The Catch Behind a 60-Cent Tuk-Tuk Ride in Bangkok

My wife and I were walking to a temple in Bangkok, about half an hour away on foot, when a tuk tuk driver offered us a tour of all the temples for 20 baht. We said yes. What we hadn’t discussed was where else we would stop, and those 20 baht turned out to be the smallest sum of the day.

We had landed in Thailand in September 2026, after two flights of roughly seven hours each. Our base was Khaosan Road, surrounded by street food stalls and within reach of the temples. The wider plan was about a month in Thailand, followed by Vietnam and then Bali.

I’m Moroccan, born and raised in Italy, and I learned to bargain in Morocco. There, I have also met sellers who quoted tourists high prices, so questioning a number feels natural to me. This ride, however, would test more than my bargaining. Here is how we found our feet, from that tuk tuk to our first mornings in Phuket.

A Birthday Ring at the First Stop

Our first stop was not a temple. Instead, the driver took us to a jewelry shop, where we spent about ten minutes. It happened to be my wife’s birthday, so I ended up buying her a ring. The gift was my choice, even if the shop wasn’t. We had set out to see temples, and the first thing we bought was jewelry.

From there, the driver kept suggesting places and activities. I got the impression that he worked with the businesses he recommended. When we mentioned our plan to visit Phuket, he pointed us to a travel agency. In his words, it was the best option, and we booked an overnight bus there.

He wasn’t the only driver with a list of stops. On other rides around Bangkok, some drivers asked us to spend around ten minutes in jewelry shops. According to them, each visit earned them coupons for fuel. A few asked more than once, and that persistence could become pushy. Since then, I’ve kept one option in mind: if an arrangement doesn’t suit us, we can walk away before it starts.

A Boat Tour Quote and the 20 Baht Question

Our driver’s next idea was a one hour boat tour, and we were both interested. At the booking point, the woman selling tickets quoted 2,500 baht per person. For two people, that meant 5,000 baht. By then, we had already paid for the ring and our bus tickets, so I explained that another expense of that size was beyond our budget. Eventually, she brought the total down to 1,200 baht, and we bought the tickets.

That left the small matter of the 20 baht. Before we set off, I had asked the driver for his WhatsApp number. When I tried it, the app only showed an invitation to join WhatsApp. I told him in person that the number wasn’t working. He said the boat tour person would take care of it, although his English was limited and I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant.

Out on the water, we enjoyed the tour, floating past shops and restaurants. Afterwards, I completely forgot to ask anyone at the boat tour about it. We never paid the driver directly, and I still don’t know whether anyone settled it for us. Judging by everything we bought through his stops, I assume his day went well anyway. I had talked 3,800 baht off a boat tour, yet I never found out what happened to 20 baht.

Using Grab as a Reference Point for Tuk Tuk Fares

My bargaining rule is fairly simple. When someone gives me a verbal quote, I negotiate. If a price is clearly displayed, I normally pay it or choose something else. What I lacked in Bangkok was a reference point.

Grab, the ride hailing app widely used in Southeast Asia, gave me one. Before accepting other tuk tuk fares, I checked Grab for the same route and showed the driver the price. On three occasions, the quoted fare fell by half.

A Grab car and a tuk tuk are different services, so a higher tuk tuk quote isn’t automatically a scam. Still, a number on my screen gave the conversation somewhere to start. Someone heading from Khaosan Road to L7 Cafe, for example, could check Grab before hearing a single quote. It’s one of two apps I would download before arriving. The other is Airalo, which sells eSIM plans for mobile data.

A Temple Photo Package and the Limits of a Discount

At a Buddhist temple, we ran into a harder question: value. My wife rented a traditional Thai dress for 100 baht, about US$3 by my estimate, and an umbrella cost another 50 baht. The woman arranging our photos quoted 1,150 baht in total for the dress, the umbrella and a photographer. I bargained it down to 1,000 baht, with everything still included.

Later, other tourists told us they thought even that was inflated. We had no verified price for an identical package, so I have no way of knowing whether they were right. Saving 150 baht told me the price had moved, not whether it was good value. In future, I’ll look for a comparable offer before I start bargaining, not after someone questions the result.

A Lion Cub and a Minimum Order at L7 Cafe

Not every arrangement came with a mystery. L7 Cafe, a lion café in Bangkok, offered a five minute session to pet a lion cub and take photos. As we understood it during our visit, the session required a minimum order. Each person joining needed to spend at least 300 baht on food or drinks.

We ordered two burritos, a watermelon smoothie and a strawberry soda. The bill came to 900 baht for the two of us, roughly US$27 as I worked it out then. That order qualified us for the session, and we took photos and videos. The food, we both thought, was amazing.

To our surprise, the café had a small monkey and some cats that visitors could interact with and photograph. Those animals, as far as we could tell, didn’t require the same minimum order. Unlike our 20 baht temple tour, this arrangement made clear what our money covered.

Street Vendors, Basic English and Breakfast Doubts

Everyday encounters took some adjusting too. Some street vendors we encountered were persistent. A smile and a friendly chat often turned into a negotiation, with a sale as the goal. That didn’t stop me from talking to people. Overall, the people we met were warm and friendly, and I enjoy wandering around and asking questions.

