I've heard it can be quite hard to get to the airport and confusing. I pick up a visa and have a flight a couple hours later, what can I do to make it? 

53 minutes ago, markcm19 said:

I've heard it can be quite hard to get to the airport and confusing. I pick up a visa and have a flight a couple hours later, what can I do to make it? 

Not much else but either grab a room in Udon or catch the bus.

It's hard.

 

1. Get a pickup truck direct to the border. It cost me 180 baht, but some will ask for 300. If in a rush, no time to negotiate though. It will take 45 minutes to an hour.

 

2. At the border, stamp out of Laos, catch the bus across the bridge (or pay a driver to make it quicker but it will be pricey), stamp into Thailand. Time can vary based on the bus and lines, but just have a pen ready to fill in the card and hope for the best.

 

3. Once through immigration, get a taxi to the airport. One solo person would be 600-1000 baht. Plan for one hour ride.

 

It's hard and everything needs to go perfectly. If you're willing to pay up for direct rides, it's more likely to work, but I'd never leave it up to public transit here. 

not confusing. come out of consulate, share a tuk tuk or taxi with someone to border(100 baht) go through immo. see whats about on other side and if other farangs are going to airport, share a cab. if no one else around and you still have time risk getting tuk tuk or taxi to bus station

If you are lucky enough as I was last time, they now send the vans from UdonKaew Tour to pick up passengers straight from the border. One appeared within a few minutes last time I was there. They go first into town to Nongkhai to their office to issue the tickets then continue to Udon Thani airport. Total time about 1hr10m including the stop at their town office, price 150 baht.

 

http://udonkaewtour.igetweb.com/index.php?mo=3&art=514219

 

PS: It's the same company that sells you the 200 baht ticket in the Udon Thani airport to border, their so called limo vans are quite nice and comfortable actually.

Edited September 29, 20178 yr by lkv