carl_ Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Thanks for the replies to last post. Can anyone tell me the cheapest way to cross a border when you're based in Bangkok. I know that crossing into Cambodia and back again will cost me 1000B+ for a Cambodian visa (plus train fare). But would it be cheaper to cross into Myanmar or Laos. Do you need to buy a visa if you're crossing into these countries and back again straight away? Also if anyone could give me an idea of travelling time to the various borders (preferably by train) then I'd be grateful. Basically, I'm trying to weigh up the cheapest and/or hassle-free way of doing a visa run from Bangkok. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Yes, you need a visa. Probably the least hassle would be the organized bus trips from Bangkok for this purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamdomChances Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 I always used to go to Mae Sot. 500bht to get into burma, no photo req'd, no hasstle, it used to take about 15-20 min inc the walk across the bridge. Of course I dont live in BKK so you'd have to get there, prob about 6 hr drive, so I'd agree with Lopburi, catch one of the organised busses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 A cheap AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur/Johor Bahru/Penang/Singapore/Macau is also a possibility. You could ostensibly fly to Singapore on their moring flight and return that evening if you did not want to stay overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Cheapest for me from BKK is to go to Mae Sot on the m/c. Takes about 6 hours each way. 5-600 baht each way for fuel. 500 baht Burmese entry fee (tea money?) 30 baht for day pass for a Thai. A bit tiring doing it in one day, so I usually stay a night in Mae Sot at DK Hotel in a 250 baht fanned room. Plus whatever you want to spend on food during the trip. Gazza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkk barney Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 buy a bicycle and take sandwiches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamdomChances Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Gazza I bet the road from Tak to Mae sot is great on a bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiflyer1 Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Anybody ever managed to fly down to Penang from Bangkok and come back the same day with Air Asia.....you only have 45 mins turnaround time in Penang......is it possible? The Air Asia flight into Singapore lands at 9pm and returns at 11pm ......seems feasible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highwayman Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Bangkok-Poipet-Bangkok. DIY is 4-5 hours each way by bus from Morchit, 130-180 baht each way. Train takes longer, not so comfortable and not so easy to do in one day. Allow up to 2 hours for the border formalities. Avoid Friday-Sunday. Total time is 10 hours if lucky, 12 if busy at the border. Total cost including visa should not exceed 1,500 baht. Jackgolf and others run VIP buses and take care of everything for you for around 2,000 baht. To do it yourself you must read this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Anybody ever managed to fly down to Penang from Bangkok and come back the same day with Air Asia.....you only have 45 mins turnaround time in Penang......is it possible? Theoretically this is a no-go. You would need to check-in for the PEN-BKK return flight in Penang and AirAsia closes their flight check-in forty-five minutes before departure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opalhort Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Anybody ever managed to fly down to Penang from Bangkok and come back the same day with Air Asia.....you only have 45 mins turnaround time in Penang......is it possible? The Air Asia flight into Singapore lands at 9pm and returns at 11pm ......seems feasible? years ago (8-10?) they had a special counter at Penang for "turnaround" passangers. Do they still have this? I never used it, but observed many foreigners hand over tickets and PP, get a new boardingpass and head for the transit lounge, presumably taking the same plane back to BKK. opalhort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiflyer1 Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Anybody ever managed to fly down to Penang from Bangkok and come back the same day with Air Asia.....you only have 45 mins turnaround time in Penang......is it possible? Theoretically this is a no-go. You would need to check-in for the PEN-BKK return flight in Penang and AirAsia closes their flight check-in forty-five minutes before departure. Wasnt sure if they could sort it so it was possible.......would be handy if they could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opalhort Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 Theoretically this is a no-go. You would need to check-in for the PEN-BKK return flight in Penang and AirAsia closes their flight check-in forty-five minutes before departure.Wasnt sure if they could sort it so it was possible.......would be handy if they could. as I said, my info is old. the budget airlines have different rules now. last time on TG or MAS you could check in at the last minute. I recall one flight which was even delayed for 10min because 2 "turnaround" passengers didn't make it in time. opalhort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 GazzaI bet the road from Tak to Mae sot is great on a bike Not so nice this time of year as you ride mostly in the rainclouds. Great when it's sunny and clear as the R105 is the first real biking road you come to after motoring up the flat and boring R1. Nice views going both ways Tak-Mae Sot-Tak. Hope to try the Ranong crossing next month. It's really beautiful crossing on the boat. Probably works out about 500-1000 baht more for the trip, but worth it. Gazza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 (edited) It depends where you live and your nationality. Malaysia