2026年10月30日 · 阅读约 2 分钟
Thai Massage or Oil Massage? How to Choose for a Session in Your Room
The honest difference between Thai massage and oil massage, who each one suits, what you wear, and which to pick after a flight, a long day of walking, or a night out in Bangkok.
The two most-booked massages at Sontaya are Thai massage and oil massage, and the most common question we get is which one to choose. They feel completely different, so it's worth getting right.
Thai massage
Thai massage is done through loose cotton clothes, with no oil. The therapist uses her palms, thumbs, elbows and sometimes feet to press along the muscles, then moves your body through yoga-like stretches. It's active: you'll be rolled onto your side, have a leg lifted, your back arched.
It suits you if you've been sitting for hours (flights, desks, tour buses), you feel stiff rather than sore, or you want to feel taller and looser afterwards. You stay dressed, so there's no shower needed and it's a good choice if you have somewhere to be after.
It's not ideal if you have an injury, you're very ticklish, or you want to fall asleep. Thai massage wakes you up.
Price: ฿900 for 60 minutes, ฿1,200 for 90, ฿1,400 for 120.
Oil massage
Oil massage is done on bare skin under a towel, with warm oil and long, flowing strokes over the whole body. The pressure is adjustable from light to firm. It's quiet and continuous, and most guests drift off halfway through.
It suits you if you're tired rather than stiff, you want to sleep well, or your skin is dry from air conditioning and flights. It's the one to pick late at night.
It's not ideal if you're about to go out, because you'll want a shower afterwards. (Our coconut oil option absorbs faster and isn't sticky, if that helps.)
Price: ฿1,000 for 60 minutes, ฿1,200 for 90, ฿1,500 for 120.
Can't decide? Combine them
Our Thai + oil package is 60 minutes of Thai massage followed by 60 minutes of oil massage, for ฿2,000. You get the stretch and the sleep. It's the most popular choice for the first night of a trip.
A quick decision guide
- Just landed, body feels folded: Thai.
- Just landed, exhausted, want to sleep: Oil.
- Walked 20,000 steps around temples: Oil, firm pressure on the legs.
- Knots in the neck and shoulders: Deep tissue (a firmer cousin of oil massage).
- Celebrating or sharing a room with a partner: Four hands, or two therapists at the same time.
All options and lengths are on the prices page, and you can tell your therapist to adjust pressure at any point. Book either one here.
