Going to Savannakhet.

[jonnyscot]

Great, Thanks for the info joe

[ldiablo]

Anybody know if there are any visa run companies out of bkk that go to Savannakhet for double entry tourist visa like they do in Vientiane. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[hathairat2711]

I believe the answer is no to your question.

[Eddy B]

Finally got back home after the trip to savannakhet. At the crossing on the Thai side I had no problem going through immigration. My wife and step-son however do not have passports so they had to go to office where Thai's can use their ID's as a makeshift passport. She en counted problems, not with the staff but with other Thai people jumping the ques. Getting on the bus from the Thai side was not too bad but still like a mad rush with no system of control, just a head-less chicken mad rush. Laos side getting the visa, no problems.

Arrived straight to the Thai consulate from the border. This place needs a larger roof, I was sweating buckets in the mid morning sun. After about 30 minutes waiting in the queue it was my turn to hand in the documents/passport and he just checked through them quickly and asked for the cash payment. I got my ticket and was done. Went to our hotel, we checked into the Avalon. Nice place with friendly staff, however you can not check in til 12 noon. They do have a newly opened cafe across from their car park now which is nice and charges a reasonable rate for coffees and beer. We got a bit of a shock when they said we can now go to our room as we were led outside to the car park where at the back is an old 1945 built colonial style house, this is where we stayed in the Everest room. It has a total of 5 rooms, two 2nd floor balconies and it once belonged to the Finance minister from France for the southern part of Laos.

My family and I went to Chez Boune restaurant, the food was good but my GOD...............expensive! Nice staff and good service but very very pricey!!

The next day we checked out at 1pm and was at the Thai consulate at 1:40pm. There were a few people waiting then at 1:50pm a group of about 12 Laos people turned up and just pushed their way to the front, absolutely no shame.........they were mainly women. The gate is open and it is now like the bull run in Spain the Laos have got to be first............complete a&^holes. The ticket numbers mean nothing, it is first come first served!

After about 10 minutes I have my passport and new visa in hand after I triple checked to make sure I got what I paid for. Next it was back to the border.

Arrived at the border around 2:20pm. Laos immigration no problem for all of us apart from my wife had to pay 80 baht for her and son. No it is time to wait for the bus. As we are waiting here come the queue jumping Laos people again. I have no idea why there is only one bus that comes to pick up at this time when they know that many people will have just got their passports back and will be wanting to cross the bridge..............absolute madness!

The bus just pulls up and the Laos are at it again, pushing and shoving people out of the way. I got separated from my wife and step-son and almost did not get on the bus. I had to get a little physical and push back.

On the bus people had sat down and put their bags on the seat next to them, totally ignorant people! Why not put it on your lap as the trip is only about 5 minutes over the bridge???

Arrived the Thai side and filled in the arrival / departure card. This was not easy as they had four officers filling in the forms for the people that can not read English or Thai were writing on top of the cards. No cards were in a pick-up box. Finally through the immigration check and on the way home.

Arrived home 11 hours later at 2:20am.................I need a beer. All in all the trip was fine, the only real blight on the trip was the Thai consulate needs to improve it's waiting area and control the queuing system to stop the mad head-less chicken run. Also at the crossing there needs to either needs to be more buses put on to ease the flow of people or have a proper system that stops the almost riot-like behavior of mostly Laos and Thai people getting onto the bus.

[Tomtomtom69]

Finally got back home after the trip to savannakhet. At the crossing on the Thai side I had no problem going through immigration. My wife and step-son however do not have passports so they had to go to office where Thai's can use their ID's as a makeshift passport. She en counted problems, not with the staff but with other Thai people jumping the ques. Getting on the bus from the Thai side was not too bad but still like a mad rush with no system of control, just a head-less chicken mad rush. Laos side getting the visa, no problems.

Arrived straight to the Thai consulate from the border. This place needs a larger roof, I was sweating buckets in the mid morning sun. After about 30 minutes waiting in the queue it was my turn to hand in the documents/passport and he just checked through them quickly and asked for the cash payment. I got my ticket and was done. Went to our hotel, we checked into the Avalon. Nice place with friendly staff, however you can not check in til 12 noon. They do have a newly opened cafe across from their car park now which is nice and charges a reasonable rate for coffees and beer. We got a bit of a shock when they said we can now go to our room as we were led outside to the car park where at the back is an old 1945 built colonial style house, this is where we stayed in the Everest room. It has a total of 5 rooms, two 2nd floor balconies and it once belonged to the Finance minister from France for the southern part of Laos.

