Car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

From ฿750 per day, car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier in Koh Samui puts 57 cars in your hands, delivered to the pier or any address on the island. Economy, electric, SUV and minivan classes are all on the fleet list, and the delivery address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

Car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier in Koh Samui pickup

How car hire at Lipa Noi car ferry pier works when your ferry docks

We deliver the car to Lipa Noi car ferry pier; the delivery address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. The vehicle is brought to the pier for your sailing, keys handed over on the spot. Raja Ferry runs hourly from 05:00 to 19:00, 15 sailings a day, and adds a sailing when the boat fills, so the timetable is a moving target rather than a fixed slot. Send us your crossing once the ticket is bought, and we work the hand-over around it. Every vehicle in our fleet is automatic, so the first metres off the pier are one pedal and no clutch.

What the crossing from Don Sak means for your booking

Sailings leave Don Sak every hour between 05:00 and 19:00 in both directions, 15 a day, with extra departures added when the queue of cars builds up — and between 30 December and 30 April the operator schedules additional crossings for the holiday rush. Peak windows are 05:00–06:00 and 12:00–16:00.

Can you bring a rental car onto the ferry

Most companies on the island do not allow a hire car to leave Koh Samui on the ferry. Raja Ferry does carry cars, but permission to take a hire car across to the mainland is a separate matter and rests with the company, not the ferry. Some operators allow it on longer hires, most refuse outright.

Before you drive off the pier

• Ferry ticket and car: the operator charges by vehicle class, and the tariff is set by the province.
• Documents: passport, home driving licence, International Driving Permit unless you hold an ASEAN licence, and a bank card in the main driver's name.
• Side of the road: traffic in Thailand keeps to the left and every car is right-hand drive — take the first kilometre off the pier slowly.

Choosing a car for your Lipa Noi car ferry pier rental

57 cars across nine classes, all with automatic transmission — the choice comes down to how many people you carry and how much of the 51 km ring road you plan to cover.

Classes and models available at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

• Economy: 14 cars from ฿750 — Suzuki Swift, Honda Brio, Suzuki Celerio, Nissan Almera, Honda Jazz, Mazda 2, Mitsubishi Attrage, Nissan March, Mitsubishi Mirage, Toyota Vios, Honda City, Suzuki Ciaz, Toyota Yaris, Toyota Yaris Ativ.
• Electric: 10 cars from ฿850 — BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora Good Cat, Nissan Leaf, MG 4 Electric, MG ZS EV, BYD Atto 3, GAC Aion Y, BYD Seal, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y.
• Crossovers: 8 cars from ฿1,350 — Nissan Juke, Nissan Kicks e-Power, Honda CR-V, Toyota Corolla Cross.
• Minivans: 7 cars from ฿1,200 — Toyota Avanza, Toyota Sienta, Honda Mobilio, Honda BR-V, Mitsubishi Xpander.
• SUV & 4x4: 6 cars from ฿1,700 — Isuzu MU-X.
• Pickup trucks: 5 cars from ฿1,300 — Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, Mitsubishi Triton.
• Comfort: 3 cars from ฿1,000 — Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Nissan Teana.
• Premium: 2 cars from ฿3,500.
• Convertibles: 2 cars from ฿8,500.

Matching a class to your group and route

Minivans seat 7 — Toyota Avanza from ฿1,200, Honda BR-V from ฿1,500 — and the Isuzu MU-X from ฿1,700 is the 7-seat diesel in SUV & 4x4.

Petrol, diesel or electric

Fuel on the island is E20, 91 and 95, and most stations take cash — cards are accepted at few.

Booking at Lipa Noi car ferry pier is agreed with a manager, so tell us your group size and route and we will match the class to it.

Prices by class for car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

Rates run from ฿750 to ฿10,000 per day across nine classes, and every car — from the smallest Economy hatchback to the Convertibles — comes with automatic transmission.

Daily, weekly and monthly rates

The cheapest way onto the road starts at ฿750 per day, while the top of the range sits at ฿10,000 per day, with VAT 7% included in the figures shown. Booking by the week brings the per-day cost down: weekly rates start at ฿4,500, and monthly rates start at ฿15,750. Hire is available from 1 day, so a single overnight crossing works as well as a fortnight on the island. 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. If your dates sit inside the high season of 20 December – 31 March, book earlier.

What each class costs per day

• Economy: from ฿750 — the largest group in the fleet, covering the island's everyday driving.
• Pickup trucks: from ฿1,300 — open beds for surfboards, diving gear and bulky loads.
• Premium: from ฿3,500 — for business travel and longer stays.
• Convertibles: from ฿8,500 — coastal drives with the roof down, two or four seats.

Choosing between a cheap class and a bigger one

Our fleet here holds 57 cars in total, and the spread is deliberate: the Economy group covers the bulk of island driving, while the two Premium and two Convertible cars exist for guests who want something specific for a few days. A 7-seat Minivan or an SUV only pays off if you genuinely carry seven people or a lot of luggage. A 7-seat Toyota Avanza booked for two people costs ฿450 a day more than a Suzuki Swift, so match the class to the group, not to the idea of the trip.

Documents and driving rules for car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

Driving here runs on the left, and every car in our fleet is right-hand drive — the first thing to internalise before you pull away from the pier. The paperwork side is short: bring your passport, your home driving licence and an International Driving Permit, and the rest is agreed when booking.

