By car to Nong Nooch Garden and Khao Chi Chan

A week of temple-hopping and garden days out of Pattaya works best when the car is yours from the moment you land: we deliver to any address in Pattaya and to U-Tapao Airport (UTP), Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and Don Mueang Airport (DMK), with the address, date and time agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

Why a self-drive car rental in Pattaya for a trip to Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan beats a baht bus

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden sits 24.4 km from the city and Khao Chi Chan 23.3 km, a short drive apart.

Two stops, one day, no timetable to obey

We hand over the car clean with a full tank, so the day starts when you decide, not when a bus leaves. With your own car the question of the last transport back simply disappears. Our cars are all automatic, right-hand drive, which is the local layout, and traffic keeps to the left.

What a baht bus cannot do on this route

• Waiting time: a hired car waits in the car park while you walk the gardens, which no scheduled service does.
• Two sites in one day: Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan sit a short drive apart, so a single booking covers both without returning to the city between them.
• Timing: you leave when the group is ready, not when the last songthaew of the evening happens to pass.

The practical difference is that the transport stops being a separate decision.

The route from Pattaya to Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan by rental car

The two sites sit a short drive apart, so the drive out and the drive between them are the easy part of the day.

Driving south on Sukhumvit and Hwy 3

Khao Chi Chan is fractionally closer at 23.3 km, 20 minutes. On the way back, Hwy 3 northbound is the same road in reverse.

Speed limits and cameras on the way out

• Built-up areas: 80 km/h, and Pattaya City is named as a built-up area in the 1969 law — the sign can lower the limit further.
• Outside built-up areas: 90 km/h on ordinary roads.
• Motorway 7: 120 km/h, enforced primarily by speed cameras.
• Fines: up to ฿1,000, though the receipt usually shows ฿500.
• Who pays: a camera fine is issued to the car owner, which is Rent-Trip, and we re-invoice it to the renter.

Parking and timing at both sites

Khao Chi Chan needs far less time: the carved Buddha image is a viewing stop, not a half-day.

Rental car classes and prices in Pattaya for Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan

Classes and daily rates on this page

We list 28 cars from ฿1,050 to ฿6,420 per day, VAT 7% included.

Weekly is daily × 6 and monthly is daily × 21, so a longer stay spreads the cost over more days — the rates themselves are set out in the rental agreement.

Which model suits a two-stop day

The Mitsubishi Xpander at ฿1,290/day seats 7, and the Honda City Hatchback e:HEV at ฿1,050/day covers two people in a hybrid hatchback with a 1.5 L engine. For a family of five the Toyota Yaris Cross at ฿1,290/day is a hybrid crossover with five seats; the Suzuki XL7 at ฿1,290/day gives the same money in a seven-seat MPV. Couples who want the cheapest automatic run take the Honda WR-V at ฿1,050/day, a petrol 1.5 L crossover with front-wheel drive.

Fuel, seats and what the day actually costs

• Seats: 5, 7 and 12 — the 12-seat Hyundai H-1 and Toyota Commuter at ฿4,280/day are for groups, not for two people.
• Fuel types: petrol, hybrid, mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, diesel and electric, so the Mitsubishi Xpander you book may be petrol while the BYD Sealion 5 at ฿1,550/day is a plug-in hybrid.
• Transmission: automatic across the whole list, which matters in the left-hand traffic of Chonburi.
• Electric: the Maxus MIFA 9 at ฿4,280/day is the only full EV here — check charging before you commit to it for a return trip.

A seven-seat MPV at ฿1,290/day costs less per seat than two crossovers, so groups of five or six should price the Xpander or Veloz before defaulting to a smaller car.

Documents and rules for a car rental in Pattaya to Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan

Thailand drives on the left and every car in our fleet is right-hand drive, so the first thing to sort out is paperwork rather than the route. A foreign visitor needs a home driving licence plus an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention. ASEAN nationals skip the permit and drive on their national licence. Without the permit the fine runs ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim after an incident, which is the part that actually costs money.

What to carry in the car

• International Driving Permit: the 1949 booklet, carried with the national licence, never instead of it.
• Bank card in the main driver's name: used for the security hold; the amount is set out in the rental agreement.

Insurance, age and the rules that catch drivers out

Compulsory motor insurance, Por Ror Bor, is attached to every registered car and covers injury to third parties. Damage to the car itself sits under first-class insurance, and its terms and the excess are set out in the rental agreement rather than quoted at you on the day. The minimum driver age is 21; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are also set out in the agreement. Speed limits are 80 km/h in built-up areas — Pattaya City is named as one in the 1969 law — 90 km/h outside them and 120 km/h on Motorway 7, and a sign can lower any of those. Motorway 7 is enforced mainly by speed cameras, and a camera fine is issued to the car owner, which on a hired car means us: we re-invoice it to the renter afterwards.

