Can I Drive in Phuket with a Dutch Licence?

Is a Dutch rijbewijs enough to drive in Thailand?

On its own, no. Thailand takes licences from its ASEAN neighbours as they are; for everyone else, including Dutch drivers, the card has to come with an International Driving Permit. The permit is a translation of your licence, so the two only work as a pair, and the passport completes the set.

The permit is sorted out at home, at the ANWB, which handles international driving permits for Dutch licence holders. Nobody on Phuket can issue one, and we hear from a few drivers each season who realise this at the airport. If you are reading this before the trip, that is the one task worth doing this week.

Cycling country, scooter island

Dutch drivers arrive with one advantage. You already watch for two-wheelers everywhere, and Phuket asks for exactly that, only faster: scooters overtake on both sides, collect at the front at every light and ride the edge of the road as a lane of their own.

What that means for the rental

Rental terms are the same for every visitor. From 21 with a year's experience you can rent any standard class; premium cars and large SUVs need you to be 23. Anyone who will drive goes on the agreement with a licence, IDP and passport; an unlisted driver has no insurance, however carefully they drive.

Our cars are automatics, which helps more than any tip about the left side. Your left hand has nothing to do but steer, and the right handles the indicator, which usually sits on the right stalk here. Expect to switch the wipers on at least once by mistake.

Whichever connection brings you in from Amsterdam, the car can be waiting at arrivals or at your hotel, villa or apartment. It carries first-class commercial insurance; a deposit of 5,000–30,000 ฿, depending on the model, is held and handed back at return, and the total is fixed in chat before handover. Write to us in the chat with the dates and the drivers, or reserve through the booking form.

Which road rules catch Dutch drivers out?

Roundabouts here turn clockwise, and cars already on them coming from the right go first. It is the mirror image of home, and the first three or four take real attention.

Speed limits are simpler than at home: 80 km/h in towns and community zones, 90 outside them and 100 on divided roads with two lanes in each direction. A sign with a lower figure always wins, and on the hill roads between the beaches you will rarely get near any of them.

Drinking and driving is where people misjudge it. The legal limit is 50 mg% of alcohol in the blood, 20 mg% on a temporary licence, but the rental insurance ends at any drinking at all. On an evening out, the car stays parked.

• Arrange the IDP before the flight — Thailand does not issue it
• Pack the plastic card itself — a photo or copy does not count
• Name every driver when you book — an unlisted driver is uninsured
• Check both mirrors before every turn — scooters fill any gap
• Keep licence, IDP and agreement in the glovebox — a checkpoint asks for all three

How do police checks work in Phuket?

Checkpoints are routine, especially after dark. The officer asks for the licence and the IDP, then the rental agreement, which shows the car is rented to you and that you are allowed to drive it. With all three together in one place, the stop is over in minutes.

What if something is missing? A licence without a permit, or a permit without a licence, means you are driving on documents Thailand does not accept, and from that moment the insurance is out of the picture as well. There is no clever workaround; the fix is the IDP before you fly.

Where is a good first drive?

Flat and in daylight. The airport sits in the far north of the island, and the main road south through the middle has wide lanes and traffic lights, a gentler start than the coast road with its bends above Patong. Take the hills on the second day, once the left side has stopped feeling strange.

Before you pull out of the car park, spend a minute on the controls: lights, wipers, indicator, the air conditioning that also clears a fogged windscreen in rain. And plan the first evening without the car if you can. Unlit hill roads, scooters without a rear light and a heavy shower all tend to arrive together after dark, which is a lot for a first day on the left.

Living in Ireland on a Dutch licence

The permit follows where you live as well as the licence. Citizens Information, the Irish state service, says the Irish NDLS issues the IDP to EU licence holders resident in Ireland, so a Dutch driver living in Dublin can get it there by appointment. An Irish licence held by an Irish resident gets the same 1949 Convention permit.

Cars for this question

Easy automatic cars for a first drive in Phuket:

• Mazda 2: a compact car for narrow island roads
• Toyota Vios: an economy sedan for the airport run
• Honda HR-V: a crossover with a higher seat and a clear view
• MG 3: a city hatchback with a simple automatic