Getting around · 08 of 8
Driving in Thailand
Read this before you rent a scooter. It is the most expensive mistake Bulgarian visitors make here.
Information changes. Times, prices and ways of doing things are a guide only.
Why this matters far more than the fine. The police fine for riding without a valid licence is around 500 THB at a checkpoint, which is an annoyance. The real consequence is insurance: if you have an accident while not legally entitled to drive, your travel and medical insurance will not pay. Not the hospital bill, not the repatriation, not the third party you injured.
Thai hospital care for a serious motorbike injury runs into hundreds of thousands of baht, and repatriation by air ambulance to Bulgaria is tens of thousands of euros. This is the single most common way a foreigner is seriously hurt in Thailand, and the single most common way an insurance claim is refused.
Get the IDP in Bulgaria before you travel. It is issued by the Union of Bulgarian Motorists (SBA) against your existing licence, it is inexpensive, and it cannot be obtained once you are here.
The rest, briefly: drive on the left. Traffic is dense but not aggressive, and the pecking order runs by size — buses and pickups expect to be given way. Helmets are compulsory for rider and passenger. Drink-driving is enforced with roadside checks.