Our 10 highest-scoring motorcycle rentals in Thailand

Chiang Mai accounts for four places in ThaiMotoRent’s national top ten. Three are on Phuket, with one each on Koh Phangan, in Pattaya and in Khao Lak. The choices range from a scooter delivered for a month in town to a touring motorcycle with support across Thailand. Here is what each company offers for the days you want to spend riding.

Scores reflect published rental conditions and customer evidence, not our own test rides, and apply to the location shown. How we calculate the scores.

1. Cat Motors

Score: 85.50/100

Location: Chiang Mai, Old City

A few days in Chiang Mai can turn into a much longer journey. Cat Motors makes that change of plan appealing: you can leave a suitcase at the Old City shop free of charge, take what you need for the road and head for Pai or the Mae Hong Son Loop. Travel elsewhere in Thailand is allowed too. Its motorbike rental options range from small city scooters to larger automatics and motorcycles for multi-day touring.

You can also arrange to change bikes between stages of the holiday, subject to availability: an equivalent model keeps the same rate, while a more expensive one costs the difference. That gives you a way to spend the first part of your stay on a scooter before collecting a motorcycle for the longer ride. For experienced trail riders, the CRF300L is offered with permission to ride off-road.

Trail riders will need to bring their own protective clothing and motorcycle boots; Cat Motors does not rent them. Your passport stays with you against a monetary deposit. The published rental conditions also allow an early return. You pay the rate for the number of days you actually rented the bike, and get any remaining balance back.

2. CityGlide

Score: 54.78/100

Location: Chiang Mai, Manee Nopparat Road

CityGlide lets you organise the scooter around your day. Book online, have it delivered to your hotel and manage an extension through the booking dashboard if the bike is still available. Delivery and return run from 8am to 8pm. The whole fleet is automatic, and two helmets plus a charging phone holder are included.

That convenience extends beyond errands in town. The company’s FAQ explicitly allows trips to Pai and Chiang Rai, with no mileage limit, and offers luggage storage while you are away. Selected scooters can take a top box for an additional charge.

Changing the end of the trip is less automatic. An early-return refund requires the paid Flexible cancellation option, added when booking. You pay the rate for the shorter rental. Each started 24-hour period counts as a full day. You do not get the Flexible cancellation fee back. Without it, unused days are not refunded.

3. Phuket Garage

Score: 50.89/100

Location: Phuket, Kamala

Phuket Garage is geared towards a holiday with serious time on the road. The Kamala business runs a motorcycle workshop as well as rentals, and its touring service includes route planning for anything from a short loop to a month away. You can take the motorcycle across Thailand.

Its breakdown offer makes that wider map relevant. For a minor fault, the company says it will arrange a local mechanic; for a major one, it will transport a replacement and recover the faulty bike. The stated coverage is nationwide. It pays when the fault is its responsibility; assistance after rider-caused damage is charged to the rider.

This is a trip to arrange ahead of time. The Kamala office receives visitors by appointment, and a nonrefundable 30% payment secures the booking. Dates or bike choice can be changed without a fee up to 30 days before pickup.

4. Fleet CNX

Score: 50.33/100

Location: Chiang Mai, Nimman

Fleet CNX is on Nimmanhaemin Soi 17, so it belongs on the shortlist if Nimman is your Chiang Mai base. You can reserve, pay and extend online. Its offer also has a useful detail for a riding holiday: airport delivery and collection are available for 200 baht each way, allowing an experienced rider travelling light to arrange the hire around a flight.

There is a dirt-riding option here as well. Fleet’s FAQ identifies the Kawasaki KLX150 as its trail bike and includes cleaning after a day off-road. Scooters are restricted to paved roads. For carrying more than a day bag, selected models can take a top box for a flat 500 baht per rental; stock is limited.

Under the published terms, you and the staff record the bike’s condition when you collect and return it. The company keeps a passport copy rather than the original.

5. Lala Agency

Score: 47.36/100

Location: Koh Phangan, north of Thong Sala

Lala Agency has automatic scooters and manual road motorcycles for exploring Koh Phangan. Selected motorcycles come with luggage boxes, including the Honda NX500, GPX Legend 250 and Keeway Superlight 200. That gives you somewhere for a day bag without treating the hire as a mainland touring option: riding is restricted to the island’s roads, with no beach or off-road use.

Pickup is by appointment about two kilometres north of Thong Sala. Plan for at least three days with a manual motorcycle or four with an automatic scooter, and confirm the minimum when booking. Availability is limited around Full Moon and Half Moon periods, so an enquiry alone should not be treated as a reservation.

