SUV Rental at Phuket Airport

When is an SUV the right car to take from the airport?

When the address is far, high, or both. Everything else is a matter of taste.

Phuket Airport sits at the northern tip of the island, and the resort areas lie south of it. A family heading for a villa on the slope above Kata, a house in the hills behind Surin or a place near Nai Harn has a long highway, a full boot and then a steep private driveway ahead of them. That combination is where a higher seat, more room and extra clearance make the first evening calmer. Kamala and the hills above Patong belong on the same list.

And when is it wasted?

Flat areas. Karon, Bang Tao, Rawai itself and Chalong have no climbs worth the name, and a bigger body there only makes parking harder. Phuket has no off-road driving at all, so an SUV here is about slopes, luggage and comfort, never about going where a normal car cannot.

If you are landing with luggage and heading south or uphill, we can have an SUV waiting at arrivals: automatic, first-class commercial insurance, refundable deposit, the total for your dates fixed in chat. Send the flight number, the address and how many people are travelling in the chat, or use the booking form.

What that means for the car

Our advice is to choose by the last two hundred metres, not by the highway. The highway south is a good road that any class handles. The driveway at the end is where cars differ.

Villa drives on the slopes are often steep, concrete and uneven, with a sharp turn at the gate. A crossover clears them where a low saloon scrapes, and sitting higher you see more on the bends of the southern passes. A full-size SUV adds more room for a bigger group and a steadier descent, with the 8,000–1deposit from 5,000 ฿ that comes with the class. For two people with two bags, a crossover is usually plenty.

What about the wet season? That is when the class really shows. Concrete driveways on the slopes turn slick after a downpour, there is rarely room to turn on the bends, and a car with some reserve climbs home without the wheels scrabbling. On a dry day in February you would barely notice the difference.

Crossover or full-size SUV?

Most people who search for an SUV in Phuket end up in a crossover, and that is not a downgrade. It has the height and the clearance, parks more easily in Kata and Patong, and uses less fuel on a long stay.

A full-size SUV makes sense for a group of six or seven with luggage, or for a villa where the driveway is steep enough to make you nervous even in the photos. If you are unsure, send us a pin of the house and, if you have one, a photo of the drive from the listing. From that we can tell you which class fits.

• Couple, villa on a slope in Surin or Kamala — crossover, height without the bulk
• Family of four with luggage going to Kata — crossover or full-size SUV
• Group of six or seven — full-size SUV, or a minivan if the road is flat
• Hotel in Karon or Bang Tao — an economy car does the job, save the difference

The first drive south from the terminal

The handover in the terminal car park takes about fifteen minutes: we inspect the car together, check the tyres, the air conditioning and the fuel level, and sign. A delayed flight is tracked from the number you send, and waiting is not charged on top.

The exit from the airport is a loop with signs in English, and then comes a fast highway on the left. Take the first junctions slowly. On the southern passes, a bigger car wants a lower gear on the way down, and the height helps you see what is round the bend. If the drive ends at a villa above Kata, SUV rental in Kata goes through the ramps and parking at that end.

Returning an SUV before your flight

From the south, allow the full hour and a half plus twenty minutes for the return itself. There is one petrol station before the airport and a queue of departing travellers builds up at it in the morning, so fill up the evening before.

For an early flight from Rawai or Nai Harn, we can collect the car from your villa instead and you take a taxi to the terminal. Tell us when you book. For the class itself on longer stays, see crossovers, and for collection details see car rental at Phuket Airport: delivery at arrivals.