Renting a motorbike in Phuket

A nifty scooter or big noisy bike is an essential item for getting the most out of your holiday. It’s ideal for exploring the island or impressing your friends, and everyone rents them while on holiday. In fact the Honda Dream is a quintessential icon of Thailand and you’ll notice them everywhere.

Phuket is big and there’s plenty to see, so renting a bike is a good way to make the most of the place. They are easy to ride and traffic moves at a relaxed pace. Even if you’ve never ridden one it’s not difficult to get used to these ‘clutchless’ bikes, with their low seats.

If you are thinking about renting a bike, then first spend a bit of time studying how the Thais drive. There really is no method to the madness, you have to study the idiosyncrasies to realise the shape which the traffic takes. They overtake, they undertake, they might or might not indicate. They stop in the middle of the road to chat on the phone and taxis give you no warning when they pull in to the side of the road from the outside to pick up a customer. Red lights have an altogether different meaning from those in the west. Green means go. Amber means go faster. Red also means go (if you can!). Red can mean anything; it’s a multifarious light, a light with character!

Most tourists opt to rent a 100 or 125cc scooter. The Honda Dream (Wave) is a classic. If there are two of you on one bike we suggest a 125cc. These bikes are low, easy to mount, have no clutch and are prefect for nipping through the urban traffic, although they do reach speeds of about 70 miles per hour. One day’s rental charge can be anything from 150 baht to 300 baht, depending on the place you hire, quality of bike and season you hire it in. Lately a new generation of automatic Yamaha Mios have also become popular and are even easier to ride.

Bigger bikes are available at some of the places, both trail bikes and road bikes, and the rental is from 500 baht a day. If you rent the bike for a week or month the price gets much better (per day).

You’ll need to leave your passport with the rental shop as surety and pay when you return. They aren’t usually strict about bringing the bike back on time. We strongly recommend you wear your helmet at all times, despite what you might observe among other tourists or locals. There are plenty of hilly and dangerous roads and lots of people do get hurt and occasionally killed each year in motor accidents.

Bikes are rented anywhere there are tourists in significant numbers. Every beach has a rental shop and tour agents, hotels and guesthouses even rent them - its easy to pick one up at short notice. In places like Patong and Kamala you can’t avoid them, they are so numerous. Alternatively, your hotel concierge can help arrange one for you. Most are in safe and good working condition but check before you accept them.