Border run to either Ranong/Myanmar or Vientiane friendship bridge

[webber4]

Hi,

 

I have an Israeli passport (located at Koh Phangan), i got into Thailand 2 months ago with Exemption 60 days stamp, just got yesterday 30 days extension at the immigration, so in 1 month I'll have to leave Thailand.

 

1. Would I be able to get 60 more days with a land border run? or is it only possible by entering via air?

2. Between the 2 options (Myanmar and Vientiane) which one would be better/safer? 

 

Thank you!

[DrJack54]

21 minutes ago, webber4 said:

Would I be able to get 60 more days with a land border run?

No problem. 

 

21 minutes ago, webber4 said:

Between the 2 options (Myanmar and Vientiane) which one would be better/safer? 

Have you considered Malaysia.

Here is thread (not recent) has links.

 

Regards  Vientiane seems just started requiring one night stay.

As usual some Baht perhaps can avoid that requirement.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1275933-how-to-do-border-run-from-koh-samui-or-koh-phangan/

 

[Briggsy]

Malaysia versus Israeli passport?

[1sickpuppy]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

No problem. 

 

Have you considered Malaysia.

Here is thread (not recent) has links.

 

Regards  Vientiane seems just started requiring one night stay.

As usual some Baht perhaps can avoid that requirement.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1275933-how-to-do-border-run-from-koh-samui-or-koh-phangan/

 

Im pretty sure Israelies cannot enter Malaysia,  stuffed up world eh

[zmisha]

26 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Malaysia versus Israeli passport?

Air ticket to Hong Kong has the same price. Also they will not stamp your passport.

[DrJack54]

42 minutes ago, 1sickpuppy said:

Im pretty sure Israelies cannot enter Malaysia,  stuffed up world eh

Geez ..excuse my ignorance.

From AI google...

"No, Israeli citizens are generally not allowed to enter Malaysia. To enter Malaysia, Israeli citizens need an embassy visa" 

You summed it up "stuffed up world"

[Toby1947]

Border hop to Laos via Nong Khai friendship bridge. Take a small break in Vientiane, much nicer place and people than Thailand. Return via bridge 60 day exempt stamp. Job done very simple 

[DrJack54]

6 minutes ago, Toby1947 said:

Return via bridge 60 day exempt stamp. Job done very simple 

Care to outline travel options from Koh Phangan to Vientiane.

[zzzzz]

there used to be a ferry./mini bus service from KP to Ranong an back pre covid so check with local travel agents

[bigt3116]

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Geez ..excuse my ignorance.

From AI google...

"No, Israeli citizens are generally not allowed to enter Malaysia. To enter Malaysia, Israeli citizens need an embassy visa" 

You summed it up "stuffed up world"

 

Also from AI

 

Malaysians generally do not prohibit Israeli citizens from transiting through the country if they remain in the international zone of the airport. However, advance confirmation is advised.

 

If you transited through an airport in another country and remained in the international zone without passing through immigration, you won't have an entry or exit stamp for that transit country. This is typically not an issue for Thai immigration.

 

So maybe it is possible for the OP to use Malaysia?

[Phillip9]

15 minutes ago, bigt3116 said:

So maybe it is possible for the OP to use Malaysia?

 

How does that help him?  So he would book a ticket to another country with transit stop in Malaysia?  KL can be a rather terrible place to transit.  Much better to just book a direct flight to that other country.

[bigt3116]

5 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

 

How does that help him?  So he would book a ticket to another country with transit stop in Malaysia?  KL can be a rather terrible place to transit.  Much better to just book a direct flight to that other country.

 

Ah ok, my thought was book a return ticket to Thailand, and just transit at Malaysia.

[Briggsy]

5 minutes ago, bigt3116 said:

 

Ah ok, my thought was book a return ticket to Thailand, and just transit at Malaysia.

Back in the day, people tried that as a rather weird border bounce so they could fly back almost immediately.

 

However it didn't work as Immigration in Thailand would not accept that. They needed the foreigner to clear immigration in Malaysia.

 

In today's world of not stamping the passport, I am not entirely sure how they would check but I am sure they could access the information somewhere.

 

Anyway, we are getting very off the point. The Israeli OP wants to do a border bounce from Koh Phangan. The easiest way is to use a service to Ranong.

[spambot]

16 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Vientiane seems just started requiring one night stay.

As usual some Baht perhaps can avoid that requirement.

 

 

Yikes - That is important news (at least to me) - I had made travel arrangements based upon going in and out at the border on the same day - Is this a recent occurrence or just isolated events being reported.

 

If there was one border that I felt I could always go to and it would be straightforward was Vientiane. If this is a consistent rule then it seems the only safe options are organised van trips or possibly the Malaysia border Padang Besar. However even at this border I heard from a few people (about 2 years ago) that they were required to stay one night in Malaysia. Since that time  I have heard nothing more and so this also could have been an isolated incident.

