Phuket Airport to Rawai by Car

How long it takes and which road

Plan on 45 min from the terminal to Rawai when the road is clear. You leave the airport heading south on Thepkrasattri, the long central road of the island, and later switch to the east road, which carries you down to the far south. Rawai is almost the last stop before the sea, so this trip covers nearly the whole length of Phuket.

Where the traffic builds up

Thepkrasattri is the road everyone uses to go south, so the morning and evening rush fill it with commuters, lorries and scooters that change lanes with little warning. In a tropical downpour visibility drops fast and the whole column slows to a crawl; the 45 min figure only holds on a dry, quiet road.

For a first drive on the left, a long daytime run like this is useful practice: a wide road and plenty of time to get used to the mirrors and to scooters passing on the inside. The habits worth fixing first are in our guide to left-hand driving.

What that means for the car

Take an automatic. Three quarters of an hour of stop-start traffic on Thepkrasattri is tiring with a clutch, and once in Rawai you will be turning in and out of residential lanes and seafront parking all day.

Luggage and passengers set the class. Two people with carry-on bags sit comfortably in a hatchback. A family of four with checked suitcases needs a sedan or a compact SUV, since two large cases and a pushchair rarely fit in a small boot.

Rawai is a place people live in rather than holiday in, so the car here does everything: the market, the fish restaurants, the daily run to a beach. That makes the air conditioning and the tyres worth a proper look at handover. Turn the AC to full while you walk round the car; if it takes several minutes to blow cold, say so on the spot. In the wet season check the tread as well, because the roads to Nai Harn and Chalong turn slick after rain and you will drive them every day.

A local living in Rawai drives a compact automatic: easy to turn round in a narrow soi, easy to fit into a gap near the pier, with enough room in the back for a week of shopping.

If you are landing at Phuket Airport and heading to Rawai, we can have the car waiting at arrivals: automatic, first-class commercial insurance, refundable deposit, the total for your dates fixed in chat. Send the dates on WhatsApp or through the booking form; if you are already staying in the south, the page on car rental in Rawai explains delivery to your house.

Car at the airport or car at the hotel?

Rawai is one of the longer transfers from the airport, so decide before you land. The same choice applies across the island, and our car rental in Phuket page shows the other delivery points.

Collecting the car at arrivals makes sense for a night landing, for small children or for heavy bags. Everything goes into the boot once, the children go into their seats at the terminal door, and you can stop for water or groceries on the way without anyone waiting for you.

A taxi or Grab to Rawai, with the car brought to your house the next morning, is the better call when a long flight has flattened you or when driving on the left is new. The first drive then starts rested and in daylight, on streets you have already seen from the back seat.

• Night arrival with children — car at arrivals, no second transfer with sleepy kids
• First time on the left side of the road — Grab to Rawai, car delivered the next day
• Several large suitcases — car at arrivals, the luggage is loaded once
• Long-haul flight and jet lag — taxi tonight, car at the house after a night of sleep

Where to park in Rawai

Rawai is a long seafront with residential streets behind it. The seafront is lined with fish restaurants, and in the evening that is where everyone wants to stop, so come early or park a street inland and walk. Around the pier, cars share the space with people carrying bags to the boats for Coral and Racha; keep the car clear of the spot where the boats load.

If you are staying in a house, ask the owner where the car can stand at night; a place off the street saves a search every evening. Since there is almost nowhere to swim in Rawai itself, the beach is a drive, not a walk: Nai Harn and Ya Nui are 10 min away, Chalong 15 min.

The way back to the airport

The drive back is the same 45 min on a clear road: the east road north, then Thepkrasattri to the terminal. Because you cross most of the island, work backwards from the check-in deadline: the drive, a reserve for rush hour or rain, then the handover and the walk to departures. If your flight leaves in the early evening, set off earlier than feels necessary, since the trip overlaps with the evening rush.

Handing the car back

Agree the meeting point at departures in chat the day before, so our driver is waiting when you pull in. Bring the fuel to the level in your contract and take out the rubbish and chargers. Then walk round the car with the driver and photograph each side and the dashboard; the delivery photos and the return photos side by side settle any question about a mark on the bodywork before you go inside.

Renting a car for this drive

Three pages answer the usual questions before a drive like this: how much a car costs per day, how big the deposit is and what the included insurance covers. The car is brought to Patong, Rawai, Kata or any other area at any hour, night flights included. Every car we deliver has an automatic gearbox, so there is no need to look for a manual car. The price of every model for three days and for a month is on one page with prices and rental terms. If you are staying in Phuket Airport, start with renting a car at Phuket Airport. Car rental near the end of the drive: cars for rent in Rawai.

Also useful before you book: cars with Apple CarPlay.