Bali vs Thailand from India 2026: Cost, Visa, from ₹36,999

Thailand is the cheaper and simpler choice for a first trip from India: our 5-day Bangkok and Pattaya trip starts at ₹36,999 per person with return flights from Ahmedabad, and Indians need no visa for a holiday of up to 30 days. Bali starts at ₹49,999 per person for 6 days with flights, the same price as our 6-day Phuket and Krabi trip, but adds an Indonesian visa and the Bali tourist levy (prices checked 16 Oct 2026).

Five of the six trips below include return flights from Ahmedabad, hotels with daily breakfast, transfers or a car with driver, and the listed sightseeing. The Bali honeymoon trip is priced without flights, and we can add them to the same quote. GST and TCS are shown in your written quote.

Prices checked 16 Oct 2026 from our live trip pages. Thailand visa rule checked with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Indonesia's visa and the Bali levy with Indonesia's eVisa site and the Bali provincial government, and rain months with BMKG and the Thai Meteorological Department, in October 2026.

Bali or Thailand: which suits your trip from India?

Choose Thailand for a first trip abroad, for parents, or for city and beach days in one week with no visa to arrange. Choose Bali for temples, rice terraces and a private-pool villa, if a change of flights on the way doesn't bother you.

How do Bali and Thailand trips compare on price?

Our six trips across the two places, per person, as listed on 16 Oct 2026:

Like for like, six days costs the same ₹49,999 per person in Bali (Ubud and Seminyak) and in Thailand (Phuket and Krabi). The difference sits outside the package: Bali adds the visa and the levy, while Thailand has no visa fee for a stay of this length. Meals differ too. The Ubud and Seminyak trip includes breakfast only, the Bali cliffs trip adds three dinners, and the 7-day Thailand islands trip adds four.

What does a couple or a family of four pay?

Multiply the per-person price by the number of travellers. These totals are before GST and TCS; children are priced in your quote by age and bed.

What is not in the price?

In Bali, budget for the visa on arrival, which our Ubud and Seminyak trip page lists at IDR 500,000 per person (roughly ₹2,660 at the market rate on 15 Oct 2026), and the levy of IDR 150,000 (roughly ₹800). In Thailand, lunches on free days, alcohol and optional add-ons are extra. Travel insurance and tips are extra in both.

How do the entry rules compare for Indians?

Thailand: from 15 Sep 2026, Indian passport holders can visit for tourism without a visa and stay up to 30 days (Tourism Authority of Thailand, tatnews.org, checked October 2026). The same notice limits entries over land borders on this exemption to two per calendar year, which matters only if you cross from a neighbouring country by road. Before you fly, file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card at tdac.immigration.go.th; TAT says it can be submitted up to three days before arrival. Our trip pages ask for a passport valid for six months from departure.

Bali: Indonesia's official eVisa site (evisa.imigrasi.go.id, checked October 2026) lists India for its 30-day visitor visa, applied for online before you fly, at IDR 500,000. It asks for a passport valid for at least six months from arrival and says an officer may ask to see your return ticket. Our trip page lists a visa on arrival at Denpasar for the same IDR 500,000; the eVisa site does not list which countries can get a visa on arrival, so check that route before booking. Bali also charges international tourists a levy of IDR 150,000, paid online on the provincial government's Love Bali site (lovebali.baliprov.go.id, checked October 2026), with the voucher sent by email. Check before booking whether Indonesia needs an online arrival declaration for your dates, and confirm both fees, as they can change.

Where is vegetarian food easier to find?

Neither is hard for a vegetarian family that plans ahead; what matters more is which meals your package includes. Many Thai dishes use fish sauce and many Balinese sambals use shrimp paste, so ask for "no fish sauce" or "no shrimp paste" as well as "vegetarian".

On our Thailand islands trip, the four included dinners are planned around your diet if you tell us when you enquire. In Bali, the Ubud and Seminyak trip includes a cooking class that starts at the market, so you can cook a vegetable version of each dish. For Jain meals, with no onion, garlic or root vegetables, we check each included meal with the hotel or operator before you pay, and tell you plainly where one can't be guaranteed.

