Money
Should I tip my trainer?
Updated 2026-09-01
The short answer
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.
Norms vary between camps, which is why the useful move is to watch what longer-staying trainees do rather than to apply a rule from home. Some camps pool tips, some do not, and a few actively discourage it.
Where it clearly matters is after fights, private sessions, or when a trainer has spent weeks working on something with you. In those cases nobody will think it odd.
Handing it over privately and without ceremony is normal. Making a display of it is not.
Worth knowing
We do not publish amounts. Ask a trainee who has been there a while, since the right figure depends on the camp, the region and how long you trained.
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
Kru
Teacher. Used as a title before a trainer name, and the word at the centre of the sport, since the wai kru itself is a bow to the teacher.
Ritual and respectAjarn
A senior teacher, a step above kru in seniority and usually applied to the person who runs the camp or who taught the trainers.
Ritual and respectWai
The Thai greeting: palms together, a slight bow of the head. At a gym you wai your trainer at the end of a session, and it is the single easiest piece of respect to get right.
Ritual and respect
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.
Are private sessions worth paying for?
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.