 

In a more general sense the current system has never seemed to make much sense. If it is Thailand policy to actually allow certain passport holders to go out the country and then return on a Visa exempt without any cost what is the point of inserting a border hop obstetrical which just gets in the way. The end result is their customer gets more inconvenienced and also forces some of the available tourism money to benefit their competitors Cambodia and Lao in collecting Visa fees.

[DrJack54]

18 hours ago, webber4 said:

i got into Thailand 2 months ago with Exemption 60 days stamp, just got yesterday 30 days extension at the immigration, so in 1 month I'll have to leave Thailand.

This is from OP.

Given that he obtained a 60 day visa exempt+ 30 day extension I would not recommend a same day flight out and return looking for visa exempt entry.

OP stick with idea of land borders.

You won't have a problem.

BTW you mentioned Vientiane. 

Recent report even that crossing appears to be requesting overnight stay.

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, spambot said:

Yikes - That is important news (at least to me) - I had made travel arrangements based upon going in and out at the border on the same day - Is this a recent occurrence or just isolated events being reported

@Tod Daniels posted this information. He is up to speed on the various land borders.

 

[spambot]

Good response - Actually I had forgotten about this from Tod - Those interested see below- 

 

[spambot]

I am seeing one and two night stays on the Lao border via Huay Xai is no longer possible from the sources below, but the rules at Vientiane seem a little less certain if this policy is being implemented.

 

 

 

 

 

https://asq.in.th/question/can-i-get-a-60-day-visa-after-a-same-day-land-border-run-to-vientiane-from-udon-thani

 

 

 

[spambot]

The last link doesn't seem to want to resolve as a clickable link - Here goes again

 

https://shorturl.at/ebxO2   or copy paste the text below

 

https://asq.in.th/question/can-i-get-a-60-day-visa-after-a-same-day-land-border-run-to-vientiane-from-udon-thani

[Watawattana]

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Care to outline travel options from Koh Phangan to Vientiane.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Koh-Phangan/Vientiane?search=Koh-Phangan,Vientiane#trips

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, Watawattana said:

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Koh-Phangan/Vientiane?search=Koh-Phangan,Vientiane#trips

Indeed. Had already done that prior to my post. Very unattractive options.

I wonder why OP even suggested Nong Khai crossing 

[spambot]

There was a report a few weeks ago identifying no issues for same day in / out Vientiane

 

 

[Saigon]

First of all, sorry to hear that the Israeli passport holders

are not allowed to enter Muslim countries like Malaysia.

When I visited Indonesia years ago, I did meet 2 Israelis

there: one with a US passport and the other with a French

passport.

 

One of the best bets would be for you to fly either from

Surat Thani or Chumphon to Vientiane via DMK. As of

right now, it'll cost you around 3,000B one way. The

cheaper way would be to fly to Udon Thani via DMK

(around 1,600B one way) and then enter Laos by land.

 

Good luck!

[Saigon]

And maybe you'd stay in Vientiane for a night or two

before coming back to Thailand to stay on the safe

side.

[webber4]

Thank you all for the valuable info!

 

To sum up if I understand correctly 

 

-vientianie border run possible but will need to spend at least 1 day in vietniane. Correct?

 

-is it the same with Ranong/Myanmar? Or possible in and out same day? 

 

-cheapest air option is Hong Kong? 

[thai006]

Ventiane border run is 2 3 days there. I be stuck there now until the 31 of December 

[webber4]

On 12/29/2024 at 5:42 PM, thai006 said:

Ventiane border run is 2 3 days there. I be stuck there now until the 31 of December 

You were not able to come back to Thailand the same day? they asked you to stay 2-3 days in Vientiane?

[thai006]

Yeah right they send me back to laos on 29 and say the rules are change. I need stay 2 3 days in laos before come back 

[Phillip9]

On 12/29/2024 at 1:45 PM, webber4 said:

-is it the same with Ranong/Myanmar? Or possible in and out same day? 

 

No way to know for sure until you try it.  Things are changing fast, and several formerly safe same day crossings now require overnight stays .  Don't try it without bringing some extra cash in case you get stuck in Myanmar for a few days.

[webber4]

4 hours ago, thai006 said:

Yeah right they send me back to laos on 29 and say the rules are change. I need stay 2 3 days in laos before come back 

Sorry to hear that, I suspect that before the 60 days exemption change, tourists had to go to the thai embassy and to get a proper visa and had to spend 2-3 days in laos and 'support' financially the tourism in Vientiane, and since now with the new 60 days rule it's not needed anymore - they implemented this new 2-3 days before enter back rule.