Money
Are private sessions worth paying for?
Updated 2026-09-01
The short answer
Privates are worth it when you have a specific problem and a trainer who has already spotted it. They are poor value early in a first trip, because the group pad rounds at most Thai camps already give you more one-to-one attention than a class at home.
From the records
Of the 44 camps we list, 22 publish a price for a private session, running 600 to 1,500 baht with a middle figure of 1,000. The other 22 leave that rate to a conversation.
What camps chargeThe thing visitors often miss is that Thai pad work is already private coaching. You are alone with a trainer for the round, and he is watching only you. Paying extra for more of the same on day two is rarely the best use of the money.
Where a private earns its keep is later, on something specific: a technique that will not come together, a habit that shows up under pressure, or fight preparation with a defined date. By then the trainer knows what you do wrong, and an hour with a clear goal moves things.
Pick the trainer, not the slot. If someone has been correcting the same thing all week and you understand what they mean, that is the person to book.
Worth knowing
A private with a trainer who has never held pads for you is a session spent introducing yourself.
Still deciding where to go?
Six questions, and we will tell you which camps fit and which facts about them we have not confirmed.
Vocabulary
The words on this page
Pad work
Rounds worked one-to-one with a trainer holding Thai pads, where you throw combinations and he corrects them as you go. It is the centre of a Thai session and the reason people fly there.
Gym languagePrivate session
A paid session with a trainer to yourself, outside the group timetable. Usually an hour, usually booked directly with the trainer, and usually the fastest way to fix something specific.
Gym language
Money
Asked alongside this one
What does a month of training in Thailand cost?
The middle of the monthly rates we hold is 10,000 baht, from the 26 of 44 camps we list that print one, and those 26 run from 3,999 to 18,000. Treat it as the training line and nothing more: a month is four costs, not one, and the training is usually the smallest of them.
Is training in Thailand cheaper than at home?
Per session and per hour of coaching, Thailand is dramatically cheaper than most Western gyms, particularly for pad work with an experienced trainer. Per trip, the flight dominates, so short trips rarely pay for themselves financially and long ones easily do.
Should I tip my trainer?
Tipping trainers is common and appreciated but not compulsory, and it is normally done at the end of a stay rather than session by session. If you have had one trainer holding pads for you most days, a tip at the end is the usual gesture.