Visa run Udon Thani to Nong Khai

[thairat]

Mission accomplished and returned to Thailand in 1 day.

 

Thanx you to all for your great help!

[DrJack54]

32 minutes ago, thairat said:

Mission accomplished and returned to Thailand in 1 day.

 

Thanx you to all for your great help!

A report of the process would be helpful to others. 

[thairat]

See bottom of page 1.

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, thairat said:

See bottom of page 1.

Missed it.

Ta... excellent report..

[Excel]

8 hours ago, thairat said:

See bottom of page 1.

How much did the insurance cost you to enable the Thai pass  ?

[morocco]

Has anyone tried Mae Sai - Tachileik border for visa yet?

[ubonjoe]

5 hours ago, morocco said:

Has anyone tried Mae Sai - Tachileik border for visa yet?

You cannot get a visa at a border crossing. You can get a 30 day visa exempt entry or use a multiple entry visa to get a new permit to stay in the country.

I have seen no reports of anybody doing a crossing there yet.

[Hapimareed]

On 6/1/2022 at 12:26 PM, HungDonger said:

Thai Immigration- Inbound-  Go to Ist Booth and provide Thaipass with Insurance & Vaccination Documents. Receive a printout from 1st booth.

Hello all,

I am planning to do a 1-day border bounce this week at the Nong Khai crossing. The last time I did this was 4 years ago. I read the OP's post with pics of his trip and he makes no mention of a Thaipass with insurance. 

 

Do i need to get a Thaipass before my trip? And how do I get one?

 

Thank you

[RedArmy]

1 hour ago, Hapimareed said:

 

Do i need to get a Thaipass before my trip? And how do I get one?

 

 

Old post - Thaipass no longer required.

 

[Hapimareed]

Great. Thanks for your reply. 

I assume that the "insurance" mentioned was part of the Thaipass and now is also no longer needed, yes ?

[RedArmy]

2 hours ago, Hapimareed said:

Great. Thanks for your reply. 

I assume that the "insurance" mentioned was part of the Thaipass and now is also no longer needed, yes ?

Correct.

[Mike Teavee]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:23 PM, Hapimareed said:

Hello all,

I am planning to do a 1-day border bounce this week at the Nong Khai crossing. The last time I did this was 4 years ago. I read the OP's post with pics of his trip and he makes no mention of a Thaipass with insurance. 

 

Do i need to get a Thaipass before my trip? And how do I get one?

 

Thank you

Hi, I’m planning on doing the trip in a couple of days (though for a trip to visit Vientiane rather than for visa purposes).

 

Has anything changed from the excellent post on page 1 covering how to get there.
 

PS. I did look at booking Maya Travel but they want £101 per person (8,200b for the 2 of us), is that right considering taxis both sides of the border can be had for max 1,000 each. 

[BritTim]

24 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Hi, I’m planning on doing the trip in a couple of days (though for a trip to visit Vientiane rather than for visa purposes).

 

Has anything changed from the excellent post on page 1 covering how to get there.
 

PS. I did look at booking Maya Travel but they want £101 per person (8,200b for the 2 of us), is that right considering taxis both sides of the border can be had for max 1,000 each. 

4,100 baht each seems very high. Have you considered getting a Laos e-visas (US$50 each) and the international bus from Udon Thani to Vientiane (about 100 baht each)? If travel into Udon town is convenient for you, this could be an economical and relatively comfortable solution.

[Mike Teavee]

48 minutes ago, BritTim said:

4,100 baht each seems very high. Have you considered getting a Laos e-visas (US$50 each) and the international bus from Udon Thani to Vientiane (about 100 baht each)? If travel into Udon town is convenient for you, this could be an economical and relatively comfortable solution.

I believe I’ve left it too late to get the E-Visa (plan is to travel to Vientiane on Thursday & it seems you need at least 3 business days) but following on from the TR on page 1 will book tickets on the bus when we land at UTH later…

 

My 1st trip to Udon Thani /Laos, really looking forward to it ???? . 

