Renting a car in Udon Thani is cheaper, calmer and slightly more administratively awkward than renting one in Phuket or Bangkok. The desks at Udon Thani airport are dominated by Thai firms rather than international brands, the daily rates are among the lowest in the country, and the roads you drive out onto are the easiest in Thailand — wide, straight, empty by national standards, and dead flat for hundreds of kilometres.
The mechanics of Thai car hire are the same everywhere and are set out in renting a car in Thailand. What is different in Isaan is the texture of the transaction — fewer English-speaking staff, contracts in Thai, less familiarity with foreign licences — and the driving, which is genuinely different from the tourist coasts in ways worth knowing about before you set off.
- Typical daily rateRoughly 700–1,200 baht for a small automatic; among Thailand's cheapest
- TerrainFlat plateau. Long straight highways, few hills
- Best vehicleSmall automatic for towns; a pickup if you are going onto farm tracks
- Peak scarcitySongkran, when the region's Bangkok workers come home
Where to rent
Udon Thani's airport sits about five kilometres from the city centre and has a small run of rental desks — a mix of national Thai chains and local operators, with one or two international names. There are also city-centre offices, and several firms will deliver to a hotel. Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Ratchasima have similar arrangements; Nong Khai is generally served from Udon Thani.
Two things differ from the tourist regions. First, the counter staff may have limited English, and the contract may be presented in Thai with an English summary or none at all. Read what you can, photograph every page, and ask directly about the excess and the damage process — rental insurance excess in Thailand explains what you are asking about. Second, some smaller Isaan firms are less used to foreign licences and may be uncertain what to accept; sort out which licence you can use in Thailand before you arrive and have the documents ready rather than arguing at the desk.
On the plus side, deposit practice here is straightforward and the aggressive damage-claim behaviour that dogs the island resorts is far less of a feature. Big chains or local firms covers the trade-off; in Isaan the local firms are often the only realistic option and are usually fine.
Highway 2 and the shape of the region
Isaan runs on Highway 2, the Mittraphap Road, which climbs onto the plateau from Saraburi, runs north-east through Nakhon Ratchasima and Khon Kaen to Udon Thani, and ends at Nong Khai on the Mekong, where the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge crosses to Vientiane. Nong Khai is about an hour from Udon Thani airport — under 60 kilometres of fast dual carriageway.
It is a good road: wide, well surfaced, and much emptier than anything on the tourist coasts. It also has the feature that defines driving in Isaan, the U-turn: rather than turning right across the carriageway, you drive past your turning to a U-turn cut or bridge and come back. Where traffic is quick and the U-turn lanes are short, this is where visiting drivers most often get it wrong. See U-turns in Thailand and Highway 2: the Mittraphap Road.
Off the main highways, the provincial roads are two-lane, quiet, and generally in decent condition. Distances between towns are long — this is a big, sparsely built region — and satnav coverage is good on the main network and less reliable on rural lanes. Driving in Isaan: Thailand's emptiest, easiest roads is the fuller picture, and navigation apps in Thailand is worth reading because offline maps matter more here.
The hazards here are agricultural, not urban. The characteristic Isaan road hazards are the ones you do not meet in Phuket: home-built farm tractors and trailers moving at walking pace with no lights, sugar-cane and cassava lorries overloaded and shedding their cargo, buffalo and cattle being moved along the verge, and dogs. Most of these are invisible after dark, and much of the rural network is unlit. See livestock and wildlife on Thai roads and driving at night in Thailand.
What the car is for
Isaan is the part of Thailand where a hire car changes the trip most, because the sights are dispersed and the public transport between them is slow. From Udon Thani:
| Destination | Rough distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ban Chiang | About 50 km east | UNESCO-listed Bronze Age site and museum |
| Nong Khai and the Mekong | Roughly 55–60 km north | An hour on Highway 2; Sala Kaew Ku sculpture park |
| Red Lotus Sea (Nong Han) | Roughly 40–50 km south-east | Only worth it roughly December to February, early morning |
| Phu Phra Bat Historical Park | Roughly 65–70 km north-west | Rock formations and prehistoric shelters |
| Khon Kaen | Roughly 115 km south | Straight run down Highway 2 |
| Bueng Kan and Phu Thok | Roughly 190–200 km east | A long day; the Mekong road is the reward |
The Mekong river road along the border and the wider Isaan loop are the two big drives that start from here, and both are far better in a car than any other way.
The Red Lotus Sea is a seasonal, single-hour destination. The lotus flowers on Nong Han lake open in the morning and only during the cool months, roughly December to February. Arrive by seven. In April there is nothing to see, and no amount of driving will change that.
Prices, and the one week you cannot get a car
Isaan rentals are cheap. A small automatic typically runs somewhere around 700–1,200 baht a day (roughly £16–£28 / US$20–US$35), noticeably below the coastal resorts, with weekly and monthly rates cheaper again — see car rental prices in Thailand by season and monthly car rental in Thailand.
The exception is Songkran in April. Isaan is where a large share of Bangkok's workforce comes from, and at Songkran the region fills as people travel home: vehicles are booked out weeks ahead and the roads are at their busiest of the year. See driving during Songkran and New Year. The New Year holiday is a smaller version of the same effect.
The other seasonal note is that Isaan gets cold. Nights in December and January on the plateau can be genuinely chilly, with morning fog on the highways — the one time of year visibility is a real issue on these otherwise easy roads.
Crossing to Laos
Nong Khai is an hour away and the bridge to Vientiane is right there, which makes it a natural question. Taking a Thai hire car across is not straightforward — most rental agreements prohibit leaving the country outright, and the paperwork for a private vehicle crossing is a separate matter. See can you take a rental vehicle out of Thailand? and crossing into Laos by road before assuming anything. The usual answer is to leave the car in Nong Khai and cross as a foot passenger.
Frequently asked questions
Is car hire cheaper in Isaan than in Bangkok or Phuket?
Generally yes, often noticeably so, and the fleets are dominated by small Thai-market automatics that suit the roads. The saving is real but the choice of vehicle is narrower.
Will the rental desk speak English?
Sometimes, but do not count on it outside the airport counters. Have your documents ready, photograph every page of the contract, and ask specifically about the excess and the damage process.
What is different about driving in Isaan?
The roads are easier and emptier, but the hazards are agricultural: unlit farm vehicles, cane lorries, livestock and dogs, and long unlit rural stretches at night. U-turn junctions on Highway 2 are where visitors most often get it wrong.
Can I drive a Udon Thani hire car to Laos?
Almost certainly not under the rental agreement. Leave the car in Nong Khai and cross the Friendship Bridge as a foot passenger. See taking a rental vehicle across a border.
When should I book ahead?
Songkran in April above all, when Isaan fills with returning families and fleets empty. The New Year holiday is a smaller version of the same problem.
Do I need a pickup?
Only for farm tracks or unsealed roads. A small automatic handles the sealed network, and damage from unsealed roads is a common exclusion — see what rental insurance does not cover.