Renting a scooter is a great way to get around Koh Tao quickly and make the most of a short trip. However, it is really important to remember that a bike in inexperienced hands can lead to an abrupt, painful and expensive end to your travels!

Koh Tao is not a good place to try riding a motorbike for the first time. It’s a small island so walking or renting a push bike – a growing number are now available – is a better choice.

A few points to note:

1) Quad bikes are no longer allowed on the island, you will not find any for rental

2) There is a current campaign on KT about helmets and bike safety. All of the above outfits also have helmets for use included in the hire price. Make sure you take them with you!

3) A number of roads, including the main road between Mae Haad & Sairee are being upgraded at the moment. For at least a few months expect unsurfaced sections, spilled sand, grit & gravel on the roads, several sections down to one lane for both directions of traffic and of course lots of construction traffic. There are some warning signs around but please take extra care and ride super slow because of this.

4) The condition of the roads on Koh Tao is very variable and there are sandy patches and uneven sections of road surface which can challenge even the experienced rider. As always if you do choose to rent a motorbike please take care, drive slowly, and ensure that both the driver and any passenger is wearing a helmet. Finally if you are not sure about riding, don’t do it.

Where can I rent from?

For experienced riders, we hear consistently good things about the following rental operations:

RPG on the Yellow Brick Road (AKA beach path) in South Sairee Beach – they have mostly 125 Honda Click automatics, with maybe one or 2 110 autos. The 110 is not really suitable for more than one person up any sort of hill.

Oli’s Bike Rental in Mae Haad (top of Down Road) – has a selection of Honda Click 125 and some Semi-autos for rental. Offers resort pick up & drop off so very convenient.

RPM on the Songserm Road in Mae Haad – has the largest selection of different types of bikes including a few more powerful manual bikes.

KP Travel in central Sairee Beach as a good, honest option that has received consistently good feedback. They do not charge for scratches and have a clear policy regarding the cost of broken replacement parts.

23 Bikes on Songsern Road, Pong Mechanic, Mae Haad – Pong is a former Kawasaki Racing Mechanic and the BEST mechanic on Koh Tao so his bikes are in top shape mechanically. He is a really nice guy and doesn’t charge for scratches.

Prices range from 150 Baht to 350 baht for a 125i Click. Please be aware that you are often better off going for the more expensive companies as they include scratch insurance. The cheapest companies sometimes make their money through scratch scams where they charge 10,000 baht to get your passport back.

Regardless of where you choose to rent from, it is a good idea avoid shops with the following:

1) Rental agreements that are only written in Thai – don’t sign things you can’t understand!

2) Extortionate parts prices in the rental agreement (a pair of mirrors costs 300THB in the Honda parts centre, you shouldn’t be paying 2,000THB for them!)

3) companies with PRISTINE bikes. If it looks like nobody has ever crashed it, then the last renter probably did and paid a fortune for it. Pick bikes which have minor damage to panels and mirrors.

If uncertain, rent a bicycle (Apnea Total in Sairee) or hire a taxi/long tail boat with some friends and explore the island that way!