Visa Run out of Chiang Mai - Transportation Suggestions Please

[LedZepp5]

I have a triple entry visa. The first one is about to expire on April 12th. I reside in Chiang Mai. I had a GreenBus trip booked for today, but after sitting down on the bus (right before it was about to leave), I realized I forgot my passport.

Because of the busy holiday, I couldn't book another Maesai trip until April 14th, and I'd prefer to avoid the overstay fees, particularly considering I was one day late on my last extension.

What would be the cheapest options for a border run today or tomorrow? A method with a shorter duration would also be nice.

I've been told I can get a shuttle bus or taxi for around 1500 baht?

I've tried searching a few places for taxis and such and the results haven't yielded much. Recommendations from those that have had good experiences with a certain service are better than a Google search anyway.

Any help you can provide will be appreciated. Thank you.

[LedZepp5]

I think I may have found my answer actually... http://classifieds.thaivisa.com/services/event-planning-resources/daily-visa-run-service-from-chiang-mai-to-mae-sai-270720.html

[inthepink]

A taxi will cost around 3,500.

I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure the service you linked to is the annoying one that stops off at two hot spring sites on the way to Mae Sai. They call them comfort breaks on their website, I call them taking a backhander for delivering a group of captive travellers to tourist attractions. Leaving at 8am and arriving back at Chiang Mai at 6pm is a hell of a long day for that trip - at least 2 hours longer than necessary. You don't normally need much more than 10-15 minutes to stamp in and out so you will be left waiting in Mae Sai for 45 minutes before you can come back. As it looks like they take 5 hours to return (judging by the times stated on their site) I can only assume that you will be in store for more exciting comfort breaks on the return journey.

Still, if you're happy with all that, it's undoubtedly cheaper than getting a taxi. I did think about flying to Mae Sot last time as the airport is near the border and you only have to spend an hour in a plane each way instead of nine hours in a minibus. I can't remember the cost - it wasn't too bad - but it does involve an overnight stay due to the flight times.

[LedZepp5]

I call them taking a backhander for delivering a group of captive travellers to tourist attractions.

lol!

Thank you for your help. I appreciate you for providing such detail. Upon further searching, I found this listing.

http://classifieds.thaivisa.com/services/administrative-services/safe-and-sane-visa-run-service-267234.html

The service seems great so far. I contacted them and they responded quite fast.

[inthepink]

That looks like a really good price. When I've done runs in a taxi, the cost was around 3,500 as I mentioned (and that was not a tourist price!).

I just like to get there and back as quickly as possible. I know it might be more relaxing to break the journey up with stops along the way but then 7 hours becomes 10 and it seems never ending. Last time, I left at 5am, got back to Chiang Mai around 12.15. I've driven there too, but that cost me about the same as a taxi in petrol, so I decided to be lazy the last couple of times.

Anyway, hope it goes smoothly for you. Not sure if you've been to Mae Sai before but it's usually very quick and easy. if you don't want to go to the market on the Burmese side, they stamp you in and out of Burma in the same office and you can go straight back to Thailand.

[mizztraveller]

We used Red Ride on our last border run - excellent service!

Sent from my GT-I8552 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[LedZepp5]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I have done the Maesai run a few times now. I imagine GreenBus is the best cost effective option and RedRide is the best for least restriction.