Before You Ride

Renting a scooter in Thailand is easy. A shop will hand you the keys for a few hundred baht and a look at your passport, and nobody will ask whether you can ride. The rules still apply to you, though, and it's much easier to learn them now than at a police checkpoint.

Plenty of visitors ride here and have a great trip. They're usually the ones who sorted out the six things below before they picked up the keys.

1. A motorcycle licence and a permit

You need two documents with you every time you ride: your licence from home, and an International Driving Permit (IDP). The licence has to cover motorcycles. Thailand counts a scooter as a motorcycle, so a car licence doesn't cover even a small one.

• Get the IDP at home, before you fly. It comes from the country that issued your licence, usually through the national motoring club or post office, and you can't get a real one after you arrive.
• Which version you need depends on your country. Your issuing office will know. The UK government tells its travellers to carry the 1968 version.
• If you couldn't legally ride the bike at home, assume you aren't covered to ride it here.

2. Insurance that covers riding

This is the one people most often get wrong. Rental shops say "insurance included", and what they mean is the compulsory insurance every Thai bike carries. It pays limited medical costs for people who are hurt. It doesn't pay for the bike or the other vehicle, and it won't get you home.

What protects you is your own travel insurance, and it only works if you meet its conditions. Before you book the trip, read the policy for three things:

• Motorcycles are covered at all. Many policies leave them out unless you add them.
• The engine size. Some policies stop at 125cc. Most bikes people rent for mountain roads are bigger than that.
• The licence rule. Riding without a valid licence and permit can cancel your cover, and so can riding without a helmet or after a drink.

3. A helmet, done up

Helmets are required by law for the rider and the passenger. Since June 1, 2025 police have enforced it nationwide, with fines of up to 2,000 baht each. The helmet a rental shop lends you is often a thin shell that doesn't fit. If you're riding for more than a day or two, buy a proper one from a motorcycle shop.

4. A careful rental

• Keep your passport. Don't hand it over as a guarantee. Offer a photocopy and a cash deposit, and ask for a receipt.
• Check the bike is registered. The UK government warns that bikes for hire in tourist areas are often unregistered and can't legally be used on the road. Look for a number plate and a current tax sticker.
• Film the bike before you leave. Walk around it with your phone and record every panel, the tyres and any scratches, with the shop staff in the shot.
• Test it. Front and rear brakes, lights, horn and tyre tread, before you pay.
• Read the agreement. Ask what you owe if the bike is damaged or stolen, and whether you're allowed to take it out of the province.

5. The right season

For the mountain rides in the north, November to February is the time to go. It's cool and dry then, and the air is clear. From late February into April, smoke from burning settles over the north and can hide the views you came for. June to October is the rainy season, and wet mountain roads are slippery. The south runs on a different calendar, and the two coasts differ from each other.

See the month-by-month guide

6. A few road rules

• Traffic drives on the left.
• Motorcycles aren't allowed on Bangkok's elevated expressways or on intercity motorways such as Motorways 7, 9 and 81. Set your maps app to avoid tolls and it will keep you off them.
• Don't drink and ride. Police run breath tests, and a drink also cancels your insurance.
• The roads are busiest over New Year and Songkran in mid April, when the whole country is travelling. Pick other dates for a long ride if you can.
• Ride in daylight. Mountain roads have no lighting, and dogs, potholes and unlit vehicles are hard to see after dark.

If something goes wrong

Don't settle a crash with cash at the roadside. Call the Tourist Police, take photos of the vehicles and number plates, get a police report, and tell your insurer the same day.

Rides

• Mae Hong Son Loop
• Nan and Highway 1081

Checked November 2026. Rules and fines change, so confirm with your own government's travel advice and your insurer before you go. This page is general information and isn't legal advice. Sources: UK government travel advice: Thailand, safety and security · The Nation: helmet fines from June 1, 2025