Cm To Udon Thani

[manfriday]

Hello

Perhaps some savvy person could tell me the best(?) way to travel from CM to Udon Thani.

I am holidaying in CM this coming Christmas and New Year and wish to get to Udon early Jan.

Direct flights were canceled sometime ago so if I wanted to fly it would have to be down to BKK and then back up to Udon - could be quite expensive for the two of us.

Also I believe there is no direct train line - so this is out also - unless someone knows something different.

So it looks as though it has to be by road.

My options therefore would be by bus or car.

Bus - Is there a (VIP type?) regular service to Udon from CM? I suppose it could be a 10 hour (ish) journey.

Car - Hire or taxi/chauffeur? Does anyone know what the costs would be for a hire or chauffeur type service.

Any suggestions/advice would be very welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

[bluweyze]

Hello

Perhaps some savvy person could tell me the best(?) way to travel from CM to Udon Thani.

I am holidaying in CM this coming Christmas and New Year and wish to get to Udon early Jan.

Direct flights were canceled sometime ago so if I wanted to fly it would have to be down to BKK and then back up to Udon - could be quite expensive for the two of us.

Also I believe there is no direct train line - so this is out also - unless someone knows something different.

So it looks as though it has to be by road.

My options therefore would be by bus or car.

Bus - Is there a (VIP type?) regular service to Udon from CM? I suppose it could be a 10 hour (ish) journey.

Car - Hire or taxi/chauffeur? Does anyone know what the costs would be for a hire or chauffeur type service.

Any suggestions/advice would be very welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

There is a regular VIP bus service running overnight. Yes it takes about 10 hours it goes from the bus station booking is recommended. By car it takes about 8 hours, so it would be expensive I think

[rickthailand]

Hello

Perhaps some savvy person could tell me the best(?) way to travel from CM to Udon Thani.

I am holidaying in CM this coming Christmas and New Year and wish to get to Udon early Jan.

Direct flights were canceled sometime ago so if I wanted to fly it would have to be down to BKK and then back up to Udon - could be quite expensive for the two of us.

Also I believe there is no direct train line - so this is out also - unless someone knows something different.

So it looks as though it has to be by road.

My options therefore would be by bus or car.

Bus - Is there a (VIP type?) regular service to Udon from CM? I suppose it could be a 10 hour (ish) journey.

Car - Hire or taxi/chauffeur? Does anyone know what the costs would be for a hire or chauffeur type service.

Any suggestions/advice would be very welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

I just found out that nok air will resume flights again in decenber from Chiang mai to udon Thani just check their web site

rick

[manfriday]

Hello

Perhaps some savvy person could tell me the best(?) way to travel from CM to Udon Thani.

I am holidaying in CM this coming Christmas and New Year and wish to get to Udon early Jan.

Direct flights were canceled sometime ago so if I wanted to fly it would have to be down to BKK and then back up to Udon - could be quite expensive for the two of us.

Also I believe there is no direct train line - so this is out also - unless someone knows something different.

So it looks as though it has to be by road.

My options therefore would be by bus or car.

Bus - Is there a (VIP type?) regular service to Udon from CM? I suppose it could be a 10 hour (ish) journey.

Car - Hire or taxi/chauffeur? Does anyone know what the costs would be for a hire or chauffeur type service.

Any suggestions/advice would be very welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

I just found out that nok air will resume flights again in decenber from Chiang mai to udon Thani just check their web site

rick

Thanks Rick

Booked and paid. 4,800baht for the 2 of us.

Much appreciate the help - wasn't looking forward to a 10 hour bus ride!!!!

Great forum. Cannot get better service anywhere.

I'll be a regular reader/contributor now!

Edited October 7, 2009 by manfriday

[rickthailand]

Hello

Perhaps some savvy person could tell me the best(?) way to travel from CM to Udon Thani.

I am holidaying in CM this coming Christmas and New Year and wish to get to Udon early Jan.

Direct flights were canceled sometime ago so if I wanted to fly it would have to be down to BKK and then back up to Udon - could be quite expensive for the two of us.

Also I believe there is no direct train line - so this is out also - unless someone knows something different.

