This may sound like a naive question, but I am traveling to Thailand for the first time and was wondering if US dollars are appropriate for tipping. I will be getting Bahts as well, obviously, but wondered about the US dollar. In my travels in Africa and parts of Asia I have been to places where they welcomed US currency and others where they did not. Thanks.

Hi

I have not seen dollar in use in Thailand so I think it is better to stick to Baht.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I've seen people tip the doorman, limo driver or the other hotel staff in USD but I wouldn't do it for places like non hotel restaurants etc. It's very easy to change $ into Baht so you'll not have any problem getting the local currency.

Wanted to tip more than I originally planned but ran out of baht at the end of the day & Tong had no problem with her getting US $ instead.

B is the currency of the land so it is appropriate to only tip in that currency.....of course any tip would be appreciated, it just would mean that they would have to make a special trip to a money changer to convert your tip....

thailand is not laso or cambodia where the dollar is accepted as the norm...baht is their norm....

Yes, in general, you want to tip in Baht.

Use Thai baht. Also, wait until you get to Thailand to change your money over to get the best exchange rate.

When you change some money over at the airport make sure you get some small bills for paying for cheap purchases or taxi rides. Even a 500 baht note is hard for some people to cash sometimes.