I prefer to spend the night in Udon instead of Vientiane. So say I check out of a guesthouse near Central Plaza.

 

Is there a shuttle to the border or will I need a tuk?

 

I budget 1 hour to border, 2 hours checkpoints, 30 minutes border to Thai consulate. Say 4 hours with a 30 minute buffer. If I leave the guesthouse at 6am it shouldn't be an issue right? Google says the border opens at 6am and I'd expect to arrive at 7am.

The link in the chain can be tuktuk. I got on one and seemed to pickup dropped of Thai along the way. The taxi can wait for others and waste time. Some other members will advise a better way. If I was doing it again might take private taxi from border to consulate. You do know you need an appointment now at Vientiane consulate.

Yes I plan to book late to give myself a buffer 11am, maybe 12pm. If I cross the border 1-2 hours early I'll go to downtown first to setup my room.

4 minutes ago, Hal65 said:

Yes I plan to book late to give myself a buffer 11am, maybe 12pm. If I cross the border 1-2 hours early I'll go to downtown first to setup my room.

So you don't have your appointment yet. There are threads running about appointments needing couple of weeks in advance. The system is having some issues

My date is pretty far out so I'm okay on that front, thanks for the warning though

If you walk out of Central Plaza and turn left...walk to end of street...about 2 city blocks...there is a train station and train that goes to Nong Khai for about 30 baht...You can google the schedule or walk down there and check departure times.  You will then need a tuk tuk to Friendship Bridge and immigration.

 

Busses and vans run between Udon and Nong Khai regularly...I believe they also have a bus to Friendship Bridge...bus station is located on the street directly in front of Central Mall...a very short walk...

 

All cheap transportation...good luck!

 

 

 

I would not recommend doing this. If you miss your appointment for any reason, you won't get another one anytime soon as things stand now in Vientiane. Things can and do go wrong when traveling; spending an extra night in Vientiane gives you peace of mind.

10 hours ago, Caldera said:

I would not recommend doing this. If you miss your appointment for any reason, you won't get another one anytime soon as things stand now in Vientiane. Things can and do go wrong when traveling; spending an extra night in Vientiane gives you peace of mind.

 

If the timings are tight I would agree. But say I do this:

 

Leave Udon 5am.

Arrive Thai border 6am

Exit Lao border 8am

Arrive Vientiane 8:30am

 

So now with a late appointment at say 11am, I think the risk would be quite small. 2.5 hours extra in case something goes wrong.

 

11 hours ago, Hal65 said:

So now with a late appointment at say 11am, I think the risk would be quite small. 2.5 hours extra in case something goes wrong.

At this time the appointment time is 9 to 12 and it still states to show up 30 minutes early.

This from an email sent after making an appointment.

Quote

 

Take a bus from Udon to Nonh Khai. There are some minibuses that go to the Friendship Bridge, but just getting to Nong Khai bus station is fine (if a Friendship Bridge minibus is not leaving soon) taking a tuk-tuk from the bus station to the bridge. Avoid the train as you cannot predict when it will turn up, and it is very slow.

 

Usually, immigration, including the bridge crossing and Lao visa application, should not take much over an hour. It may be optimistic to assume 30 minutes to the consulate after clearing immigration (especially if, like me, you haggle on the price). However, you should have time in hand if you left Udon at 7:30 am or so.

Yes, should work

I made a visa run there quite a few times, the longest it ever took to from arriving at the border on the Thai side, checkout, bus over the bridge, in and out of Laos, bus back and back into Thailand was 1 hour 15 minutes