My family and I went to Chez Boune restaurant, the food was good but my GOD...............expensive! Nice staff and good service but very very pricey!!

The next day we checked out at 1pm and was at the Thai consulate at 1:40pm. There were a few people waiting then at 1:50pm a group of about 12 Laos people turned up and just pushed their way to the front, absolutely no shame.........they were mainly women. The gate is open and it is now like the bull run in Spain the Laos have got to be first............complete a&^holes. The ticket numbers mean nothing, it is first come first served!

After about 10 minutes I have my passport and new visa in hand after I triple checked to make sure I got what I paid for. Next it was back to the border.

Arrived at the border around 2:20pm. Laos immigration no problem for all of us apart from my wife had to pay 80 baht for her and son. No it is time to wait for the bus. As we are waiting here come the queue jumping Laos people again. I have no idea why there is only one bus that comes to pick up at this time when they know that many people will have just got their passports back and will be wanting to cross the bridge..............absolute madness!

The bus just pulls up and the Laos are at it again, pushing and shoving people out of the way. I got separated from my wife and step-son and almost did not get on the bus. I had to get a little physical and push back.

On the bus people had sat down and put their bags on the seat next to them, totally ignorant people! Why not put it on your lap as the trip is only about 5 minutes over the bridge???

Arrived the Thai side and filled in the arrival / departure card. This was not easy as they had four officers filling in the forms for the people that can not read English or Thai were writing on top of the cards. No cards were in a pick-up box. Finally through the immigration check and on the way home.

Arrived home 11 hours later at 2:20am.................I need a beer. All in all the trip was fine, the only real blight on the trip was the Thai consulate needs to improve it's waiting area and control the queuing system to stop the mad head-less chicken run. Also at the crossing there needs to either needs to be more buses put on to ease the flow of people or have a proper system that stops the almost riot-like behavior of mostly Laos and Thai people getting onto the bus.

There is a cross border bus service, Mukdahan-Savannakhet, runs about 8 times a day as I've already stated. No idea why no one here talks about catching it. Particularly if heading back into Thailand there is no visa issue anyway as you already have your visa - the seats are comfortable, there is no "headless chicken" rush and it gets you directly to the bus station for onward travel to other destinations within Thailand.

The only people who cross the border there who can't read English or Thai must be the Vietnamese. Nearly all Lao can read Thai.

[jonnyscot]

I can confirm eddy IS talking about the mukdahan/ savannakhet service, I returned from savannakhet the day before him and we had similar issues, waited about 45 minutes and had at least 100 people standing (not counting those sitting) at the curb ready to jump on the bus when it arrived, luckily my wife found a better solution before the muk/savan bus arrived, as she knows what my reactions are to queue jumpers, I am referring to as eddy was to the bus pickup point after clearing Laos immigration and transporting to thai immigration point across the bridge,,, trouble is bus fills up at bus station in savannakhet, but then sell additional tickets for the same bus at the border to the people arriving at border by other private hire transport as no one wants to wait for the next one,,

we had left our car at the hotel in mukdahan. Luckily no problem with transport at the Thai side courtesy of a very nice imm officer who was going into town

Edited April 30, 2015 by jonnyscot

[MJCM]

I can confirm eddy IS talking about the mukdahan/ savannakhet service, I returned from savannakhet the day before him and we had similar issues, waited about 45 minutes and had at least 100 people standing (not counting those sitting) at the curb ready to jump on the bus when it arrived, luckily my wife found a better solution before the muk/savan bus arrived, as she knows what my reactions are to queue jumpers, I am referring to as eddy was to the bus pickup point after clearing Laos immigration and transporting to thai immigration point across the bridge,,, trouble is bus fills up at bus station in savannakhet, but then sell additional tickets for the same bus at the border to the people arriving at border by other private hire transport as no one wants to wait for the next one,,

we had left our car at the hotel in mukdahan. Luckily no problem with transport at the Thai side courtesy of a very nice imm officer who was going into town

Question, with all the trouble (it seems)!getting the bus back over the bridge to the Thai Side wouldn't it be easier to wait for the next one even it takes an hour or does the same trouble starts again when the next bus arrives?

And other question, what was the better solution your wife found

Edited May 4, 2015 by MJCM

[jonnyscot]

Easier yes, but why should you allow people behind you in the queue to pass you? If you were to be as cortious as that id hazard a guess that youd still be there waiting when the border closes in the evening,, which in my situation is not so good as I had to pick up our car from the hotel we left it at in mukdahan and drive across the breadth of the country or nearly 700km to get home after the crossing, yes I believe there are flight options, but not so convenient for us in this instance,,

The other solution due to limited availability lets just say was a one off.

