Patong is the busiest resort on Phuket. From the airport it is about 37 km and takes roughly forty-five minutes: Route 402 south, then Route 4029 over the hill from Kathu and down into the bay.
The last stretch, Route 4029, is steep and busy.
01
What is the Patong hill like?
Route 4029 coming over from Kathu is steep and busy. It can be driven at a sensible speed in daylight. It is harder when you are tired, in the dark, or in your first hour of driving on the left.
Coming down the far side, use a lower gear rather than riding the brakes.
If you land in the evening and the hill sits between the airport and your hotel, take a transfer in and have the car delivered the next morning. Your Patong car rental can start with delivery to your accommodation; the delivery charge is shown on each car before you book. At a hotel handover you show the International Driving Permit Thailand requires just as you would at the terminal.
02
What should you expect from the traffic?
Motorbikes filter down both sides and emerge from side roads without stopping. Check your mirrors before every manoeuvre, including opening a door, and give them room rather than holding a lane against them.
The west coast road between Patong and Kata slows badly from about four in the afternoon in high season, so the delay applies to car rental in Kata and Karon as well as to Patong. If you arrive in that window, the drive takes longer than the map says.
Roadside checks are routine on the Kathu side of the Patong hill road, at Karon Circle and on the approaches to Chalong Circle, and police check the drink-drive limit around the town at night: 0.05%. Valid documents and staying under that limit are what driving legally on Phuket requires of a visitor.
03
Where do you park once you get there?
The marked parking restrictions are enforced in Patong, and they are enforced in the Old Town area of Phuket Town too. Confirm your hotel has parking before you book the car, and confirm it in writing.
Yellow and white means no parking. Red and white means no stopping at all. Both are enforced here.
For a Patong stay, rent the smallest car that takes your luggage. The streets behind the beach road are narrow.
04
What do you need with you on the day?
Passport, your home driving licence, the permit itself and, where the car holds a deposit, the cash or card the listing asks for, and the payment card if the listing requires one. The permit is not optional in Thailand and cannot be obtained after you arrive, so it has to be arranged at home before you fly.
Every additional driver has to be named on the agreement and produce the same documents, including their own permit. An accident with an undeclared driver at the wheel is excluded from cover.
Walk round the car with the supplier before you sign and photograph it: both bumpers, all four wheels, the windscreen and the fuel gauge. Standard cover excludes the wheels, the glass, the underside and the interior, so unrecorded damage in those places is your cost. Two cars at the same daily rate can carry different exclusions.
FAQ
Questions people ask
The hill road, the traffic, parking and delivery in Patong.
About forty-five minutes for roughly 37 km, down Route 402 and over Route 4029 from Kathu. Allow longer if you are arriving between about four and seven in the evening in high season, when the west coast road slows badly.
It is steep and busy, and can be driven at a sensible speed in daylight. Avoid it on an evening arrival in your first hour of driving on the left.
Yes. The car can be delivered to your hotel in Patong, so you can take a transfer in and have the car the next morning. Delivery away from the airport is priced per car and shown in the search before you book.
The kerb markings are enforced in Patong and Phuket Town: yellow and white means no parking, red and white means no stopping at all. Confirm your hotel has parking before you book the car.
The smallest one that takes your luggage. The streets behind the beach road are narrow and the drive from the airport does not need a bigger engine. Size up for bags and passengers, not for the roads.
They are routine, and most consistent on the Kathu side of the Patong hill road, at Karon Circle and on the approaches to Chalong Circle. You hand over your licence and International Driving Permit together. Keep both where you can reach them from the driver's seat rather than in a bag in the boot.
Ready to pick a car?
Size the car for the parking rather than the hill. Put your dates in to see what is available.
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