When planning trips to small islands like Phuket, you may imagine the best way to tour around the island is to rent a motorcycle.

But wait a moment… Read this before you decide whether to rent a motorcycle in Phuket or not.

Driving a vehicle in Phuket is the same as in almost all places in Thailand in that many will not strictly follow the rules of the road.

You will see people driving slowly in the middle of the road, not close to the left side (we drive on the left here), or turn and cut you off without using turning indicators, less than five metres before a junction. Sometimes, you will see people talking on their mobile phone whilst driving. In Phuket, the safe recommended distance between you and the car in front is ten meters.  In Phuket the traffic is heavy in the morning and afternoon/evening.

There are many roads in Phuket Town that are one way. Sometimes, motorcycles will drive in the opposite direction, which may give you a surprise!  This makes driving confusing and a lot harder. You will waste about half an hour getting to a nearby resturaunt, that only takes 10 minutes to walk.

Besides this, when travelling between the town and the beaches Kata, Phatong, Rawai and Bangtao you have to travel along steep and dangerous roads and should apply all of your focus and skill to ride your motorcycle safely.

The things you should prepare for riding a motorcycle in Phuket include an International Drivers Licence, a helmet and make sure that you dress politely otherwise you will get a sick of being constantly stopped by the traffic police.

Another thing that you cannot forget is that it can rain at anytime in Phuket, even in the summer. Sometimes you may not see the clouds coming, as they may be blocked by the hills. It is important that you plan your schedule to be flexible, as if it starts raining hard, you should wait until it stops before riding your motorcycle.