Savannakhet... same day visa service is back!

[danfred]

This may not be news to many but it's still awesome news.. 7-8 hours between exit and reentry with new visa in hand! That's 1/4 the time and 1/2 the cost when compared to the previous 30+ hour overnight journey.

I still miss when years ago you simply jumped into a boat (way more fun than the bus/bridge), walked a few blocks to the consulate, ate lunch and you were back in Thailand after a 4-5 hour trip.

If you've been to Savannakhet 25+ times you want this trip to be as short as possible!

[LannaDS]

Could you pls give more deatils how and where to apply for this magic service? how much it cost?

[paz]

Could you pls give more deatils how and where to apply for this magic service? how much it cost?

Read thread about getting a visa in Savannkhet.

[wayned]

!. You apply at the Consulate in Savannakhet. It opens at 0900. I don't know what the cutoff time is to submit your application. You pickup your passport with the new visa after 1530 the same day.

2. The cost of the visa is the same as it was in the past depending on the type of visa. If it's Tourist, single, 1000 baht, double, 2000 baht.T

The last report in the "pinned" section is from August 14, but I think that they are still doing them the same day. I could have told you to search the forum as it has been answered many times if I was a total "twit" like some other posters, but sometimes it's hard to find an answer in all of the BS. Hope this helps.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Even easier to just provide a reference to an earlier posting:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/761741-40-hour-visa-run-kanchanaburi-to-savanaket/

Mac

[NoshowJones]

Anybody ever driven or rode a motorbike to Mukdahan for a visa in Savakhannet I know you leave it somewhere, but what after that? and how long does it take to get from there across the border in to Savakhannet, do you walk or get a TukTuk? Thanks.

[ubonjoe]

Anybody ever driven or rode a motorbike to Mukdahan for a visa in Savakhannet I know you leave it somewhere, but what after that? and how long does it take to get from there across the border in to Savakhannet, do you walk or get a TukTuk? Thanks.

There is secure parking just before the bridge.

You take a bus across the bridge you cannot walk. You can take the bus all the way into Savannakhet and it will wait for you while you clear Lao immigration. Or you can take a Tuk Tuk into town from the bridge to the consulate.

It should not take more than hour to get into Savannakhet from the time you arrive at the bridge.

[NoshowJones]

Anybody ever driven or rode a motorbike to Mukdahan for a visa in Savakhannet I know you leave it somewhere, but what after that? and how long does it take to get from there across the border in to Savakhannet, do you walk or get a TukTuk? Thanks.

There is secure parking just before the bridge.

You take a bus across the bridge you cannot walk. You can take the bus all the way into Savannakhet and it will wait for you while you clear Lao immigration. Or you can take a Tuk Tuk into town from the bridge to the consulate.

It should not take more than hour to get into Savannakhet from the time you arrive at the bridge.

Great help as always Joe, thanks.

[PaulHamon]

I did just a moth ago, when did it go anywhere?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/753690-1-year-multi-non-o-based-on-marriage-completed-in-savankhetmukdahan/

[thairastawoman]

Savanakhet being now a so boring and useless place I wonder how it was 25 years ago when I guess they didn't even know that coffee exsit !!! (some still don't know now...)

[LannaDS]

Wayned and Thanyaburi Mac, thank you for replies. Detailed info and link are really helpful. That's very kind of you

[ChrisB87]

Helpful stuff on here!

[geckojim]

Hi.

Is it still possible to get the same day tourist visa from Suwwanakhet? I'm coming of an ed visa and need a new 60 day tourist.

Thanks

[ubonjoe]

Yes

[geckojim]

Great, Is there a submit cut off time for afternoon pick up? I plan to go this Friday.

[ubonjoe]

The cutoff time is 11 am to get your passport back at 3:30 pm. After that you have to come back the next day to apply.

[HooHaa]

just for clarity, are we talking about tourist visas only of do they do single entry non-o visas same day as well?

[ubonjoe]

They do all visas on the same day applied for.

[Tomtomtom69]

Savanakhet being now a so boring and useless place I wonder how it was 25 years ago when I guess they didn't even know that coffee exsit !!! (some still don't know now...)

Actually I would imagine that coffee was better known in Savannakhet than anywhere in Thailand 25 years ago. The French started planting coffee in Laos around 100 years ago and now Laos is number 2 in production behind Vietnam in mainland South-East Asia, with Vietnam being overall number 2 in the world, behind Brazil.

I find the quality and variety of food in Savannakhet much better than in any non-descript upcountry town or city in Thailand, including Mukdaharn. You can even find one or two quality French restaurants in Savannakhet with food that is not only really cheap for French cuisine, but also reasonably authentic. Forget about finding anything even remotely similar in Mukdaharn, despite being only a few km away, but without the French colonization Thailand obviously can't match Laos in this regard. Vietnamese food in Savannakhet is also good and authentic, that's because real Vietnamese own the restaurants and make the food, unlike on the Thai side where it's all made to Thai tastes by Thai people.

Savannakhet may not have many tourist attractions, but it's a good starting point for exploring southern Laos, including doing the Tha Khaek loop or for onward transport into Vietnam. Unfortunately there is a slight hiccup for Thai based travellers hoping to use their own cars or even go on a bus journey to Vietnam - Thai vehicles can't enter Vietnam, so it is necessary to change transport in Savannakhet (or at the latest at the Vietnamese border) for a Lao or Vietnamese registered vehicle to be allowed into Vietnam. Savannakhet offers daily cross-border bus services to various parts of central Vietnam, including Danang, Hue and Dong Hoi. Some of these services only run a few times a week, but given the proximity to Vietnam (the border is only a 2.5-3 hour drive away), there will be some sort of bus service offered on a daily basis.

[thailandusauk]

Savanakhet being now a so boring and useless place I wonder how it was 25 years ago when I guess they didn't even know that coffee exsit !!! (some still don't know now...)

Actually I would imagine that coffee was better known in Savannakhet than anywhere in Thailand 25 years ago. The French started planting coffee in Laos around 100 years ago and now Laos is number 2 in production behind Vietnam in mainland South-East Asia, with Vietnam being overall number 2 in the world, behind Brazil.

I find the quality and variety of food in Savannakhet much better than in any non-descript upcountry town or city in Thailand, including Mukdaharn. You can even find one or two quality French restaurants in Savannakhet with food that is not only really cheap for French cuisine, but also reasonably authentic. Forget about finding anything even remotely similar in Mukdaharn, despite being only a few km away, but without the French colonization Thailand obviously can't match Laos in this regard. Vietnamese food in Savannakhet is also good and authentic, that's because real Vietnamese own the restaurants and make the food, unlike on the Thai side where it's all made to Thai tastes by Thai people.

Savannakhet may not have many tourist attractions, but it's a good starting point for exploring southern Laos, including doing the Tha Khaek loop or for onward transport into Vietnam. Unfortunately there is a slight hiccup for Thai based travellers hoping to use their own cars or even go on a bus journey to Vietnam - Thai vehicles can't enter Vietnam, so it is necessary to change transport in Savannakhet (or at the latest at the Vietnamese border) for a Lao or Vietnamese registered vehicle to be allowed into Vietnam. Savannakhet offers daily cross-border bus services to various parts of central Vietnam, including Danang, Hue and Dong Hoi. Some of these services only run a few times a week, but given the proximity to Vietnam (the border is only a 2.5-3 hour drive away), there will be some sort of bus service offered on a daily basis.

The worst place on earth for me, about food and everything else.

This is a shiiitehole compared to Vientiane that has the best western food around.