The Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan at sunset, seen from Rockefeller Center
Skyscrapers of central Bangkok under a blue sky

New York City vs. Thailand (Bangkok)

A week in Manhattan or a week in Southeast Asia's street-food capital?

City🗓 7 nights👥 2 adults✈ Round trip from Los Angeles📅 Checked October 2026

Flying from

Photos: New York City: Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bangkok: Ninara from Helsinki, Finland, CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · Photo credits

Heads up: every price on this page is a sample estimate, not live pricing or a quote. Ranges are based on published typical fares and rates plus our own assumptions (see sources below). Switch the departure airport above to recalculate. Use the buttons to check today's real prices.

. Flight fares and all totals are estimates, not live pricing.

New York City

≈ $5,280

$3,864–$6,694

Bangkok comes out about $1,200 cheaper for 2 adults at the midpoint.

Flying from Los Angeles (LAX)

Sample estimate, not live pricing

Bangkok

≈ $4,070

$2,762–$5,380

The Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan at sunset, seen from Rockefeller Center
US trip

New York City

USA · JFK

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Los Angeles (LAX)

$3,864–$6,694

Midpoint ≈ $5,280 · ≈ $2,640 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAX2 × $322–$547 per person$644–$1,094
Lodging7 nights × $250–$400 per night$1,750–$2,800
Food & drink7 days × $130–$220 per day$910–$1,540
Local transport7 days × $20–$40 per day$140–$280
Activities7 days × $60–$140 per day$420–$980
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$3,864–$6,694
Flight time from Los Angeles
About 5.5 hr nonstop
Best time to go
April–June and September–early November. January–February is cheapest but cold.
Entry
No passport needed for US citizens.
Watch for
NYC hotel taxes plus 'facility' or 'destination' fees; Broadway tickets and observation decks add up fast.
Best for
Broadway, museums, short flight

Book flights, tours & more for New York City ↓ (affiliate links)

Skyscrapers of central Bangkok under a blue sky
Abroad

Thailand (Bangkok)

Thailand · BKK

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Los Angeles (LAX)

$2,762–$5,380

Midpoint ≈ $4,070 · ≈ $2,040 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAX2 × $709–$1,395 per person$1,418–$2,790
Lodging7 nights × $90–$160 per night$630–$1,120
Food & drink7 days × $60–$110 per day$420–$770
Local transport7 days × $12–$30 per day$84–$210
Activities7 days × $30–$70 per day$210–$490
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$2,762–$5,380
Flight time from Los Angeles
About 17–20 hr with 1 stop
Best time to go
November–February (cool, dry season). March–May is very hot; June–October is rainy but cheaper.
Entry
Passport required; US citizens can usually enter visa-free for short stays. Check Thailand's current digital arrival card rules.
Watch for
Long travel days eat into a 7-night trip; temple entry fees and rooftop-bar prices; agree on tuk-tuk fares first or use Grab.
Best for
Street food, temples, low daily costs

Book flights, tours & more for Bangkok ↓ (affiliate links)

All-in totals by departure city

7 nights for 2 adults, round-trip flights from each city included. Midpoint of our estimate range, with the full range below it. Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Flying fromNew York CityBangkokResult
Los Angeles (LAX)≈ $5,280$3,864–$6,694≈ $4,070$2,762–$5,380Bangkok ~$1,200 cheaper
Las Vegas (LAS)≈ $5,130$3,770–$6,490≈ $4,080$3,024–$5,130Bangkok ~$1,050 cheaper
Phoenix (PHX)≈ $5,130$3,798–$6,468≈ $3,940$2,958–$4,924Bangkok ~$1,200 cheaper
Denver (DEN)≈ $5,020$3,740–$6,302≈ $4,370$3,338–$5,404Bangkok ~$650 cheaper
Dallas (DFW)≈ $4,950$3,630–$6,274≈ $4,140$3,046–$5,230Bangkok ~$800 cheaper
Seattle (SEA)≈ $5,280$3,926–$6,642≈ $3,760$2,826–$4,700Bangkok ~$1,500 cheaper
Chicago (CHI)≈ $4,970$3,666–$6,266≈ $4,180$3,114–$5,246Bangkok ~$800 cheaper
New York (NYC)≈ $4,410$3,220–$5,600 · no flight≈ $4,520$2,796–$6,250Roughly even (within ~$100)

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Flights search from Los Angeles (LAX) for a 7-night trip; switch the departure city above to update. Prices on partner sites are live and may differ from our estimates.

