PHUKET CAR RENTAL - RENT A CAR IN PHUKET, THAILAND

Rental cars in Phuket - Information on how to rent a car in Phuket.

To rent a car at Phuket airport:
You can try Budget Rental Cars. It is directly opposite the airport in Phuket:
Click here to see Budget.com Rental Cars Phuket Online Reservations.

To rent a car close to the resort in Surin/Bang Tao area:
Andaman car rentals will pick you up from the airport and drop you back to the airport free of charge. They have baby seats. http://andamancarrent.com

When renting a car remember to bring your International Driver's License otherwise you may not be able to hire a car.

Rules of the Road in Thailand
Source : Tourism Authority of Thailand. A Traveller's Guide to Thailand

As precautionary measures to prevent and avoid road accidents, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) urges all road-users to strictly observe the following traffic regulations and guidelines.

1. Before putting a vehicle into motion always check the following: driver's license, yearly vehicle tax payment sticker, yearly vehicle insuranee payment sticker, license plate, and vehicle condition such as wheel brake, emergency brake, headlights, taillights, etc

The maximum speed limit to cars inside a city limit is 60 km/hr for outside a city limit.

The maximum speed limit for motorcycles inside city limit is 60 km/hr and 80 km/hr for outside a city limit.

The driver should pay special attention to highway signs posted on the left-hand side of the road for specified speed limits.

2. Always drive on the left side of the road. When there are two or more lanes for traffic in the same direction, slower vehicles must use the leftmost lane except when passing or making a right turn.

3. Always slow down to a safe and reasonable speed when driving on a narrow road or when approching curves, intersections, business or residential areas, road construction zone, and oncoming vehicles.

4. Never pass any vehicle when driving through residential areas, intersections, curves, or over a bridge. Always pass other vehicles on the right.

Never pass other vehicles on the left except when the leading vehicle is making a right turn or when there are two or more lanes for traffic in the same direction.

5. When driving at night, always turn on headlights and taillights.

6. Broken down or parked vehicles must be parked on the side of the road or the shoulder of the road. A warning sign which could be seen over an appropriate distance must be displayed. At nighttime emergency red lights must be used to provide warning.

7. Give the right-of-way signal to vehicles coming from main roads.

8. Strictly obey traffic lights and posted traffic signs.

9. Never control a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or intoxication liquor; or while being sick or dizzy.

10. Always take safety precautions while in control of a vehicle.

11. Always allow a safety distance while following a vehicle.

12. Slow down to a reasonable speed, and do not sound the horn if it is not necessary while passing through the following zones; school, hospital or public agency.

13. Always give a headlight signal or sound the horn and make sure there are not obstructions or oncoming vehicles before passing the leading vehicle.

14. When a driver is involved in an accident which causes injuries or property damages, always provide assistance wherever it is necessary. Immdediately notify the nearest police station and identify yourself as well. The driver who fails to stop at the scene of the accident which he is responsible for would be considered guilty and might be sentenced to imprisonment.

15. Sound the horn and slow down the vehicle when approaching a stopped vehicle which is letting passengers get on or get off and give warning particularly to deaf and blind persons.

16. Safety rules for pedestrains

Always use sidewalks or road shoulders if there are any; if not, always walk on the right side of the road to be able to see oncoming vehicles.

Always cross the road only when it is absolutely safe to do so. Especially in Bangkok, please watch out for bus lanes as buses sometimes run against the traffic flow.

When crossing the road at nighttime always do so at a lighted area or use a flashlight for indentification purposes.

Always obey traffic lights, i.e. cross the road only when the red traffic light is on for the approching vehicles, and make sure that the vehicles have come to a complete stop.

17. Safety rules for bus passengers

Always wait for a bus or a vehicle on the sidewalk, the road shoulder, or at bus stops.

Before getting on a bus or a vehicle, wait until it has stopped completely and other passengers who want to get off have done so.

Always take a seat when it is available; if not stay inside the bus or the vehicle. Do not stand on the doorsteps.

Never get on or get off the bus or the vehicle while it is moving, waiting for traffic lights, or while it is in the middle of the road.

For private or public vehicles, the passengers should always get on or get off the vehicles where it is not prohibited. Always stop the vehicles at the sidewalks and get on or get off on the left side of the vehicles.

 

Rental Car "Rules" when driving a Rent a Car in Phuket Thailand
Prepared by Harold Stephens, Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International.

Imagine my situation. It’s the end of the week in Bangkok and my wife and I decided at the last minute to fly to Phuket for a relaxing weekend. We are fortunate, we get seats on a THAI flight, but I didn’t have time to book hotel reservations.

