Duciboy

Last time I was in Thailand was March this year. Every time my wife and myself travel to Thailand we always hire a car to go on small road trips. eg; Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and back for the day. We are returning in March 2009 and are going to hire a car to go back to Kanchanaburi then drive down to Phuket. I was wondering if someone could tell me what the roads are like and if there are any certain sections of the drive that have are less facilities (fuel, food etc) in certain parts. Any information is appreciated. Thanks

edit: I think I put this in the wrong section. Could a mod please move to Thailand Travel Forum. Thanks

South of Hua Hin near Chumphon, stay in the outside lane and watch your speed. Several places are prone to "Traffic cops" looking to buy their nightly beer rounds.

Also when you get to Phan Na take the "bypass road" (follow the buses) otherwise you have a 1 to 1 1/2 hr drive, driving through a mountain range with very narrow winding roads. Pretty but very dangerous and tiring.

You also can take Hwy 4 to Ranong and down. Some places are windy but scenic.

Some of the Gas Stations offer "Motel" accommodations for around 300B a night.

Nice drive but long. Hua Hin to Phuket 9-10 hours depending on traffic and rain.

Thanks Mrjlh

The reply's are very helpful, I am keeping a log of the tips you people are giving - very helpful community

Last time I was in Thailand was March this year. Every time my wife and myself travel to Thailand we always hire a car to go on small road trips. eg; Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and back for the day. We are returning in March 2009 and are going to hire a car to go back to Kanchanaburi then drive down to Phuket. I was wondering if someone could tell me what the roads are like and if there are any certain sections of the drive that have are less facilities (fuel, food etc) in certain parts. Any information is appreciated. Thanks

edit: I think I put this in the wrong section. Could a mod please move to Thailand Travel Forum. Thanks

Think of the trip in two halves, the first from Hua Hin (or Cha Am) to Chumpom and the second half from Chumpom to Phuket. The first half is a breeze, a good quality dual carriageway and traffic notwithstanding, a fairly fast road. The road forks at Chumpom and you have a choice - continue straight down the East coast on mostly dual carriageway or head across country to the West coast and take the coast road to Phuket. Taking the first option means you'll get a fairly fast ride to Surathani but it's also a fairly unattractive run. The scenery improves dramatically as you head from Surathani across to Phuket. Taking the other option from Chumpom is much slower but it's a much more interesting drive scenically although sometimes the quality of the road becomes border line. For my money I reckon the scenery to be found going across country from Chumpom is some of the best in Thailand. No shortage of petrol stations, 7-11's and coffee shops although you will find Western food hard to find.

Fantastic, thanks for your reply. I think I will take the second option from Chumpom, it sounds wonderful. As I drive allot of long distance's in Australia regularly Melbourne - Sydney 10 hours, Melbourne Brisbane 17 hours straight through I am going to take my time driving from Kanchanaburi - Phuket. My wife would like to stop off along the way, and I want to soak up as much of the Thailand scenery as possible and not let it go by in a flinch of an eye. All of my friends that have driven in Thaliand don't like the tailgating by buses and trucks, I think it is because they are driving way below the speed limit. Me on the other hand need to slow down. Last time driving from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and back I was doing all the tailgating and overtaking and never had the problem of being tailgated. Here in Australia you have to watch out for kangaroo's, cattle, wombats etc and far north Australia emu's that run out in front of you (obviously only in the outback/country and not the metroploitan areas) so I am sure it is the same world wide except the animals are different. I like driving in Thailand as I think it is a controlled craziness with out road rage. I find Thai drivers are courteous if you don't hold them up and drive within their realm. Can't wait to do the drive to Phuket, spend a couple of weeks with friends that live in Patong and own a bar and then unfortunately fly out back to Australia. I would love to bring one of my motorbikes over and tour around the country. Anyway, thanks for replying and sheeding light on what is to be expected. Looks like my wife and myself are going to be in our element. Cheers to all

I'm thinking about driving from Hua Hin to Penang, KL and then Singapore then returning after about 3 weeks away.

Anybody tried this?

What are the [car] documentary requirements? Any other problems?

Advice welcome

I have never done it but was planning to awhile back and was informed not to as Northern Malaysia and Southern Thailand near the boarder is a war zone. Allot of unrest going on there. The advise from my Government was DON'T GO

Thanks for the reply t.s, much appreciated. We are actually only driving to Phuket then flying home from there after a couple of weeks. The friendly people in Thailand goes without saying and I am glad the roads are nice and there are allot of facilities. I am looking forward to the drive even more now after your comments.Cheers

Last time I was in Thailand was March this year. Every time my wife and myself travel to Thailand we always hire a car to go on small road trips. eg; Bangkok to Kanchanaburi and back for the day. We are returning in March 2009 and are going to hire a car to go back to Kanchanaburi then drive down to Phuket. I was wondering if someone could tell me what the roads are like and if there are any certain sections of the drive that have are less facilities (fuel, food etc) in certain parts. Any information is appreciated. Thanks

edit: I think I put this in the wrong section. Could a mod please move to Thailand Travel Forum. Thanks