Phuket

Jet-ski shop wants my passport as deposit?

Beach shops still ask. US and UK already told you why. I need the deposit fork, not a “I survived Patong” story.

Passport stays on you

If	Do	Walk
Shop wants the passport in the drawer	Another deposit, or no ride	“Everyone does it”
Invented scratch at return	Video the hull before you start	Arguing on the sand with no pictures
You do not have the licence you would need at home	Do not ride	Assuming insurance will be kind

FCDO: do not hand a passport over as a guarantee. US page lists jet-ski/scooter shops holding passports against claimed damage. Not legal advice. Tourist police 1155. Scams is the pattern table.

Which beach, and what they asked for besides the book.

Safety

11 comments

Ploy

Passport stays in your pocket. If they will not take another deposit, you do not ride. 1155 if it turns into a beach argument.

21d

Kit Rattana

Same as a scooter shop on Moon Muang. The book is not collateral. Video first. Category A is still the licence, not the jet-ski.

21d

Jordan Blake

I have not picked a beach yet. If a shop wants the passport I walk. I can swim without the shop.

21d

Lukas Weber

Insurance PDF often hates this ride anyway. Passport hostage plus a voided policy is how a holiday becomes a week in an office.

21d

James Collingwood

FCDO said it. I would not debate a beach tout with a UK blog. No book in the drawer.

20d

Freya Holm

Wrong north. If the trip is a beach, stay on that map. Do not add a jet-ski to a Chiang Mai week to feel you did the south.

20d

Mint Saelim

Video the hull. Invented scratches are the other half of the same shop. The passport is how they keep you there.

20d

Sophie Bataille

Krabi/Andaman: same shop pattern. I would not leave the book for a 20-minute toy. Swim. Walk.

20d

Rob Ellison

A cash bond you can argue is ugly. A passport you cannot leave the country without is worse. Ugly wins.

20d

Dan Okafor

Budget: the “cheap” ride is the deposit fight. I would spend the baht on a priced longtail that posts a number.

19d

Nora Blake

If you need it on the laptop trip, you do not. Skip. A beach toy is not a coworking commute.

19d

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