Thailand car rental
Discussion
I'm off to Thailand at the end of this month for my sisters wedding. Just going to be out there for a week.
Was hoping someone might have some recommendations on where to rent from, or has driven out there with some tips.
Been told it's rather hectic on the roads with loads of bikes about. Will be staying in the kata beach area.
Thanks.
Tim
Was hoping someone might have some recommendations on where to rent from, or has driven out there with some tips.
Been told it's rather hectic on the roads with loads of bikes about. Will be staying in the kata beach area.
Thanks.
Tim
Dont rent - Believe me its not recommended. Been there a few times and you have to be aware of what it is like - Friend rented a bike and he ended up being conned for supposed damage etc....
Traffic is horrendous around bangkok - id maybe consider it out in the sticks but the cost of tuk tuk is so cheap and that you really dont need to worry about driving anywhere.
Traffic is horrendous around bangkok - id maybe consider it out in the sticks but the cost of tuk tuk is so cheap and that you really dont need to worry about driving anywhere.
Outside of Bangkok if you know where you're going it's fine and not really any different to driving in the UK.
If you need to rely on satnav then you're going to end up horribly lost as (1) you won't be able to enter the street name you want unless you can read and write thai and (2) the street name you want will probably be completely different to what's signposted.
An English speaking driver + car can be found around £20-30/day so much better to go with that option if you want to go and visit some sites.
If you need to rely on satnav then you're going to end up horribly lost as (1) you won't be able to enter the street name you want unless you can read and write thai and (2) the street name you want will probably be completely different to what's signposted.
An English speaking driver + car can be found around £20-30/day so much better to go with that option if you want to go and visit some sites.
Their official death toll rate last year was 27,000 killed on the roads. Then when you take into account that they only count dead at scene and the fact that only 50% actually have insurance and a licence these can not be counted to their stats.
The more accurate figure is 45,000 killed each year on the roads of Thailand which puts it at the 3rd most dangerous place in the world some sites tell you 2nd with a high % being motorbikes.
These are not like our mopeds they are un restricted and can reach speeds of 125kph so unless you are experienced in riding motor bikes best left alone.
I lived in Thailand (Kohphangan) for 10 years and seen some pretty horrible stuff,I started off with a Yam 250cc upgraded to a Honda 400 and currently have a Honda 125 (In my profile) that I have left over their while I'm taking care of my mother here in the UK. I have ridden motorbikes since the age of 12 doing moto X trials and riding over there is a complete different story.
Many novice riders complete the task with no problems,but seriously it goes wrong far more than it goes right.
When I purchased a 4x4 and was driving more on the mainland and around Bangkok the first thing a Thai friend of mine said was at traffic lights count to 10 before you pull away. I have driven Kohphangan-Bangkok many many times also to Burma about 40 times and their highway has about 1,000 intersections with traffic lights and I never did that trip without seeing death on the road not once.
My advice if you really want your independence and see around Phuket would be to rent a small Suzuki jeep at around 3,000 baht per day(£60) especially if you are travelling with a girlfriend/wife but as said by others getting around in their Song-taews (Open back taxis) is very cheap. Tuk tuk around Bangkok just google Tuk Tuk scams Bangkok and you will know what to look out for.
Sorry to come across a bit negative regarding motorbikes but living there 10 years the amount of people that i personally know or read about everyday(Thaivisa.com) that go home in body bags has left a mental scar. For the most of us living out there the small minivans they use(Coffin dodgers as they are known) are to be avoided at all cost. Long trips and visa runs are a no no in these things,but leaving the airport to your hotel short journeys is perfectly fine and if something goes wrong on that journey then it was just meant to be
Edited... Have a lovely Holiday and don't rent a jet ski... google it or use the search on thaivisa you don't have to be a member to view most things,membership just unlocks some photos and are able to make comments.
Another tip if you go for the car route is check your mirrors at all times as motorbikes are coming up on the inside,outside the wrong direction and big pays for small in their policy so even if their at fault you are to blame.
The more accurate figure is 45,000 killed each year on the roads of Thailand which puts it at the 3rd most dangerous place in the world some sites tell you 2nd with a high % being motorbikes.
These are not like our mopeds they are un restricted and can reach speeds of 125kph so unless you are experienced in riding motor bikes best left alone.
I lived in Thailand (Kohphangan) for 10 years and seen some pretty horrible stuff,I started off with a Yam 250cc upgraded to a Honda 400 and currently have a Honda 125 (In my profile) that I have left over their while I'm taking care of my mother here in the UK. I have ridden motorbikes since the age of 12 doing moto X trials and riding over there is a complete different story.
