I got a double entry visa in laos on monday,there is no problem getting the visa,they hand them out to anyone,just pay 2000 baht for a double,and 1000 for a single.I dont envy anyone a trip to laos,I paid over 6000 baht inclusive to go on a mini bus from On Nut in bangkok to laos,leave sunday night,get to thai border 6 a.m monday morning.The Thai embassy was a terrible place,hundreds of people there waiting to get visas,very hot,no system in place,it was like playing rugby or american football trying to enter the embassy,1 man handing out the visas...............if you dont like chatuchak-j j market then you wont like the thai embassy in laos,i can see a hillsborough disaster happening there soon,so many people crushing each other,just to get a visa to stay in thailand.Also the people that arrange these trips everyday must be making a fortune,they take your money and offer very little in return,from a scale of 1-10 the service was a 1,very poor.good luck if your going soon,you will need it.

I got a double entry visa in laos on monday,there is no problem getting the visa,they hand them out to anyone,just pay 2000 baht for a double,and 1000 for a single.I dont envy anyone a trip to laos,I paid over 6000 baht inclusive to go on a mini bus from On Nut in bangkok to laos,leave sunday night,get to thai border 6 a.m monday morning.The Thai embassy was a terrible place,hundreds of people there waiting to get visas,very hot,no system in place,it was like playing rugby or american football trying to enter the embassy,1 man handing out the visas...............if you dont like chatuchak-j j market then you wont like the thai embassy in laos,i can see a hillsborough disaster happening there soon,so many people crushing each other,just to get a visa to stay in thailand.Also the people that arrange these trips everyday must be making a fortune,they take your money and offer very little in return,from a scale of 1-10 the service was a 1,very poor.good luck if your going soon,you will need it.

@geoffers76:

You could consider a train ride (a few hundred Baht) to Nong Khai or Udon and from there take the international bus to Vientiane. Stay a few days and have some beer Lao watching the sunset over the Mekong. While in Vientiane get your visa.

Get the train back to Bkk.

You probably spend about the same, maybe a bit more. You also need to bring more time, but it is an enjoyable trip, enough room on the train to stretch your legs or walk around, chances to buy food from the locals while en route, nice baguettes with Pate in Vientiane...

I got a double entry visa in laos on monday,there is no problem getting the visa,they hand them out to anyone,just pay 2000 baht for a double,and 1000 for a single.I dont envy anyone a trip to laos,I paid over 6000 baht inclusive to go on a mini bus from On Nut in bangkok to laos,leave sunday night,get to thai border 6 a.m monday morning.The Thai embassy was a terrible place,hundreds of people there waiting to get visas,very hot,no system in place,it was like playing rugby or american football trying to enter the embassy,1 man handing out the visas...............if you dont like chatuchak-j j market then you wont like the thai embassy in laos,i can see a hillsborough disaster happening there soon,so many people crushing each other,just to get a visa to stay in thailand.Also the people that arrange these trips everyday must be making a fortune,they take your money and offer very little in return,from a scale of 1-10 the service was a 1,very poor.good luck if your going soon,you will need it.

All I can say is do it on your own or find a company that does not have you arriving on Monday. That is the worst day to be there.

Things may change on the 5th since they are opening a new office that day. But there will still be a crunch on Monday.

Tuesdays are also a bad day now because of all those that didn't make it on Monday.

Thursday also is a bad day because it is the last day that you you can get it overnight.

My advise is to be in Vientiane the night before and be there before they open on any day.

See the last few pages of this topic for more info: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Vientiane-La...sa-t158561.html

You can easily do it for 4000 baht independently. That includes a couple of nights in a cheap guest house and eating at fairly good restaurants. I don't know why anyone would pay 6000 for a crappy minibus there full of illegal workers.

Thankyou for your reply,the embassy was so busy,I guess because of the bank holidays,everyone went at the same time to make sure of getting there visas in time.As for the agents they seemed to be last at handing in the passports all the time,never spoke to anyone,we waited for 90 minutes to leave the thai border,waited over 2 hours to enter laos,then we just marched through without showing any paperwork,then waited 90 minutes to enter the thai embassy in laos.At the border crossings from what I could see if you went solo without an agent,you would have saved so much time.So thankyou for your advice and will make my own way next time i think.On our trip there were 5 mini buses and for some reason we stopped at some shop in the middle of nowhere,I assume it was a family buisness,and was another oppurtunity to get more money from us,as nobody else would have stopped there........Anyone reading this please make your own way there, you dont need these people,you gain nothing.

yes it was full of illegal workers,mostly filipinos i think

You can easily do it for 4000 baht independently. That includes a couple of nights in a cheap guest house and eating at fairly good restaurants. I don't know why anyone would pay 6000 for a crappy minibus there full of illegal workers.