Which suits honeymooners, families and parents?

For parents, the Ubud and Seminyak trip is the gentlest of our Bali trips. In Bangkok, the floating market is an early start and the temples mean walking in the heat. Tell us about knees, stairs and afternoon rests, and we pace the days around them.

When does it rain in Bali and in Thailand?

Thailand: the Thai Meteorological Department's 3-month outlook (issued 20 Aug 2026, checked October 2026) describes October as the change from the rainy to the cool season. Upper Thailand, including Bangkok, turns drier and cooler from mid-October, with much less rain in November, while southern Thailand still gets abundant rain in November, especially on the east coast. On the west coast, where Phuket and Krabi are, the 30-year normal falls from about 369 mm in October to about 193 mm in November.

Bali: Indonesia's weather agency BMKG (press release of 22 Sep 2026, checked October 2026) expects the 2026–27 rainy season to start later than usual because of a very strong El Niño. For most of Bali it should begin in December 2026, with the wettest weeks in February 2027.

So this winter, Bangkok and Pattaya work well from November, Phuket and Krabi get about half of October's rain in an average November, and for most of Bali BMKG expects the rainy season to start only in December, though parts of the island start in November. Our Bali pages also flag Nyepi, the day of silence when the island and its airport shut for 24 hours; check its date before you book.

How many days do you need for each?

Five days is enough for one region of Thailand, such as Bangkok with Pattaya. Six or seven suits the islands, because island days are full days on the water. Bali needs six days on our trips: Ubud inland, about ninety minutes from the airport, and then the coast, with a one-stop flight each way. A 5-day trip starting on a Friday uses three days of leave and a 6-day trip uses four, so for a long weekend Thailand is the easier fit.

How we help

We plan Bali and Thailand trips from Ahmedabad with flights, hotels, transfers and the entry steps in one written quote, so you see GST and TCS before you pay. If you can't decide, tell us your dates, who is travelling and your budget, and we will price one trip in each place side by side: start with a message.

For more, see the Bali guide, the Thailand guide, our Bali trip cost guide and our Thailand trip cost guide.

Sources, checked October 2026: Tourism Authority of Thailand, visa exemption; Tourism Authority of Thailand, arrival card; Indonesia eVisa; Love Bali levy; BMKG; Thai Meteorological Department.

FAQs

Is Bali or Thailand cheaper from India? Thailand starts lower: our 5-day Bangkok and Pattaya trip is from ₹36,999 per person with flights from Ahmedabad, against ₹49,999 for 6 days in Bali (prices checked 16 Oct 2026). For six days both are ₹49,999, but Bali adds a visa and the levy.

Do Indians need a visa for Bali or Thailand in 2026? Thailand is visa-free for tourism for up to 30 days from 15 Sep 2026, with an online arrival card to file before you fly. Bali needs a visa: Indonesia's official eVisa site lists India for its 30-day visitor visa at IDR 500,000, the same fee our trip page lists for a visa on arrival, plus the IDR 150,000 Bali levy; check both on the official sites before booking.

Which is better for a honeymoon, Bali or Thailand? Bali, for private-pool villas and a slower pace: our Ubud and the Coast trip is from ₹74,999 per person without flights. Thailand, for boat days and beaches: our 7-day islands trip is from ₹56,999 with flights.

Which is easier with elderly parents? Bangkok and Pattaya, from ₹36,999 per person, has short drives and city sights. In Bali, the Ubud and Seminyak trip, from ₹49,999, has the lightest walking of our Bali trips.

When is the rainy season in Bali and Thailand? BMKG expects most of Bali's 2026–27 rains to start in December 2026 and peak in February 2027. The Thai Meteorological Department says upper Thailand turns drier and cooler from mid-October, while the south still gets abundant rain in November, especially on the east coast.