한국어
Drive Car Rental at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
(Full Coverage + Car Seat Included)
MAY 2024
I booked a rental car with pickup and drop-off at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport for our 10-night, 11-day trip to Thailand.
Since we’re traveling with a child, it was the first time we seriously considered renting a car for a trip to Thailand.
The thought of waiting for a taxi in the heat with all our luggage didn’t sound fun at all. Plus, since this trip is mostly about our little one, we figured we’d end up visiting places like zoos or other attractions that are further away.
Long story short: I highly recommend renting a car!
(Oh, and driving is super manageable since it’s the same side as Australia.)
What You Need to Rent a Car in Thailand
n Thailand, you’ll need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to rent a car.
Even though Australia has an English-language driver’s license, you still need the permit to drive legally in Thailand.
There are many websites offering IDPs, But I went with the trusted RACQ to get mine, just to be safe. 😊
How to Choose a Car Rental Company
There are many car rental companies at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, but there aren’t many reviews available for Thai rental companies, so I found myself struggling to choose the right one.
I checked price comparison websites like Rentals.com and Kayak, and also visited the individual rental company websites to compare prices, pickup times, and whether a car seat could be added.
In the end, if you’re arriving late at night and plan to pick up your rental car at the airport, your options are a bit limited.
From what I found, if you’re arriving after 10 PM, the rental companies open at that time are Drive Car Rental, Chic Car Rental, and Europcar. (They’re the ones that stay open late!)
Why I Chose Drive Car Rental
I chose Drive Car Rental because it had the best reviews (at least, according to my standards), and the prices were the most affordable.
Additionally, it was super easy to add a car seat when making the reservation online.
(In Australia, a car seat is a must for a 4-year-old, and since we weren’t familiar with the laws in other countries, we decided to add one for safety reasons.)
The insurance package was full coverage, including tire protection, which gave me peace of mind, especially since I’d read a few reviews about flat tires.
From the reviews I saw, Drive Car Rental also had great customer service when issues came up.
Although some people mentioned that car drop-offs at the airport can be tricky, Drive Car Rental seemed to have a simpler process.
Booking a Rental Car with Drive Car Rental
The website below is for Drive Car Rental. We made our reservation directly through it.
By signing up as a member, we got a better price, so we went ahead and registered before booking the rental car.
https://www.drivecarrental.com/locations/bangkok-suvarnabhumi-airport/
The car we booked was the cheapest option among the rentals.
We chose the full coverage with the Premium Package on the left.
On the next page, there’s an option to add a car seat, which was super convenient.
The car seat was leather, clean, and in really good condition. Even so, we wiped it down with wet wipes before using it, just to be safe.
The car seat was an additional 200 baht per day, so for the 10 days, it added up to 2,000 baht.
Including the insurance, the total for the 11-day rental came to just over 8,000 baht.
In the end, the total cost was a little over 10,000 baht.
It was much cheaper than booking through Rentalcars.com, and the main reason I booked directly through the website was the insurance.
When you book through an agency like Rentalcars.com, the insurance is handled by a third-party company. If something happens, we would have to pay the rental car company upfront and then claim the cost back from the insurance company, which seemed inconvenient and a bit risky.
Picking Up the Car at the Airport
Once you arrive at the airport and pick up your luggage, you’ll easily spot the area where all the rental car companies are located.
Since it was already past 10 PM, most of the rental agencies had closed.
When I went to the Drive Car Rental booth, without me saying anything, they immediately checked my reservation by calling my name and confirming who I was.
Then, it was a quick process: I signed a few documents, and they held a deposit of 5,000 baht on my card. (The money wasn’t actually charged, just held as a deposit.)
After signing the documents, I was able to drive with peace of mind, thanks to the full coverage.
When checking the car before taking possession, the staff did most of the inspection, but they reassured me that since I had full coverage, there was nothing to worry about.
They also provided the contact information in case of an accident or any issues with the car, and it’s posted on the vehicle itself.
When paying tolls on the highway, cash is the only option, so make sure you don’t go through the M-FLOW (blue) lanes.
Always take the left lane where you can pay in cash.
At the toll entrance, you’ll be given a card, and when you exit, the amount will be displayed on a screen. Don’t worry if you don’t understand Thai – the amount will show up clearly in front of you.
When we arrived at the arrival hall, the car was already parked at Gate 7, and we went with two staff members to pick it up.
This is the car we rented.
Just to clarify, this isn’t a photo taken at the airport.
The car was actually quite new, but the other side had some pretty deep scratches from the previous renter. ^^
It had just a little over 1,000 kilometers on it, so it was pretty much like a brand-new car!
I was worried that, since I booked it at such a low price, I might get an older car, but as soon as I picked it up, I checked the mileage and felt completely relieved.
Returning the Rental Car
Since the pickup is done with a staff member, there’s no need to worry about that.
For the return, you just need to arrive at the airport and contact the staff.
The pickup and return locations are the same
The return location is in front of Arrival Gate 7, marked with a blue “P.”
Like most airports, it’s really busy, so it can be a bit chaotic.
While driving around, we ended up in the lane behind the “P” sign. There were no available spots next to us, but everyone was parking their cars on the left side, so we kept searching for a spot.
By the time we realized, we had already passed Gate 8, so we had to park the car between other vehicles and called the staff.
I explained that we had passed Gate 8, and they came to find us without any problem.
Also, make sure to fill up the gas before heading to the airport.
There are plenty of gas stations around, but the Google GPS led us the wrong way, and we ended up losing over 30 minutes.
If you end up missing the parking spot at the airport and have to drive around again, you’ll lose even more time. I’d recommend leaving at least an hour earlier than planned to avoid any stress.
This was my first time using a rental car on a trip, and I’m so glad I did! I’ll definitely rent a car again for future trips.
It was super convenient to just grab our luggage and load it straight into the rental car. Overall, this trip was super smooth and hassle-free!
