Can I Drive in Phuket with an Indonesian Licence?

Is an Indonesian SIM valid in Thailand?

It is. Indonesia and Thailand are both ASEAN members, and the ASEAN agreement makes each member's domestic licence valid in the others. For a car you need a SIM for cars, valid for the whole stay, plus your passport.

What about the language? Look at your card. With English on it, card and passport are the whole set. Without English, add an International Driving Permit or a certified translation, because an officer at a checkpoint has to be able to read what he is holding.

Car licence, not motorbike

A licence for motorbikes only does not cover a car, here or at home. The category on the card is what counts, so check it before you book, especially if more than one person in the group plans to drive.

What that means for the rental

Renters must be at least 21 with one year of driving; for premium cars and big SUVs, 23. Everyone who will drive goes on the agreement with a valid card and passport, since an unlisted driver has no insurance.

Every car we deliver is an automatic, and the layout will be familiar: wheel on the right, traffic on the left. That leaves your attention for the parts of Phuket that are new, the hills, the parking and the tourists driving on the left for the first time.

From Jakarta or Bali flights, you can walk out of the terminal to the car, or have it brought to the hotel or villa at any hour. The price includes first-class commercial insurance, the deposit of 5,000–30,000 ฿, depending on the model, is returned with the car, and the total is agreed in chat before you come. Message the dates and drivers to us in the chat, or use the booking form.

What is different from driving at home?

Less than you might think. Scooters are everywhere, passing on both sides and filling every gap at the lights, which will feel very normal. The difference is the other drivers: many of the cars around you are rentals driven by visitors from right-hand countries, who hesitate at roundabouts and sometimes drift towards the wrong side on quiet roads. Leave them space.

Roundabouts will also feel natural: they run clockwise and give way to traffic already on them from the right, the same logic as at home. What surprises some Indonesian drivers is how quiet the island gets after dark on the hill roads, which are mostly unlit, with scooters that sometimes run without a rear light. A first night drive is worth postponing until you know the route.

Cars may do 80 km/h in towns, 90 outside and 100 on divided highways, unless a sign sets something lower. Legally the alcohol ceiling is 50 mg% (20 for temporary licences); for the rental insurance it is zero.

• Check the category on your SIM — a car needs a car licence
• Check the expiry date — the card must be valid for the whole stay
• Add an IDP or translation if there is no English on the card — the officer has to read it
• Name every driver on the agreement — an unlisted driver is uninsured
• Keep licence, passport and agreement in the car — checkpoints ask for them

What are Phuket's roads like for a first drive?

Hilly. The airport is in the far north, and the main road south through the middle of the island is wide and has traffic lights, while the coast road winds over passes above the bays. Descents are steep; use the low position on the gear selector instead of holding the brake all the way down.

Rain arrives hard and fast, as it does at home. In the first minutes the tarmac turns slick, so slow down and double the gap, and turn back at a flooded stretch rather than try to cross it.

Parking is the real puzzle. Beachside spots at Patong and Kata vanish early in the season, red and white kerbs mean no parking, and towing starts in the evening. Shopping centre car parks and hotel spaces are the calm choice.

What happens at a police check?

You show the SIM first, then the rental contract that ties you to the car. With an ASEAN card in English that is usually all. Keep the originals together in the glovebox, not in the hotel safe, and the stop is over in minutes.