I took the Onnut trip twice for new Non Imm B Visas, the service was great, the minibusses were nearly brand new and VIP style with leather seats. Sure it is a bit cramped to go overnight. They provided great value for money, total cost not including my spending money was 6,000B including the 1,500 B for the Laos entry visa and 2,000B for the Non Immigrant B Visa. Last time I didn't go out, hung out at the hotel which was actually quite nice (though basic) so spent a grand total of an additional 500 or 600B on Beer Lao and snacks on the ride. Their deal also included coffee in the am at the border, lunch on arrival in Laos plus dinner the first night too and breakfast the next day.

I also had a problem the last time, their staff sorted it and took me to the internet/copy shop to print some additional documents I needed and made sure I got through the process no hassles.

I don't know how I would do the total trip any cheaper on the train, I know I would stay in a more expensive hotel, etc. and probably spend more than 8,000B total. Next time should I have to do this again I will try the train, spend a few extra days in Vientianne and make it a bit of a holiday.

Dan

You can easily do it for 4000 baht independently. That includes a couple of nights in a cheap guest house and eating at fairly good restaurants. I don't know why anyone would pay 6000 for a crappy minibus there full of illegal workers.

I took the Onnut trip twice for new Non Imm B Visas, the service was great, the minibusses were nearly brand new and VIP style with leather seats. Sure it is a bit cramped to go overnight. They provided great value for money, total cost not including my spending money was 6,000B including the 1,500 B for the Laos entry visa and 2,000B for the Non Immigrant B Visa. Last time I didn't go out, hung out at the hotel which was actually quite nice (though basic) so spent a grand total of an additional 500 or 600B on Beer Lao and snacks on the ride. Their deal also included coffee in the am at the border, lunch on arrival in Laos plus dinner the first night too and breakfast the next day.

I also had a problem the last time, their staff sorted it and took me to the internet/copy shop to print some additional documents I needed and made sure I got through the process no hassles.

I don't know how I would do the total trip any cheaper on the train, I know I would stay in a more expensive hotel, etc. and probably spend more than 8,000B total. Next time should I have to do this again I will try the train, spend a few extra days in Vientianne and make it a bit of a holiday.

Dan

So which one is the real?

Same service but one very bad and one very good....im confused..someone can explain?

Tks

You can easily do it for 4000 baht independently. That includes a couple of nights in a cheap guest house and eating at fairly good restaurants. I don't know why anyone would pay 6000 for a crappy minibus there full of illegal workers.

Please enlighten us.

Please consider that the Laos Visa on Arrival is already around THB 1,500.-.

The Thai Visa Single Entry is THB 1,000.- and the Double Entry is THB 2,000.-.

That leaves you THB 500.- for transport/taxi/hotel and meals.

Thankyou for your reply,the embassy was so busy,I guess because of the bank holidays,everyone went at the same time to make sure of getting there visas in time.As for the agents they seemed to be last at handing in the passports all the time,never spoke to anyone,we waited for 90 minutes to leave the thai border,waited over 2 hours to enter laos,then we just marched through without showing any paperwork,then waited 90 minutes to enter the thai embassy in laos.At the border crossings from what I could see if you went solo without an agent,you would have saved so much time.So thankyou for your advice and will make my own way next time i think.On our trip there were 5 mini buses and for some reason we stopped at some shop in the middle of nowhere,I assume it was a family buisness,and was another oppurtunity to get more money from us,as nobody else would have stopped there........Anyone reading this please make your own way there, you dont need these people,you gain nothing.

From friends I heard there where over 200Farangs applying for the Laos Visa on Arrival.

You can easily do it for 4000 baht independently. That includes a couple of nights in a cheap guest house and eating at fairly good restaurants. I don't know why anyone would pay 6000 for a crappy minibus there full of illegal workers.

Have you ever actually done a visa run yourself? It's impossible to do it for 4000 baht.

