Money
What costs do people forget to budget for?
Updated 2026-09-01
The short answer
Gear bought on arrival, transport to and from the camp every day, laundry, and the medical or physio spending that follows an injury. Individually small, and together often larger than the difference between two camps you agonised over.
From the records
The commute is the one hidden cost you can price before you book: 43 of the 44 camps we list publish a map pin precise enough to measure the ride from a given street. The rest is a question for the camp or a number you meet in week one.
Every camp we listGear is a one-off but a real one. Gloves, shin guards, shorts and wraps bought properly in Thailand still add up on the first weekend.
Daily transport catches people who chose accommodation away from the camp to save money. Two trips a day for a month is a line item, and in the rain it becomes a bigger one.
The one nobody budgets for is treatment. Massage, strapping, a clinic visit for an infected cut, a physio session for a knee. On a long trip this is close to guaranteed rather than a risk.
- Gear on arrival, once, but not small.
- Transport to and from training, twice a day.
- Laundry, which becomes daily in that climate.
- Massage, strapping and the occasional clinic visit.
- Deposits on rooms and scooters, sometimes in cash.
Still deciding where to go?
Six questions, and we will tell you which camps fit and which facts about them we have not confirmed.
Money
Asked alongside this one
What does a month of training in Thailand cost?
The middle of the monthly rates we hold is 10,000 baht, from the 26 of 44 camps we list that print one, and those 26 run from 3,999 to 18,000. Treat it as the training line and nothing more: a month is four costs, not one, and the training is usually the smallest of them.
Is training in Thailand cheaper than at home?
Per session and per hour of coaching, Thailand is dramatically cheaper than most Western gyms, particularly for pad work with an experienced trainer. Per trip, the flight dominates, so short trips rarely pay for themselves financially and long ones easily do.
Should I tip my trainer?
Tipping trainers is common and appreciated but not compulsory, and it is normally done at the end of a stay rather than session by session. If you have had one trainer holding pads for you most days, a tip at the end is the usual gesture.