Driving to Laos

[johnmell]

Can a thai national drive a car into Laos easily.

[sirineou]

have not done it myself, every time we cross the border at Nong Khai  we take a taxi, but I have read that it is relatively easy.

One needs to get a car passport,  a quick search returned this.

until such time that other who know more about the subject, read this 

https://www.google.com/search?q=car+pasport+thailand&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS736US736&oq=car+pasport+thailand&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.8745j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[1337markus]

Can a thai national drive a car into Laos easily.

 

Where can you find a Thai who can drive competently?????

[KhunBENQ]

Can't be hard.

Nong Khai always has a queue of Thai cars going over.

As written in prev. post, a "car pass" and the "T" sticker officially required.

Normal ("5yr" or lifetime) Thai driving license are acknowledged.

Temporary licenses officially not.

I don't know whether there is additional paperwork needed if car is driven by other person than the owner as shown in car registration?

 

Opposite direction also works fine.

Always Lao registered cars up here.

Central shopping car park in Udon: always a few SUVs with Lao registration.

Hiso shopping

 

Edited December 23, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[ReMarKable]

This link should help  http://isaan.com/how-to-cross-your-car-from-thailand-to-laos/

[KhunBENQ]

31 minutes ago, ReMarKable said:

This link should help  http://isaan.com/how-to-cross-your-car-from-thailand-to-laos/

Good advice. And as I remembered: if owner is not with the car then a power of attorney needed.

 

In case you haven't checked about the "visa" requirements:

How far into Laos and how long is traveling planned?

Does the Thai person travel with ID card only or have a passport?

(if that is clear just forget the questions)

[johnmell]

Thanks for the replies. My thai wife would be driving. She has a passport, and is the car owner. Has thai driving license, insurance etc. Would be going from Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

[lordblackader]

You need to make sure you have a car passport which you can ONLY get in the car in unencumbered - that is, it's owned outright without any finance. 

 

T on the back and you are required to buy insurance on the Laos side to drive though. Not that hard once you have your paperwork in order.

[Sydebolle]

Yes, the answer is yes that a Thai person can drive a car in Laos provided they hold a Thai driving license. Latter being these days so-called ASEAN licenses (that‘s the reason why the credit card format now comes also in English). 

As far as using a Thai registered vehicle on Lao territory; please refer to earlier postings. I wrote down a complete itinerary on what to do if you want to drive a Thai plated car in all those different ASEAN countries. 

[KhunBENQ]

3 hours ago, johnmell said:

Thanks for the replies. My thai wife would be driving. She has a passport, and is the car owner. Has thai driving license, insurance etc. Would be going from Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

That sounds easy.

 

Is it her first time driving on the right side?

[thaiguzzi]

3 hours ago, johnmell said:

Thanks for the replies. My thai wife would be driving. She has a passport, and is the car owner. Has thai driving license, insurance etc. Would be going from Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

No offence, but if you are only doing the above, why bother?

The bus or tuk tuk the other side of the bridge is a 5 minute ride into town.

Now if you are making a road trip into the hinterlands of Laos on a 2 week holiday, i fully understand and i take back everything i just said.

Edit.

Mukdahan is a 3-4 hour jouney for me in my truck, i have done this journey 7-8 times solo, and i always park the truck up at the Thai side, secure parking area. Never bother driving myself into SVNKT.

Bus or tuk tuk every time.

Quick, cheap & painless.

Edited December 23, 2018 by thaiguzzi

[sanemax]

The roads are appalling there , just the main roads are tarmac , everything else is dirt tracks and also driving on the other side of the road .

   You can get a bus from the border to the city for 20 Baht or Mukdahan to Savanakhet for 50 Baht and Savankhet is small enough to walk around

[johnmell]

Yes, Driving down to Mukdahan from Nakhon Phanom , then going to Savanakhet for one night, so best idea is to leave the car overnight in Thailand, and use bus or tuk tuk.

Many thanks.

[dotpoom]

15 hours ago, 1337markus said:

Can a thai national drive a car into Laos easily.

 

Where can you find a Thai who can drive competently?????

 Incompetent driving ..IS the easy way ?

[Cereal]

17 hours ago, lordblackader said:

You need to make sure you have a car passport which you can ONLY get in the car in unencumbered - that is, it's owned outright without any finance. 

 

T on the back and you are required to buy insurance on the Laos side to drive though. Not that hard once you have your paperwork in order.

This. I live in Laos with my wife and we have our car paperwork in order to drive over to Thailand. The car needs to have insurance to drive on the Thai side of the border. It's a little time consuming to get (what isn't?) but it's not difficult.

[Lee4Life]

21 hours ago, johnmell said:

Thanks for the replies. My thai wife would be driving. She has a passport, and is the car owner. Has thai driving license, insurance etc. Would be going from Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

Make sure you get Lao insurance or you'll likely get nabbed. You can buy it at Tokyo Ins. on the right just after you pass through the Lao immigration.

[JohanB]

How to block the low beam assymetrical head light when driving in right hand traffic with a thai car?

On old cars you could glue a piece of black plastic on the outside of glass cover, but how to do on the projector lamps?