Hi, I am looking at staying for the month of Jan around Pattaya.. I play a bit of golf.

I was considering renting a car for the month, to get around as some of courses can be a hike.

Do you think renting / driving a car is safe ? being a Falang I will be a target more than likely.

Thoughts...

A target for what exactly?

Driving in Pattaya is fine, but you'll need to throw most of your preconceptions on road rules, and be prepared for heavy traffic in close quarters.

Rent from one of the majors (e.g. Avis) so you can be sure the vehicle is correctly insured as a vehicle for hire, has been adequately maintained, and doesn't have double pricing.

If its to play Golf, you can get the Golf Minibuses operating from the better Hotels. There is no need to worry, i just dump my ride and relax ,they do all the bookings for you. Driving is not fine in Pats .I like it but im a Nutter.

A target for what exactly?

Driving in Pattaya is fine, but you'll need to throw most of your preconceptions on road rules, and be prepared for heavy traffic in close quarters.

Rent from one of the majors (e.g. Avis) so you can be sure the vehicle is correctly insured as a vehicle for hire, has been adequately maintained, and doesn't have double pricing.

Dunno from which part of the planet you are. Just be aware that most of them are driving on the left side. ( Could change at night..)

It's more dangerous than driving through London, but still better to have a vehicle to get around. Always wear your seat belt...Good luck!

In my experience driving in Pattaya is normally a challenge with the Thai system of road rules and usage which resembles something best described as anything goes. In January it is peak tourist season, so added into the mix you have a whole lot of inexperienced tourists to whom driving on the left side of the road may be a novelty. Said tourists are also possibly lost, sightseeing, hungover or under the influence of alcohol or similar. Basically driving in Pattaya in January is not really recommended as a good way to relax whilst on holiday and you really have to have your wits about you. Interestingly enough before about 2pm in the afternoon it is not to bad, after that the tourists get on the move and time to be elsewhere or minimise the driving.

As posted previously one of the major hire car companies is a good way to go if this is the way you wish to proceed. There are several local companies that are reasonably large and/or expat run that I have used as well, just ensure that insurance and bail bond is included or optioned in. A company I have used for booking several times in Thailand is Fastcarhire out of the UK, and I have found the same car from the same supplier up to 30% cheaper using them as a booking agency, so worth a look at this company or similar. A current international drivers licence is a must even if advised that you can drive on your local licence, your local licence is fine to hire the car, just if something goes wrong it can get ugly with insurance companies.

I keep 200 Baht outside of the wallet and ready if required to support the BIB's tea money request, if they see the wallet they may up the ante.

A GPS is very handy and enables you to find your way to and from home, however they are not 100% reliable in Thailand and may try and direct you down a goat track or the wrong way up a one way street. The other problem with a GPS is the spelling of street and place names, I regularly use google maps, get the coordinates and enter the coordinates into the GPS after giving up in frustration in trying to get the thing to recognise the spelling I am using. Be aware there are different methods of entering coordinates and getting it wrong can put you a long way from where you want to be.

Cheers

Have a stop and ponder a bit, are you used to driving on the left in heavy traffic with small motorbikes, tuk,tuks and cars coming at you from everywhere.

If not best advice here IMO.

If its to play Golf, you can get the Golf Minibuses operating from the better Hotels. There is no need to worry, i just dump my ride and relax ,they do all the bookings for you. Driving is not fine in Pats .I like it but im a Nutter.

If you find a car will be OK !! then what MRO said.

Rent from one of the majors (e.g. Avis) so you can be sure the vehicle is correctly insured as a vehicle for hire, has been adequately maintained, and doesn't have double pricing.

Edited October 22, 201114 yr by Kwasaki

free plug for http://pattayarentacar.com + they are located at fairways driving range + foreign owned/run so no need to worry about speaking thai

Thanks for the feedback.. yes I usually do the mini-van thing to the golf course with the group..

Was just thinking this time round I may duck down to Ko Chang, up to Soi Doi and hit the driving range

Yes it it silly season in Jan so maybe its not the best time to drive.

Cheers

Don't know if the Big Renters do it, but small ones do..Ferangs are used to hi cost repairs , that dent you put on the renter only costs 750 to repair , but they keep the deposit . Quite a sting for your Beer Tokens if you only popped over for a fun break.....

Rented from Hertz last month. They were offering a 20% discount on their global website, which made them cheaper than on their Thai website. Paid 6600B for 7 days rental on a Toyota Yaris and could drop it off anywhere in Thailand. The option to drop off at any of their shops is available on any rental of more than 5 days.

With Hertz, at less than 1000B per day, and knowing that they're not going to rip you off and will provide 1st class insurance, I'm not sure how you can go wrong.

Budget will try to keep a 5,000 bht deposit for a small scratch on a plastic hub disc and a tiny chip from a flying stone in the windscreen.