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We spent a month living in Koh Samui in November 2013. If you’re spending more time on the island than a few days in a resort you will probably need a car. Taxis aren’t cheap around the island – a short journey can cost 300B easily, so hiring a car can really save you money and give you flexibility. You can hire a car for around 900B a day or a scooter for around 200B a day. But first…

 

Scooters driving down both sides of the road in the same direction

Scooters driving down both sides of the road in the same direction

A Word About Scooters

Before you arrive you would likely have heard there a lot of scooter accidents and think it sounds quite high, but the moment you get there, you can’t believe how low it actually is. Everyone is driving around on these little scooters, and about 1% of them actually wear helmets. Even the Farangs (the Thai word for foreigners), opt not to wear their helmets, and very often they are driving on these scooters for their first times. 

Often you see a whole family travelling on these little scooters, with babies, children, shopping, panes of glass, appliances, anything that you can think of – and still no one wears a helmet. We saw quite a few tourists around the island, including children, who had clearly been involved in scooter accidents with huge grazes down the side of their body or face and broken limbs.

Unless you’re an experienced rider, don’t hire a scooter! And if you must hire one, get a helmet. We saw an accident one night where one scooter was overtaking another and clipped her front well. The driver flew off her scooter and I saw her head literally bounce on the concrete. No helmet. We stopped to make sure she was ok and  she was, luckily, but probably ended up with concussion.

 

People hanging off the back of a delivery truck

People hanging off the back of a delivery truck

Guy sitting on top of a pile of furniture on the back of a truck

Guy sitting on top of a pile of furniture on the back of a truck

Driving in Koh Samui

When driving in Koh Samui you will never see any road rage. Simply because there is no time to lose your anger. Every moment you are in a state of survival mode. Continually searching your surroundings for the nearest onslaught of potential on road engagement. You’ll see everything and anything driving on the roads of Samui. There’s a lot of construction on the island so lots of big trucks and concrete mixers. We’ve seen huge parade-style floats driving down the road at 10 km per hour (and unfortunately been stuck behind them!). Pick up trucks with 40+ workers standing like sardines on the back. Scooters driven by 12 year olds. Workers hanging off the back of delivery trucks.

When driving you are entirely focused, and driving at relatively low speeds. You are seeking every potential danger ahead, it may be a stray dog about to jump in front of you, someone else overtaking on the inside of you, whilst someone else over taking on the outside, and a scooter is on the wrong side of the road. Even the pedestrians seem to have trouble remembering to look both ways when crossing the road. It has been known on numerous occasions of pedestrians actually walking into cars.

Dealing with roundabouts is tricky and confusing. They seem to work in the opposite direction on the island – you give way to cars pulling onto the roundabout (or anything that is bigger than you!). Everyone is always so worried the other car is going to crash into them, they give way to the traffic pulling out in front of you. But as this is so strange, and there are a lot of Westerners there, no one is ever quite sure whether they should go or not. 

There are no parking wardens, so people park pretty much where they want. This might results in at times seeing cars that are still half on the road. Again another hazard you must be ready for.

If one of the locals crashes into you, I am afraid to tell you that it is still your fault. Their reasoning is, that if you were not here on their island, then they wouldn’t have crashed into you. You can try all you want to argue them out of this logic, but basically they know they have hit a payday, and I’m afraid they are you going to make you pay for it. Try to negotiate with the person who crashed into you, with a translator if necessary. If you involve the police then they will also want their cut, which can run you about 2-3 times the price.

 

Songthaew (public transport pick up truck)

Songthaew (public transport pick up truck)

Tips for Driving in Koh Samui

  1. Drive slowly and carefully. You never what is awaiting you.
  2. Do not get distracted, always stay alert and expect anything at anytime.
  3. Watch both sides of the roads. It’s quite common for drivers, especially scooters, to suddenly switch sides of the road to park on the opposite side of the road instead of pulling over and making a U-turn.
  4. If it’s ahead of you, it’s your problem. Keep enough distance between you and the car or scooters in front of you.
  5. When you want to stop, check behind you as well as in front. Don’t stop suddenly.
  6. If it’s bigger than you, it’s your problem and it has the right of way. Trucks, pickup trucks, cars and scooters have right of way in that order.
  7. Watch out for unexpected flooding. Samui has a unique climate which means it can be raining heavily in one area but not in another. It might not have been raining where you are but roads can still be flooded in the wet season.
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Showing 9 comments
  • Sharon
    Reply

    After reading this, I never want to drive on Ko Samui!! I think I would rather just pay those taxi fares! 🙂

  • Suzanne Fluhr (Boomeresque)
    Reply

    We’ll be there at the end of the month. You have definitely taken car hire off the agenda. In fact, I think that’s pretty much the case for southeast Asia in general.

  • Kaitlin Rose
    Reply

    We drove on Koh Phangan. I think that was calmer!

  • Jade
    Reply

    Sounds a little like driving in the Balkans… except maybe without the trying to extort you after an accident thing. That would really bug me.

  • BlogDaz
    Reply

    Excellent advice Bethaney, I always advise people driving for the first time in Thailand to “imagine everyone else on the road is trying to kill you”. As for motorcycles, you must be very cautious and consider the legality, some good advice here……….http://www.pattayaunlimited.com/2009/08/how-to-hire-motorbike-in-pattaya.html

  • Joe Jamieson
    Reply

    Hi Bethaney,

    The site’s looking great! How long since the redesign?

    I couldn’t agree more about the scooter warning. Hiring a scooter seems like an excellent idea at the time, but don’t forget that road etiquette in Thailand is vastly different to the way we do things in the west.

    That isn’t to say one is better than the other, but do take care.

    Too often people get over-confident and end up a broken mess next to what was once a scooter.

    Bad times!

    Thanks for sharing this, Bethaney .

    • Bethaney Davies
      Reply

      Thanks Joe! I did the redesign recently. Just over the holiday period. I still have a few bugs to work out on the new theme but it’s getting there.

  • Chantelle Paige
    Reply

    Such a great Blog Post. My boyfriend and I went to Samui last year and he always wore his helmet. Actually I made him. He didn’t want to.
    Anyways. I really enjoy your blog posts.
    Keep up the great work. All the best.
    Chantelle

  • pins
    Reply

    I’ve just returned from Koh Samui and hired a scooter for the 10 days i was there. Wow what an expetience. Your article is 100% correct. If it’s not cars it’s trucks, if not a truck it’s a stray dog! I’m a guilty ‘Farang’ for not wearing a helmet and I’ll just put it down to being silly.
    When hiring a scooter You’ll need to leave your passport with them. Good place near the Kandaburi hotel in Chaweng who were good guys just doing business. The rule is, you break it, smash it or cause injury to someone and you’re on your own to fix it.
    Note for those haggling over taxi prices, all taxis are linked and you will see they have walkie talkies and believe me they do talk.
    Enjoy Samui and don’t forget to always say thank you Kap Kun Kaa (if you’re a female) or Kap Kun Kap (for the gents).

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