Many novice riders complete the task with no problems,but seriously it goes wrong far more than it goes right.
When I purchased a 4x4 and was driving more on the mainland and around Bangkok the first thing a Thai friend of mine said was at traffic lights count to 10 before you pull away. I have driven Kohphangan-Bangkok many many times also to Burma about 40 times and their highway has about 1,000 intersections with traffic lights and I never did that trip without seeing death on the road not once.
My advice if you really want your independence and see around Phuket would be to rent a small Suzuki jeep at around 3,000 baht per day(£60) especially if you are travelling with a girlfriend/wife but as said by others getting around in their Song-taews (Open back taxis) is very cheap. Tuk tuk around Bangkok just google Tuk Tuk scams Bangkok and you will know what to look out for.
Sorry to come across a bit negative regarding motorbikes but living there 10 years the amount of people that i personally know or read about everyday(Thaivisa.com) that go home in body bags has left a mental scar. For the most of us living out there the small minivans they use(Coffin dodgers as they are known) are to be avoided at all cost. Long trips and visa runs are a no no in these things,but leaving the airport to your hotel short journeys is perfectly fine and if something goes wrong on that journey then it was just meant to be
Edited... Have a lovely Holiday
and don't rent a jet ski... google it or use the search on thaivisa you don't have to be a member to view most things,membership just unlocks some photos and are able to make comments. Another tip if you go for the car route is check your mirrors at all times as motorbikes are coming up on the inside,outside the wrong direction and big pays for small in their policy so even if their at fault you are to blame.
Edited by TVRJAS on Saturday 7th March 21:11
Regiment said:
Get an international driving license, you can get pulled over and fined...essentially the police will ask you for a relatively small amount and then wave you on your way.
International Driving permit. If you hire any kind of vehicle, photograph and point out existing damage before you drive away. I've been hiring cars and bikes in Thailand for a year now and nobody has tried to scam me. Edited by BritishRacinGrin on Sunday 8th March 03:17
BritishRacinGrin said:
International Driving permit. If you hire any kind of vehicle, photograph and point out existing damage before you drive away. I've been hiring cars and bikes in Thailand for a year now and nobody has tried to scam me.
I was around the Phuket area, generally the south of the island. Anyone that wasn't Thai got waved over. Might just be the area.Edited by BritishRacinGrin on Sunday 8th March 03:17
Oh I've paid 'fines' (bribes), these seem to be par for the course... But I've never been ripped off with the old jet ski / scooter / car imaginary or pre-existing damage scam.
I have a Thai driving license but occasionally I get pulled up on my scooter and have to pay the bribe as I have no motorcycle entitlement.
I have a Thai driving license but occasionally I get pulled up on my scooter and have to pay the bribe as I have no motorcycle entitlement.
I stayed not far from Kata Beach a few years ago. I rented a car from http://www.andamancarrent.com/ for 7 days. I think it was a Toyota Corolla. I had absolutely no problems. I wouldn't rent a car in central Bangkok but driving around Phuket was very pleasant I found and I would certainly rent again if I ever returned.
I hate being reliant on finding a taxi to get anywhere. Especially as our hotel was a bit out of the way.
I hate being reliant on finding a taxi to get anywhere. Especially as our hotel was a bit out of the way.
Edited by fourspoons on Sunday 8th March 22:55
fourspoons said:
Oh and I just took my regular UK license. No problems getting the car or insurance with that. Never got stopped anywhere, but I read that Thai law only requires you to carry a valid license from your home country.
this . i spent around 2 months working there a few years back on what turned out to be a short contract. i actually enjoyed driving there after a couple of days as you have to keep your wits about you and no one seems to care about speed limits. got right on the bosses nerves by shaving 5 mins off the 35 km run into work record one morning as well.as has been mentioned the initial impression i got was not good either, a moped rider had attempted to undertake a lorry turning left into the industrial area the company was based ,and had gone under the wheels literally seconds before we arrived on scene,not pretty,especially within your first couple of hours in the country. also saw cars up trees and one bunch of road workers failing to make a bend and end up in a drainage ditch,miracle the three blokes in the back in the open were ok.
enjoy your stay.lovely people,great food and plenty to do if not working stupid hours.
Post office can issue you an international license if you wanted to rent, my advice would be don't bother. Just get cheap tuk Tuks everywhere or rent a driver.
Scooters are really cheap to rent if you need to just get around, but be bloody careful, most bars have a foreigner in bandages propping up a bar...