Many of the taxi and tuk tuk drivers we dealt with spoke only basic English. Even so, we usually managed to communicate and get things done. Food needed its own adjustment. Breakfast in Bangkok didn’t win us over during those first days. On the other hand, we found halal food available in the city. That’s worth knowing if, like us, you look for it.

Four Suitcases and an Unexpected Dinner

The bus from that travel agency gave us a cleaner comparison than any tuk tuk fare. It cost 4,500 baht for my wife and me, plus four suitcases, about US$135 by my reckoning at the time. A flight quote we had considered was 10,000 baht, roughly US$300, with our luggage also included. Between those two offers, the bus saved us 5,500 baht. Those were the quotes in front of us, and other travelers may well see different ones.

We left Bangkok at 5 pm and reached Phuket at 7 am the next morning, about 14 hours later. It was the most comfortable bus either of us had ever taken, with very large seats and leg support. We slept through most of the journey. I’ve taken night buses before, and I like how quickly the hours pass when I’m asleep. Based on our trip, I’d suggest considering the overnight bus, and I’d choose an evening departure again.

Then came the part the agency never mentioned: dinner, at no extra charge. I had noodle soup with fish, my wife had rice with chicken, and we both found the food very tasty. We also received coffee, water, Thai croissants and chips. That was our particular journey, so I wouldn’t assume every night bus includes meals. For once, the missing information worked in our favor. A stop we never planned had put us on a bus we were glad to have booked.

Sunny Mornings, Evening Showers and a Beach Bed Bargain

Phuket’s weather has followed its own rhythm during our stay. Mornings have been sunny, and around 6 pm the showers tend to start. What we’ve seen has been random and never heavy, though that’s our experience rather than a forecast.

Prices have been a different story. Food and transport have felt more expensive to us here than in Bangkok, although that impression is based only on the places we’ve used. Over weeks rather than days, differences like that become part of the budget.

On one very windy day, we wanted an umbrella and beach beds for the two of us. Nobody else was on the beach. The first quote was 200 baht per person, so 400 baht for both. I used the wind and the lack of other customers as my reasons to negotiate. In the end, we paid 100 baht in total. That was our price on a quiet, windy day, and I can’t say what a busy one would bring. It did show how much one short conversation can change a travel budget.

A 900 Baht Breakfast Near Karon Beach

Breakfast, the meal Bangkok hadn’t sold us on, finally won us over in Phuket. The best one of our trip so far came from a café near Karon Beach, on the island’s west coast. We paid 900 baht for two, about US$27, the same total as our L7 Cafe bill. This time, it bought a lot more food.

Our order included a big English breakfast with sausages, bacon, beans and eggs. My wife’s croissant came with salad, eggs and chicken, and the portion was generous. I drank watermelon juice, and she chose mango juice. Then there was the mango sticky rice, a classic Thai dessert. The rice was soaked in coconut milk and mixed with the sweetness of the mango, and it was delicious. To us, the quality was extraordinary.

What I Would Ask Before Saying Yes

We now have 25 days in Phuket, and we want to live some of them like residents, not only visitors. That means shopping, cooking, going to the gym and building a routine, alongside the attractions. Beyond that, we hope to spend time with elephants, see a tiger and visit the Phi Phi Islands. None of that has happened yet, and I don’t know what those ordinary days will feel like or cost. As we go, I’ll share what we discover here.

What I do know is that most of it will start with a price. Before agreeing to any of it, I’ll ask:

• Will we stop anywhere along the way, and for how long?
• What exactly does the package include?
• Is each activity paid separately, and what is the total for both of us?
• What is the full price for everyone and all our bags?
• For a long journey, when do we leave and arrive, what are the seats like, and are meals included?

Next time, I’ll agree on the journey as carefully as I agree on the price.

Anis Chity is a Moroccan travel writer born and raised in Italy. He is travelling through Asia with his wife, sharing firsthand stories about food, culture, and everyday life abroad.

Bangkok Tuk Tuk Scam: Common Questions

Is the 20-baht tuk tuk tour in Bangkok a scam?

It is a commission arrangement more than a theft: the near-free fare is subsidized by stops at jewelry shops, travel agencies and tour desks where the driver earns commissions or fuel coupons. You keep full control of your wallet, but expect detours, and know you can walk away before the ride starts.

How do you know a fair tuk tuk price in Bangkok?

Check Grab for the same route before hearing a quote and use that number as your reference point. A tuk tuk is a different service and may fairly cost more, but on three of the writer’s rides the quoted fare halved once the Grab price was on the screen.

What should you ask before agreeing to a tour or transfer?

Five questions cover most surprises: whether there are stops along the way and for how long, what the package includes, whether each activity is paid separately and the total for everyone, the full price including luggage, and for long journeys the departure and arrival times, seat type and whether meals are included.

About the Author

Anis Chity is the founder of Buy Property Morocco, an English-language resource for foreign buyers navigating the Moroccan property market. Born in Italy and shaped by years living across Europe and beyond, he has lived in Marrakech since 2023 and has personally bought four properties in the city. Through Buy Property Morocco, he shares practical buyer-side guidance on due diligence, title checks, notaries, taxes, deposits, and common mistakes foreign buyers should avoid.

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