May 10, 200718 yr Can anyboby please advise me on the best way to get from Chiang Rai (Mae sai) to Laos and what the cost might be?? Is it more easy to get there are seeing Bangkok and go by train?? Any tips would be appreciated..... Thanks.
May 10, 200718 yr Can anyboby please advise me on the best way to get from Chiang Rai (Mae sai) to Laos and what the cost might be?? Is it more easy to get there are seeing Bangkok and go by train?? Any tips would be appreciated..... Thanks. Come to Chiang Rai by bus or by plane; or if you insist, on train to Chiang Mai. Then get the bus to Chiang Khong and the little boat will take you across the river to Laos. Make sure you have the US$30 to $40 for the Lao visa. The cheapest way to travel in Thailand is by bus. The border crossing at Mae Sai takes you into the wrong country.
May 10, 200718 yr If you want to cross in Chiangrai province then it will be at Chiang Khong. They do not issue visas at the border there so either get your visa in Bangkok before you come or else you will have to find a guest house or travel agent who can get the visa for you (for a fee) and this will mean sending your passport to Bangkok...and will take a couple of days before it returns (the faster you want it back the more it will cost).
May 10, 200718 yr If you want to cross in Chiangrai province then it will be at Chiang Khong. They do not issue visas at the border there so either get your visa in Bangkok before you come or else you will have to find a guest house or travel agent who can get the visa for you (for a fee) and this will mean sending your passport to Bangkok...and will take a couple of days before it returns (the faster you want it back the more it will cost). You sure about the visa chownah? Thanks for that, I would have quite easily attempted to cross myself at some stage and had to come back. I just assumed, (a bad mistake with anything to do with Lao), that they would issue them the same as they do at Nong Khai.
May 11, 200718 yr If you want to cross in Chiangrai province then it will be at Chiang Khong. They do not issue visas at the border there so either get your visa in Bangkok before you come or else you will have to find a guest house or travel agent who can get the visa for you (for a fee) and this will mean sending your passport to Bangkok...and will take a couple of days before it returns (the faster you want it back the more it will cost). You sure about the visa chownah? Thanks for that, I would have quite easily attempted to cross myself at some stage and had to come back. I just assumed, (a bad mistake with anything to do with Lao), that they would issue them the same as they do at Nong Khai. I haven't done this crossing in a few years but they didn't issue visas before on the Lao side......maybe someone who has crossed recently will report in.
May 11, 200718 yr Can anyboby please advise me on the best way to get from Chiang Rai (Mae sai) to Laos and what the cost might be?? Is it more easy to get there are seeing Bangkok and go by train?? Any tips would be appreciated..... Thanks. This is one of my favorite trips. It has been a few years so just to be sure get your Lao visa in BKK. If your not in a hurry you can hang out in one of the many guesthouses in Chiang Khong on the Mekong River whilst you wait for your visa. When you croos into Lao, highly recommend the slow boat to Luan Prabang, (old capital city of Laos) From there continue by bus to Vian Vienne and on to Vientienne. From there cross the friendship bridge to Nong Kai, TH and train to Bangkok. Great trip if you have the time. Enjoy
May 11, 200718 yr a few years back i got a visa at chiang khong. took only about a day. was a chilled out enough town to spend a nite there was ok. the big question is whether to take the slow or fast boat if youre going to luang prabang. plusses and minusses for each.