[BananaStrong]

On 6/1/2022 at 12:21 PM, KhunLA said:

and IO officer is talking to you in simple Thai, and you can't answer him/her

I’ll answer in Issan, then Northern Thai and then mountain Thai.

 

Then put him in a headlock and explain this is NOT an ED Visa and he should read before speaking!

 

I know Karate and 5 other Japanese words

[Mike Teavee]

5 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

I believe I’ve left it too late to get the E-Visa (plan is to travel to Vientiane on Thursday & it seems you need at least 3 business days) but following on from the TR on page 1 will book tickets on the bus when we land at UTH later…

 

My 1st trip to Udon Thani /Laos, really looking forward to it ???? . 

Seems you can only buy the Van ticket on the day & need to wait for the bus to fill up before it leaves so we’ve decided to book the taxi that took us from UT Airport for 900b my thinking being it would cost 200b to get to the airport from our hotel, 400b for the van so it’s only an extra 300b to travel when we want, in a new car with what seems to be a careful driver (GF doesn’t travel well so this last part swung the deal).

Any recommendations of best time to cross the border to avoid the crowds (we’re thinking of leaving at 10am so will be there around 11am).

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[persimmon]

I just did this trip 2 days ago . The minibus from the carpark in front of Central Udon is only 55 Bt and takes about 1 hr . It stops at the bridge checkpoint , the rail station and then NK bus station . I think they run every 30 mins 

I exited Thailand at around 8 am , caught the bus for the 5 min ride to the Laos immigration control , fill in the 2 forms , pay the $ 40 and then walk into Laos . There`s not much to see once you get through , just a big car park and a small shop , so I left and crossed back into Th .

No queues , no hassle , everyone seemed polite + friendly .

Overall the whole process took around 1 hr .

[Mike Teavee]

3 hours ago, persimmon said:

so I left and crossed back into Th .

No queues , no hassle , everyone seemed polite + friendly

Did you need to complete an arrivals card (TM6) when you re-entered Thailand only I know there was some talk about these being discontinued but I haven’t re-entered TH since March last year so unsure what the current situation is. 
 

On a related note is there anything I need to do to help ensure the IO stamps me in until 26th Sept 2023 in accordance with my re-entry permit? Only on my last entry (at BKK) the IO had to have 3 goes to get it right, initially stamping me in for 90 days on the basis of my (long ago used up) 90 day Non-IMM O multi visa. 
 

 

Thanks

 

MTV

 

[persimmon]

Yes , I had to fill in the TM 6 form . The IO asked if I had a visa ( I didn`t ) then gave me a 45 day stamp .

[Neeranam]

On 6/1/2022 at 11:52 AM, Adumbration said:

Don't bother with border run.

 

Get a 12 month ED visa.  52K Baht including all 90 day reports taken care of.

 

Flexible attendance and no language tests:

https://www.hand2handcombat.com/

 

The border run to Vientienne will cost you around 10K all up and it is only a short term solution.

 

No doubt you want to stay longer because you are in Luuuuuuuuuuuuvvvvvvv.

This company should be reported, obviously they are bribing Immigration.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

This company should be reported, obviously they are bribing Immigration.

Good luck with this! Report them and report back here how it goes. Rumor has it that this school has army connections, and they've been around for many years in any case.

[BritTim]

On 2/7/2023 at 6:52 PM, Mike Teavee said:

Seems you can only buy the Van ticket on the day & need to wait for the bus to fill up before it leaves so we’ve decided to book the taxi that took us from UT Airport for 900b my thinking being it would cost 200b to get to the airport from our hotel, 400b for the van so it’s only an extra 300b to travel when we want, in a new car with what seems to be a careful driver (GF doesn’t travel well so this last part swung the deal).

Any recommendations of best time to cross the border to avoid the crowds (we’re thinking of leaving at 10am so will be there around 11am).

 

This is what the "van" (international bus) from Udon Thani to Vientiane is supposed to look like (and it operates on a schedule, costing about 100 baht all the way to Vientiane).

However, as you do not have a visa in advance, you would not be able to use it.

