Suzuki Swift, Economy
★5.0· 100Automatic1.2 L83 hpFront-wheel5 seats
฿750per day
Book nowVAT included
One-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket
Kenan AlkanCity and intercity driver
Published Updated
One-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket with Rent-Trip starts at ฿750 per day across 57 cars — from Economy hatchbacks to Convertibles — and the car is delivered to any address on Koh Samui or to Samui International Airport (USM).
What a one-way rental from Koh Samui actually involves
One-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket explained in one paragraph
The ferry crossing at Raja Ferry Port is paid separately from the rental. The car is available from 1 day, so a short hop across is booked the same way as a fortnight. Weekly and monthly rates are lower per day than the daily rate: weekly works out at the daily price times six, monthly at the daily price times twenty-one.
What the booking fixes, and what stays open
- Delivery address: any address on Koh Samui or Samui International Airport (USM), agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.
- Delivery date and time: agreed alongside the address; a delivery fee, if any, is agreed when booking.
- Ferry category: the car travels as a vehicle, and the crossing is booked separately from the rental.
- Documents: passport, home driving licence, International Driving Permit unless you hold an ASEAN licence, and a bank card in the main driver's name.
- Security hold: taken on a bank card in the main driver's name; the amount is set out in the rental agreement.
- Insurance: compulsory Por Ror Bor is attached to every registered car; first-class cover and its excess are set out in the rental agreement.
Traffic in Thailand keeps to the left and every car in our fleet is right-hand drive. The police fine for driving without an International Driving Permit is ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim — so carry both your home licence and the permit, not one or the other.
One-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket by class
Prices run from ฿750 to ฿10,000 per day, and the class you pick matters less for the drive than for the luggage you are carrying.
One-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket prices by class
| Class | Cars | From ฿/day | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 14 | ฿750 | 5 |
| Electric | 10 | ฿850 | 5 |
| Crossovers | 8 | ฿1,350 | 5 |
| Minivans | 7 | ฿1,200 | 7 |
| Pickup trucks | 5 | ฿1,300 | 5 |
| Comfort | 3 | ฿1,000 | 5 |
| Premium | 2 | ฿3,500 | 5 |
Weekly rates start at ฿4,500 and monthly from ฿15,750, which is daily x 6 and daily x 21 respectively. Pick the class by seats and luggage rather than by engine size: the mainland leg is long, and a small hatchback covers the same road as a premium sedan. Seats across the fleet run 2, 4, 5 and 7, and fuel types cover Diesel, Electric, Hybrid and Petrol.
Which models suit a long one-way drive
- Two people, light bags: Suzuki Swift at ฿750, Honda Brio at ฿800 or Suzuki Celerio at ฿800 — 1.2 L and 1.0 L petrol hatchbacks, automatic, front-wheel drive.
- Rough roads and heavy loads: Isuzu D-Max at ฿1,300 or Mitsubishi Triton at ฿1,500 — diesel pickups, automatic, rear-wheel drive.
The electric question is worth settling early: the Raja Ferry booking form has a separate category for EV, HEV and PHEV cars, so the model you choose decides which box you tick.
Delivery for a one-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket
We bring the car to you on the island: the address and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed, and the hand-over happens where you are staying.
Where your one-way trip from Koh Samui to Phuket starts
We deliver the car to any address on the island and to Samui International Airport (USM), so the one-way journey to the mainland begins at your hotel, villa or arrival gate. Chaweng, Lamai, Bophut, Maenam, Choeng Mon, Nathon — the manager confirms the exact spot when the booking is agreed, and the car arrives clean with a full tank. Name your address early rather than on the morning of the crossing. Give the manager a reachable address and a realistic time: Raja Ferry sails hourly from 05:00 to 19:00, and a hand-over that slips past the last sailing costs you a night on the island before the mainland leg even starts.
Agreeing the delivery date and time with a manager
The delivery address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed, and a delivery fee, if any, is agreed at that same moment — nothing about the hand-over is settled on the doorstep. 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. Bring your passport, your home driving licence and an International Driving Permit (1949 Geneva Convention; section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act) unless you hold an ASEAN licence. Traffic keeps to the left and every car is right-hand drive, which is worth ten minutes of practice on a quiet lane before you join the ring road.
What to settle before the car reaches you
- Ferry slot: Raja Ferry runs 15 sailings a day from Lipa Noi, so pick the crossing you want and work the hand-over backwards from it.
- Class and seats: the model you booked decides the luggage space for the mainland leg — confirm seats and bags with the manager, not at the kerb.
- Documents: passport, home licence, International Driving Permit and a bank card in the main driver's name, ready before the car arrives.
- Rental agreement: the deposit, the excess and any delivery fee are set out in the agreement, so read it while the manager is still on the line.