Scooters are really cheap to rent if you need to just get around, but be bloody careful, most bars have a foreigner in bandages propping up a bar...
Driving in Thailand works on the principle of nobody wants to die today. But also approaches it from the sky fairy perspective of "if its my time to go, its my time to go", and "if i do go, I'll come back as something else tomorrow."
What this turns into on the roads is "interesting" and if your driving you need to keep your whits about you. Its kind of similar stress load to driving into major city your not familiar with during rush hour. As for the safety aspect of it, I would consider your taxi driver is just as likely to crash into you as a driver of your own car as he is to crash into a truck with you as a passenger. So it comes down to a case of will you improve your odds of not crashing at all, which is a balancing act between unfamiliar behavior of other drivers vs your taking extra care. In Thailand the roads are more dangerous than the UK no matter how you use them.
So if you have never driven outside Cambridgeshire, wont go into London or use the M25 because its too busy and scary and they all drive to fast, aggressive and too close down there, passed you test at 30 and only use the car when you have to, and wont drive at night, then driving in Thailand probably isn't for you. On the other hand if driving into Manhattan during rush hour after a long haul flight doesn't phase you, then you will probably be all right if you take care, and I'm guessing as your here asking then your in that latter category, but anything less than the latter example will see you turn into a gibbering wreck!
So what to expect....
Overtaking. In the UK you will get flashed and tooted by the car your overtaking on a 2 mile straight in clear dry weather with no other cars in a 100 mile radius, if you dare to overtake with a car coming towards you they will also flash, toot, accelerate, and are seemingly prepared to die in a fiery crash than give up "their" bit of road. In Thailand they will overtake you if your in their way, it will probably be on a straight bit of road but not always and at best it will only need to be straight enough for whatever is coming the other way to move out of the way. Oncoming traffic is not a reason to not overtake in Thailand. Its expected that the car being overtaken will move over a bit and the truck coming the other way will move over the other way forming a third land down the middle for the overtaker. It gets a bit tight when there are people overtaking in both directions!
Motorcycles. they are everywhere, but you knew that I'm sure. They have the same attitude to life or death as above, they wont hesitate to overtake their moped friend whilst the above 4 way car/truck overtake maneuver is going on, they will pass you on the left or on the right, especially if you stop to make a right turn, it wont even enter their heads if your stopped indicating right that it would be better to go past you on the left. Their only thought to life preservation is the horn.
If its raining they get wet and they get rain in their eyes as they don't wear helmets with visors, they don't like this, but they do have an umbrella. If the moped is two up, then the pillions job is to hold the umbrella and the driver will peek out from underneath it every now and again. If the rider is on their own, then they have one less hand on the handlebar!
Driving at night. Thai moped riders don't subscribe to the theory that electricity from the alternator is free, of course they are right, but with them its not a case of just not charging their phone on the ride to work, they work on the theory that if they are going in a straight line, they don't need to see where they are going, so will turn their lights off. They will only turn them on if they need to make a turn or have a quick check much like the occasional peek out from under the umbrella. What this means for you is that moped riders dressed in black on a black bike will suddenly appear out of the very dark roads. Keep an eye out for shadows or changes to the background scenery that will be the only clue to the presence of a moped at night. You will feel like Captain Kirk searching for a cloaked Romulan war bird.
As for the IDP debate, it is required, you may not be asked for it. We handed ours over when we rented the car but can't recall if they asked for it or not and what would have happened if we hadn't had one. Nobody looked at it after leaving the hertz counter, but they are not expensive (£5.50), I pay a lot more for travel insurance that fortunately I rarely need, and personally i would prefer to have one less thing to have to bribe my way out of, and as unlikely as it is, a Thai jail is not where I want to end up whilst they sort out some paperwork. Just get one from the AA, RAC or post office.
As for the car, we rented a suv from hertz at Phuket. It was typical of a small hertz location, small counter, one person working it who may or may not be present. The experience was roughly similar to when i rented in Tromso Norway, which is to say not unusual but a different experience than using the gold express collection in Las Vegas. IIRC they did the paperwork at the counter then took us out to the pickup area where someone drove the car up, we did the walk around on the spot, signed the damage form and off we went. Dropping off was a little unclear and I had to loiter outside and send SWIMBO into the terminal to find someone from the pickup counter to find out where we were supposed to go and sort out the drop off, but once we made contact it all went smoothly, they came out with her, did the paperwork and then jumped into the car and drove us up to the terminal drop off area and bid us farewell, no made up damage or other spurious charges. To be fair the car wasn't the newest of vehicles and had a few minor battler scars but was up to the job and to be fair lately your lucky to get a new car from as US hertz either.
