What to Wear in Thailand: Temples, Cities, Beaches and a Packing List

The rule at every Thai temple is the same for men and women. Cover your shoulders and knees, wear nothing see-through, and take your shoes off before you step inside a building. Light long pants or a maxi skirt with a T-shirt that has sleeves passes everywhere in the country.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok is the strictest door you'll meet. Its visitor rules list no sleeveless shirts, vests, short tops, see-through tops, short pants, torn pants, tight pants, bike pants, mini skirts or sleepwear. That rules out leggings and ripped jeans as well as shorts, and a scarf thrown over a sleeveless top is turned away too. The palace no longer lends cover-ups, so arrive dressed for it. Tickets cost ฿500 for foreign visitors and are sold from 8:30 to 15:30.

Smaller temples are more forgiving. A sarong tied over shorts and a shirt over your shoulders is accepted, and some temples lend one at the gate, Wat Chalong in Phuket among them, but I'd carry my own. A sarong weighs almost nothing and doubles as a beach cover-up, so it earns its place in the bag.

Wear shoes you can slip off. They come off at every temple building, and a Bangkok temple day has several. Inside, sit with your feet pointing away from the Buddha image. Women shouldn't touch a monk or hand anything to one directly.

City dress is casual. Shorts, T-shirts, sundresses, sneakers and sandals are what most visitors wear in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and nobody minds. On a day with temples in it, I'd wear lightweight long pants and a T-shirt with sleeves from the start, because that one outfit gets you into any temple, restaurant or office without a change.

Rooftop bars and smart restaurants ask for smart casual, and the details vary by venue. The clearest published policy is lebua's, which covers Sky Bar. It welcomes collared shirts, T-shirts, tailored shorts, dresses, loafers and dress sandals, and refuses athletic wear, swimwear, sleeveless shirts on men, flip-flops and beach slippers. Its most formal rooms require a collared shirt and long pants for men. Other rooftops are stricter about men's shorts and open shoes, so read the venue's own page before you go, and if in doubt wear long pants and closed shoes.

Government offices expect more. If you're extending your stay at an immigration office, men should wear long pants and closed-toe shoes and women a skirt or pants below the knee. People in shorts and sandals can be refused service.

Bring a layer for transport. Sleeper trains and overnight buses keep the air-conditioning cold through the night. A fleece and long pants make the difference between sleeping and shivering.

Swimwear belongs on the sand and by the pool. Cover up when you leave the beach, because walking through a Thai town shirtless or in a bikini top is considered disrespectful, and many beach towns are also residential neighborhoods. Topless sunbathing offends local people, so keep it off Thai beaches.

For boat and snorkeling days, a rash vest or long-sleeved swim top does more than sunscreen and never washes off. It also keeps you clear of a rule most visitors haven't heard of. Sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben are banned inside Thailand's marine national parks, the Similan Islands among them, with fines of up to ฿100,000. Check the label on your bottle before you pack it.

On your feet, sandals with grip beat flip-flops for wet boat decks and viewpoint stairs. Water shoes are worth the space if you'll swim off rocky beaches, where sea urchins are the hazard. A dry bag keeps your phone and a spare shirt dry on longtails and speedboats.

Island evenings are relaxed. I'd pack one nicer outfit for a hotel restaurant and wear the same shorts and shirts the rest of the time.

Most of the advice on this page applies to everyone. These are the points that differ.

On an ordinary day any color is fine, and covering up at temples matters far more than what shade you're in. The exceptions are specific. Black is mourning wear in Thailand, so avoid it on royal commemoration days and at royal events. A plain yellow or red shirt at a political protest reads as taking a side, since Thailand's two big protest movements were known as the yellow shirts and the red shirts.

You'll also notice Thais wearing a color for the day of the week. Monday is yellow, Tuesday pink, Wednesday green, Thursday orange, Friday blue, Saturday purple and Sunday red. Yellow carries extra weight because the late King Bhumibol was born on a Monday. Visitors aren't expected to follow any of it.

Two practical notes on color. Thailand's Department of Disease Control recommends long, loose, light-colored clothes against mosquitoes, and white is the one color to leave off during Songkran's water fights.

Two pairs do nearly every trip. The first is a sandal or shoe you can slip off without sitting down, because shoes come off at temple buildings, in homes and at some shops and guesthouses. The second is a pair of sneakers for viewpoint climbs, waterfalls and treks, which also passes at a smart-casual door.

In the rainy season and at Songkran, swap the flip-flops for waterproof sandals with a strap, since flip-flops slide on wet streets and steps. Add closed shoes only if your plans include a formal restaurant or a visit to immigration.

Leave room in the bag, because the basics cost less in Thailand than at home. Every 7-Eleven sells toiletries, rain ponchos, waterproof phone pouches and everyday insect repellent, and N95 masks in smoke season. Boots and Watsons are in every city and carry familiar brands.

Clothes are easy to add. The loose printed elephant pants you'll see on half the visitors are sold at every night market, where dozens of stalls carry the same pairs at different prices, so walk the row and bargain. They're long and loose, so they also meet the temple rule on knees. Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market has 15,000 stalls if you'd sooner buy a whole warm-weather wardrobe on arrival.

A few things are better brought from home. Pack a strong repellent if you're heading for forest or national parks, a sunscreen whose label you've checked, tampons or a menstrual cup if you'll be on small islands, and any prescription medicine for the whole trip.

Vapes come first. The UK Foreign Office warns that it's illegal to possess or use any vape, e-cigarette, pod, e-liquid or heat-not-burn device in Thailand, with fines that typically run from ฿5,000 to ฿30,000. Leave the device at home.

Thai Customs allows each adult 200 cigarettes or 250 g of tobacco and one liter of alcohol. Declare anything over that, because the fine for undeclared cigarettes is far higher than the duty.

Check your electricals. Thailand's mains supply is 230 volts at 50 Hz, about double the American voltage, so a hair dryer or straightener rated only for 100 to 127 volts can burn out. Phone and laptop chargers marked 100 to 240 volts are fine with a plug adapter, and most Thai sockets take US and European two-pin plugs as they are.

If you take prescription medicine, carry the prescription and check the Thai rules before you fly, because some drugs that are legal at home, certain ADHD and pain medications among them, are controlled in Thailand. Jeans, heavy shoes and a second sweater are the other things I'd take out of the bag. They're hot, slow to dry, and you won't wear them.