It was a good service if you like waiting and like behaving like an animal for 48 hours ?.........If you think waiting around at a border crossing for 90 minutes thai side,while your agent is nowhere to be seen,then suddenly appears and are waved at, to board a bus like sheep,then wait at the entry to laos for over 2 hours with not many seats and in the boiling heat while solo day trippers sail past you,while she went somewhere again,with no words being spoken on every occasion including at the embassy.Then it was a good service. Yes there was about 300 farangs there,also hundreds of filipinos,i know they dont need a visa for laos,but they were hanging around to,while the japanese seemed to get treated like superstars.Also we should have left laos at 12.40 the following day,but again the agent was nowhere to be seen, and we left laos at 5 pm,the 25 baht voucher for food on the way home was a nice gesture though,NOT.Maybe some people expect more than others,in my opinion the service offered was dreadful.

Geoffers, here is the link of a Vientiane visa run that I posted in August 2008. Note the fact that I won't be doing it again. There are much better options than the hassle of getting a visa there. e.g. Penang, Kota Bahru, Hull, Singapore, Phnom Penh, Birmingham, unlimited visa waivers, etc.

www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=&showtopic=158561&view=findpost&p=2134879

Geoffers, here is a much abridged version of a Vientiane visa run that I posted in August 2008. Note the fact that I won't be doing it again. There are much better options than the hassle of getting a visa there. e.g. Penang, Kota Bahru, Hull, Singapore, Phnom Penh, Birmingham, unlimited visa waivers, etc.

Hopefully things will be better at the new location.

It will interesting to see the first posts. Although I expect some of those will be from people that did not know that it had moved and/or their taxi/tuc tuc took them to the old location.

Remember Penang and Singapore only issue single entry visas.

I don't think doing border runs every 2 weeks would be worth the trouble. Or flying out and back every 30 days either.

You can easily do it for 4000 baht independently. That includes a couple of nights in a cheap guest house and eating at fairly good restaurants. I don't know why anyone would pay 6000 for a crappy minibus there full of illegal workers.

Please enlighten us.

Please consider that the Laos Visa on Arrival is already around THB 1,500.-.

The Thai Visa Single Entry is THB 1,000.- and the Double Entry is THB 2,000.-.

That leaves you THB 500.- for transport/taxi/hotel and meals.

I didn't factor in the cost of the Laos visa but it's only 1500 baht if you're silly enough to pay in baht. Pay in USD and it comes to about 1250 baht. Second class sleeper train or VIP coach costs 500 baht each way. 2000 baht for the visa and 500 baht for 2 nights in a cheap guesthouse comes to 4750 in total. As long as you avoid too many tuk-tuk rides in Vientiane (hire a bike for 40 baht a day) you can keep your transport costs in Nong Khai and Vientiane below 250 baht so that raises the cost to 5000 baht. You then have 1000 baht to spend on food and drink in a couple of days and still your expenses would be the same as the crappy minibus option, but you'll have had a much more leisurely journey and a pleasant little holiday.

I did exactly that a couple of days ago. I changed 1000 baht when I arrived in Vientiane and that lasted me 2 nights and a pleasant little holiday by the river and cycling around Vientiane.

Hi,

yes it was full of illegal workers,mostly filipinos i think

I am not certain that it is a very good idea

to say everybody here that YOU are an illegal worker...

As for your bad experience I think you were unlucky, or on the bad company. I made such a trip to Laos from Pattaya 3 months ago and the service was great. Big new mini-bus VIP style. Comfortable large seat. Arrived at the border a little before opening (6am?). One guy of the team went in an office with passports, we have nothing to do, just cross the not-yet-open Thai control and wait for him to get into a local minibus to cross the river.

On Laos immigration a small wait because the visa office open only at 7am... but yet morning and not too warn. Our guide knows the place and was out the "reserved" office with our passports and visa before the 7:00 opening. . Then minibus (3rd one) to go to the Thai Consulate, not yet open. Wait for maybe 20 minutes before opening and then again 20 minutes queue to give them our passport for visa. I did not fill any paper or paid anything. The minibus guys take care of everything.

Then arrive at hotel for breakfast and 1 1/2 day of Vientiane holidays...

