Thailand is a low-risk destination for most trips: the everyday hazards are a bag-snatch on a motorbike or a bar bill run up on a spiked drink, not violent crime. The exceptions are specific and geographic, the Deep South and the Cambodia border, and easy to plan around once you know where they are.
Areas to avoid
Two areas carry government advice against travel, not just caution. The Deep South, the four southernmost provinces on the Malaysian border (Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and parts of Songkhla), has been under martial law for an ongoing separatist insurgency; the FCDO advises against all but essential travel there, and the US State Department flags ongoing violent conflict under a declared state of emergency in the same provinces. The Dutch foreign ministry adds a curfew warning for the region: don’t go out on the street between 18:00 and 6:00. None of this touches Bangkok, the beach coasts or the north; it is a reason to skip the far south, not the country.
The Cambodia border is the other hard no. Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces has left the frontier unstable despite a ceasefire, and the US advisory tells travellers not to go within 50 km of the Thai-Cambodian border. Dutch guidance is stricter on the closest strip, marking the 5 km directly on the border red, meaning stay away regardless of your plans, and only essential travel in the 5-20 km band behind it because of military movement and landmines. Do not cross outside an official checkpoint: unmarked stretches of the frontier are unclear and, per the same guidance, crossing there is illegal and dangerous.
Everyday scams and crime
The FCDO’s most useful warning for ordinary tourists is about jet skis and motorbikes: never hand over your passport as a deposit to a rental business, since some hold on to it against invented damage claims and you have little leverage to get it back. Pay a cash deposit instead, and photograph the vehicle before you ride off.
Drink safety is worth taking seriously in nightlife areas: drink spiking and drug-assisted sexual assault happens in tourist areas around Thailand, affecting both men and women. Keep your own drink in sight and don’t accept one from a stranger. The same advice flags bag-snatchers, particularly on motorbikes, so wear a bag across your body rather than over one shoulder in busy tourist streets, and be careful in open-sided transport like tuk-tuks where a bag on your lap is within easy reach.
A less obvious risk is the job scam: people who arrive in Thailand on the promise of high-paying work and are instead transported illegally to a neighbouring country, where their passport is confiscated and they are held in poor conditions. Treat any job offer that involves flying in and being met by an unknown contact with serious suspicion, and never let anyone but an official border officer take your passport.
Who to call
Thailand’s tourist police run a dedicated, English-speaking line: 1155. For anything more urgent, call 191 for general police, 1669 for medical emergencies, or 199 for fire. Save the tourist police number before you land: it is the fastest way to get help in English if you are robbed, scammed or in an accident.
What to check before you go
Read your own government’s advisory shortly before you fly; the facts box on this page shows the current level. Bear in mind that the UK, US and Dutch advisories can move quickly around the Cambodia border in particular, since it depends on a ceasefire holding. If your trip touches the Deep South or the eastern border provinces, check the advisory again in the days before departure, not just when you booked. For entry rules, including the visa-free period that tightened from 60 to 30 days on 15 September 2026, confirm the current terms with your embassy or a licensed visa agent before you travel.