Korat to Vientiane Airport

[Ratsima]

Although my wife and I have driven to Lao many times, it has been decades since we took public transport. We need to get from Korat to the airport in Vientiane from where we will fly to Luangprabang.

(Yes, I know we could go to Bangkok and fly to Luangprabang from there, but flights from Bangkok to Luangprabang are about three times as much as flights from Vientiane to Luangprabang.)

The train is not currently a good option as the line is being repaired and you have to take a bus for part of the journey.

There is no longer a direct bus from Korat to Vientiane.

I suppose we can take a bus to Nong Khai, take a taxi to the bridge, shuttle across the bridge and then tuktuk to the airport.

Is there any easier way?

[asanee]

1.the bus to VTE still runs and serves Khorat-but its now the BKk-VTE bus, which will be mostly full on arrival.

2.easier in the sense of less changes: yes, the direct NKhai-VTE bus, or ditto from Udorn, nearly hourly, but farang are supposed to have a pre-arranged Lao visa- they will let you behind for the processing if it takes too much time-or sometimes even check when selling the tix. But then you still take taxi/tuk from busstand to airpt.

AFAIK NKhai only has tuktuks as ''taxi''. same things as on Lao side-but there is cartaxi too (old=non AC and newer), called Jumbo.

3.its mostly the quickest-but not fewer changes, to get of any NKhai bus at the major crossraods just before town and get tuktuk from there-saves 2-3 kms going in+out same way. Unless you opt for that -2-bus.

[Ratsima]

Thanks. I guess we'll do bus to Nong Khai, then bus to Vientiane, hoping my visa on arrival doesn't take too long....

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I normally drive up to Nong Khai, 2-4 times a year, and leave my car in the secure parking there nearby the bridge. Longest I've left it there is two weeks, earlier this month was 7 days. Baht 100 a day but the ticket taker often lets me off with a baht 500 charge irrespective of the time the car's been there.

Depart Korat early, real early? I often depart home here NE of Don Muang Airport at 0300-044 hrs to leave time for some business in Vientiane in the afternoons.

Never have taken our car across the bridge, not worth the bother.

Mac

[Ratsima]

Ah, this is perfect. Is it easy to find the secure parking area?

Easy to get from there to the Lao visa office on the bridge?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Well, yes. The secure caged locked up at night parking area in in the back of the van/bus station there at the T-intersection just south of the bridge. Just drive in and park, the guy with the ticket should be out to give it to you.

Then walk out to the van/bus station and pay your baht 20-30, whatever, for a ticket across the bridge to Lao Immigration. FYI, if you have a lot of baggage or don't want to wait for the van to fill up, just "charter" one, "mao lot," runs about baht 200-250. Either way, the van will motor on to the Thai Immigration Departure booths, unload and wait until you've got your exit chop. Mount up again and head across the bridge where you'll unload and process your Lao Visa On Arrival.

I've been doing this run since the early '90s, pretty handy.

Mac

[Ratsima]

Thanks. This sounds perfect for us.

[Tomtomtom69]

I normally drive up to Nong Khai, 2-4 times a year, and leave my car in the secure parking there nearby the bridge. Longest I've left it there is two weeks, earlier this month was 7 days. Baht 100 a day but the ticket taker often lets me off with a baht 500 charge irrespective of the time the car's been there.

Depart Korat early, real early? I often depart home here NE of Don Muang Airport at 0300-044 hrs to leave time for some business in Vientiane in the afternoons.

Never have taken our car across the bridge, not worth the bother.

Mac

What's wrong with taking your car across to Laos? There's nothing to bother. If anything, I'd say it's worth doing, just so you can say you've driven in Laos and you have driven a right-hand drive car in a right-hand drive country, something not so many people can say. Although if you are not confident in driving on the wrong side of the road, then fair enough and of course as far as I'm aware, no Thai car rental company permits their cars to exit the country so that would be another reason to not drive across the border, but apart from that I don't see any other good reasons.

All you need for a Thai car to drive to Laos is a purple car transport permit and a letter of power of attorney if the car is not in your name, although in practice if the car is registered in a company name nobody cares about this letter. I have driven my Lao car across to Thailand many times and across numerous Thai-Lao crossings and it was both very straightforward and convenient except for the 200 Baht charge for every crossing, but OK it could be worse. I would say it would be cheaper for you to drive your car into Laos than park it just before the bridge and rely on taxis/tuk-tuks inside Laos and be one of those persons who catches the bus, lol. Anyway, try it once and you'll see how much fun it is...it's unfortunate that Thai cars face some difficulties entering Cambodia, can't enter Vietnam except on a pre-arranged caravan tour but Laos and Malaysia are easy.

[Ratsima]

If you read the OP you will see that I wrote: "Although my wife and I have driven to Lao many times...."

On this trip we are doing a river cruise that begins in Luangprabang. I don't have time to drive all the way from Korat to Luangprabang (again), so we will fly from Vientiane to Luangprabang.

Is there some place safe and secure to leave one's car in Vientiane or at the airport? If so, I'd consider driving. Otherwise, I think it's probably safer and more secure to leave the car on the Thai side of the river. Plus, our Thai car insurance will cover us if something happens to the car while parked. That would not be the case if we left the car parked in Lao.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

One reason for not taking my Thai registered car across to Laos is insurance, 1st class insurance, both covering the car, and liability. My Thai insurance won't cover driving in Laos, and that Lao insurance available at Thannaleng, or the other crossing points, is just 3rd party.

Then looking at the driving in Laos, even more "fun" than that in Thailand, given the mostly 2-lane roads, no shoulders, ducks, pigs, chickens, cattle, dogs, pushcarts, motorcycles, 18- to 22-wheel trucks with trailers, buses, interesting times.

I've had some experience with Lao & Thai driving. Some years back I had a VW Camper van in Vientiane, U.S. specs, so steering wheel on the left. Also drove in in Thailand for about 80,000 km. This when the bulk of the Thai highways were still 2-lanes. Also "fun" but managed. Passing another vehicle not much of a problem as with the 1600 cc engine, didn't pass much anyway, unless going down a long hill in order to get up speed!

Mac