By car to Khao Sok National Park

Car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok: 24 cars on this page from ฿1,000 to ฿4,000 per day, all automatic, delivered to any address on Koh Samui and to Samui International Airport (USM).

Route and ferry for car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

The route to Khao Sok National Park runs from the 51 km ring road around the island to the Raja Ferry crossing at Lipa Noi pier, then across the mainland from Donsak pier to the park gate.

The island leg is short — the ring road connects Nathon, Lipa Noi, Lamai, Chaweng, Bophut and Maenam, so wherever you stay, the pier is a single run along the coast.

How long the crossing and the drive take

Raja Ferry runs 15 crossings daily between 05:00 and 19:00, about 1 h 30 min on the water, then 191.8 km / 173 min from Donsak pier to the park. Cars board on the same schedule as foot passengers, and the operator puts on an extra sailing when the deck fills. Count the whole run at roughly four and a half hours of driving and sailing, before you add stops for fuel and food.

What the ferry costs for a car and how the mainland road continues

The Raja Ferry car tariff is set by the Surat Thani provincial order — ฿640 for a four-wheeled car and ฿200 per passenger, paid separately from the rental — and from Donsak pier the park is 191.8 km / 173 min away, with Surat Thani 66.1 km / 61 min along the same road.

Which car to rent on Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

Twenty-four cars sit on this page in four classes, all automatic, and the choice comes down to seats, fuel and how much mainland road you plan to cover.

Classes and prices for the mainland drive

Models we hand over for the mainland drive

The fleet runs from a Honda Civic at ฿1,000 a day through a Toyota Avanza at ฿1,200 and a Nissan Juke at ฿1,350 to an Isuzu MU-X at ฿1,700 and a Jeep Wrangler at ฿4,000. For seven people and luggage, the Toyota Innova, the Toyota Veloz and the Mitsubishi Xpander give the third row without stepping up to a full-size 4x4.

Seats, fuel and luggage for the Khao Sok leg

• Two travellers: a Comfort sedan at ฿1,000–฿1,400 carries two people and two cabin bags.
• Six or seven: a Minivan at ฿1,200–฿1,800 costs less per person than two crossovers and keeps the whole group in one car for the ferry.
• Full 4x4: the Ford Everest, the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ and the Jeep Wrangler at ฿1,800–฿4,000 are for travellers who want four driven wheels.

Tell our manager how many of you are travelling and how much luggage you carry when you agree the booking, and we match the class to the trip rather than the other way round.

Prices for car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

Our 24 cars on this page run from ฿1,000 to ฿4,000 per day, and a week on the mainland costs less per day than the same car booked day by day. Everything you see below is the daily rate; longer bookings are worked out at weekly = daily x 6 and monthly = daily x 21, and VAT 7% is already inside the figure.

Daily rates by class

A Honda Civic opens the Comfort class at ฿1,000 a day. Minivans start with the Toyota Avanza at ฿1,200, Crossovers with the Nissan Juke at ฿1,350, and the SUV & 4x4 class with the Isuzu MU-X at ฿1,700. At the top of the range sit the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ at ฿2,900 and the Jeep Wrangler at ฿4,000.

What a longer booking does to the price

• Weekly rate: the daily figure multiplied by six, so a ฿1,350 Nissan Juke comes to ฿8,100 for the week rather than ฿9,450 at the daily rate.
• Monthly rate: the daily figure multiplied by twenty-one, which brings that same crossover to ฿28,350 for the month.
• One-day rentals: available, and the daily rate is the one in the table above.
• Fuel: the car is handed over with a full tank and comes back full; fuel itself is your own cost.
• Security hold: a bank card in the main driver's name is used for it, and the amount is set out in the rental agreement.

Ferry charges sit outside the rental price. Raja Ferry takes ฿640 for a four-wheeled car and ฿200 per passenger on the Donsak–Lipa Noi crossing, by provincial order. A delivery fee, if there is one, is agreed when booking.

Work out the cost per seat before you pick, not the sticker price.

Documents and driving rules for car rental in Koh Samui

Two documents decide whether your trip to Khao Sok goes smoothly: a home driving licence paired with an International Driving Permit, and a bank card in the main driver's name.

What you need to drive in Thailand

• Home driving licence: your national licence, valid and in date, is the base document for every hire.
• International Driving Permit: issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention; section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act requires it alongside the national licence.
• ASEAN licences: citizens of ASEAN countries drive on their national licence, with no permit needed.
• Bank card: in the main driver's name, used for the security hold; the amount is set out in the agreement.
• Age: minimum driver age is 21; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are set out in the agreement.

Driving without a permit carries a police fine of ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim — the cheapest paperwork is the completed set.

