Getting around · 07 of 8
Car & motorbike rental
Cheap, easy, and the paperwork matters more than the price.
Information changes. Times, prices and ways of doing things are a guide only.
Scooter rental runs about 200–350 THB a day, cars 900–1,600. Both are usually arranged in five minutes with a shop that will not ask you many questions. That is the problem, not the convenience.
Never leave your passport as a deposit. It is common practice and you should still refuse: without it you cannot check into a hotel, board a flight or prove who you are, and recovering it after a dispute about a scratch is entirely on the shop's terms. Pay a cash deposit, or use a shop that accepts a photocopy.
Photograph every existing scratch, all round, before you ride away. Damage disputes on return are routine and a timestamped photo ends them.
Helmets are compulsory and enforced. See Driving in Thailand before you rent anything — the licence rules there are not optional.