Hello people.

I am on my way back to Thailand from Hue in Vietnam via Savannakhet in Laos.

I took time out to walk up to the South bus station in Hue to find out a price for a bus from Hue to Savannakhet in Laos to apply for a visa for my onward journey to Thailand. The lady behind the International desk was quite abrupt telling me it would be 300.000 dong (around £10) for the journey that leaves at 8am and arrives around 6pm at the bus station in Savannakhet. With this information, I proceeded back to my accom (Chillout hostel) and informed the lady there of the price.

I had read on google that someone had already done this journey and mentioned that the bus was full of crates of tomatoes at your feet during the trip.

Because I had a backpack AND a suitcase i decided this would be a bit of a stretch so the lady at the hostel told me there was a 'sleeper' bus that I could get that left at the same time, without having to go to the bus station which sounded great compared to the 'public' bus I mentioned earlier.

So I told her I would like to book on this bus and was quoted 370.000 dong which sounded ideal as like I said, I had 2 pieces of luggage so an extra £2 to avoid the bus station sounded well worth it. The final price went up to 420.000 dong

I was picked up in a car at around 7:20am and collected 2 other guests at local hotels en route. After that we were taken to the South bus station which I was trying to avoid but, hey ho, there we were. I was dropped from the car next to the bus and sure enough, it was a sleeper as all the seats were able to recline near enough to full horizontal. But, when I looked where the luggage should go, there was a guy forcing the last crate of whatever it was into the luggage area, so I asked where am I supposed to put my backpack and case. He put me on the bus and put my suitcase at the back of the bus, and showed me to my seat where I had to put my backpack on top of me for the whole journey. I was worried about my case that was out of sight but obviously I had to take the chance.

When I was given my ticket, the price said 320.000 dong so I was charged an extra 100.000 dong by the hostel.

OK, so I got on my seat/recliner and while I was sat waiting to leave, more people got on who just sat in the aisles!! So even if i wanted to jump off my recliner and stretch my legs, there was no chance.

We reached the border of Vietnam and Laos after around 4 hours and this is where people need to understand what goes on. I got in the queue like everyone else and was certainly not at the back of the queue, I was about halfway down. When it was my turn at the window, the lady said "Oh, you need to be at that window", and pointed across the way. So, I went that window where a very abrupt guy told me I should be at another window! I was non-impressed to say the least but kept my cool as losing your patience gets you nowhere.

There was only 2 other people on the coach that were not 'local' and needless to say, myself and these 2 people (a Russian couple) were the last people to be dealt with. By this time, with ALL the locals back on the bus, the bus left to make us panic that they had gone without us. So, myself and the couple started to walk in the direction the bus had gone and were ambushed by motorbike taxis saying they would take us to our bus that was around a corner out of sight. IT IS A SCAM! They deal with all the locals 1st so they can board the coach and leave without the foreigners, making us think we are stuck in the middle of nowhere with our belongings still on the coach, so the taxi guys can make some more money taking us to our bus that is at a cafe 800m around the corner. As I had read about this on google (http://www.20yearshence.com/hue-to-savannakhet-by-bus/) I was not overly concerned but the Russian couple were going to go back to the border to complain.

Sure enough, the bus was around a bend about 800m from the border. We had to get on the bus without being able to buy food or drink although the locals had sat there eating while we were walking in the midday sun!

Arrived at Savannakhet bus station on time and luckily, after sitting there for 20 mins, I found 2 English guys who I asked where I could find accom.

The bus station is at a crossroads and diagonally opposite I found a guest house for 80.000kip a night, nothing special but if you're just doing a border run, it will be adequate. It is called Sounantha guest house and the staff are friendly even though they cannot really speak English. If you walk back to the crossroads with the bus station diagonally to your left, turn right and across the road is a nice open place to get some food and BeerLao (pint bottle for 10.000 kip)

This morning I woke at 8am to get ready to go and apply for my visa into Thailand. I walked up the road that runs past the bus station but could not find the consulate. It is not sign posted so the best way for me to explain how you get there is that when you go down the road, you will go over a crossroads and on your right is a large building called SAVAN ITECC. This is on your right hand side, keep going and when you see a Honda centre on your left hand side, the consulate is approx 50m after that. The queue by this time (around 10am) was at least an hour wait and the heat was intense with little shelter. Have a copy of your passport as I was sent across the road to get a copy and come back (i did not queue again) and handed my 2000 baht over and was given a ticket to collect my visa and passport tomorrow (21/4/2015). Here in Savannakhet, they do not change UK sterling so make sure you have local currency (Laos kip) or US dollar or Thai baht.