So it looks as though it has to be by road.

My options therefore would be by bus or car.

Bus - Is there a (VIP type?) regular service to Udon from CM? I suppose it could be a 10 hour (ish) journey.

Car - Hire or taxi/chauffeur? Does anyone know what the costs would be for a hire or chauffeur type service.

Any suggestions/advice would be very welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

I just found out that nok air will resume flights again in decenber from Chiang mai to udon Thani just check their web site

rick

Thanks Rick

Booked and paid. 4,800baht for the 2 of us.

Much appreciate the help - wasn't looking forward to a 10 hour bus ride!!!!

Great forum. Cannot get better service anywhere.

I'll be a regular reader/contributor now!

glad that i was able to help. That price you paid i assume that was for 2 one way tickets?

rick

[manfriday]

Hello

Perhaps some savvy person could tell me the best(?) way to travel from CM to Udon Thani.

I am holidaying in CM this coming Christmas and New Year and wish to get to Udon early Jan.

Direct flights were canceled sometime ago so if I wanted to fly it would have to be down to BKK and then back up to Udon - could be quite expensive for the two of us.

Also I believe there is no direct train line - so this is out also - unless someone knows something different.

So it looks as though it has to be by road.

My options therefore would be by bus or car.

Bus - Is there a (VIP type?) regular service to Udon from CM? I suppose it could be a 10 hour (ish) journey.

Car - Hire or taxi/chauffeur? Does anyone know what the costs would be for a hire or chauffeur type service.

Any suggestions/advice would be very welcome.

Thank you in anticipation.

I just found out that nok air will resume flights again in decenber from Chiang mai to udon Thani just check their web site

rick

Thanks Rick

Booked and paid. 4,800baht for the 2 of us.

Much appreciate the help - wasn't looking forward to a 10 hour bus ride!!!!

Great forum. Cannot get better service anywhere.

I'll be a regular reader/contributor now!

glad that i was able to help. That price you paid i assume that was for 2 one way tickets?

rick

Sorry for the delay in replying.

The price I paid was for 2 one way tickets.

However, received the following email:

SGA Airlines regret to inform this flight has been CANCEL due to the Aircraft Rotation and Re-Schedule.

Including All Flights 5E/DD 951 and 5E/DD 952 period 16 December 2009 till 20 January 2010 .

So, I have hired a car and will drive to Udon Thani.

Looking at the map I think the best way to go from CM would be:

Highway 11 south to near Phitsanulok then east onto highway 12 to to Khon Kaen then north onto highway 2 to Udon Thani.

Is there a better/more picturesque route?

I plan to take a couple of days over the journey and explore(?).

Cheers

Manfriday

[THAILIBAN]

probably SGA (which will be called NOK MINI soon) couldn't get their two new SAAB-32-seater-aircraft delivered from that Singaporean leasing company on time......

as for the journey by car: I did that once from Udon to CM and it was quite an exhausting trip...... I wasn't able to reach Lampang before sunset and almost got lost, lost 45 minutes or so when I missed an unmarked junction..... was so tired then after, so that I stayed at Lampang overnight and continued to CM only the next morning.

so, better don't do this at night

BTW, if you book early, u could still try to get a cheap AirAsia fare CNX - BKK - UTH. considering the fuel plus the cost of the rent car, this is probably even cheaper than doing it by car.

[gotlost]

Your taking the best and most scenic route. 7-9 hours drive. Good roads Highway 12 is the most scenic, national forest, white water rafting and Little Switzerland. Good rood. Have a safe and enjoyable drive.

[IanForbes]

I'm certainly looking forward to the day they resume direct flights from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani. I have a good friend there and he usually drives up to see me and our mutual friends in Chiang Mai. But, I felt it was too expensive to fly to Bangkok and then to Udon Thani. At the time I last checked it was close to 10,000 baht return for one person. With all the delays in airports it's just not worth it. I WON'T take a bus anywhere that takes longer than 5 hours.

[pjclark1]

The VIP is not so bad, about 600bht for a one way ticket.

A couple of stops on the way, very comfortable seats, snack and meal included.