That can be bad, when you arrive at a destination without a place to sleep. And what’s worse, in Phuket hotels and resort areas are a long distance from the airport. We will be at the mercy of taxi drivers and minibus operators.

Not quite so. At the THAI counter I made reservations for a rent-a-car at the other end. We arrived in Phuket, stepped over to the BUDGET counter and a car was waiting for us. We loaded our luggage into the back seat and took off for Patong Bay.

The beach area was crowded and overbooked. No problem. We drove up the coast to Thavorn on a cliff overlook the bay.

Now isn’t that the way to travel? That is one of the big advantages of renting a car, there’s no hassle when you arrive at a destination. It’s even much easier when you sign up for a Royal Orchid Holidays Fly/Drive programme. And believe it or not, it’s not expensive.

Of course, the very thought of driving in Thailand might turn many people away. All kinds of thoughts come to mind. Can anyone drive in Thailand? What about a driver’s license, and the rules of road? Do laws differ much from those back home?

What if I have a break down? What kind of cars are there to rent? Are road signs all in Thai? And most important, what about the roads? You are from America, or the continent, and have never driven on the “wrong side” of the road.

If we let all these questions become major concerns, then we will never get behind the drivers wheel. Let’s take a look at driving in Thailand. First, a note about the roads.

We go back a few years, to 1967. That year a racecar driver boasted he could drive from Singapore to Bangkok in 30 hours. The distance is only 987 miles, or slightly more than 1,500 kilometres. All the driver had to do was average 30 miles, or 48 kilometres, an hour. Not very much.

Yet, the odds were stacked against him, or anyone going the distance without a mishap. The route covered a grueling drive, much of it over potted, unpaved roads, across unbridged rivers and through rough jungle terrain.

The most difficult section was in southern Thailand. The road was crowded with timber lorries, and it wound its way through rugged mountainous terrain. There were few gasoline stations and even fewer garages. The driver had to contend with monsoon rains, floods and cattle on the road.

And there was always the unexpected. Motorists often complained about one stretch of road in southern Thailand when stray herds of elephants often blocked the way. It was something the racecar driver had to worry about, but, fortunately, he met no wild elephants and he did succeed in making the run in 29 hours and 32 minutes.

That same year, 1967, anyone wanting to motor north to Chiang Rai near to the Burma border, and back to Bangkok, would need at least a week. The big delay back then was the need to ford rivers and streams. I know, for I was a driver who attempted it, in a four-wheel drive vehicle. In one 36-mile stretch I counted 22 streams. In some streams where the mud bottom was threatening, the Thais lined the bottom with rolls of matted bamboo. More tires got punctured this way, but I was fortunate. No punctures, but I did get stuck, several times.

Today, a mere quarter of a century later, it's a different story. Major roads are now paved, and some have been turned into super highways, with cloverleaves and overpasses. It’s possible to leave Singapore an hour or two before dawn and be in Bangkok soon after dark. No stopping or sightseeing, but it can be done.

Also nowadays when people want to visit Chiang Mai, they can very easily drive. It can be accomplished in a leisurely one-day drive. If you stop en route, perhaps at Ayutthaya or maybe Lamphun, then it takes two days. The nice thing about it, you can hop on a THAI flight on your return to Bangkok. There's no hassle getting to and from airports. If you have rented a car, a BUDGET, the company has airport check-in service and you can leave your car at the airport.

Driving is undoubtedly one of the best ways to see a country. Yet every time one mentions driving to Chiang Mai, or down south to Surat Thani or Songkhla, they get the same reaction—"You're driving! You gotta be mad."

When you look at a road map of Thailand, you wonder if these people might not be right. The landscape is made up of some really diverse terrain. Literally there are thousands of kilometers of roads that traverse mountain ranges, cut through dense verdant jungles, skirt past endless miles of lonely beaches and lead to big cities and small villages alike.

But all the obstacles you would have had to face 30 years ago are gone: no more wild elephants crossing the road and no more open areas where water buffalo come to graze along the road sides. Those days are gone, for sure, and there are now new highways from one end of Thailand to the other, with modern petrol stations, restaurants and rest stops every few kilometers. That racecar driver we mentioned would have no contest today were he to cover the route.

But speed should not be your quest. The objective should be to take advantage of the new roads and at the same time to take in the sights.

Another complaint we often hear is that all these modern highways in Thailand make driving monotonous. On the contrary, the highways have added another dimension to motoring in Thailand. They have opened up whole new vistas that past motorists never saw. In the past drivers were preoccupied keeping their eyes focused on the road, and jungle landscape and heavy foliage usually blocked the views they did have. It was a case of not being able to see the forest or the trees.