[nzexpat]

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Easier yes, but why should you allow people behind you in the queue to pass you? If you were to be as cortious as that id hazard a guess that youd still be there waiting when the border closes in the evening,, which in my situation is not so good as I had to pick up our car from the hotel we left it at in mukdahan and drive across the breadth of the country or nearly 700km to get home after the crossing, yes I believe there are flight options, but not so convenient for us in this instance,,
The other solution due to limited availability lets just say was a one off.

I am sure if one was " cortious" then one would be left stranded !

What is the solution ? Push, shove and fight or follow behind the wife who is skilled in the use of bus mounting tactics ?

Edited May 4, 2015 by nzexpat

[recom273]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about, I was there last October, I picked up my visa in the afternoon and walked back to my guest house and had a nice dinner at Chez Bourne.

The next morning i arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to pick me up and drop me at the bridge for 100B or something.

I cleared immigration and at around 10.00 am a bus swung round the roundabout in front of Lao immigration, the bus was empty, it didnt come from Sav bus station, there was a couple of westerners on the bus, it dropped me at Mukdahan bus station. There was no pushing or shoving, everyone had a seat.

From there I caught a songthaew to Indo-china market, walked through, got something to eat, read my book by the river and the airasia shuttle turned up on queue to take me to the airport.

I found the whole process so easy, sure there was a little rush when the outgoing bus arrived and we were shoehorned for the 3 minute bridge crossing, it was more like over-keen gamers chasing their fix and a rush of filllapinas as the gates to the consulate opened - apart from that, no other stress to mention. Sometimes it pays to just relax.

[Eddy B]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about, I was there last October, I picked up my visa in the afternoon and walked back to my guest house and had a nice dinner at Chez Bourne.

The next morning i arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to pick me up and drop me at the bridge for 100B or something.

I cleared immigration and at around 10.00 am a bus swung round the roundabout in front of Lao immigration, the bus was empty, it didnt come from Sav bus station, there was a couple of westerners on the bus, it dropped me at Mukdahan bus station. There was no pushing or shoving, everyone had a seat.

From there I caught a songthaew to Indo-china market, walked through, got something to eat, read my book by the river and the airasia shuttle turned up on queue to take me to the airport.

I found the whole process so easy, sure there was a little rush when the outgoing bus arrived and we were shoehorned for the 3 minute bridge crossing, it was more like over-keen gamers chasing their fix and a rush of filllapinas as the gates to the consulate opened - apart from that, no other stress to mention. Sometimes it pays to just relax.

Exactly! You went in October last year, that is why you have no idea!! Since Feb the 1st it is no longer a 1 day process but is now a 2 day process. So everyone has to pick up their passports at 2pm from the consulate the next day. I could have stayed another night wined and dined myself and family but I had transport and friends waiting for me on the Thai-side. So everyone wishing to get back to the Thai-side are all arriving at the same time. This causes a bottle neck when it come to crossing the bridge. One bus 80+ people all there wanting to board that bus. The bus company surely know about this new change in policy so why still only one bus, and not two.

To the other OP who questioned about pushing and shoving: Did I have to fight to get on the bus no, did I push and shove...........damn right I did as my wife and kid were on board that bus we are a family. Would another person not do the same?

[Eddy B]

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Easier yes, but why should you allow people behind you in the queue to pass you? If you were to be as cortious as that id hazard a guess that youd still be there waiting when the border closes in the evening,, which in my situation is not so good as I had to pick up our car from the hotel we left it at in mukdahan and drive across the breadth of the country or nearly 700km to get home after the crossing, yes I believe there are flight options, but not so convenient for us in this instance,,

The other solution due to limited availability lets just say was a one off.

I am sure if one was " cortious" then one would be left stranded !

What is the solution ? Push, shove and fight or follow behind the wife who is skilled in the use of bus mounting tactics ?

I would like to see how you would have reacted. Would you have waved your arms like Moses and split the sea of bodies climbing over each other to get on the only bus coming that time??? If you have not done this visa run since Feb the 1st, then shut up as both I and jonnyscot have! Plus why pick on the fact that someone spelt a word wrong, I got the understanding of what he meant just by his sentence structure. Yes, if we had of been courteous and let the throng rushing onto the bus before us, we would have been stranded until well after the bridge crossing had closed. One bus is not enough, 80+ people trying to get on one bus is madness and quite unsafe.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Eddy B

[visarunner]

Someone told me it's possible to get a triple entry tourist in Savanaket... Is that true?

