Planning a trip to Thailand in March/April 2023 with a TR visa and after one month extension, want to get another TR visa in Penang. The plan is to stay in Thailand for 6-months. Two border bounce with visa exempt entry and two more extensions vs a Tourist visa from Penang with an additional extension would do. Which one is better?

I did that a few times from U-Tapao to Hat Yai and then to Penang (by bus) before Covid-19 but never applied for a Tourist visa in Penang. When I lived in Bangkok (around 20211-2013), did multiple times from DMK to Penang and then return by train to cross the border and then Hat-Yai to DMK/BKK. 

What would be your suggestions Two border bounce or a Tourist visa from Penang? Any other neighboring places for easy tourist visa?

Vientiane and Ho Chi Minh City are both good places for a tourist visa. In either case, you make an appointment online, and making the application yourself is not onerous.

 

I am unsure if there are agents now in Penang. There were several as of 2019. It is advisable to use agents there, if possible, as the consulate is inconveniently situated. I personally never really liked Penang as a place to spend time, but many others seem to love it. The Chulia Mansion Hotel (which I used and can recommend) could arrange to have an agent call when I stayed there.

 

Whether border bounces for visa exempt entries will be better depends on where you are staying. They are a bit of a drag from Bangkok or Pattaya, though visa run agencies can eliminate complicated journeys by public transport. In your position, I would tend to prefer a little holiday, getting a tourist visa, instead.

8 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Vientiane and Ho Chi Minh City are both good places for a tourist visa. In either case, you make an appointment online, and making the application yourself is not onerous.

Never been to Vientiane. Any link to make an appointment to Vientiane? I like Penang because it's a modern city with a variety of foods ( including street foods), malls, better roads, hospitals, etc.. I don't like Thai street foods. Most probably I won't like Laos or Vietnamese street food also. I can give it a try in Laos.   

Like the op I use to do visa runs to Penang ,I always used the consulate not so bad to get too I used a local bus ,the driver told me where to get off ,after a few times I knew myself ,I then used to walk back to the city,never took long.
Problem with the consulate they shut at 12 am and open at 2 pm picking up passport then is too late to get the train back to BKK had to use the bus a few times not fun.

I would say since Covid not many agents around ,you could try and e-mail some hotels and gust houses and ask them if there are still agents ,again when I was down they most visa run people used the hotels ,agents picking up passports up from the hotel.

I used to do visa runs to Penang, never used an agent but I came to Penang by train and most times overnight in Penang, yes you have to be at the embassy early

46 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Whether border bounces for visa exempt entries will be better depends on where you are staying.

I stay in Pattaya. Is border run very taxing for sitting in a crammed van for hours? 

For good few runs I use to get to the consulate at 12am to pick my passport up , they use to say pick up in the afternoon , it was normaly ready then, then catch the 2 30 pm?? train back to BKK.

Then one time I got they at 12am, job's-worth said pick up in the afternoon not now,then it was bus back to BKK.

 

3 hours ago, Onerak said:

Never been to Vientiane. Any link to make an appointment to Vientiane? I like Penang because it's a modern city with a variety of foods ( including street foods), malls, better roads, hospitals, etc.. I don't like Thai street foods. Most probably I won't like Laos or Vietnamese street food also. I can give it a try in Laos.   

Frankly, if you like to be in a well developed, modern city, you will prefer Ho Chi Minh City to Vientiane. For an appointment in Vientiane, see https://thaivisavientiane.com/. For a visa in HCMC, make an appointment at https://booking.setmore.com/

 

I find Vietnamese food delicious. Lao food can be very spicy, but it varies. In general, if you do not like Isaan food, you will probably not enjoy most of the food in Vientiane, although there is still some very good French food around if you know where to go. I like Thai/Isaan food when well prepared, but not more than once a day. I especially like finding a Western style breakfast. 

10 hours ago, kickstart said:

Then one time I got they at 12am, job's-worth said pick up in the afternoon not now,then it was bus back to BKK

The OP says he likes Penang, so there's no reason he would _have_ to leave on the same day he got his passport back. He could just stay an extra night and get the train back the next day.

20 minutes ago, JayClay said:

The OP says he likes Penang, so there's no reason he would _have_ to leave on the same day he got his passport back. He could just stay an extra night and get the train back the next day.

Correct. I can take a bus also to Hat Yai. Never took the train to Bangkok. Always took the train to Hat Yai and then a flight to U-Tapao or Bangkok. Train journey to Bangkok is just too long for me. 

Jim and of course Banana GH , both on Chula street!!
Penang is one of my top 5 favorite cities in SE Asia

12 hours ago, Onerak said:

Most probably I won't like Laos or Vietnamese street food also. I can give it a try in Laos.   

Give it a try, French food, filled baguettes and Indian food, samosas are street food, I presume you won't be there for long if your just doing a boarder bounce, you don't need malls and hopefully you won't need a hospital. Also if you can speak or understand Thai it's a very similar language. Enjoy.

Were there any recent positive reports on back-to-back TR visa trips to Penang? My fiance is on TR in Phuket, planned to do ED 3-6m, but time seems not enough, so she's thinking to do short flight to Penang to do TR there... But not sure if they will like that she just finished her previous TR...  Or it's better to use an agent there, like OP was asking?

Yeh jim or jims place.

I used to stay at the hotel next door (chula or something) and use jim. 

The manager of the Mingood Hotel in Georgetown, Penang used to arrange visas before Covid.

Might be worth dropping an e-mail.

As I mentioned in a previous post I was in Penang approximately 6 weeks ago and Jim's place and the Banana Guest house, who today are not accepting room bookings, were both closed along with numerous other visa shops. Below is the last entry on Jim's Farcebook page dated December 2020.

 

Hi my friend ,hunni is helping with collecting some fund to help me to keep my place in Penang until something good happens or when the border opens.well I have closed shop fir nearly 10 months and I have used up all my savings and I think I cannot carry on without some financial help.from my friends and my clients.any help will be appreciated and when the visa situation is back to normal I will be there to help u guys again.Thank u so much.

wow, thats news as i thought i read Banana was open>
i have stayed at Minigood and used their visa services but that was like 10 year ago and even then the rooms were very run down but very nice people

 

When Air Asia started flying to Macau I did a visa run to Hong Kong, via ferry.  I ended up doing it a few times.  Always liked the place, hadn't been there in decades.  I don't know how practical it would be these days.