Motorists find that driving the highways of Thailand today is somewhat like being in a glider, at low altitude. Great views unrolled before you. You seem to float over a vast landscape. In the distance appear bluish gray mountains, and along both sides of the highway, as far as the eye can see, are great plantations—copra, rubber and oil palm. In Bangkok, the elevated highways give you a whole new perspective of the city.

And for traffic, once you leave Bangkok you have open roads. The whole idea behind self-drive is to explore. Signs along the highway, in both English and Thai script, point the way to towns and villages. Thailand is a land of discovery, and discovery means getting off the beaten path. It takes a bit of exploring to fully enjoy a motor trip. To find your way around, there are some very fine road maps on the market. Choose one in Thai script and English. If you are driving a back road, it is very easy to point to the map and ask a Thai for directions.

The motorist has a wide range to explore throughout the north and northeast and there are three routes he can take in southern Thailand as far as the Malaysian border. The first choice is the road that follows the Gulf of Thailand, past Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat. The second is the central road, often called the trunk road. It has the most traffic. The third road follows in sight of the Burma border and leads to Phuket. A causeway connects Phuket to the mainland, thus making driving onto the island possible. And Phuket is a great island to explore, behind the driver’s seat.

A route motorist truly enjoy taking is to the east of Bangkok. The road skirts the northern border of Cambodia and eventually leads to southern Laos. For those who love to visit Khmer ruins, this is the road to take. (I wrote about these fabulous ruins last week in this column.) There are literally dozens of ruins, some as big as cities, and others the size of a city block. You can drive right up to the Laos border, park your car, and go visit the ruins at Wat Phu near Pak Se.

When you look at a map of Thailand, you will notice the main roads are marked in red, and the smaller minor roads are in black. You may wonder what these back roads might be like—rough, half paved, pot holed. On the contrary, even the roads marked in black are very serviceable roads. Not only serviceable, they are usually the most beautiful, and interesting. Along these road you might find a cave to explore, or a lovely Thai temple to photograph, or a Khmer ruin. Not all the sites are listed on tourist brochures or road maps.

Accommodations anywhere throughout Thailand are plentiful, and adequate in rural areas. When you are behind the driver’s wheel, you can pick and choose. Nor do you need to worry about reservations.

So what are your choices? You can choose to drive to the North, South, East or West of Thailand, at your own pace. You can rent your car in Bangkok, then drive up to Northern Thailand and leave it in Chiang Mai, or a number of other cities, and take a THAI flight back to Bangkok. Thailand's Civil Aviation has allowed car rental companies to open airport offices around Thailand. Renting a car couldn't be easier.

If you are worried about the driving rules in Thailand, don't be. International driving rules and regulations are in effect and widely followed. Vehicles are driven on the left of the road. There is a speed limit of 80 km/h in town and 100 km/h on open roads. Three rules that I always follow are (1) stay in your lane, (2) don’t make U-turns and (3) keep your speed down.

A driver must always be in possession of a valid driving license from his or her country of origin and the original or photocopy of the car registration book.

Royal Orchid Holidays has an excellent Fly-Drive Thailand booklet available for interested parties. You can pick up a copy at any THAI office in cities around the world where THAI flies, and it’s free of charge. ROH has launched Fly-Drive Thailand packages in cooperation with internationally known partner, BUDGET.

Next week we are off to another adventure, to China. I will take readers on my own personal tour. And what you may ask makes it a personal tour. I lived in China for many years, and as a young man went to school in Beijing.

I received a very touching letter with reference to my story “Findings at Ban Chiang.” It’s from Chet Gorman III, the son of Chet Gorman who worked so diligently on the finds, and died soon after.

Q. Dear Mr. Stephens. I am enthralled by your book "Return to Adventure," and per your recommendations, we did go to Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,Thaton, Lampang, Lamphun, Si Satchanalai, Phitsanulok, Wat Phra Keo, Lopburi, Ban Chiang, Laos and more temples and museums than I can remember. We took long tail speedboats for half-day trips, stopping along the way to check out villages, caves and temples. We can't wait to go back. It's easy to see why you, my Dad and hundreds, thousands more, love it so and would not want to live anywhere else.

I want to thank you for your story on Ban Chiang. I am sending a photo of my Dad taken in 1971. He had just finished digging at Banyan Valley Cave. He and Vincent Jenkins had carried all the equipment in on their backs, with the help of a few locals. On the way out there were bags of finds, so they hired the chap on the left who had a string of pack ponies.

The photo came into my hands only last week. After my Dad died his personal effects and photos disappeared so anything comes our way is greatly appreciated. Might I ask that you list my e-mail for anyone who might have known my Dad, and who might have information about him and photos. Thank you very much for making the world aware of Ban Chiang, and carrying on the name of my father.

Chet III.

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