Have fun and don't, blame me if you die in a fiery crash.
What this turns into on the roads is "interesting" and if your driving you need to keep your whits about you. Its kind of similar stress load to driving into major city your not familiar with during rush hour. As for the safety aspect of it, I would consider your taxi driver is just as likely to crash into you as a driver of your own car as he is to crash into a truck with you as a passenger. So it comes down to a case of will you improve your odds of not crashing at all, which is a balancing act between unfamiliar behavior of other drivers vs your taking extra care. In Thailand the roads are more dangerous than the UK no matter how you use them.
So if you have never driven outside Cambridgeshire, wont go into London or use the M25 because its too busy and scary and they all drive to fast, aggressive and too close down there, passed you test at 30 and only use the car when you have to, and wont drive at night, then driving in Thailand probably isn't for you. On the other hand if driving into Manhattan during rush hour after a long haul flight doesn't phase you, then you will probably be all right if you take care, and I'm guessing as your here asking then your in that latter category, but anything less than the latter example will see you turn into a gibbering wreck!
So what to expect....
Overtaking. In the UK you will get flashed and tooted by the car your overtaking on a 2 mile straight in clear dry weather with no other cars in a 100 mile radius, if you dare to overtake with a car coming towards you they will also flash, toot, accelerate, and are seemingly prepared to die in a fiery crash than give up "their" bit of road. In Thailand they will overtake you if your in their way, it will probably be on a straight bit of road but not always and at best it will only need to be straight enough for whatever is coming the other way to move out of the way. Oncoming traffic is not a reason to not overtake in Thailand. Its expected that the car being overtaken will move over a bit and the truck coming the other way will move over the other way forming a third land down the middle for the overtaker. It gets a bit tight when there are people overtaking in both directions!
Motorcycles. they are everywhere, but you knew that I'm sure. They have the same attitude to life or death as above, they wont hesitate to overtake their moped friend whilst the above 4 way car/truck overtake maneuver is going on, they will pass you on the left or on the right, especially if you stop to make a right turn, it wont even enter their heads if your stopped indicating right that it would be better to go past you on the left. Their only thought to life preservation is the horn.
If its raining they get wet and they get rain in their eyes as they don't wear helmets with visors, they don't like this, but they do have an umbrella. If the moped is two up, then the pillions job is to hold the umbrella and the driver will peek out from underneath it every now and again. If the rider is on their own, then they have one less hand on the handlebar!
Driving at night. Thai moped riders don't subscribe to the theory that electricity from the alternator is free, of course they are right, but with them its not a case of just not charging their phone on the ride to work, they work on the theory that if they are going in a straight line, they don't need to see where they are going, so will turn their lights off. They will only turn them on if they need to make a turn or have a quick check much like the occasional peek out from under the umbrella. What this means for you is that moped riders dressed in black on a black bike will suddenly appear out of the very dark roads. Keep an eye out for shadows or changes to the background scenery that will be the only clue to the presence of a moped at night. You will feel like Captain Kirk searching for a cloaked Romulan war bird.
As for the IDP debate, it is required, you may not be asked for it. We handed ours over when we rented the car but can't recall if they asked for it or not and what would have happened if we hadn't had one. Nobody looked at it after leaving the hertz counter, but they are not expensive (£5.50), I pay a lot more for travel insurance that fortunately I rarely need, and personally i would prefer to have one less thing to have to bribe my way out of, and as unlikely as it is, a Thai jail is not where I want to end up whilst they sort out some paperwork. Just get one from the AA, RAC or post office.
As for the car, we rented a suv from hertz at Phuket. It was typical of a small hertz location, small counter, one person working it who may or may not be present. The experience was roughly similar to when i rented in Tromso Norway, which is to say not unusual but a different experience than using the gold express collection in Las Vegas. IIRC they did the paperwork at the counter then took us out to the pickup area where someone drove the car up, we did the walk around on the spot, signed the damage form and off we went. Dropping off was a little unclear and I had to loiter outside and send SWIMBO into the terminal to find someone from the pickup counter to find out where we were supposed to go and sort out the drop off, but once we made contact it all went smoothly, they came out with her, did the paperwork and then jumped into the car and drove us up to the terminal drop off area and bid us farewell, no made up damage or other spurious charges. To be fair the car wasn't the newest of vehicles and had a few minor battler scars but was up to the job and to be fair lately your lucky to get a new car from as US hertz either.
Have fun and don't, blame me if you die in a fiery crash.
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