You only have to book in the morning that you want to go (at the bus station)

There appear to be several coaches each day.

[Mahseer]

If you plan on stopping overnight suggest Little Switzerland area that gotlost mentioned which will be at least 5 hours into your journey and there are plenty of resorts there to chose from. If you are keen for more scenery take 21 to the north and go via Loei. It will only add an hour and the run from Lomsak to Phu Ruea and into Loei will be the best part of your trip view wise.

Enjoy

[manfriday]

Thank you all for your posts.

Received some great advice and we are now looking forward to our journey to Udon Thani by road.

Having spent many years flying from one airport to another in Thailand this should be a new experience for me.

Just hoping that I can keep the other half awake to navigate!!!!

I note that there are numerous on-line road maps(!?) available, but does anyone know of a good 'hard copy' road map that can be purchased in CM?

Cheers and thanks again.

[IanForbes]

There is a good map/book store on the outside of the moat road and about a half block south of Loi Kroh road. It is set back behind a parking lot.

[Priceless]

There is a good map/book store on the outside of the moat road and about a half block south of Loi Kroh road. It is set back behind a parking lot.

This is DK Books. Another alternative would be Suriwong Bookshop in Sridonchai Rd.

/ Priceless

[eek]

OH..I really got my hopes up when i read about nok air resuming the cm-udon flight path.

So booked a ticket for ye olde bus again!

Oh btw..for those that stopped using Chakapon(sp?) buses (if you have used that service in the past..you will understand what im talking about!), and started using the other service next to it(the one that only has the details in Thai), apparently Chakapon now has new "proper" VIP buses. I went today to buy my ticket and checked with the girl at the counter that her buses were definitely not Chakapon. Bought the tickets..and then the lady next to her (Chakapon counter) gave me a wry looked and asked me why i didnt want to go with their buses. Explained to her that when i went before the buses were not new, and not as much room as the usual VIP buses. She told me they now DO have new buses and showed me a picture.

So there you go! Might be that their buses are now a lot more comfortable.

[manfriday]

OH..I really got my hopes up when i read about nok air resuming the cm-udon flight path.

eek

Seems like they will resume again after 20th Jan 2010

manfriday

[Boksida]

I have driven the road many times and everybody I know who does it regularly uses the same route. The last time I did it was in rainy weather and I had my GPS on. Nong Khai to Lampang was 555km and the driving time was jut under 7 hours so Chiangmai - Udon should be about 7.5 hours. Denchai-Chatrakarn-Nakhon Thai-Phu Rua-Wang Saphung-Nong Bua Lamphu.

[FarangFlyer]

I have driven the road many times and everybody I know who does it regularly uses the same route. The last time I did it was in rainy weather and I had my GPS on. Nong Khai to Lampang was 555km and the driving time was jut under 7 hours so Chiangmai - Udon should be about 7.5 hours. Denchai-Chatrakarn-Nakhon Thai-Phu Rua-Wang Saphung-Nong Bua Lamphu.

I have done the route by Bus, car, direct flights and in-direct flights via BKK.

Obviously the easiest way is to fly direct. However, I am not sure that the direct flights will start up until mid january despite the website from Nok. The 2 Thai Airways ATRs in CNX are about to be transferred to NOK, and NOK MINI is awaiting the delivery of the Saab 340s from Australia. So far as I know, no dates have been finalised yet. If you are able to book on-line for these flights, be prepared that they may end up being cancelled. In the same way that earlier this month a number of people found out that their PB Air flights had been cancelled after Bangkok Airways took their ATRs back from PB. If you are coming here as a tourist though, perhaps a reasonable holiday/travel insurance plan will cover any additional expense if you had to fly via BKK to Udon in any even of your flights being cancelled.

The issue travelling via BKK is getting good connection times. You can fly 1 2 Go or Nok to Don Muang, then Nok to Udon. Otherwise its Thai Airways or Air Asia to Suvarnabhumi then Air Asia or Thai to Udon. Not particularly cheap or convenient.