Choose the sailing and the class before the hand-over. The car is delivered to you; the timing is yours to set.
Ferry leg of a one-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket
Raja Ferry Port runs the Lipa Noi–Don Sak route, and the sailing itself is only one piece of the day.
Raja Ferry: the crossing that carries your car
Raja Ferry Port sails the Lipa Noi–Don Sak route roughly every hour between 05:00 and 19:00 in both directions — 15 sailings a day. The crossing takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. Peak departures are 05:00–06:00 and 12:00–16:00, and the operator adds an extra sailing when the queue fills up. A passenger ticket on the main site's booking block is shown at ฿210 against the ฿200 in the order.
Whether the agreement lets the car leave
Most companies on the island do not allow their vehicles to leave at all — one operator states it outright, because a breakdown or a crash on the mainland is expensive to recover. Exceptions exist and are agreed with a manager before booking, not at the pier.
- Ferry ticket for the car: ฿640 for a four-wheeled car, jeep, van or pickup by the Surat Thani provincial order.
- Passenger ticket: ฿200 by the provincial order; the booking block shows ฿210.
- Electric and hybrid cars: the ferry booking form has a separate EV/HEV/PHEV vehicle category.
- Holiday period: 30 December–30 April, extra sailings are laid on when cars are queuing.
What to plan around the timetable
Build the sailing into the day you agree with the manager for hand-over.
Mainland drive on a one-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket
What the road from Don Sak to the island looks like
Traffic keeps to the left and every car we hand over is right-hand drive, so the first ten minutes off the ferry are the ones to take slowly. The leg is easy to underestimate: 229 minutes is a clean-traffic figure, and every stop for fuel and food adds to it.
Where to break the drive
- Khanom: 26.5 km and about 30 minutes from Don Sak — the shortest stop if you want to stretch before the long stretch begins.
- Surat Thani: 66.1 km, roughly 61 minutes from Don Sak.
- Khao Sok National Park: 191.8 km, about 173 minutes — a 739 km² park founded on 22.12.1980, with the 165 km² Cheow Lan Lake behind the Ratchaprapha dam.
Paperwork for a one-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket
What you need to carry in the car
- Home driving licence: valid, issued in your country of residence.
- International Driving Permit: the 1949 Geneva Convention booklet, required alongside your home licence under section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act. ASEAN nationals drive on their national licence instead.
- Bank card in the main driver's name: used for the security hold, which is set out in the agreement.
- The agreement itself: since 30 December 2025 it is a contract controlled by the OCPB, written in Thai, with every fee and penalty disclosed in it.
Driving without an IDP carries a police fine of ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim — so the booklet is the one item on that list we would not leave at the hotel.
Insurance on a one-way
Compulsory motor insurance, Por Ror Bor, is attached to every registered car and covers injury to third parties.
Driving rules worth knowing before you leave
- Alcohol: the limit is 50 mg% in blood for most drivers, 20 mg% for drivers under 20 and holders of temporary licences. Refusing a test counts as admitting to it.
- Speed: 80 km/h in built-up areas, 90–120 km/h outside them and 120 km/h on motorways.
- Seat belts: every passenger, including the rear row.
- Child seats: children under 6 must use a TISI-standard seat, and anyone below 135 cm needs a belt or a special seat — the fine runs to ฿2,000.
- Parking: no stopping at red-and-white or yellow-and-white kerbs.
Minimum driver age is 21; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are set out in the agreement.
Costs and seasons of a one-way rental from Koh Samui to Phuket
Weekly and monthly rates on a one-way hire from Koh Samui to Phuket
- Weekly rate: from ฿4,500 — that is the daily rate multiplied by six, not by seven.
- Monthly rate: from ฿15,750 — the daily rate multiplied by twenty-one.
- Hire from 1 day: a short booking is priced at the plain daily rate, no minimum week.
- Delivery: to any address on Koh Samui and to Samui International Airport (USM); a delivery fee, if any, is agreed when booking.
- Deposit, excess and any discount: set out in the rental agreement, never a figure we quote here.
When the island is dry, when it is cheap, and when to book
The dry season is February to April, and July and August are a summer demand season here rather than a rainy one — the heavy rain arrives in October to December, with November the peak at 444.6 mm. High season runs 20 December to 31 March, low season 1 April to 19 December, and Raja Ferry adds extra sailings through its own holiday period from 30 December to 30 April.
How the booking is agreed
Bring your passport, your home driving licence, an International Driving Permit unless you hold an ASEAN licence, and a bank card in the main driver's name; the minimum driver age is 21. The agreement itself is in Thai and, since 30 December 2025, is a contract controlled by the OCPB with every fee and penalty disclosed inside it.