Child seats, seat belts and where not to stop

Children under six travel in a child seat built to the TISI standard, and below 135 cm a seat belt or a special seat is required — the rule covers cars, pickups and minivans, with a fine up to ฿2,000. Everyone in the car wears a belt, including the back row. Parking against a red-and-white or yellow-and-white kerb is prohibited. None of this is exotic, so keep the documents in the glovebox and the belts on.

Parking and timing for a car rental in Pattaya to Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan

Timing the two stops so the day works

• Leave by 09:00: the run south on Sukhumvit and Hwy 3 takes about 26 minutes to Nong Nooch, so an early start gives you the cooler part of the morning.
• Midday gap: the short drive between the two sites is the natural lunch break.

The two sites sit close together — 23.3 km from the city to the carved Buddha against 24.4 km to the garden — so the second stop adds little fuel.

Delivery, booking and hand-over of your rental car in Pattaya

Rent-Trip does not have a counter you have to reach: the car comes to you. The delivery address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed, and that same conversation settles everything else about the hand-over.

How the booking is put together

• Address and timing: tell the manager where you are staying and when you want the car — the address is agreed when booking, not at the last minute.
• Delivery fee: a delivery fee, if any, is agreed when booking, so the figure is on the table before you commit.
• Car and dates: pick a class and a hire length from the 28 cars on this page; the manager confirms the model and the dates.
• Agreement and documents: the agreement is written in Thai and is a contract controlled by the OCPB since 30 December 2025, with all fees and penalties disclosed in it.
• Payment: the bank card in the main driver's name is used for the security hold; the amount is set out in the agreement.
• What to have ready: passport, home driving licence, International Driving Permit unless you hold an ASEAN licence, and a bank card in the main driver's name.

What to expect at hand-over

The car arrives clean with a full tank. Hire is available from one day, which suits a single two-stop day out, and weekly and monthly rates are lower per day than the daily rate — weekly is the daily rate times six, monthly is the daily rate times twenty-one.

Before you drive off

Traffic keeps to the left and every car is right-hand drive, which is the first thing to get used to on Sukhumvit. The minimum driver age is 21; conditions for drivers under 25 and for premium classes are set out in the agreement. VAT 7% is included in the prices shown. If anything about the delivery address, the date or the time changes, tell the manager — it is agreed when booking, and moving it later is easier than sorting it out on the day.

Insurance, fines and what a rental car in Pattaya to Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan does not cover

Two policies sit behind every hire car, and neither is quoted at you on the day. The compulsory one, Por Ror Bor, is paid up on the vehicle itself and answers for injuries caused to other people. The first-class (Class 1) cover handles damage to the vehicle you are driving, and both its terms and the excess are set out in the rental agreement.

What the two policies actually cover

• Por Ror Bor: the state-mandated cover that comes with the vehicle's registration; it pays for injuries to other people, never for the vehicle.
• Class 1: the policy that answers for damage to the hired vehicle; its terms and the excess are set out in the agreement.
• The security hold: a bank card in the main driver's name is used for it, and the amount is set out in the agreement.

Fines, cameras and the drive out to the gardens

The fine for speeding is up to ฿1,000, though the receipt is usually ฿500. The 120 km/h limit on Motorway 7 is enforced primarily by speed cameras, and a camera fine is issued to the car owner — that is, to us — and then re-invoiced to the renter. Parking against a red-and-white or yellow-and-white kerb is a separate offence. Driving without a home licence plus an International Driving Permit (1949 Geneva Convention; section 42 bis of the Motor Vehicle Act) carries a police fine of ฿500–1,000, and an insurer may refuse a claim. Citizens of ASEAN countries may drive on their national licence instead.

What the agreement does not allow

If a condition is not spelled out above, treat it as agreed when booking rather than assumed: the deposit, the delivery fee and anything about drivers under 25 are settled with a manager before the booking is fixed. Ask before you sign, not after the car comes back with a scratch.

Car rental in Pattaya for Nong Nooch and Khao Chi Chan: what to book

Two stops, one tank of fuel and a schedule you set yourself — that is the whole shape of the day. Nong Nooch Tropical Garden sits 24.4 km from the city and Khao Chi Chan 23.3 km, a short drive apart.

The car that fits depends on who is travelling:

• A family of five or seven: the Mitsubishi Xpander or Toyota Veloz at ฿1,290 per day, both seven seats with automatic transmission.
• A group of twelve: the Hyundai H-1 or Toyota Commuter at ฿4,280 per day.
• Longer stays: weekly is the daily rate multiplied by six and monthly by twenty-one, so the cost per day falls the longer the car stays with you.

Speed limits are 80 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h outside them and 120 km/h on Motorway 7, where cameras issue fines to the registered owner — the company — and those are re-invoiced to the driver. Traffic keeps to the left and every car here is right-hand drive.

Fuel on the day is the driver's cost, and prices at the pump vary by grade. Everything about the booking itself — the car class, the dates, the delivery address and time — is agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. Bring a passport, a home driving licence and, unless you hold an ASEAN licence, an International Driving Permit; 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.