May 12, 200718 yr Hi sillybilly, Sorry for late info but I haven't been online for a few days I did the trip at Christmas No problem going across the border at Chiang Kong I stayed at a guest house in Chiang Kong (The Chiang Khom guesthouse) arrived afternoon, gave them our passports, next morning at 8 a.m. they had our passports with paperwork done, necessary boat tickets also and car to boat pick up. They also booked ahead for accommodation at Pak Beng (the overnight stop on the way by slow boat to Luang Prabang) However pre-booking not necessary as plenty of places and cheaper if you do it when you arrive (same in Luang Prabang - loads of places to stay) I met lots of backpackers who did all the visa stuff themselves in Chiang Kong, wife and I just preferred the convenience Lao immigration just opposite Thai immigration across the river and get tuk tuk to slow boat over the hill from immigration office in Laos By the way carry a cushion for the boat trip (no joke) 6-8 hours on hard wooden bench ain't fun for two days and if you opt for fast speedboat as I did on return journey you better not be 6 ft tall and over 200 lbs (like me) as they expect you to sit in the squat position in a 24 inch space for 6 hours I ended up on my back in the front seat with my legs stuck over the front Having said that the trip was a tremendous experience and scenery down the Mekong gorges well worth it and Luang Prabang the most tranquil place I've ever been The 4 day trip there and back cost us about 8,000 baht for two most of that on boat fares as you must pay the foreign price - openly displayed Lao price / foreign price Wife Thai and had to pay foreign price too If you want to cruise in comfort both ways with a beer and all arranged - travel agent in Chiang Rai quoted 4 times the price Have fun tung tsz PM me if you want any further details
May 12, 200718 yr Hi sillybilly,Sorry for late info but I haven't been online for a few days I did the trip at Christmas No problem going across the border at Chiang Kong I stayed at a guest house in Chiang Kong (The Chiang Khom guesthouse) arrived afternoon, gave them our passports, next morning at 8 a.m. they had our passports with paperwork done, necessary boat tickets also and car to boat pick up. They also booked ahead for accommodation at Pak Beng (the overnight stop on the way by slow boat to Luang Prabang) However pre-booking not necessary as plenty of places and cheaper if you do it when you arrive (same in Luang Prabang - loads of places to stay) I met lots of backpackers who did all the visa stuff themselves in Chiang Kong, wife and I just preferred the convenience Lao immigration just opposite Thai immigration across the river and get tuk tuk to slow boat over the hill from immigration office in Laos By the way carry a cushion for the boat trip (no joke) 6-8 hours on hard wooden bench ain't fun for two days and if you opt for fast speedboat as I did on return journey you better not be 6 ft tall and over 200 lbs (like me) as they expect you to sit in the squat position in a 24 inch space for 6 hours I ended up on my back in the front seat with my legs stuck over the front Having said that the trip was a tremendous experience and scenery down the Mekong gorges well worth it and Luang Prabang the most tranquil place I've ever been The 4 day trip there and back cost us about 8,000 baht for two most of that on boat fares as you must pay the foreign price - openly displayed Lao price / foreign price Wife Thai and had to pay foreign price too If you want to cruise in comfort both ways with a beer and all arranged - travel agent in Chiang Rai quoted 4 times the price Have fun tung tsz PM me if you want any further details Hi me again, Have a look at this site if you haven't been to Laos before tung tsz
May 13, 200718 yr I made the trip from chiang khong to luang prabang last Nov. We crossed at 0745 when Thai emigration opened and obtained our visa in a few minutes on the lao side of the river (need 3 photos, passport valid for 6 months and a visa fee $30-40 depending on your home country). There is a 1 day fast boat which is comfortable and takes 8 hours ($80 o/w - email [email protected] for details). This avoids wasting a night. Check hotels in laos before you go- I've heard of people having problems.
May 15, 200718 yr If you want to cross in Chiangrai province then it will be at Chiang Khong. They do not issue visas at the border there so either get your visa in Bangkok before you come or else you will have to find a guest house or travel agent who can get the visa for you (for a fee) and this will mean sending your passport to Bangkok...and will take a couple of days before it returns (the faster you want it back the more it will cost). You sure about the visa chownah? Thanks for that, I would have quite easily attempted to cross myself at some stage and had to come back. I just assumed, (a bad mistake with anything to do with Lao), that they would issue them the same as they do at Nong Khai. They DO issue visa on arrival when entering Laos across from Chiang Khong. Done this many times...and easy to do. It does help to have a passport picture, but if you don't have this then they send you on a 2 minute walk up the street where you can have your passport photo copied and then the short walk back down the hill to Immigration. Remember the cost is about $35 for the visa. All in all, takes no more then a few minutes to get everything done. Cheers, David Chiang Khong
May 20, 200718 yr Author Many thanks to everybody for their replys... The information was helpful. All I can do now is wait until later this year to see the Beautiful sights...
May 21, 200718 yr Vias on arrival in Huay Xiay, accross Chiang Khong in Laos. Friend did it a few weeks ago.
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