Most of the island books the same way: you give the address you are staying at, a hotel, a villa or an apartment, and the supplier brings the car to it and hands it over in person, so you look it over together before you sign. The mainland towns over the Sarasin Bridge book exactly like the island ones, which is how car rental in Khao Lak works without a second booking. The exception is car rental in Cape Panwa, with named pickup points: apart from the terminal, it is the only location with named points to meet at.
Delivery away from the airport is priced per car and shown in the search next to the rate. Collection and return do not have to be the same place either: pair any two of these points in either direction and the search prices it as a one-way car rental, with the return point chosen before booking.
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Distances and drive times from the airport
Routed free-flow times from the terminal, so treat them as a minimum.
Phuket Airport
0 min from HKT · 0 km
The island's one terminal handover, rather than delivery to an address
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Everywhere else on the island
All of these are bookable in the search, with the drive time from the terminal beside each one.
Airport
Phuket Airport (HKT)arrivals003
How the handover works
Phuket International Airport is a named handover point, and Cape Panwa is the one other location with named points of its own. At every other location on the list the car is delivered to the address you give, whether that is a hotel, a villa or an apartment.
The sequence is the same at every location. The supplier confirms where and when before you travel, using the phone number you gave at booking, so keep it reachable the day before collection. You walk round the car together before anything is signed. Photograph both bumpers, all four wheels, the windscreen and the fuel gauge while you do it: standard cover excludes the wheels, the glass and the underside.
If your plans move after you have booked, contact the supplier using the details on your voucher to change the pickup point, the drop-off point or the dates. The confirmation email you were sent when you booked carries your voucher and the supplier's own contact details. Give as the delivery address the place you will be at when the car is handed over.
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Which point suits which trip
The terminal is the simplest version, because the car starts and finishes where you land and there is no transfer at either end. It suits a daylight arrival. From there it is roughly forty-five minutes and 37 km to Patong, about eighty minutes and 83 km north to Khao Lak over the Sarasin Bridge, and around fifty-three minutes and 44 km south-east to Cape Panwa by way of Phuket Town.
If you land in the evening and the Patong hill sits between the terminal and your hotel, you can take a transfer in and have the car delivered the next morning. The rate is daily and nothing obliges you to hold the car for the whole stay, so with the same return date, starting two days later removes two chargeable days.
Arriving by sea rather than by air changes only the address. Rassada Pier, where the boats from Phi Phi and Ko Yao come in, is on the list like any other point, so you can collect a car there without going through the airport. It sits about ten minutes from the Old Town.
Crossing the Sarasin Bridge takes you out of Phuket province, and the supplier's conditions ask you to confirm at the booking stage that the car may be driven out of the province. Khao Lak books exactly like an island point.
Mileage is set per vehicle, and each listing says whether it is unlimited or capped. A return run from the airport to Khao Lak is roughly 166 km before any local driving.
The times on this page are routed free-flow times from the terminal, so treat them as a minimum. The west coast slows between about 16:00 and 19:00, and the hill sections run slower than their distance suggests.
See what each point costs
Put your dates in and pick the point that is closest to where you are staying. The handover is the same wherever you choose.
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