I know not many people will use this route who read this, as, after all, it is a Thai forum. But just thought I would share my experiences for any travellers out there.

Be lucky

Sounds like an adventure. Thanks for sharing.

Moving to the Thailand visas forum.

The scam you mention at the Vietnam/Laos border is NOT a scam.

Perhaps it's just unfortunate they don't speak English, and you don't speak any of their language.

I agree they should try to be more informative, but there's no scam here.

This is where the drivers have their break and a meal - as you say: 800 meters down the road.

They'll wait a few minutes for you at the border, but foreigners take longer to do the formalities than locals, so if you take too long, or go the the wrong desk as you did, then yes, they go for their lunch, and you're expected to follow down the road on a motorbike taxi.

The same restaurant is quite happy to sell take away food for you to eat on the bus.

I sympathise with your luggage problem, but most buses I know of allow 'one' suitcase, and extra may be taken if there is space.

But anyone who knows this route will be aware it's always packed to the gills.

Sorry Andyfez but I have to disagree with you. they know exactly what they are doing, and as for going to the wrong window, I went to the window I was instructed to go to 3 times. For those that know the ropes at this border crossing, fair enough but to panic people into thinking the bus has left without them so they feel they have to get a bike taxi to chase the bus is a scam to earn the bikes more money.

Funny how it is always the westerners who are last through even though we were not last in the queues. I take your point about luggage but when I board a bus, I expect to be able to put my luggage in the hold, not see it cramped with crates!!

If I do the run again, I will just sit and wait until all the asians have gone through and not stress about getting pased from 1 window to the next

The scam you mention at the Vietnam/Laos border is NOT a scam.

Perhaps it's just unfortunate they don't speak English, and you don't speak any of their language.

I agree they should try to be more informative, but there's no scam here.

This is where the drivers have their break and a meal - as you say: 800 meters down the road.

They'll wait a few minutes for you at the border, but foreigners take longer to do the formalities than locals, so if you take too long, or go the the wrong desk as you did, then yes, they go for their lunch, and you're expected to follow down the road on a motorbike taxi.

The same restaurant is quite happy to sell take away food for you to eat on the bus.

I sympathise with your luggage problem, but most buses I know of allow 'one' suitcase, and extra may be taken if there is space.

But anyone who knows this route will be aware it's always packed to the gills.

It's not necessarily true that foreigners will take longer to clear border immigration formalities compared to locals. First of all, please define "locals". If heading into Laos, only Lao citizens are locals and true enough, they will all be processed quicker than anyone else, because they don't need a visa nor will their passports be stamped with an "enter until" date. They will merely be stamped with an arrival stamp and that's it. I think they might need to fill out an arrival card, but it's also possible that the arrival card is only used for foreigners and/or for Lao citizens arriving by air.

Vietnamese citizens don't need a visa to enter Laos so they will be processed quickly and routinely by being given a 30-day visa exemption upon arrival. They are supposed to fill out an immigration arrival form but it could be that the bus company takes care of that for them.

Most foreigners require a Lao visa on arrival, that's why it takes longer for these foreigners to be processed than for Lao, Vietnamese and even Thai citizens (amongst others) who don't require a visa.

Note that you must go to the visa on arrival desk FIRST before you can be stamped in. I don't know if the Daen Savanh/Lao Bao border (or any other border) can stamp you in at the visa on arrival desk or if you need to join the normal separate queue afterwards. At the 1st Friendship Bridge near Vientiane, they do that. But at other border crossings I don't know as I am visa exempt hence I never need to queue for a visa anyway.

However, bus companies operating cross border services usually collect the passports of all passengers before reaching the border and present them collectively to Vietnamese immigration, who stamps out everyone and then hands back passports to the bus operator, who then reads out the names of the passengers who then receive their passports back. While I have never taken a Lao-Vietnam cross border bus (I've only ever crossed the Lao-Viet border by car, in a Lao car) I have taken numerous Cambodia-Vietnam services which operate the same way. Crossing into Vietnam is always faster than crossing into Laos because every passenger will either already have their Vietnam visa, or be visa exempt. That's because Vietnam does not issue visas on arrival. Crossing into Cambodia it's the same visa issue as Laos - if you need a visa on arrival it will usually take longer than being visa exempt or already possessing a visa because first you have to obtain your visa, which may take 5 or so minutes, then join the arrivals queue to obtain your entry stamp, by which time most other passengers will already be finished. That's why the bus operators usually collect up to US$5 extra to speed up the visa process by a few minutes; if you opt to do it yourself it's not usually much slower and you can save yourself that money but the bus company might get angry that they won't be getting those few extra dollars out of you, especially if you show up on the bus after everyone else is already aboard.

