Pattaya minivan visa run to Cambodia, recommendations?

[whitemouse]

It has been 10 years since I had to do the border trip to Cambodia. 

 

If you have recent experience, what visa run company would you recommend. I have to do the run this week. 

This is Pattaya specific. I did go through Visa section on this board but couldn't find recent Pattaya specific topic.

 

Every suggestion is much appreciated!

Edited February 19 by whitemouse

[Espanol]

2 hours ago, whitemouse said:

It has been 10 years since I had to do the border trip to Cambodia. 

 

If you have recent experience, what visa run company would you recommend. I have to do the run this week. 

This is Pattaya specific. I did go through Visa section on this board but couldn't find recent Pattaya specific topic.

 

Every suggestion is much appreciated!

 

http://www.1stclassvisaruns.com/

 

I went with them in December.
6-seater VIP van.

3700 baht

Everything perfectly organized, with staff waiting at the border to accompany you to complete all the procedures on both the Thai and Cambodian sides.
The price also includes food on the way back in a restaurant.

 

I recommend it without hesitation.

 

 

 

[JimTripper]

6 minutes ago, Espanol said:

 

http://www.1stclassvisaruns.com/

 

I went with them in December.
6-seater VIP van.

3700 baht

Everything perfectly organized, with staff waiting at the border to accompany you to complete all the procedures on both the Thai and Cambodian sides.
The price also includes food on the way back in a restaurant.

 

I recommend it without hesitation.

Is that price them doing a visa for you, or just a border run where you had everything you needed?

Edited February 19 by JimTripper

[Espanol]

1 minute ago, JimTripper said:

Is that price them doing a visa for you, or just a border run?

 

All visa fees included in the price

 

[JimTripper]

2 minutes ago, Espanol said:

All visa fees included in the price

I don't need a visa, just a border run to reactivate my current visa in my passport. Do you know if they offer that service?

Edited February 19 by JimTripper

[pomchop]

Champion travel soi 13/2....3300 thb...good van, good driver, no hassles

[Pattaya57]

38 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

I don't need a visa, just a border run to reactivate my current visa in my passport. Do you know if they offer that service?

You need a Cambodia Visa, that is the visa included in the 3700 Baht border run

 

Edited February 19 by Pattaya57

[redwood1]

2 hours ago, Espanol said:

 

http://www.1stclassvisaruns.com/

 

I went with them in December.
6-seater VIP van.

3700 baht

Everything perfectly organized, with staff waiting at the border to accompany you to complete all the procedures on both the Thai and Cambodian sides.
The price also includes food on the way back in a restaurant.

 

I recommend it without hesitation.

 

 

 

 

Back when I was a visa run monkey in 2012 and before the price was 1900 baht every thing included....

 

Back then there must have been about 10 vans a day from Pattaya doing the run...

Edited February 19 by redwood1

[bbko]

Lots of visa run shops on Soi Buakow, charging a lot less than 1stclassvisa.

 

16 hours ago, JimTripper said:

I don't need a visa, just a border run to reactivate my current visa in my passport. Do you know if they offer that service?

Many Soi buakow shops will be glad just to provide transportation, stop in and ask their price.

[popel]

jomtien soi 2 - (7country tour)

 

2800 all inc. + 🍽 - 9 seater van

did it 2 times already.. 

 

https://thai-online.tours/shop/272/desc/vizaran-to-cambodia-2023

 

 

[Pattaya57]

1 hour ago, bbko said:

Lots of visa run shops on Soi Buakow, charging a lot less than 1stclassvisa.

The few I visited were 3000 for 9 -seater vans, while 1st Class visa is only 6 luxury seats. The better comfort for a 9 hour trip was well worth the extra 700 baht for me.

 

[JimTripper]

6 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

The few I visited were 3000 for 9 -seater vans, while 1st Class visa is only 6 luxury seats. The better comfort for a 9 hour trip was well worth the extra 700 baht for me.

 

9 hours in a minivan sounds like hell. I may reconsider and do a short flight out of Bkk instead.

[Pattaya57]

Just now, JimTripper said:

9 hours in a minivan sounds like hell. I may reconsider and do a short flight out of Bkk instead.

From memory mine was about 3 hours 15 min to get there (break in middle) and 3.5 hours back (incl free lunch stop). So I guess that leaves about 2-2.5 hours at border.

 

I just reclined my seat and slept most of the way to border so it wasn't a problem for me.

[whitemouse]

Thank you, everyone for useful info.

 

Ended up using agent, soi Bukhao, if you walk from South Rd to Soi Bukhao, 3 minute walk you'll see a blue sign to your right  'Cambodia Visa', owner is Thai gentleman.