Rules that catch drivers out

• Alcohol: 50 mg% in the blood is the drunk-driving threshold; 20 mg% applies to drivers under 20 and to holders of temporary licences. Sanctions run to up to 1 year of imprisonment, a fine of ฿5,000–20,000, or both, plus a licence suspension of at least 6 months; refusing the test counts as an admission.
• Speed: a passenger car up to 2,200 kg is limited to 80 km/h in built-up areas and 90–120 km/h outside them.
• Child seats: children under 6 travel in a child seat to the TISI standard, and anyone below 135 cm uses a belt or a special seat; the fine runs to ฿2,000. This comes from the 13th amendment to the Land Traffic Act 1979, published in the Royal Gazette in May 2022 and applied from 17.08.2023.
• Seat belts: every passenger buckles up, the rear row included.
• Parking: no stopping at red-and-white or yellow-and-white kerbs.
• Camera fines: issued to the car owner and re-invoiced to the renter, so tell us if a ticket reaches you after the trip.
• Insurance: compulsory motor insurance (Por Ror Bor) covers injury to third parties and is attached to every registered car; first-class cover for damage to the car, its terms and the excess, are set out in the agreement.

Since 30 December 2025 a hire agreement is a contract controlled by the OCPB: it is written in Thai, and every fee and penalty is disclosed inside it. Read that clause list once before you drive off — it is where the conditions that are not on this page actually live.

Booking car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

What we ask before confirming the booking

• Dates and duration: hire is available from 1 day, and the weekly and monthly rates are lower per day than the daily rate — weekly is daily x 6, monthly is daily x 21.
• Class and model: tell us whether you want a 5-seat crossover for two travellers or a 7-seat MPV for a group, and we match it to the cars free on your dates.
• Delivery address and time: we deliver to any address on Koh Samui and to Samui International Airport (USM); the exact address, date and time are agreed with a manager.
• Driver documents: passport, home driving licence and an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention, unless you hold an ASEAN licence; minimum driver age is 21.
• Payment and hold: a bank card in the main driver's name is used for the security hold, and the amount is set out in the rental agreement.

Our fleet on this page runs from ฿1,000 to ฿4,000 per day.

Delivery of your car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

Rent-Trip delivers to any address here and to Samui International Airport (USM), and the delivery address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

How the hand-over is arranged

• Address and time: you give the manager where you are staying and when you want the car; both are confirmed before the booking is fixed.
• Airport delivery: Samui International Airport (USM) sits in Bo Phut, about 2 km north of Chaweng, and we deliver there as well as to private addresses.
• The agreement: the rental agreement sets out the terms of the cover, and the conditions that apply to the booking.

Timing the delivery around your ferry

Raja Ferry runs 15 crossings a day between 05:00 and 19:00 from Lipa Noi, roughly 1 h 30 min on the water, and the mainland leg from Donsak pier to Khao Sok National Park is 191.8 km / 173 min. Book the car for the evening before an early sailing and you load a full tank in daylight instead of hunting for a station at 04:30. We hand the car over clean and with a full tank, and hire is available from one day, so a two-day run to the park and back needs no minimum-week commitment. Say the crossing time when you book — the delivery slot is built around it, not around our convenience.

What to confirm before the car arrives

Bring your passport, home driving licence, International Driving Permit (unless you hold an ASEAN licence) and a bank card in the main driver's name; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are set out in the rental agreement. Traffic keeps to the left and every car is right-hand drive, so give yourself the first few kilometres on the ring road before you commit to the mainland highway.

Insurance and support for car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

Compulsory cover sits on the car before you ever touch the key, and the rest depends on what the agreement says about damage and the excess.

What cover comes with the car

• Por Ror Bor: compulsory motor insurance attached to every registered Thai car; it covers injury to third parties, not the car itself.
• Class 1 insurance: first-class cover that takes in damage to the car; its terms and the excess are set out in the agreement you sign.
• Your own documents: a home driving licence plus an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention; an insurer may refuse a claim without one.
• The excess figure: never quoted here — it is written into the paperwork.

Driving the mainland leg with the right paperwork

Thai law is specific about who may drive, and the police fine for driving without a permit runs ฿500–1,000. Section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act requires a foreign visitor to carry a home licence plus an International Driving Permit (1949 Geneva Convention); citizens of ASEAN countries may drive on their national licence. Before you leave the island, check that the tax sticker on the windscreen is current — the year on it follows the Buddhist calendar, which runs 543 years ahead of the Gregorian one.

What to know before you book car rental in Koh Samui for a trip to Khao Sok

Two habits make this trip work: you cross to the mainland in the morning, and you settle the car before you settle the ferry. Here is what we tell travellers who are heading for Khao Sok National Park.

Before you confirm the booking

• Documents: passport, home driving licence and an International Driving Permit (1949 Geneva Convention; section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act). Citizens of ASEAN countries drive on their national licence.
• Security hold: a bank card in the main driver's name; the amount is set out in the rental agreement.
• Route timing: leave on a morning sailing from Lipa Noi, because the 191.8 km / 173 min mainland leg from Donsak pier decides whether you reach the park with daylight left.

What the drive itself asks of you

Traffic in Thailand keeps to the left and every car is right-hand drive, so the first hour on the ring road around the island is a useful warm-up before the mainland. Potholes, standing water after rain and oil patches from refuse trucks are the everyday hazards. Children under six travel in a TISI-standard child seat, and everyone in the car wears a belt. Driving without a valid permit is fined ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim.

Wet season and the lake

October to December is the wettest stretch of the year on this coast — November alone averages 444.6 mm. The park's Cheow Lan Lake runs to 165 km² behind the Ratchaprapha dam — the park is 191.8 km from Donsak pier.

If any of this changes your dates or your class choice, raise it when the booking is agreed with our manager rather than at hand-over.