New York City

Flights from LAXAviasalesThings to doTiqetsCity attraction passGo City

Thailand (Bangkok)

Flights from LAXAviasalesThings to doTiqetseSIM dataAiraloAirport transferWelcome Pickups

New York City vs Bangkok cost breakdown: where the money goes

Midpoint of each estimate range, 2 adults, 7 nights, flying from Los Angeles (LAX). Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Round-trip flights from Los Angeles

New York City ≈ $870
Bangkok ≈ $2,100

Lodging

New York City ≈ $2,280
Bangkok ≈ $880

Food & drink

New York City ≈ $1,230
Bangkok ≈ $600

Local transport

New York City ≈ $210
Bangkok ≈ $150

Activities

New York City ≈ $700
Bangkok ≈ $350

The verdict: is Bangkok cheaper than New York City?

Bangkok comes out about $1,200 cheaper for 2 adults at the midpoint. (from Los Angeles, sample estimate, not live pricing)

Bangkok's long-haul fare costs far more than a flight to New York, but its hotels run well under half of New York's, so Bangkok is the cheaper week from 7 of the 8 departure cities we cover, by roughly $650–$1,500. From New York itself (no flight on the NYC side) the two land within 8% of each other. Choose New York for Broadway, museums and a short trip; Bangkok for street food, temples and stretching a budget.

New York City vs Bangkok: common questions

Answers use flights from Los Angeles unless a city is named; see the table above for every departure city.

Is Bangkok cheaper than New York City?

Yes. Flying from Los Angeles, Bangkok comes out about $1,200 cheaper for 2 adults and 7 nights (≈ $4,070 vs ≈ $5,280 all-in, flights included). Bangkok is cheaper from 7 of the 8 US departure cities we cover (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Seattle and Chicago), by $650–$1,500. It's roughly even from New York. These are midpoints of our sample estimates, not live prices.

Is Bangkok cheaper than New York City from New York?

It's close. Flying from New York, the two land within about $100 of each other for 2 adults and 7 nights (≈ $4,520 for Bangkok vs ≈ $4,410 for New York City, flights included).

How much does a week in Bangkok cost for two?

About $2,762–$5,380 all-in (midpoint ≈ $4,070, ≈ $2,040 per person) for 7 nights for 2 adults with round-trip flights from Los Angeles: flights $1,418–$2,790, lodging $630–$1,120, food & drink $420–$770, local transport $84–$210, activities $210–$490. The same week in New York City runs about $3,864–$6,694.

How long is the flight from Los Angeles to Bangkok?

About 17–20 hr with 1 stop. For comparison, New York City: About 5.5 hr nonstop.

When is the best time to visit New York City or Bangkok?

New York City: April–June and September–early November. January–February is cheapest but cold. Bangkok: November–February (cool, dry season). March–May is very hot; June–October is rainy but cheaper.

Sources, notes & assumptions

Flight ranges come from typical round-trip economy fares that fare-search sites (KAYAK, Google Flights, Priceline, momondo, Expedia, airline fare pages) published for each route from each departure airport we cover (currently LAS and LAX), viewed October 2026. Lodging uses published hotel averages where we found them (Engine's August 2026 US city averages; Budget Your Trip traveler averages abroad), adjusted to a mid-range room; otherwise it is an editor estimate. Daily food, local transport and activity budgets are editor estimates for a mid-range couple; where a Budget Your Trip average exists we set the range around it, but the range bounds are our own judgment and have NOT been verified against a single published source. Ski lift tickets use published 2025/26 (or 2026/27) resort prices; euro and yen prices are converted at editor-assumed exchange rates. Taxes, resort fees, baggage fees and tips may not be fully included. Flight ranges marked "Travelpayouts (Aviasales) Data API" in the sources are refreshed automatically from cached round-trip economy fares that Aviasales users found recently for departures about 1–4 months out (low = cheapest fare found, high = roughly the 75th percentile); routes without enough fresh data keep their previous published-fare range.

New York City

Last checked: 2026-10-18

Lodging assumes a mid-range Manhattan hotel; Brooklyn/Queens or Jersey City can be cheaper. Some hotel-price aggregators put NYC averages around $250–$336/night.

Thailand (Bangkok)

Last checked: 2026-10-18

Lodging and daily ranges are editor-set around Budget Your Trip mid-range averages (room ~$96/night for 2, food ~$34 per person/day).

Assumptions: economy fares, 1 mid-range room, 7 nights / 7 days of spending, 2 adults. Excludes passports, travel insurance, checked-bag fees and souvenirs unless noted. Found a better number? Tell us.

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