 

What was suggested to you is an uncomfortable, overpriced van to the border, and you are correct to reject that option.

Edited February 9, 2023 by BritTim

[bbi1]

  

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

This is what the "van" (international bus) from Udon Thani to Vientiane is supposed to look like (and it operates on a schedule, costing about 100 baht all the way to Vientiane).

However, as you do not have a visa in advance, you would not be able to use it.

 

What was suggested to you is an uncomfortable, overpriced van to the border, and you are correct to reject that option.

Is this from the bus station near Central at Udon Thani? The bus picture says Vientiane to Nong Khai. Does it really start and end at Udon Thani?

Edited February 9, 2023 by bbi1

[Caldera]

14 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

 Is this from the bus station near Central at Udon Thani? The bus picture says Vientiane to Nong Khai. Does it really start and end at Udon Thani?

There are two different international buses, one to Nong Khai and another one to Udon Thani.

 

The one to Udon Thani uses the bus terminal nearby Central, yes 

[Mike Teavee]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

This is what the "van" (international bus) from Udon Thani to Vientiane is supposed to look like (and it operates on a schedule, costing about 100 baht all the way to Vientiane).

However, as you do not have a visa in advance, you would not be able to use it.

 

What was suggested to you is an uncomfortable, overpriced van to the border, and you are correct to reject that option.

Thanks, what would be your recommendation for the best option when coming back to UT?
 

Plan is to head back to UT late afternoon, spend the night at an airport hotel then catch the 8:45am flight to BKK. 
 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Thanks, what would be your recommendation for the best option when coming back to UT?
 

Plan is to head back to UT late afternoon, spend the night at an airport hotel then catch the 8:45am flight to BKK. 

My instinct would be to check the current schedule for the international bus from Vientiane Capital Bus Station to Udon Thani (the bus station near Central). A few years ago, the last two buses left at 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm which I assume would fit in with your plans. This is a cheap and fairly comfortable option.

 

Also reasonable is to use a taxi from Vientiane to the Friendship Bridge, cross using the shuttle bus, and then look for the van from Nong Khai to Udon Thani airport. That assumes you do not have a lot of luggage, and do not mind being a little cramped for about an hour.

[SunsetT]

On 6/1/2022 at 12:26 PM, HungDonger said:

I went to Laos (via Udon Thani) 2 weeks ago and came back last week.

Here i the travel info.....

 

Udon Thani to Nong Khai- Mini-van from Airport to Friendship Bridge Nong Khai- 200 Baht ..leaves every hour. Book at kiosk inside terminal just before the Exit. Taxi available at call 900 Baht.

 

Thai Immigration- Outbound- Passport check & stamp. Bus over the Friendship Bridge- 35 baht.

 

Lao Immigration- Inbound- Go to window 2-acquire blank paperwork. Complete paperwork including passport,1 passport photo, Vaccination details and $U.S. 40 .Note- The new charges are $US 40 for all except 2 countries (China & Vietnam I think).Baht can be used but a worse exchange rate applies.

Wait at Window 5 for your completed passport stamp/visa

.

Laos Immigration-Outbound- Present passport and exit form-Get stamped out.

Pay 10,000 Kip for bus over Friendship Bridge.

 

Thai Immigration- Inbound-  Go to Ist Booth and provide Thaipass with Insurance & Vaccination Documents. Receive a printout from 1st booth.

Proceed to Immigration for passport stamp and STRICT (scanner & Sniffer dogs) baggage check.

 

Easy.

If leaving Thailand after 90 days, on a 1 year non imm.  mult. entry O visa, including spending time in Vientiane, and re-entering, is this 'Thailand Pass' and insurance required? If so, What is and how is the Thailand pass obtained please?

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, SunsetT said:

If leaving Thailand after 90 days, on a 1 year non imm.  mult. entry O visa, including spending time in Vientiane, and re-entering, is this 'Thailand Pass' and insurance required? If so, What is and how is the Thailand pass obtained please?

The post you were looking at is old, and now completely out of date. Ignore it.

 

The Thailand pass and associated insurance are now long gone.