Best Thailand Prepaid Sim Card for Tourists

Best Thailand Prepaid Sim Card for Tourists

Wi-Fi is quite common in Thailand with fairly decent connection speeds. However, you are not always going to be within reach of a Wi-Fi hotspot when you are out traveling around the city or even in more remote areas.

Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have cared about having a prepaid sim card with internet data. I was happy to totally disconnect and go with the flow. However, these days travel has changed.

We rely on travel blogs for advice, Google Maps for directions, comparison websites for hotels, social media to stay in contact, and so much more. Simply spending that $10 on a sim card, can save you way more money and tme in return.

How many times have you found a better hotel deal by comparing the price online? Agoda, Booking, Trivago. It only takes one saving to pay off the price of that sim card.

Can you even imagine trying to find your travel friends these days by saying “I’ll meet you at XYZ tomorrow at 9am” no phone, no messenger, no contact. Nup… I’ll take the sim card any day of the week.

I highly suggest getting this tourist sim card by DTAC. If you purchase online through my favorite Thai travel company (TakeMeTour) you will also get a nice discount. Thank me later.

 

Which Companies Offer Sim Cards in Thailand?

There are three major telecommunications companies in Thailand available to tourists; AIS, DTAC, and True. Sure, there may be others out there, but they aren’t very common.

DTAC is part of the mega Norwegian telecommunications company called Telenor. They offer phone services all around Asia and Europe and therefore have phone pretty awesome deals going on.

AIS is the Thai competitor of DTAC. Some say that AIS offers the best coverage across Thailand, however, I’ve never experienced any issues with DTAC. The AIS packages are also slightly more expensive.

True offer the True Move tourist sim. This is a mistake I made once before, and never again. The marketing is so misleading. It has internet data which is only possible to use via designated True Move hot spots. That’s just like having a very limited free Wi-Fi system.

 

What is the Price of a Tourist Sim Card?

The prepaid sim card price depends on three factors; how many days you want to use the sim card, how much data you want to use, and how much call credit you want.

The Happy Tourist Sim by DTAC is the best option available. It offers UNLIMITED data for 8 days priced at just 235 THB (USD 7.50). That’s less than one dollar per day! Click here to pre-purchase with a discount now.

While the data is unlimited, the first 3 GB is served at maximum speed, and further download speeds are throttled to 384 kB/s. That’s still perfectly fine web browsing, uploading photos to Insta, and using maps.

After the first 8 days, you can extend the unlimited data for another 7 days for just 160 THB (USD 5).

You also get 100 THB of call credit which can be topped up in convenience stores at any time. Local calls cost 1 THB per minute, so it should be plenty for your trip when required. Further FAQ are listed on DTAC’s official website here.

In comparison, AIS offers an 8 day Traveller Sim for 299 THB with similar conditions. However, I am not so sure that this card can be renewed so cheap like DTAC offers.

As mentioned above, I won’t even go into the option offered by True Move. It’s terrible.

 

Where Can You Pick Up a Thailand Sim Card?

Warning: stores in smaller shopping centers and 7/11 convenience stores will NOT sell a 4G data prepaid sim card to tourists. They are required to complete a process where your passport details are collected. This is only done at airports and major stores.

The best place to get a prepaid sim card is at the airport when you enter the country. There are stores at the front of the airport terminal at both Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang Airport.

Use this link to pre-purchase the sim card online now and get a 22% discount. You can pick up the sim at the counter by showing your purchase confirmation.

Tip: I suggest taking a screenshot of the purchase confirmation straight away as you won’t have any internet before getting that sim.

If you miss out on picking up a sim card at the airport, then you can also buy one at a major AIS and DTAC store. In Bangkok, the major stores are located at CentralWorld and Siam Paragon.

….

Got any questions about getting a prepaid sim card in Thailand? Ask me in the comments section below. I’ll be happy to help.

And… here are some of my top Thailand travel articles to get you excited:

The post Best Thailand Prepaid Sim Card for Tourists appeared first on The Lost Passport.