Train to laos from KK

[Rc2702]

If I get the train from KK to laos.

 

Do I need to get off somewhere and grab a VOA?

 

If so, what is cost for entering laos.

 

Once train arrives in laos how far is the embassy?

 

Anyone with a link to an older thread covering this info?

 

 

 

 

[champers]

When I went to Laos earlier this year from BKK, the train only went as far as Nong Khai, then taxi bus to Friendship Bridge for visa purchase (forget the price, so must have been cheap), then minibus to Vientiane. Thai Embassy requires you to stay one night for collection of visa the day after, which was free at the time I went.

Some great bars/pubs to watch the footy in Vientiane. Beer is cheap, as is the food. You can pay in Baht for most things. 240 Kip to 1 Baht, if you do change money.

Sat in a nice park next to the river and 6 different girls on bicycles approached me and offered me their speciality  -  cutting my toenails, for 10,000 Kip, about 40 Baht.

Lovely city, with lots of French influence - wide boulevards and their own mini Arc de Triomphe.

[Rc2702]

Just now, champers said:

When I went to Laos earlier this year from BKK, the train only went as far as Nong Khai, then taxi bus to Friendship Bridge for visa purchase (forget the price, so must have been cheap), then minibus to Vientiane. Thai Embassy requires you to stay one night for collection of visa the day after, which was free at the time I went.

Some great bars/pubs to watch the footy in Vientiane. Beer is cheap, as is the food. You can pay in Baht for most things. 240 Kip to 1 Baht, if you do change money.

Sat in a nice park next to the river and 6 different girls on bicycles approached me and offered me their speciality  -  cutting my toenails, for 10,000 Kip, about 40 Baht.

Lovely city, with lots of French influence - wide boulevards and their own mini Arc de Triomphe.

Cheers champers, so this train from bkk, did it stop at KK enroute to nong Khai? - got it looks like it stops at KK and gets to NK 3 hours ish later. Thanks again.

[champers]

It did. It was a night train with beds. The train was 4 hours late leaving from BKK which was a bit of a bummer. There are other trains during the day.

We decided to get a sleeper bus back to Pattaya from Nong Khai and that stopped at KK and Ban Phai too. 13 hours but some of that was spent asleep. Check your local bus station and plenty of good info on the internet.

[BritTim]

The nice thing about the train is that Nong Khai station is walking distance from the Friendship Bridge. From Khon Kaen, I would nevertheless take a bus as they are more frequent and punctual. I definitely would not consider taking the train that crosses the bridge when leaving from Khon Kaen. You are liable to be hanging around waiting for the train to come in for hours. I might consider the international train for the return (especially if going all the way to Bangkok) as there is a chance it will leave on time.

[sanemax]

Fron Nong Khai train station, there is a train going to Vientiane .

You can get stamped out at Nong Khnai train station and stamped in to Laos at Vientiane train station . 

 Draw backs being that there are only two trains per day and the Vientiane train station is 22 kilometers outside Vientiane

[ubonjoe]

You can check the train schedules here and buy the tickets. https://www.thairailwayticket.com/eTSRT/Default.aspx

Nong Khai to Vientiane does not appear on the schedule.

[jeab1980]

5 hours ago, champers said:

The train was 4 hours late leaving from BKK

Therein lies the reason i wont bother getting a train from Khon Kaen up to nong Khai. Yes it could pick up a bit of time enroute but sitting in KK's make shift railway station waiting for a train thats already 4hrs late leaving no thank. Get the international bus from KK you need a visa in passport already for Loas available for 1600bht at consulate in KK. To book onto bus.

[JackThompson]

When I last did this( > 2 yrs ago), the train to Vientiane from Nong Khai would wait for the overnight train from Bangkok before departing - so they were designed to work in-tandem.  If a long-delay is in the cards, you can simply walk to Friendship Bridge.  The train, itself, crosses that same bridge.  Either way, when you get to the other side, you will need to obtain onward-transportation to Vientiane.

 

The important thing about taking the train in visa-context: Do not assume you would get to the Thai consulate in Vientiane in time to apply for a visa - though you might if it ran close to on-time that day.

[Laza 45]

Laos visa  1,500 Bt.. 

[cacahootie]

I did this exact trip (Khon Kaen to Nong Khai) in May.  We took the Express #75 (15:37 - 17:45).  It was approximately 20 minutes late to KK, no big deal in Thailand.  The train took about 2 hours, ate some chicken on the way.  Get to Nong Khai, took a tuktuk to the friendship bridge (you could walk if you wanna save some money).  Don't remember how much we paid... wanna say 300 baht.  Better to pay for Laos visa in USD, iirc it was $30.  Met up with another farang in line, we shared a van into Vientiane... 300 baht per person iirc.  There's tons of people milling about, haggle if you want to, there's plenty of options.  Got into Vientiane probably around 8:00 PM.  We stayed at Muong Thong hotel, right near the consulate.  We drove in circles a bit because my pronunciation was slightly off.  Upon getting my visa, we made a mad dash to the Friendship bridge via taxi, tuktuk to the train station to buy the ticket and we had approximately 40 minutes to spare for the return train to KK.  I would recommend getting to the consulate early on the dropoff day because they go in order of queue number when returning.  I was like 475 or so... so it was about 2 and half hours of waiting to get my passport back.  Strolled into the hotel lobby with 5 minutes to spare on my scheduled taxi... only to wait 25 more for a late driver.  My girlfriend (Isaan) and I went to the bus station and tried to find a VIP bus from KK to Nong Khai and were not able to find one.  I was considering taking a taxi - probably about 1500 baht one way... but the train was super easy and (maybe) safer than the insane Thai roads.

[jeab1980]

27 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

Laos visa  1,500 Bt.. 

At bridge 1500bht or for me 35 USD 

From consulate in KK 1600bht

[Laza 45]

21 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

At bridge 1500bht or for me 35 USD 

From consulate in KK 1600bht

Yes.. different prices depending on where you come from.. check here...  scroll down to 'Laos visitor visa prices'... 

 

http://www.retire-asia.com/lao-visa-on-arrival-30-days.shtml

 

[sanemax]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You can check the train schedules here and buy the tickets. https://www.thairailwayticket.com/eTSRT/Default.aspx

Nong Khai to Vientiane does not appear on the schedule.

Its a steam train .

It just from from NK to Vientiane and back with no other stops

If youve ever been at that bridge road crossing , its the train that passes after the bridge road has been closed for a few minutes

    There is a border control at NK station (which only opens just prior to arrivals and departures) , and they can just stamp you in and out  , cannot do overstays or visa/passport transfers or anything else .

[jeab1980]

1 hour ago, Laza 45 said:

Yes.. different prices depending on where you come from.. check here...  scroll down to 'Laos visitor visa prices'... 

 

http://www.retire-asia.com/lao-visa-on-arrival-30-days.shtml

 

Yes just stating KK consulate wont accept $ only bht and charge 1600bht. Cheaper to pay in $ at bridge. But bus from KK to Vientiane you have to have visa before they let you on bus.

[sanemax]

Here is the Vientiane to Nong Khai train 

Although the Laos train station is called Thanaleng and not Vientiane