Open top jeep hire around Patong

[SourDcup]

Hello all

 

I will be travelling to Phuket in late April and looking to rent a jeep for a couple of days to get around, taxi fares from what I have heard are pretty steep in Phuket and having our own vehicle would give us a lot more added flexibility in getting aruound. There would be 3 of us so we would need something that has more than 2 seats as I see the 2 seater Suzuki 'jeep's' are quite common. I've looked at Andaman Car Rent but unfortunatley theirs have all been booked. Does anybody know of any other reliable contacts that would have an open aired jeep 4 seater+ that I could reserve one from before I arrive? I hear there are open top jeeps available to hire around the Patong area, but I imagine they might get booked fast so it's best to have something reserved first?

 

Also if anyone has experience with these vehicles, what are the conditions generally? are scams common similar to the jetski scams?

 

TIA

[DrDave]

The Jeeps of the type you're looking for have been generally rented from the public parking spaces at the beach in Patong.

 

There has been some noise recently that the motorbike and possibly the car rental operators will be evicted from that area as they had taken over all of the public parking spaces, and I noticed the other day a string of Jeeps for rent parked on the shoulder of the extreme southern end of Nanai Rd near the roundabout.

 

I think most of the rental Jeeps are now either real Jeeps, or facsimiles. In the past, the Suzuki Caribbean was popular, but they stopped making them quite a few years ago, and they've fallen out of the rental pools for the most part. The rental Jeeps I've seen recently have a rear seat, so no problem seating 3 or 4 passengers. I don't know what the rental rates are, but would assume they'd be quite a bit higher than a car. You would also need to check on insurance, since these are rented by individual operators, not big companies.

[stevenl]

The Jeeps of the type you're looking for have been generally rented from the public parking spaces at the beach in Patong.

 

There has been some noise recently that the motorbike and possibly the car rental operators will be evicted from that area as they had taken over all of the public parking spaces, and I noticed the other day a string of Jeeps for rent parked on the shoulder of the extreme southern end of Nanai Rd near the roundabout.

 

I think most of the rental Jeeps are now either real Jeeps, or facsimiles. In the past, the Suzuki Caribbean was popular, but they stopped making them quite a few years ago, and they've fallen out of the rental pools for the most part. The rental Jeeps I've seen recently have a rear seat, so no problem seating 3 or 4 passengers. I don't know what the rental rates are, but would assume they'd be quite a bit higher than a car. You would also need to check on insurance, since these are rented by individual operators, not big companies.

Those jeeps are all on green plates, so do check insurance and make sure 3 persons are covered. It is a good idea to check insurance anyway, as Dave said as well.

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[Old Croc]

Wasn't that Canadian girl killed in one of these deathtraps?

Do yourself a favour hire a car, you'll appreciate the aircon in late April and the protection a roof gives from sun and sudden downpours.

[NamKangMan]

I agree with OC, but if you must hire a jeep, I suggest you check it's got oil in the engine, and pump the brakes 20 times, and then check the road, or each wheel, for a brake fluid leak, otherwise, it could be an expensive holiday, and / or one that sees you in gaol  until you pay for a new jeep / new engine / damage / injury compensation / death compensation, plus fines etc etc.

 

 

Edited March 11, 2017 by NamKangMan

[madmax2]

Just hire a weatherproof air cond car as old croc suggested and be safe

Those hire jeeps are as old as the hills and would not pass a proper road worthy test

[Coconut Kidd]

These things always seem like a good idea while hiring them at 8am when it‘s nice and cool. By 0930 you’re at the beach having the time of your life. By 1100 you’re hungry and a little sunburned. By 1400 you’re ready to head back to your hotel. A 1402 your skin is frying on the cheap vinyle seats because there was no shade to park in. At 1500 you’re only half way back to your hotel which should be a 30 minute drive but traffic is terrible, and a bus wrecked on the road. At 1530 your lunch is haunting you and the heat is unbearable. At 1600 traffic begins to move again, but the exhaust fumes have made you tired and you want to hurl. Again, the heat is unbearable. At 1630 you finally make it back to your hotel…..tired, sunburned, borderline dehydration. At 8am the following morning you return the jeep and get a car with a roof and AC.

 

Kidd

Edited March 13, 2017 by Coconut Kidd