 

The price is 3000b, seems to be lowest today , many ask slightly more. This includes everything. Pick up was this morning at 5am, driver is good, within speed limit and no dangerous manoeuvres on the road. 

 

One stop for food and toilet about half way. Border in and out all together 50 minutes, few people waiting in line, several vans arrived same time.

Drive to border took under 4 hours.

 

It is now 10.20, got the Thai stamp and we are heading back to Pattaya. 

 

All in all, painless experience.

[whitemouse]

Reason I chose land border and not a flight, since September 2023 I have 3 BKK airport entries, one with 60 day TR, visa,  other entries visa waiver 30 day stamps at BKK airport.

Fourth entry via airport could be tricky, they love to ask questions, looking for reasons to deny entry, need to show 20.000 baht. Land border is no risk of denied entry.

[Ohyesuare]

44 minutes ago, whitemouse said:

Reason I chose land border and not a flight, since September 2023 I have 3 BKK airport entries, one with 60 day TR, visa,  other entries visa waiver 30 day stamps at BKK airport.

Fourth entry via airport could be tricky, they love to ask questions, looking for reasons to deny entry, need to show 20.000 baht. Land border is no risk of denied entry.

 

It's actually the opposite. You're more likely to get denied at a land border, telling you to fly in instead. Of course, I'm sure using an agent at the land border to do the trip helps since everyone gets their kickbacks. 

[JimTripper]

1 hour ago, Ohyesuare said:

 

It's actually the opposite. You're more likely to get denied at a land border, telling you to fly in instead. Of course, I'm sure using an agent at the land border to do the trip helps since everyone gets their kickbacks. 

It's probably purely the agent you get that determines potential problems. I don't think where you are matters much. 

 

People do these reports of one crossing or another, but it's likely just chance unless they do some sort of special training at that location or the head guy is particularly stringent with the officers at that location or not.

[bbi1]

4 hours ago, popel said:

jomtien soi 2 - (7country tour)

 

2800 all inc. + 🍽 - 9 seater van

did it 2 times already.. 

 

https://thai-online.tours/shop/272/desc/vizaran-to-cambodia-2023

 

 

Interesting.....is it really only 250kms from Pattaya to the Cambodia border, as per what's written on that visa run company's website? That's only double the distance than Pattaya to BKK airport, which is 123kms, according to Google.

[Espanol]

4 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

From memory mine was about 3 hours 15 min to get there (break in middle) and 3.5 hours back (incl free lunch stop). So I guess that leaves about 2-2.5 hours at border.

 

I just reclined my seat and slept most of the way to border so it wasn't a problem for me.

 

 

We left at 5:30 in the morning from the Queen Victoria Inn offices on Soi 6.
We arrived at the border at 9:30. We completed all the procedures and at 10:15 we were already in the van returning to Pattaya.
We stopped for lunch from 12 to 12:30 and arrived back at the offices on Soi 6 at 2:30 p.m.

 

Just enough time at the border for an agent to accompany you to the queue outside Thailand, stamp your passport, walk across the border, get to Cambodian passport control (where another agent is waiting for you), stamp your entry into Cambodia, stamp your departure from Cambodia, walk back across the border, seal entry into Thailand and return to the coach after a quick visit to the bathroom.

In fact, since I was in Cambodia I would have liked an hour free to see something, even if it was a market, but everything went very quickly and almost without queues.

 

There was no need to pay anything there at any time, not even the entry visa to Cambodia.

 

We made a quick stop on the way to Cambodia to go to the bathroom and have a quick breakfast (not included in the price) and on the way back to Pattaya we stopped to eat at a restaurant. The food was good and was included in the visa run price.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 20 by Espanol

[JensenZ]

5 hours ago, popel said:

jomtien soi 2 - (7country tour)

 

2800 all inc. + 🍽 - 9 seater van

did it 2 times already.. 

 

https://thai-online.tours/shop/272/desc/vizaran-to-cambodia-2023

 

 

Thanks! This looks like a good option.

 

The price depends on your nationality due to the varying prices of the Cambodia visa. If you're Filipino, Indonesian, or from another ASEAN country, it is 2199 baht.

Edited February 20 by JensenZ

[JensenZ]

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

It's probably purely the agent you get that determines potential problems. I don't think where you are matters much. 

 

People do these reports of one crossing or another, but it's likely just chance unless they do some sort of special training at that location or the head guy is particularly stringent with the officers at that location or not.

Fortunately, the Thai Immigration officers will let you know before you enter Cambodia if you won't be let back in.