There have some people that got one there but it sill only had 3 months of validity which made the 3rd entry worthless for all intents and purposes.

as ubonjoe said, valid only three month, so no point , double is good enough

[kanook]

Good trip report Eddy B. We had a beer together at the guesthouse the night before we picked up our visas at the consulate. I picked up my Visa the same day as Eddy and can confirm the bus crossing the bridge was beyond full. It's actually difficult to describe how many people they packed onto the bus, but to get an idea; after it was completely full standing room only, the bus driver kept screaming at the passengers to move back and jammed another 15 or 20 people into the 'can of sardines'. I probably crossed over about one hour after Eddy.

[jonnyscot]

For those regular visitors to the savannakhet border who haven't previously experienced any issue with the bus system, possibly on the days in question last week there may have been a shortage of busses, mechanical probs or some related issues,

last year and the previous year I went there I didn't experience the same problem with the bus (although the first year I used the savan Vegas service)

whether it was due to as eddie mentioned the 2 day turnaround in visa drop/pickup (although the 2 day service was in play when I went last year too)or simply unreliable bus service on those days, I was just posting my experience, just to pre-warn others to possible delays on using the bus service

Edited May 5, 2015 by jonnyscot

[McGee]

I guess that i've read this Topic rite in time as i planned to fly to Mukdahan next month. Can someone please confirm that the Procedure now takes 2 Days? that would mean to spend one nite in savannakhet.

Any recommendations for a decent hotel/BB ?

Thanks

[ubonjoe]

I guess that i've read this Topic rite in time as i planned to fly to Mukdahan next month. Can someone please confirm that the Procedure now takes 2 Days? that would mean to spend one nite in savannakhet.

Any recommendations for a decent hotel/BB ?

Thanks

Since the first of February it has been next afternoon service in Savannakhet. Apply by 11 am of one day and pick up the next afternoon at 2 pm.

[BigRick]

Did that run from Kburi in just a little bit under 48 hours 5pm from Kburi to Mo Chit 9pm bus to Mukatan 6am Mukatan to Laos(The bus service is right outside the frong door. First in the gate no one was really pushing and shoving. They did same day service back then so was back on a 7pm Bus to Bkk. 6am on a van to Kuri got home in time to wake my wife up for breakfast. The Laotians are indeed pushy but just like the Chinese you just have to stand up for yourself they get the point quickly.(I am 194cm and 128kg pure 1 pack!). Push me you get pushed back I am like a fat Gandalf You shall not pass! Had to do it to a Chinese guy in Semaessan who pushed my wife trying to cut in line gave him a nice rib shot and not one person said a word because it was a Chinese pushing a Thai. Savanket is one of the most boring towns in SE Asia but the Thai embassy there is great.

Edited May 6, 2015 by BigRick

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Ok. Where are you driving FROM.

I did the trip to Savannakhet a year or so back. On the advice of another member, Brigsy, I rode across to Muk but dropped down off the main road and took a back road through the phup ya ron (spelling) national park. I also dropped into the NP office there and had a look at all of the impounded rose wood there. In Muk I stayed in a brand new small hotel that is on the river road to the south of the village, on the right as you head south. It is lime green in color and the sign on the road is entirely in Thai so you will have to look closely. The reception is very Chinese Thai with shrines and statues and stuff. The room was big, clean and fitted out with brand new LCD and aircon and great timber furniture. I recall the rate was 400THB. The river road actually follows the river north and under the friendship bridge. I advise you take this road to the bridge rather than the main one as there is most days a police check point on the main road and they are keen to stop farangs. Another advantage of taking the river road is that directly under the pylons of the bridge on the Thai side is a shrine to Phayanak. Pasted on the back of one of the pylons you will see some cool old photographs of reported sightings. One of them is very cool...a bit like the fuzzy loch ness shots.

I parked my bike for a night on the Thai side without mishap. You can stay at the Leena guesthouse. It is cheap and chearful. But wont impress your girl...

I got a 3 entry tourist visa but it is only good for 6 months as Ubon Joe has advised (didn't know this until later and wass p*ssed about it)

Back on the Thai side of the bridge I then rode north along the Mekong up to Nakon Phanom. That is a lovely town well worth a visit, and the view across the river to the mountains in Laos is cool. There is suprisingly good night life in NP but the bars are all Thai, as they come to NP to head across to the casino in Laos. I then rode on to Nong Khai on the way you will also pass a dinosaur park on the left. It is free to enter and you can see some great fossilised foot prints. Pm me if you have any specific questions.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Bulldozer Dawn