is the cheapest border to cross as most of us do not need a visa to enter Malaysia, so you will be a 1100baht in pocket already! Cambodian officials levy an unofficial fine of 100-200 baht if your return the same day. With the cheap airfares, Malaysia becomes a real possibility, even for the Bangkok based, like you. Edited August 27, 2004 by astral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl_ Posted August 28, 2004 Author Share Posted August 28, 2004 thanks a lot for the info. Malaysia sounds like a good idea. Enter near Ranong, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 thanks a lot for the info. Malaysia sounds like a good idea. Enter near Ranong, I think. No. Much further than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Enter near Ranong, I think. Ranong is the southernmost point that one can cross to Myanmar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 How much roughly are we talking about if I was to fly the cheapest airline to Malaysia? I'm 5 mins from Don Muang airport so no expense or time used getting there. How much does all the departure taxes add up to? Carl, years ago I used to fly to Hat Yai on Thai Airways. From the airport a minibus to Hat Yai market. From there a bus (17baht and 45 mins) to Pedang Besar. Get my stamps. Back to Hat Yai to kill a few hours before getting a free limo from the Thai office to the airport. Depending on any time and money constraints, this may provide an option for you. Gazza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbiasbob Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Anybody ever managed to fly down to Penang from Bangkok and come back the same day with Air Asia.....you only have 45 mins turnaround time in Penang......is it possible? The Air Asia flight into Singapore lands at 9pm and returns at 11pm ......seems feasible? Air Asia will not book a r/t ticket without 3 hours between arriving and departing flights so the answer to both questions is no. Also as for the OP in this thread, he is looking for a cheaper way to do a visa run than the Poipet border run from BKK. The Air Asia flights are cheap but they are not that cheap. You normally shell out 4000 baht with airport and departure taxes or more. I wouldn't call that a cheap visa run or a convenient one either. I know, I just did one. In addition, you have the transport cost of getting to and fro airport, which in the case of the latenight Singapore arrival, there is no bus service. So there is another 200 one way ride min. So for me it was a hellish visa run starting at 5AM, a 200 baht taxi to airport (no bus early morning either), followed by a 9 AM arrival in Singapore. then the longest day of my life waiting 13 hours for the flight back to bkk at a r/t cost of 4k and 500 dep tax + 400 taxi. I was back in my pad 5000 k poorer and beaten to a pulp after a 22 hour day. It was ######. I can't recommend it. I would take poipet bus any day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbiasbob Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 How much roughly are we talking about if I was to fly the cheapest airline to Malaysia? I'm 5 mins from Don Muang airport so no expense or time used getting there. How much does all the departure taxes add up to?Carl, years ago I used to fly to Hat Yai on Thai Airways. From the airport a minibus to Hat Yai market. From there a bus (17baht and 45 mins) to Pedang Besar. Get my stamps. Back to Hat Yai to kill a few hours before getting a free limo from the Thai office to the airport. Depending on any time and money constraints, this may provide an option for you. Gazza OK, this option is for people not concerned with cost as an r/t ticket to hat yai is 6000 baht. These visa run flight options are too expensive for someone seeking to make such run for minimal cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 OK, this option is for people not concerned with cost as an r/t ticket to hat yai is 6000 baht. These visa run flight options are too expensive for someone seeking to make such run for minimal cost. While I agree it is not the cheapest it is not as expensive as you indicate with the new flights. The NokAir morning flight and return on the evening flight would cost 2878 for round trip including all tax charges. AirAsia might be even cheaper if you book in advance on a weekday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbiasbob Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 OK, this option is for people not concerned with cost as an r/t ticket to hat yai is 6000 baht. These visa run flight options are too expensive for someone seeking to make such run for minimal cost. While I agree it is not the cheapest it is not as expensive as you indicate with the new flights. The NokAir morning flight and return on the evening flight would cost 2878 for round trip including all tax charges. AirAsia might be even cheaper if you book in advance on a weekday. Right, I was just referring to the poster's comments about flying down to hat yai on Thai Air and thus getting freebie transport to and from hat yai town from thai air as part of the cost cutting scheme. So sure, perhaps you can cop a 3000 baht flight and then you shell out 500 baht taxi fare to and fro town. Air Asia is always steeper than they appear (higher fares) after they tack on huge airport taxes to those cheapo looking base fares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun ? Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 wooden box compliments of the embassy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Family Values Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 If you want to use Air Asia for a day trip for a visa run, Singapore is the place to go IMO. 07:40 Depart Bangkok (BKK) 11:05 Arrive Singapore (SIN) 23:10 Depart Singapore (SIN) 00:20 Arrive Bangkok (BKK)(next day Total Amount THB 4,256.00 + 500BT Departure Tax Edit Some other days Total Amount THB 3,655.00 + 500BT Departure Tax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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