📋 Getting Set Up
The first-month checklist: phone, insurance, health, and the paperwork nobody warns you about.
The visa gets the attention, but the first month is mostly small logistics that block each other. A few of them have a fixed order, and getting it wrong costs you trips across the city.
The phone number comes first
Almost everything else depends on it. Your bank sends OTPs to it, delivery drivers call it, LINE is tied to it, and the shopping platforms verify against it. A data-only travel eSIM will not receive those messages, so if you are staying more than a few weeks, register a proper Thai number against your passport rather than treating a tourist eSIM as good enough.
On networks, the honest picture is that there are two, not three. AIS is one. dtac and TrueMove H are both True Corporation and run on the same grid after consolidation, so comparing their coverage is meaningless. Compare them on price.
Arrival paperwork
Every non-Thai arrival now files the Thailand Digital Arrival Card, free, in the three days before landing. It replaced the paper form and it is required every single entry, whatever your visa. Immigration also has an app now, THIM, which does not replace the arrival card but saves you retyping your passport details on every trip.
Health
Worth doing before you need it rather than after. Which vaccines make sense depends entirely on your itinerary and how long you are staying, and the commonly repeated three-shot list is not a universal answer. Insurance is a separate decision from your visa unless you are on a route that mandates it, and the O-A in particular carries a coverage requirement that catches people out.
Essential Guides
AIS vs dtac vs TrueMove H: It Is Really Two Networks, Not Three
Three brands, two actual networks. Here is what the True and dtac merger changed and how it should affect which SIM you buy.
Thailand Vaccines 2026: What Travelers Should Consider
I got three vaccines a month after moving to Bangkok. Whether you need the same three depends entirely on what your trip looks like.
Thailand Health Insurance 2026: I Picked Wrong (Learn From My Mistake)
I picked the wrong health insurance when I moved to Thailand and paid for it. Here's how to avoid my mistake and find the right plan.