Can I extend my 60-day visa in Thailand by paying a penalty for overstaying?

As a visitor it is never a good idea to intentionally overstay a visa and be stamped in your passport.

lol

Yeah whatever. Don't like to encourage what is technically illegal. But I'm surely not going to be fear-mongering it, as you are. Mostly what you say is rubbish anyhow.

There are a lot of police checks these days. There is a remote chance of being busted and jailed in IDC before you get to the airport. An overstay remains on your permanent record. If you get a stamp in your passport other countries you may visit (example Japan) or apply for a visa to might not like that. Overstaying is never a good idea.

She said a 30 day extension, Adam, which of course would be available to her after lodging an application at any Thai Immigration office (can be lodged anytime up to 30 days before expiry date). Secondly, overstaying a few days, whilst technically illegal, is quite common and perfectly acceptable assuming you're comfortable paying the fee when leaving the kingdom.

For G7 countries like the OPs it had already changed to 30 days in November of 2013.

Adding Taiwan to my list of favourite places to go and free visa. But, it's a little further to go.

Good plan. Lots of great places to explore that are so close... Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Malaka Malaysia, Bali, Luang Prabang Laos, Ho Chi Min Vietnam (sidenote, out of all of those... only Malaysia and Bali are free visas). Check out here for some cheap flights:

Then do as Robert said... enter on 60 day SETV, extend for 30 days at immigration (1900 baht) and then again near the end apply for extension and they will deny it but give you 7 days (1900 baht).

Reason I recommend the METV is that you can easily spend half the day at immigration for each extension and you will be spending 4800 baht on visa and extensions. With the METV, you enter for 60 days and then just take a 'border run' (step over the border stamp out, stamp in) to start another 60 days.

Now.....you mention you're staying in Koh Phangan? Is that for the entire trip? Because extensions and/or visa runs are going to be a pain in the butt as there is no immigration office on the island. You would have to go to Koh Samui each time.

@Jenny *******

hard cash in either baht or the equivalent in another currency [Dollars, Canadian Dollars, etc.]...Just FYI there are no ATM's on the Plane Side of the Airports...

they shouldn't...but some people are being asked to show 20,000THB when they arrive...odds are low but it can happen it depends on the individual Immigration Officer

Ho Chi Minh City [Saigon] Vietnam...super cheap to stay there as well...1.5 hour flight from BKK