The following day we quit the hotel at 13h. Stop at the Consulate where 1 guy go take our passports. Maybe 10 minutes waiting in minibus, just the time for a cigarette or a Lao ice cream

Crossing back to Thailand is fast and easy. We don't even have to go out of the minibus. Then we change to our VIP minibus that was waiting for us and fast return to Pattaya.

It was a fast, easy, no hassle solution for a 6 months prolongation of my stay.

I recommend this solution if you never went to Laos/Vientiane before.

Just ask around you which minibus company has good reputation

Pattaya46

As for your bad experience I think you were unlucky, or on the bad company. I made such a trip to Laos from Pattaya 3 months ago and the service was great. Big new mini-bus VIP style. Comfortable large seat.

It was a fast, easy, no hassle solution for a 6 months prolongation of my stay.

I recommend this solution if you never went to Laos/Vientiane before.

Just ask around you which minibus company has good reputation

Pattaya46

You make this sound almost attractive - which company did you use?

I did it myself last month, flew to Udon and never waited for long anywhere (and this was the day after a public holiday). Cost a bit more than I had planned for but was no ordeal (spent about 12k in total I reckon).

I am off to the UK later this month and will pick up a non-o whilst I am there, so won't need to do this for a while, but still interested in the company you used. How long was the journey from Pattaya? Did they have movies to keep you entertained? How much was it?

Thanks

my it cost more ,but idont make the stress

1. by air to udonthani 4500 thb

2. taxi ride -minibus to laos about 1000

3.visa 2000

4. hotel 2 night vientiane and 1 night udon 2500 (900 x 2 laos, 400 x 1 udon) plus BF

5.barhops and discom,food,girl 6000

total 16.000 thb,,,but enjoyed.......... ohh good only go laos for a visa by minibus,,,how much they must pay me for make such a shit trip

I got a double entry visa in laos on monday,there is no problem getting the visa,they hand them out to anyone,just pay 2000 baht for a double,and 1000 for a single.I dont envy anyone a trip to laos,I paid over 6000 baht inclusive to go on a mini bus from On Nut in bangkok to laos,leave sunday night,get to thai border 6 a.m monday morning.The Thai embassy was a terrible place,hundreds of people there waiting to get visas,very hot,no system in place,it was like playing rugby or american football trying to enter the embassy,1 man handing out the visas...............if you dont like chatuchak-j j market then you wont like the thai embassy in laos,i can see a hillsborough disaster happening there soon,so many people crushing each other,just to get a visa to stay in thailand.Also the people that arrange these trips everyday must be making a fortune,they take your money and offer very little in return,from a scale of 1-10 the service was a 1,very poor.good luck if your going soon,you will need it.

I will be making a first time visa run to Loas in February and am planning to fly straight to Vientiane. Has anybody done the trip by plane, also can anybody recommend good hotels at resonable cost near the new embassey, which I understand is now up and running.

I will be making a first time visa run to Loas in February and am planning to fly straight to Vientiane. Has anybody done the trip by plane, also can anybody recommend good hotels at resonable cost near the new embassey, which I understand is now up and running.

Warning do not call it the embassy. The consulate is at a different locattion than the embassy. If you told a taxi driver embassy you would end up at the wrong place.

See the last few pages of this 35 page topic for info. You will find reports of doing it by air and names of hotels.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Vientiane-La...sa-t158561.html

Any chance of posting some pictures ?

Hi,

yes it was full of illegal workers,mostly filipinos i think

I am not certain that it is a very good idea

to say everybody here that YOU are an illegal worker...

There's no doubt about it, such a sweeping assertion is definitely showing Geoffers76 has racist feelings towards Filipinos.

There are many Filipinos living with and being supported by Westerners in Thailand. I'm one example.

Geoffers76 should leave the sorting out up to the Thai Consulate. If they weren't welcome, they wouldn't be here. Thailand and the Philippines have close political and economic ties.

I got a double entry visa in laos on monday,there is no problem getting the visa,they hand them out to anyone,just pay 2000 baht for a double,and 1000 for a single.I dont envy anyone a trip to laos,I paid over 6000 baht inclusive to go on a mini bus from On Nut in bangkok to laos,leave sunday night,get to thai border 6 a.m monday morning.The Thai embassy was a terrible place,hundreds of people there waiting to get visas,very hot,no system in place,it was like playing rugby or american football trying to enter the embassy,1 man handing out the visas...............if you dont like chatuchak-j j market then you wont like the thai embassy in laos,i can see a hillsborough disaster happening there soon,so many people crushing each other,just to get a visa to stay in thailand.Also the people that arrange these trips everyday must be making a fortune,they take your money and offer very little in return,from a scale of 1-10 the service was a 1,very poor.good luck if your going soon,you will need it.

