Hourly Car with Driver
Book the whole car and its driver for a block of hours instead of a single journey. The driver waits while you do what you came to do, then takes you to the next address. Blocks run 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours, from ฿2,400. Hourly hire is available in Bangkok and Pattaya only, and both cities run on the same rates.
The Short Version
- The whole car and the driver for the block, with no destination to declare
- Blocks of 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours, from ฿2,400 in a sedan
- Bangkok and Pattaya only, on the same rate card in both cities
- You set the route and can change it during the day
- Expressway tolls, fuel and the driver are in the block price. Parking is not, and on an hourly booking it is the only thing that is not
- ฿400 for each hour past the block, settled with the driver rather than added to the online quote
- Cash to the driver at the end, nothing paid in advance
What You Are Booking
A car and a driver, held for you from the pickup time to the end of the block. There is no meter and no destination on the booking. You give the driver the first address, and after that the day is yours to redraw. Stop for lunch, add a stop, sit in a meeting that overruns by forty minutes: the car is outside either way and your bags stay in the boot.
It is the same fleet and the same drivers as the airport work. Sedan, family SUV or minivan, chosen on capacity the way you would for any other booking. What changes is what you are paying for. A transfer buys you one journey. A block buys you the hours, and what you do with them is not our business.
Hourly Rates
One card, and it is the same in Bangkok as it is in Pattaya. Pick the block that covers your day and the vehicle that fits the party.
| Block | Standard Sedan | Family SUV | Minivan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 hours | ฿2,400 | ฿2,500 | ฿2,600 |
| 6 hours | ฿2,500 | ฿2,600 | ฿2,700 |
| 8 hours | ฿2,600 | ฿2,700 | ฿2,800 |
| 10 hours | ฿2,700 | ฿2,800 | ฿2,900 |
The figure is for the block, not for the distance. A 4-hour morning that covers eight kilometres costs the same as one that covers eighty, as long as it stays inside the service area. Longer blocks cost less per hour than short ones, which is why a 10-hour day is only ฿300 more than a 4-hour one in a sedan.
Run past the hours you booked and each extra hour is ฿400, the same for all three vehicles. You settle that with the driver in cash at the end of the day. It is never folded into the price the booking form quotes you, because that figure is the block you asked for and we would rather it stayed honest.
Where It Runs
Bangkok and Pattaya. Nowhere else, for now. A block booked in Bangkok works in and around Bangkok, and a block booked in Pattaya works in and around Pattaya, out as far as Jomtien, Naklua and the Sattahip side. The booking form asks which of the two you are starting from so we can price areas separately as we add them. Today the answer does not change the number.
Getting between the two cities is a different product. That is a fixed corridor fare, currently ฿1,300 in a sedan, and for a straight one-way it is cheaper than any block on this page. Book the Bangkok to Pattaya transfer for the journey and book hours for the stops you make once you have arrived.
When a Block Beats a Fixed Fare
Three meetings in one morning, in three parts of Bangkok, with a laptop bag you do not want to carry between them. A temple circuit where you cannot say in advance how long you will want at each one. A golf day where the car sits at the club until you are done. An afternoon of condo viewings with an agent whose schedule slips by half an hour before you have seen the second unit.
The arithmetic usually decides it. Two or three separate point-to-point fares plus the waiting in between will land close to a block, and the block does not care if the third address changes at lunchtime. One journey with a known endpoint is still better served by a fixed fare from the route price list. Anything vaguer than that is what the hours are for.
What the Rate Covers
The car, the driver and the hours. Waiting is included by definition, so there is nothing to watch and nothing that ticks over while you are inside a building. The vehicle is the one you picked, held for you for the whole block rather than dispatched trip by trip.
Expressway tolls and fuel are in the price too, so nothing on the road is yours to pay. Parking is the exception, and on an hourly booking it is the only one. If the day takes you into a mall car park or a hotel forecourt that charges, you settle that with the driver as it comes up. Our fixed route fares do cover the airport car park, but a transfer has one known destination and we know what the parking there costs; a day of hours can end up anywhere, so we leave parking out of the block price rather than guess at it. An entrance fee at a park or a temple is your own ticket and works the same way. Child seats work as they do everywhere else on the site, requested in the notes box and covered on the child seat page.
How to Book a Block
Use the form at the top of this page and choose Hourly. Pick Bangkok or Pattaya as the pickup area, choose the block, then choose the vehicle on capacity: sedan for up to 3, family SUV for 4, minivan for 8. The price for the block appears as soon as both are set.
On the contact step there is a notes box. Write down the first address, roughly where you want to get to during the day, and anything with a fixed time attached, such as a tee-off or a table booked for dinner. Every booking is read by hand and we come back to you in writing with the driver and the price before the day. Twelve hours' notice is the minimum and more helps for a full-day block.
Hourly Hire: Frequently Asked Questions
When does the clock start?
At the pickup time you booked, at the address you gave us. Not when the driver leaves the garage. A 4-hour block booked for 9am runs to 1pm, and if you come down late it still ends when it was always going to end.
Does the driver wait while I am inside?
Yes. That is what booking by the hour is for. The driver parks and waits while you are in the meeting or up the temple steps, and is at the door when you come out. Waiting is not charged on top, because the hours are already paid for.
What happens if we run past the hours we booked?
Each extra hour is ฿400 for any of the three vehicles, settled in cash with the driver at the end. It is not added to the price quoted online, which is always the block you booked. Tell the driver as soon as you can see the day running long.
Where can hourly hire go?
Bangkok and Pattaya, and nowhere else for now, on the same rate card in both. A block that starts in Bangkok stays around Bangkok and a block that starts in Pattaya stays around Pattaya. The pickup area is on the booking form so the card can be split by area later.
Can I start in Bangkok and finish in Pattaya?
Not on this rate card. A run between the two cities is a fixed-fare transfer and for a straight one-way it costs less than a 4-hour block. Book the corridor fare for the journey and book hours for the stops once you are there.
What is in the price and what is not?
The car, the driver, the hours, the expressway tolls and the fuel, with nothing metered and no charge for standing still. Parking is not in it, and on an hourly booking it is the only thing left out, because the day has no fixed list of stops. Somewhere charges to park and you settle it with the driver as it comes up, the same way as an extra hour. A fixed route fare is different and does include the airport car park.
How far ahead should I book?
Twelve hours is the minimum. A day or two is better for a full-day block or an early start. Put the rough plan in the notes box and we confirm the driver and the price back to you in writing before the day.