There are two possible routes to go to Udon, via Pitsanulok/Khon kaen (longer) or take the short cut next Uttaradit Eastbound, towards Loei. It would take about 8 hours in reasonable traffic. The roads are ok; but via Khon Kaen, it gets a bit mountainous close to Petchabun, but the views are spectacular (likely close to 10 hours on this route)!

There is a VIP bus (and 1st Class) bus nightly to/from Udon, leaving around 8pm, and arriving 8am next day. The bus is one of the older VIP busses, so not as much leg room as I would like. Cost is cheap though. (650 baht I think). There are 2 companies operating this route on alternate days, so if you call one and they say "no bus today", call the other outfit!

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, ManFriday,

I and I took the Ooosuksatour VIP Bus on this Tuesday night, 8PM, from CM to Udon (arrivng a little before 8AM). It was quite comfortable; we were lucky enough to have an empty seat next to us. Certainly enjoyed the very tall kathoey steward/stewardess in flaming red short hair-cut, skin-tight dingy-lemon color minidress, and platform heels. Found it a bit strange that he/she actually shook me by the knee to wake me up in the AM to offer me some beverage in the morning, but we were wearing shorts, and the sight of our really sexy kneecaps may have been irresistible

They actually left a reading light on until about 11Pm, which was very nice for us since we could continue to study.

As usual the bus is very cold, even if you effectively plug the vents right next to you. But they do give you a light-weight blanket. The Ooosuksatour bus this week from CM to Udon ran only Tuesday and Thursday, the return Udon to CM, only Wednesday and Friday, but Friday worked for me. So if we have our visa in hand (cross our fingers and toes) we'll be on that bus tonight back to CM.

There is one other company also running buses CM<>Udon which we, and many other farangs, have reported here in the past as not being as good as Ooosuksatour.

1226 or so baht round-trip.

best, ~o:37;

[Tilokarat]

I went the other way in September, Udonthani to Chiang Mai. I friend of mine drove her truck. It was about 3-4 hours to Loei and another 6 or 7 hours to Chiang Mai. She did not drive via Phitsanuloke but went by way of Uttaradit.

A few years ago I took the bus from Chiang Mai to Udonthani. It is fine if you can sleep, which I did despite a crying baby across the aisle from me, and various passengers coming and going in the seat beside me. I do not remember it going through Khon Kaen because it took the Loei route.

[womblejamie]

Just did the journey last month on Chakrapot (or similar name) and after some negative stuff from a while ago about the buses I have to say they have a new one and it is outstanding. We booked a week in advanced and managed to get the front seats of the upper deck (so had extra leg room) but all seats had plenty of leg room for stretching out. A nice calm bus driver who did his best not to down M150/Red Bull and go like the clappers. I must say it was the best bus journey we have done in 5 years and will do with them again the next time we need to travel to Udon Thani

[manfriday]

Thanks to all for the great posts.

I have got a good idea of which route I am to take now and how long it will take me.

I asked Nok Air by email how long it would be before they were likely to refund my

4,800 baht (£93.39) and their answer is as follows:

Thank you so much for your e-mail. We already sent refund passenger claim form to our Account Department. Now, the process will take time around 1 month. Since, our staff should prove for all informations before Refund your money. Moreover, it's depend on your bank process.

Once again, we must apologize for any inconvenient caused.

Thank you so much for your kindly waiting.

Best Regards,

Marketing & Customer Service Chiang Mai Station

SGA Airlines / Cessna service station (Thailand)

[ianh68]

I know these aren't New Year prices but I just checked Nok Air for 21 Jan 2010 (assuming no direct flight UT to CM). I can go UT to BK dep 07:35 at 164 Baht and BK to CM dep 11:00, arrive 12:10 at 623 Baht. Total 787 Baht for less than 5 hours journey time.

It helps if you are able to plan ahead and can be flexible. I've just about had my fill of long haul buses and trains and the stress of long haul driving myself. Now I fly whenever I can. If nothing else it's cleaner, especially the toilets.

[Dr. G]

Can any one confirm that Nokair will commence flights

from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani on 17th Jan 2010.

g

[gotlost]

Can any one confirm that Nokair will commence flights

from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani on 17th Jan 2010.

g

The way Thailand is... check back on the 17th and we might know or the below will say.