Renting a Car in Phuket in July

How July differs from June and August

June is empty and August is the wettest — July sits between them and behaves differently from both. The rain is established and predictable rather than chaotic, but the roads are busier than in June because families are travelling, and the mix of wet tarmac and holiday traffic is the month's defining characteristic.

Practically, that means the driving conditions are moderate and the human conditions are not. More cars, more scooters, more people who arrived yesterday, and more of them out at the same times because everyone is working around the same afternoon showers.

It also means the popular classes get booked. In June you can decide on the day; in July the minivans and the cars with child seats go first, and leaving it late means taking whatever is left rather than what the family actually needs.

What it means for the car

July is the month of the fully loaded car. A family with luggage, a child seat, wet clothes after the beach, a pushchair and shopping in the boot — that is a heavier vehicle than the one that was tested at handover, and it behaves differently on both the climbs and the descents.

Loaded and wet at the same time

A loaded car takes longer to stop, and on wet tarmac it takes longer again. Those two effects add rather than average, which is why the sensible July habit is a bigger gap to the vehicle in front on every road, not just the hilly ones. On the descent from a pass, use a lower gear and let the engine hold the weight.

Inside, the fight is against damp. Wet towels, wet swimming costumes and a wet pushchair in a closed car with the air conditioning running produce condensation on every window within a minute of setting off. Demist with fresh air rather than recirculation, and keep a bag in the boot for the wet things.

Parking in July

There are fewer free spaces than in June but nothing like the January shortage. The problem this month is timing rather than volume: everyone shelters at once when a squall arrives, so the shopping centre car parks fill within minutes of the rain starting and empty again just as fast.

The other July consideration is water. Even though the flooding is less extreme than in August, the low corners of car parks still gather water in a heavy shower, and a car parked in a dip during a proper downpour ends up standing in it. Park on the high side, as a habit.

With children, covered parking earns its keep for a different reason. Getting a family and a pushchair from a car to a doorway through heavy rain is a genuinely miserable operation, and a garage removes it entirely. It is worth planning the day's stops around.

• Leave a bigger gap; a loaded car on wet tarmac needs noticeably more distance
• Use a lower gear on descents, since weight and water both work against the brakes
• Demist with fresh air and air conditioning when everyone gets in wet
• Park on the high side of any car park, because the low corners gather water
• Book family classes and child seats early — July is their busiest wet month

July routes

A wet month with children is a reason to build routes with a roof in reserve. Phuket Town, the aquarium out on the cape, the shopping centres, the indoor attractions and the temples all work when the sky closes in, and they turn an interrupted day into a rearranged one rather than a lost one.

The interior is at its best now, and it suits this month well. The waterfalls are running, the greenery is at full strength, and the drives inland are short enough that a shower does not strand anyone. Combine one outdoor stop with one indoor one and the day works whatever happens.

Time the outdoor part for the morning. The pattern through July is often clear early and heavier later, so the beach or the viewpoint happens first and the covered plan absorbs the afternoon. Families who work that way have a good July; families who plan a full outdoor day at midday generally do not.

Renting in July

Demand for family classes is the highest of any rainy month, so minivans, cars with child seats and anything with a proper boot get taken early. Book those as far ahead as you can, and give the children's weights and heights at the same time so the right seat group is reserved with the car.

For the rest of the fleet the month is relaxed, and terms are more flexible than in the dry season. If your group is two adults with a couple of bags, July is a comfortable month to arrange things without much notice.

Whatever you take, check the tyres and the wipers at handover — the two things that matter in the wet and the two nobody looks at. Send us your dates, how many of you are travelling and the children's ages on WhatsApp, or Telegram if you prefer, and we will hold the right class and seat before it goes.