Health and Safety in Thailand

The health and safety risks that catch visitors to Thailand are well known: road accidents, the sea in the monsoon, heat, mosquitoes and the odd bad meal. This section explains each one with what official health and safety bodies say, and links their advice so you can check it yourself.

These pages are general information, not medical or legal advice. We draw on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UK's TravelHealthPro and Foreign Office, the World Health Organization and Thai government sources, and we give the month each page was checked. For your own situation, talk to a doctor, a travel clinic or your embassy.

Before you go: vaccines, medicines and insurance

Start with vaccinations for Thailand: no vaccine is required for entry unless you arrive from a yellow fever country, but hepatitis A and routine shots are advised for nearly everyone. If you take regular medication, read whether you can bring prescription medicine into Thailand before you pack it. Every Thai hospital asks for a guarantee of payment before treatment, so travel insurance with medical cover is not optional in practice.

Staying well on the ground

The animal most likely to make you ill is the mosquito. Our guide to dengue fever explains the symptoms and why paracetamol, not ibuprofen, is the safe choice, and our older article lists ways to avoid mosquito bites. From March to May the heat itself is a risk; coping with heat and sun covers the heat index and the signs of heatstroke. For food, see avoiding stomach trouble from street food, plus our pages on tap water and Thai pharmacies.

When you need a doctor

Call 1669 for an ambulance. Our guide to hospitals in Thailand explains the difference between private and government hospitals, deposits and what to ask for at discharge, and the page on emergency numbers lists the police, ambulance and Tourist Police lines. If you are thinking of planned work, read dental treatment in Thailand first.

Safety, scams and the sea

The UK Foreign Office warns that people have drowned in strong riptides, especially in the monsoon season. Read about rip currents and beach flags before swimming in the monsoon, and about box jellyfish and first aid. Our article on dangerous animals in Thailand puts snakes, dogs and monkeys in proportion. On land, the guide to common scams covers the tuk-tuk detours and rental damage claims, and separate pages explain the current cannabis rules, jet-ski scams, drinking safely, and what to know about tsunamis and earthquakes.

For the rules that change most often, such as cannabis, alcohol hours and vapes, we give the date we checked and link the official source. If something on these pages no longer matches what you see in Thailand, please tell us through the contact page.