What documents you need for car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

A foreign visitor needs a home driving licence plus an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention; section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act makes that the legal basis for driving here. Citizens of ASEAN countries may drive on their national licence instead. Carry your passport as identification, and have a bank card in the main driver's name for the security hold — the amount is set out in the rental agreement. The minimum driver age is 21; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are set out in the agreement. Police fine ฿500–1,000 for driving without the permit, and an insurer may refuse a claim, so the document is worth more than the paper it is printed on.

Rules of the road that catch visitors out

• Speed: 80 km/h in built-up areas and 90 km/h outside them — the island has no motorway or divided four-lane road, so those higher limits never apply here.
• Alcohol: 50 mg% in the blood is the limit for most drivers, 20 mg% for those under 20 and for temporary licence holders; penalties reach a year in prison, a ฿5,000–20,000 fine or both, with a licence suspension of at least six months.
• Child seats: children under 6 must sit in a TISI-standard child seat, and anyone below 135 cm needs a seat or seat belt — the fine is up to ฿2,000.
• Seat belts: every passenger wears one, rear row included.
• Kerbside parking: red-and-white and yellow-and-white kerbs are no-parking zones.
• Tax sticker: a square blue sticker with a hologram sits on the windscreen, its year in the Buddhist calendar (Gregorian plus 543) — a hire car must carry the current one.

Insurance and the tax sticker on your car

Compulsory motor insurance, Por Ror Bor, covers injury to third parties and is attached to every registered car; first-class insurance covers damage to the vehicle, and its terms and the excess are set out in the rental agreement. Traffic-camera fines are issued to the car owner and re-invoiced to the renter, which matters on a car you hand back. Since 30 December 2025 a car rental agreement is a contract controlled by the OCPB — it is written in Thai, and all fees and penalties are disclosed in it.

Insurance and the rental agreement at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

Two documents sit behind every booking here: the agreement and the cover attached to the car. Neither is a formality — the paperwork is where the security hold, the excess and any delivery charge are written down, and the policy decides who pays after a scrape on the ring road.

Compulsory cover and first-class cover

Every registered car in Thailand carries Por Ror Bor, which pays for injury to third parties and travels with the vehicle rather than with the driver. On top of that sits Class 1 cover, which pays for damage to the car itself. The terms of that policy and the excess are set out in the rental agreement — we do not quote a figure here, because the excess is set out in the rental agreement. What matters at the pier is simpler: check the blue tax sticker on the windscreen before you drive off. The year on it follows the Buddhist calendar (Gregorian plus 543), and a car from our fleet should be carrying the current one.

What the rental agreement fixes

• Security hold: a bank card in the main driver's name is used for the hold; the amount is set out in the agreement.
• Excess: the figure is written into the same document.
• Documents: passport, home driving licence, International Driving Permit unless you hold an ASEAN licence, and a bank card in the main driver's name.
• Fines: traffic-camera fines are issued to the car owner and re-invoiced to the renter.

Driving licence and the police check

Citizens of ASEAN countries may drive on their national licence instead. Driving without the permit carries a police fine of ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim — which turns a small roadside stop into the whole cost of the car. Traffic keeps to the left and every car we hand over is right-hand drive, so the first kilometre from the pier is the one to take slowly. If any document is still being issued when you book, say so — we agree the details with a manager before the booking is fixed.

Exploring Koh Samui with car rental at Lipa Noi pier

The island is 228.7 km², and the ring road runs 51 km around it — Nathon, Lipa Noi, Lamai, Chaweng, Bophut and Maenam all sit on that line.

What the ring road is actually like to drive

Traffic keeps to the left and every car we hand over is right-hand drive. Expect potholes that are sometimes deep, standing water after rain, and oil patches left by refuse trucks. Animals wander onto the tarmac as well. Fuel comes as E20, 91 and 95 at island stations, and most of them take cash only — cards work at very few. Fill up before a long loop rather than mid-route.

Day trips that start at the pier

Koh Phangan is a crossing rather than a drive: the Lipa Noi–Thong Sala route takes about 1 h 30 min. Ang Thong Marine Park is reached by boat from the island, not by car.

Booking your car rental at Lipa Noi car ferry pier

What the manager needs from you

• Ferry details: the sailing you land on and the operator — Raja Ferry runs hourly from 05:00 to 19:00, 15 crossings a day, and puts on an extra sailing when the deck fills.
• Group size and luggage: how many seats you need and how many bags, so we match the class rather than the price.
• Driving documents: passport, home driving licence and an International Driving Permit, unless you hold an ASEAN licence.
• Driver age: the minimum is 21; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are set out in the rental agreement.
• Trip length: one day, a week or a month — the rate basis changes with the length of the booking.

Why we agree the hand-over before the booking is fixed

We deliver the car to any address on Koh Samui, including Lipa Noi pier, and the delivery address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. That order matters at a ferry pier: the crossing from Don Sak takes about 1 h 30 min, and the 05:00–06:00 and 12:00–16:00 sailings are the busy ones, so a driver waiting on the quay with no agreed slot is the one thing we avoid. A delivery fee, if any, is agreed when booking. The car arrives clean and with a full tank.

Rates for longer stays, and what stays in the agreement

Prices run from ฿750 to ฿10,000 per day; weekly rates start at ฿4,500 and monthly rates at ฿15,750, so a longer booking lowers the cost per day. A bank card in the main driver's name is used for the security hold. The deposit, the insurance excess and any conditions for drivers under 25 or for premium classes are set out in the rental agreement — we do not quote those figures here. Traffic-camera fines are issued to the car owner and re-invoiced to the renter.

Before you sail

Booking early pays off in the high season, 20 December to 31 March. Tell the manager your sailing time rather than your flight time — the car is handed over at the pier, and the timetable, not the airport, decides when you drive away.