Read the rental terms before choosing the bike. Cash security lets eligible renters keep their passport, but the Honda NX500 and CBR 500 require the original passport as security; other model-specific exceptions need checking. The agency states that no insurance is included, leaving the renter responsible for damage, theft and accident costs under its terms.

6. Andrei Motorbike Rent

Score: 46.16/100

Location: Phuket, Karon

Andrei Motorbike Rent gives a longer stay in Karon a practical base on Patak Road. You can visit the office to inspect the bikes and ask the mechanic questions. The choice runs from a small Honda Scoopy to larger ADV and Forza scooters, with daily, weekly and monthly tariffs rather than one rate for every length of holiday.

The monthly offer includes scheduled oil changes, routine servicing, brakes and tyres at company cost; you bring the scooter to the office when service is due. Monthly rentals allow travel throughout Phuket without a mileage cap. A replacement for a technical fault is offered free, although transport may still be charged.

Your original passport stays with you, and two helmets are included. If the stay runs longer, you can request an extension by messaging before the return date and paying by transfer to the company’s Thai bank account. Shortening it is different: a voluntary early return does not refund unused time or recalculate the rental price.

7. Best Motors

Score: 45.29/100

Location: Pattaya, Jomtien

Best Motors puts city scooters, maxi-scooters and larger road motorcycles in one place on Jomtien Second Road. For an experienced rider planning time on a bigger bike, full-face helmets and gloves can be requested; the kit is offered free with motorcycles from 500cc. Two helmets and a phone holder are included with the rental.

Hotel and condominium delivery around Pattaya can be arranged, with charges depending on the location and length of hire. Before planning a ride beyond town, check the travel conditions: the team requires notice for trips outside Pattaya, and published mileage allowances differ. Agree the allowance for your route rather than assuming every rental has unlimited distance.

You keep your original passport against a monetary deposit. Take photos or video at collection, then inspect the bike together on return. The minimum hire is three days, and unused days after an early return are not refunded in cash or repriced; their remaining value can be credited towards a future rental.

8. Rider’s Corner

Score: 44.84/100

Location: Chiang Mai, Old City

The company’s FAQ starts with a sensible idea: choose the smallest machine that does the job. The Moon Muang Road rental has scooters for town and road-touring and adventure motorcycles for longer journeys. Its route guides cover the Mae Hong Son Loop, the Golden Triangle, Mae Salong and Nan, giving you places to start planning beyond the familiar ride to Pai.

Larger bikes come with a top box or tail bag. Side luggage costs extra, and some riding jackets are available to rent. Those are useful options if a northern motorcycle tour is only one part of a longer holiday and you have limited space in your suitcase.

Ordinary rentals stay on paved roads in northern Thailand, with CRFs the exception for dirt trails; support is limited to north of Tak and west of Loei. Trips to the summits of Doi Inthanon and Doi Ang Khang are excluded from scooter hire; Rider’s Corner offers larger motorcycles for those journeys.

9. 5 Star Motor Bike Rental

Score: 43.34/100

Location: Khao Lak, Bang Niang

5 Star Motor Bike Rental starts a Khao Lak outing before you collect the scooter. Sightseeing bookmarks arrive by email an hour before the hire, and a scooter tutorial is sent ahead of time. Save the bookmarks and download the relevant map if you want to use them offline. The fleet includes small automatics and larger road scooters.

The Bang Niang shop offers online booking, with hotel delivery and collection available for a charge within its stated distance limits. Two adult helmets are included, with a child’s helmet available free on request. Your passport and driving licence are photographed rather than retained, and changes to an existing booking can be requested online, subject to availability and confirmation.

The riding boundary matters: use is limited to main roads within Phang Nga, excluding Phuket. There is no mileage limit within that area, but repair assistance is narrower: generally within 25 kilometres of the shop, with a 20-kilometre limit for wheel problems under the contract.

10. Bikago

Score: 41.63/100

Location: Phuket, Bang Tao

Bikago’s Bang Tao service is an option for a Phuket stay built around beach days and trips across the island. Its local page lists the Honda Click 160 ABS, Yamaha Nmax and Honda PCX, with two helmets, a phone holder and a first-aid kit included.

You can book online and arrange delivery to your accommodation rather than collect the scooter yourself. The Phuket page specifies free delivery and collection for rentals of three days or more; shorter bookings carry a delivery fee. Your original passport stays with you.

The boundary matters if your holiday continues elsewhere: Phuket rentals must remain on the island. Bikago advertises English-speaking roadside assistance and a replacement if the bike develops a fault, while optional damage-and-theft protection is offered at checkout with an excess.

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