Longish stay in Thailand will this work

[maori1234]

I have an American Passport

What is the cost of a 30 day stay in Thailand when you fly in and a 15 day when coming overland?

Scenario: Fly to Bkk with a return airline ticket and get 30 days to stay.

Now i have 3 choices as i see it .

1 Pay 1900 baht and get a 30 day extension after 30 days.

2 Fly to Saigon or wherever after 30 days and on return get 30 more days to stay.

Is there a time period you have to stay away or can you come back the next day?

3 Travel overland out of the Thailand and return overland and get 15 days to stay.

Am i correct on these 3 scenario?

Could i fly out every 30 days and fly back and continue to get 30 days each time.

Yes i also realize i could get a visa before i left for 60 days which would be cheaper than 1900 baht but not much cheaper .Is that true?

Which is a good website to get a Thai visa before leaving. ?

If you get a visa before you leave you have to time it with your plane travel as the time starts when it is issued. I would buy a discounted plane ticket just a few days before leaving and i never know exactly that date.

Any help would be appreciated .

Thanks to all in advance.

[lopburi3]

1. No - only a tourist visa can be extended 30 days - not a visa exempt entry of 15 or 30 days.

2. Arrive by air to get 30 day visa exempt regardless of how you leave.

3. Arrive by sea/land get 15 day visa exempt.

There is no set limit to the number of times either can be used although a crossing may impose restrictions after 4 in the case of land entry if they suspect employment is involved. Airlines may require ticket out without allowed period of stay to allow travel.

A tourist visa is obtained from a Royal Thai Consulate and each costs about 1,000 baht and is valid for a three month period from date of issue to enter Thailand and from then provides 60 day stay and can be extended 30 days at immigration for 1,900 baht. You only have to enter while visa is valid - your stay can be well beyond that date.

[ubonjoe]

How long do you plan on being here?

Tourist visas cost $40 per entry and you can get up to 3 entries. You can extend each 60 day entry by 30 days at immigration.

Where to apply dependents upon where you live. See this webpage for locations.

http://www.visetkaew.com/wp/directories/

The embassy and 3 consulates accept mail in applications but it can several days to get them back.

You will also find several honorary consulates listed but they are no longer allowed to accept mail in applications. If you live near one of them they would be the best choice to get your visa.

[Puyai]

Fly in, get your 30 days, then have a little holiday outside of Thailand after your 30 days are up and get a tourist visa at the nearest embassy. Laos is good for a few days as is Cambodia and Vietnam.

[KED]

The only caution about planning a trip in Thailand for more than 30 days without a visa or an onward ticket is the airline may refuse you boarding without proof of leaving within 30 days.

[mowgus]

Please note... you can only get a 7 day extension at immigration on a 30 day entry visa. Still 1900 baht too. So, if you don't feel like going out of the country after 30 days, apply for a visa in advance if you can (if you're somewhere near a Thai embassy or consulate).

Alternatively you can plan a trip by land to Laos or Cambodia for an extra 15 days (don't have to stay...just across and back) but you will have to pay for a visa into that country ($30,$20) and transportation costs.

You can fly to another country and back for another 30 days (no minimum time to stay out of the country). Again, consider that some countries will require you to purchase a visa on arrival ($20-$100 depending on where). Malaysia has no visa fee so, good place to hop to and you can usually find cheap flights on Air Asia. Not the nicest place to go to though .

So, if you want to hang out in Thailand, do yourself a favor and get a tourist visa in advance. It's easy, cheap and fast.

[mowgus]

I should have mentioned Myanmar... depending on where you are, you can hop into Myanmar pretty cheap. Usually just 500 baht, turn around and back into Thailand for an extra 15 day stamp. Lots of people do this from Chiang Mai/Rai.

[LuckyLew]

It would be better to get a double entry tourist visa before you arrive

THat way you get 60 days + 30 day extension. Then do borded run and get another 60 days + 30 day extension

So you can get 180 days wih only leaving the country once ... can save a lot of cash

[rct99q]

On a 30 day excemption you cannot get an extension. Immigration will stamp your passport as extension being denied and you get a stamp that says you have 7 days to leave the country. At the discretion of the immigration officer but not often are these cases told to leave immediately.

[IsaanUSA]

If you decide to go to Vietnam, you will need a visa to go there and it's not the cheapest (if you're just looking to come right back). Otherwise I would suggest staying in Vietnam for a week or two. Nice beaches, cheap accommodation, and cheap beer.

[maori1234]

Thanks to you all for the info. Many options there.

I will take the least hassle option .

[IsaanUSA]

Thanks to you all for the info. Many options there.

I will take the least hassle option .

I would guess that least hassle would be getting a 60 day tourist visa before going to Thailand. You can pay to get that extended, so you will have 90 days without having to leave.

[sfbandung]

To fly to Saigon you'll need a time machine. It's been called Ho Chi Minh City since 1976.

[IMA_FARANG]

To fly to Saigon you'll need a time machine. It's been called Ho Chi Minh City since 1976.

---------------

Officially true.

However if you go there you will find that many of the locals still refer to it as Saigon, especially when they speak to you in English.

The airlines still use the code SGN as the destination for you flight also.