If you'd taken the time to read the main thread on Vientiane for tourist visas, you could have saved yourself a lot of heartache.

There are many reports on there about visa trips that have gone as smooth as silk. Everything is covered in much detail.

My 2 visa runs to Vientiane have been pleasurable experiences. I've never bothered with trying to arrive in Vientiane on the day of making the application especially to avoid the type of problems you experienced.

You can manage a relatively inexpensive, 'smooth as silk' visa trip if you:

1. Purchase a BKK-Udon flight in advance for a good price.

2. Arrive at the Friendship bridge after 6pm and fly through there in 10 minutes.

3. Stay the night in Vientiane and arrive at the consulate by about 7 - 7:30am.

4. Avoid arriving on a Monday. If you have to, go even earlier.

It's all about planning. If you really must do it on a very low budget, take your own land transport (bus or train) and plan to arrive at the easiest time to save waiting time.

Hi,

yes it was full of illegal workers,mostly filipinos i think

I am not certain that it is a very good idea

to say everybody here that YOU are an illegal worker...

There's no doubt about it, such a sweeping assertion is definitely showing Geoffers76 has racist feelings towards Filipinos.

There are many Filipinos living with and being supported by Westerners in Thailand. I'm one example.

Geoffers76 should leave the sorting out up to the Thai Consulate. If they weren't welcome, they wouldn't be here. Thailand and the Philippines have close political and economic ties.

Don't be so PC. I met many Filipinos in Vientiane and chatted with them and got on great with them but most of them were indeed illegal workers. That's not racism, it's just a fact.

Don't be so PC. I met many Filipinos in Vientiane and chatted with them and got on great with them but most of them were indeed illegal workers. That's not racism, it's just a fact.

Sorry for being PC, but there are many offhanded negative assertions made at the expense of Filipinos on here so please excuse me for being sensitive on this issue.

Ok, so I understand you spoke to a few Filipinos who told you that they were working illegally, and that's why you said most of them were working illegally. You also must have assumed that all Asian looking visa runners were Filipino.

BTW I'm actually posting this message from the Philippines. (another reason why I'm so sensitve)

Don't be so PC. I met many Filipinos in Vientiane and chatted with them and got on great with them but most of them were indeed illegal workers. That's not racism, it's just a fact.

Sorry for being PC, but there are many offhanded negative assertions made at the expense of Filipinos on here so please excuse me for being sensitive on this issue.

Ok, so I understand you spoke to a few Filipinos who told you that they were working illegally, and that's why you said most of them were working illegally. You also must have assumed that all Asian looking visa runners were Filipino.

BTW I'm actually posting this message from the Philippines. (another reason why I'm so sensitve)

I think you're confusing me with another poster but I still don't see any negative assertions at the expense of Filipinos in anyone's comments. I didn't make any assumptions about anyone's ethnicity although the Filipino look and speech is very distinctive so if I cared to I think I could guess correctly in 99% of cases. But my comments were based on the Filipinos I spoke to who told me they were working in Thailand on a tourist visa (hence illegal workers). Just relax and don't be so sensitive.

Back to "double entry" Tourist visas - I am a US citizen (over 55 - irrelevant?) & I have taken myself to Vientiane two times this year (3/08 - 12/08) & gotten two "double entry" Tourist visas & extended three of the four entries (missed a holiday on the fourth one).

Now I want to go to Vientiane again at the end of January for a third "double entry" Tourist visa. However, I have heard rumors that a third consecutive "double entry" Tourist visa might be refused?

Any info, more rumors, comments, etc. appreciated.

Otherwise, the train trip (BKK to NongKhai) & on to Vientiane and real beer is easily endurable.

Thanks.

pTh

Only rumours. There is no limit on how many.

And

I have seen no posts about anybody being denied a tourist visa at Vientiane for any reason.

Link to updated webage with new address and link to map.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/vientiane/consu...ervices_en.html

Oops, forgot to ask, directions to "new office" (NOT @ embassy/opening 1/5/09?) - or a link to a map?

Thanks!

pTh