[amyntor]

Originally Posted by bsdbsd

Just WOW. Thanks so much for this. Good on them to encourage travel like this. Your validation certainly helps. Thanks again sir.

My experience was the same when I visited Thailand in April this year. The immigration officer took my fingerprints, checked my boarding pass for the arrival flight, and stamped my passport. That was it. No questions asked.

[realcoolhand]

Folks, I’m planning a 7 day trip to Phuket next month. Any of you have experience with self drive cars there? I’m planning to pick up one from airport and return on departure. Any suggestions or recommendations? Going for IDP soon.

[blackbandit]

Originally Posted by realcoolhand

Folks, I’m planning a 7 day trip to Phuket next month. Any of you have experience with self drive cars there? I’m planning to pick up one from airport and return on departure. Any suggestions or recommendations? Going for IDP soon.

In phuket the cops are waiting to fine you. Ensure you follow all traffic rules and maintain the correct lanes. And IDP is must (the A4 sheet IDP is sufficient). Breaking traffic rules you will incur fines ranging from 500-1000 baht and not having an IDP is 1000 baht. Sixt, drive and hertz usually have well maintained cars and worth the extra premium. Other than this nothing much the roads are amazing and you will enjoy driving around. If possible drive down to krabi and back during the day, you will enjoy the drive

[freelancer6202]

Originally Posted by realcoolhand

Folks, I’m planning a 7 day trip to Phuket next month. Any of you have experience with self drive cars there? I’m planning to pick up one from airport and return on departure. Any suggestions or recommendations? Going for IDP soon.

Any particular reason for choosing Phuket ? I'd suggest making Krabi your base. Phuket, PhiPhi are just a boat ride away from it. Phuket is crowded and cops are always on the lookout. And there is lot of travelling in Phuket as placed and things are far and apart. Rental cars are easy as long as you make a hefty deposit and return car as it is. Locals follow traffic laws and drive very patiently as per my experience. IDP is must.

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by realcoolhand

Folks, I’m planning a 7 day trip to Phuket next month. Any of you have experience with self drive cars there? I’m planning to pick up one from airport and return on departure. Any suggestions or recommendations? Going for IDP soon.

I went to Phuket last year and rented a car from Avis. We picked up and returned the car at the airport. Everything went smoothly; I got pulled over by a cop, and they just checked my IDP.

I used my credit card and the deposit was just a hold on the card. It was released in a week.

Driving in Phuket is a breeze. People follow rules, rarely use their horns, and are patient. Have a great trip

[realcoolhand]

Originally Posted by freelancer6202

Any particular reason for choosing Phuket ? I'd suggest making Krabi your base. Phuket, PhiPhi are just a boat ride away from it. Phuket is crowded and cops are always on the lookout. And there is lot of travelling in Phuket as placed and things are far and apart. Rental cars are easy as long as you make a hefty deposit and return car as it is. Locals follow traffic laws and drive very patiently as per my experience. IDP is must.

Thanks for prompt reply. I have resort tie-up in Phuket so I get free week every year

Originally Posted by blackbandit

If possible drive down to krabi and back during the day, you will enjoy the drive

I was actually planning to do that. Driving from Phuket to Krabi. Thanks for bolstering my resolve.

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

I went to Phuket last year and rented a car from Avis. We picked up and returned the car at the airport. Everything went smoothly; I got pulled over by a cop, and they just checked my IDP.

I used my credit card and the deposit was just a hold on the card. It was released in a week.

Driving in Phuket is a breeze. People follow rules, rarely use their horns, and are patient. Have a great trip

Did you book in advance from Klook, Booking, etc or directly at airport? I’m getting cars in the fange of ₹12k to ₹18k for a week time. Credit card hold is a relief, I’m not much of cash guy in India.

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[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by realcoolhand

Did you book in advance from Klook, Booking, etc or directly at airport? I’m getting cars in the fange of ₹12k to ₹18k for a week time. Credit card hold is a relief, I’m not much of cash guy in India.

Yes, I made a prepaid booking on the Avis website and got the car within 10 minutes when I arrived. There was no one around when I returned it, I just had to drop the keys into a key box.

I also rented a car in Bangkok from Yesaway through rentalcars.com, and everything went fine with that as well.

By the way, please take photos of the car from all possible angles when you pick it up.

[Sinner666]

It actually makes sense financially to pick up a rental car from the airport in Phuket, as the the airport is a bit to the North and away from most of the tourist areas like Patong, Kamala etc. and one way cabs are usually 700B+ depending on where you are staying in Phuket (more if you are staying further south or Phuket town etc).
Plus you would end up renting a scooter anyway. Even though scooters are cheaper some of that is offset by the car rental, and if you are a bigger group the convenience and comfort of a car pays for itself. Also noticed that cops stop bikes more than cars.
I usually rent from the airport, and drop back at the airport whenever I am visiting Phuket. Although my trips are usually weekend trips (1-2 days), so car rental amount is not that much.

I live in Bangkok and visit Phuket every few months. Pls feel free to ask any questions on Phuket, Bangkok or Thailand in general.

[realcoolhand]

Originally Posted by Sinner666

I live in Bangkok and visit Phuket every few months. Pls feel free to ask any questions on Phuket, Bangkok or Thailand in general.

Great, thanks for your suggestions. I have decided to book a rental for 7 days. Also planning for 2 day road trip to Krabi. I also thought of doing Khao Sok but then don’t want too much rushed trip for wife and kids.

[97_Octane]

My wife and I are planning to travel to Thailand during the first week of November 2024. I read on the Royal Thai Consulate General website that the passport needs to be valid for a minimum of 30 days from date of arrival. Elsewhere I read that it needs to be valid for 6 months.

Asking this because my wife's passport expires in Feb 2024. Can anyone please shed some light on this topic? Is it safe for us to go ahead with the trip? Will we have any issues during immigration?

I am skeptical of applying for renewal of the passport as the earliest appointment available is for Oct 15th, and I'm not sure if we'll have the new passport in hand in ~2 weeks. Hence thinking of completing this trip and then applying for renewal (provided 30 days validity is sufficient).

Also, what is the turnaround time that can be expected for a tatkal application instead of a normal one?

Mods: Made an incomplete post above by mistake. Please merge the above post with this one. Thanks and apologies!

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by 97_Octane

I read on the Royal Thai Consulate General website that the passport needs to be valid for a minimum of 30 days from date of arrival.

I am skeptical of applying for renewal of the passport as the earliest appointment available is for Oct 15th, and I'm not sure if we'll have the new passport in hand in ~2 weeks.

Seems to be pretty clear it’s 30 days for VoA and 6 months for a normal visa. Bit, I agree there tends to be a niggling apprehension.

I’d suggest taking the earliest available tatkal appointment which is 7/10. If you have all your documents in place it should be seamless with an average TAT of 2-3 days.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by 97_Octane

and I'm not sure if we'll have the new passport in hand in ~2 weeks.

As mentioned by itwasntme, try for Tatkal slot. Else too, you will get passport in couple of days after your appointment. However, police verification if it happens can happen in parallel / after you receive passport. Have heard about incidents where it was delayed from the police station side, so with Tatkal, you can have more days for the police verification part to be completed and if required chase them too.

[97_Octane]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I’d suggest taking the earliest available tatkal appointment which is 7/10. If you have all your documents in place it should be seamless with an average TAT of 2-3 days.

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

..try for Tatkal slot..

Thank you guys, I have booked the tatkal slot for 7/10. Hope it's smooth sailing from there.