one if your passport needs it.

Because it is an online form, plan to fill it in at home or at your hotel on Wi-Fi during those three days, not in the immigration queue with no data. If you travel with family, check the form for each person before you go.

Landing: the airport's free Wi-Fi

At Suvarnabhumi, Airports of Thailand describes a free network called AOT Airport Free Wi-Fi by NT. You select it, enter your email address, accept the terms and get 60 minutes of access. The same page advises against sensitive transactions such as online banking or card purchases over public Wi-Fi.

An hour is enough for the essentials on arrival: tell people you have landed, check your hotel booking and order a ride. What it does not do is follow you. The connection ends at the kerb, in the taxi or on the train into the city, which is where you start needing maps and messages.

If you change planes on the way, in Dubai, Doha, Istanbul or Singapore for example, the hub airport has its own Wi-Fi and its own rules; they are covered in mobile data on a layover.

Tourist SIM: passport, counter and the 60-day rule

• Passport registration: True, whose tourist SIM page covers both True and dtac, says the SIM must be registered with a valid passport in compliance with the regulations of the NBTC, Thailand's telecoms regulator.
• A limit per brand: True sets a maximum of three SIMs per person per brand.
• Where to buy: True lists its True and dtac service centres nationwide, with airport locations open 24/7, and its online store. AIS points travellers to its AIS Shop locator and also offers eSIM versions of its tourist plans.
• Validity: True says the validity must not exceed 60 days and cannot be extended by a top-up once it has expired; to carry on, you register again with your passport at a True dtac Shop.
• Staying longer with AIS: foreign tourists who want to keep using an AIS tourist SIM beyond 60 days from activation must confirm their identity again, by sending their passport number free by SMS to 4444161 and following the link in the reply, or at any AIS Shop.

A local SIM works well, and it gives you a Thai number. The price is the counter itself: a queue and passport paperwork after a long-haul flight, and, on a phone with a single SIM slot, taking out your home SIM and keeping it safe for the rest of the trip.

A travel eSIM installed at home

The other route skips the counter. A Snoozim eSIM for Thailand is data-only and arrives as a QR code by email right after payment, with no app and no account. The networks listed for our Thailand plans are TrueMove H and dtac, both with 5G, so you use 5G where those networks and your phone support it.

Install it at home, on Wi-Fi: Apple says an iPhone needs Wi-Fi or a hotspot to activate an eSIM in most cases. Its validity starts when it first connects in Thailand, not when you scan the code, so installing it a few days early costs nothing. Your usual SIM stays in the phone for calls and SMS.

On landing, three changes: turn the eSIM line on, choose it for cellular data and make sure data roaming is on for that line. If nothing loads, the checks are in do you need data roaming on for a travel eSIM and how to know if your eSIM is working. Hotspot is allowed, so the phone can share data with a laptop, and if you run low, a top-up goes onto the same eSIM, as explained in how to top up a travel eSIM.

Grab, maps and translation

At Suvarnabhumi, Airports of Thailand puts the Grab pick-up point on Level 1, Gate 4 of the passenger terminal, open 24 hours, and says rides must use the designated points. In September 2026 Grab described a 12-lane zone there: you choose Grab Pick-up Point when booking, receive a four-digit PIN and give it to a waiting driver in lanes A to D. All of that happens in the app, so it needs data at the exit door. More on the first ride in ride-hailing apps when you land.

Google Maps can work without signal, with limits. Google says driving navigation works offline if the whole route is inside the downloaded area, but transit, cycling and walking directions are not available offline, and downloaded maps must be updated before they expire. Download Bangkok and the places you are heading to on hotel Wi-Fi, as described in using Google Maps offline.

For Thai, Google Translate lets you download a language and translate offline; Google recommends doing it on Wi-Fi, and under Settings, Data usage you can make the app ask before downloading over mobile data. Apple's Translate app lists Thai among its languages on its App Store page. The operator pages we read make no specific promise about coverage on ferries or between islands, so have your maps, tickets and hotel address saved offline before a crossing.

How much data per day in Thailand

There is no single figure, because it depends on what you do. Messages, Grab, maps and booking apps are the light end; video calls, sending photos and videos, streaming and sharing the connection with a laptop are what make a plan run short.

The reliable number is your own. On an iPhone, Settings, Cellular shows the data used by each app; on a Pixel it is Settings, Network and internet, SIMs, App data usage. Look at a normal day of yours at home, then add what the trip changes, such as more maps and more photos.

Then put it into the data calculator or go through how much data do I need. If you will be on hotel Wi-Fi in the evenings, leave the heavy uploads for then; the trade-offs are in hotel Wi-Fi vs mobile data.