[whitemouse]

6 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

 

It's actually the opposite. You're more likely to get denied at a land border, telling you to fly in instead. Of course, I'm sure using an agent at the land border to do the trip helps since everyone gets their kickbacks. 

 

In 20 years of border runs to land border Cambodia I've yet to experience questioning by  border police. I have never heard a single report of difficulty on the land border crossing, except than one known crossing.

 

I have been questioned several times at BKK and DMK airports, all my friends have had many such experiences at both Bangkok airports. There are constant reports at Aseannow visa sub forum of people being turned away and denied entry at airports.

 

When you say land border crossing are more difficult, you are giving very bad advise to people planning a visa run.

Obviously every visa run is accompanied with a Thai agent, why would anyone try this alone. 

 

I have never heard of questioning  at Thai Cambodia border, 20 years of 6 months visits to Thailand. Obviously avoiding the one very well known and very difficult border crossing.

 

So, anyone with many entries to Thailand with tourist visa or visa waiver, 4th or 5th entry to Thailand via air will be coin toss, you can be denied entry for no reason, and you'll be deported. The usual 'reason' to deny entry is 12/2, 'lack of funds to sustain stay in Kingdom'.

Edited February 20 by whitemouse

[whitemouse]

8 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

The few I visited were 3000 for 9 -seater vans, while 1st Class visa is only 6 luxury seats. The better comfort for a 9 hour trip was well worth the extra 700 baht for me.

 

 

 

This van really looks comfy. 6 seats, you said, that means every passenger gets his own armchair, sitting alone?

3 rows of single seats, correct?

 

Next time will use them, few hundred more but looks so comfortable.

[retarius]

Fly or take a big bus.

[JimTripper]

1 hour ago, whitemouse said:

 

In 20 years of border runs to land border Cambodia I've yet to experience questioning by  border police. I have never heard a single report of difficulty on the land border crossing, except than one known crossing.

 

I have been questioned several times at BKK and DMK airports, all my friends have had many such experiences at both Bangkok airports. There are constant reports at Aseannow visa sub forum of people being turned away and denied entry at airports.

 

When you say land border crossing are more difficult, you are giving very bad advise to people planning a visa run.

Obviously every visa run is accompanied with a Thai agent, why would anyone try this alone. 

 

I have never heard of questioning  at Thai Cambodia border, 20 years of 6 months visits to Thailand. Obviously avoiding the one very well known and very difficult border crossing.

 

So, anyone with many entries to Thailand with tourist visa or visa waiver, 4th or 5th entry to Thailand via air will be coin toss, you can be denied entry for no reason, and you'll be deported. The usual 'reason' to deny entry is 12/2, 'lack of funds to sustain stay in Kingdom'.

Are you allowed to use an atm to get 20k baht then return a second time right away at the same crossing, or do you need to wait before trying again?

Edited February 20 by JimTripper

[Espanol]

1 hour ago, whitemouse said:

 

 

So, anyone with many entries to Thailand with tourist visa or visa waiver, 4th or 5th entry to Thailand via air will be coin toss, you can be denied entry for no reason, and you'll be deported. The usual 'reason' to deny entry is 12/2, 'lack of funds to sustain stay in Kingdom'.

 

 

 

 

Do they have to be in cash or does it suffice to show the balance in my Thai bank account?

 

 

[JimTripper]

12 minutes ago, Espanol said:

Do they have to be in cash or does it suffice to show the balance in my Thai bank account?

It probably depends on the particular officer 😂

Edited February 20 by JimTripper

[Ohyesuare]

1 hour ago, Espanol said:

 

 

Do they have to be in cash or does it suffice to show the balance in my Thai bank account?

 

 

 

According to several reports I've read, cash is what they want to see and they won't consider bank account balances or credit cards etc..

[NoshowJones]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:02 PM, Espanol said:

 

http://www.1stclassvisaruns.com/

 

I went with them in December.
6-seater VIP van.

3700 baht

Everything perfectly organized, with staff waiting at the border to accompany you to complete all the procedures on both the Thai and Cambodian sides.
The price also includes food on the way back in a restaurant.

 

I recommend it without hesitation.

 

 

 

3,700Bt??  About 10 years ago was the price not about half that? Are the visa  run companies not ripping off customers to make up for losses made during the Chinese virus?

[JimTripper]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

3,700Bt??  About 10 years ago was the price not about half that? Are the visa  run companies not ripping off customers to make up for losses made during the Chinese virus?

3,700 sounds high. I think I could get a round trip ticket to Vietnam for that much. Maybe I will go say hello to Hanoi again. When I arrive I will have a nice strong coffee.

Edited February 20 by JimTripper