Sorry Andyfez but I have to disagree with you. they know exactly what they are doing, and as for going to the wrong window, I went to the window I was instructed to go to 3 times. For those that know the ropes at this border crossing, fair enough but to panic people into thinking the bus has left without them so they feel they have to get a bike taxi to chase the bus is a scam to earn the bikes more money.

Funny how it is always the westerners who are last through even though we were not last in the queues. I take your point about luggage but when I board a bus, I expect to be able to put my luggage in the hold, not see it cramped with crates!!

If I do the run again, I will just sit and wait until all the asians have gone through and not stress about getting pased from 1 window to the next

Westerners are not always the last through. I have taken Cambodia-Vietnam through buses many times in both directions and depending on the bus company, the direction of travel (into Vietnam is always faster and no difference if you are a local or foreigner because all passports are collected and stamped at the same time) or if heading into Cambodia, whether you possess a Cambodian visa or not will determine how fast you are through.

Did you head to the visa on arrival window first? If not, this was your first mistake.

Ah,the joys of backpacking,but i love it.See the world and keeps you on your toes.Travel cheap means more money for beer.Done that trip twice and one more coming up in Nov.Got a mate in Nha Trang.Thanks for sharing.

Sorry Andyfez but I have to disagree with you. they know exactly what they are doing, and as for going to the wrong window, I went to the window I was instructed to go to 3 times. For those that know the ropes at this border crossing, fair enough but to panic people into thinking the bus has left without them so they feel they have to get a bike taxi to chase the bus is a scam to earn the bikes more money.

Funny how it is always the westerners who are last through even though we were not last in the queues. I take your point about luggage but when I board a bus, I expect to be able to put my luggage in the hold, not see it cramped with crates!!

If I do the run again, I will just sit and wait until all the asians have gone through and not stress about getting pased from 1 window to the next

Westerners are not always the last through. I have taken Cambodia-Vietnam through buses many times in both directions and depending on the bus company, the direction of travel (into Vietnam is always faster and no difference if you are a local or foreigner because all passports are collected and stamped at the same time) or if heading into Cambodia, whether you possess a Cambodian visa or not will determine how fast you are through.

Did you head to the visa on arrival window first? If not, this was your first mistake.

My main point was to alert people that think the bus has left them, it hasn't so don't panic. However, if it isnt a scam, why don't they wait for the westerners to board the bus? Instead, they just drive off out of sight and leave you in the hands of the bike taxis? If the bus waited, the bike taxis wouldnt even need to be there!! Which basically proves my point

Edited April 22, 201511 yr by Walter Travolta

Just to finish off on this one, I got to the consulate yesterday and collected my visa at around 2:30pm and walked back to Savannakhet bus station, caught a bus to the Laos departure border and handed in my departure visa. The bus then takes you over the Mekong where there is the Thai border to enter . . . There are 3 queues, I was shown to the middle queue which was quite a bit shorter than the other 2 as it was for foreigners and ASEAN if I remember rightly. Got through to Thailand no problem and was taken to Mukdahan bus station.

I first checked out the Yellow bus company lady on the platform who told me they were full for the whole day ( I got there around 5pm ), so I went to sahaphon window as advised by Buckbee and got the same response, all the buses from Muk to BKK or Patt were full! Obviously not the news I was hoping for so I went to the Yellow bus office in the far left corner of the station and the 2 girls, as pleasant as they were, did not understand my plight. Eventually, a male member of staff arrived who spoke quite good English, gave me the same info, no room until 6:45am. I hung around the ticket office a little while longer and luckily I did because they told me that if I would be OK sitting on a seat at the back that was not as comfortable as the normal seats I could have that. Although it still cost me 781 baht, I took it and had plenty of room as the seat next to me was free.

12 and a half hours later without sleep I happily arrive at Pattaya North bus station

here endeth my travels for now . . .

Just to finish off on this one, I got to the consulate yesterday and collected my visa at around 2:30pm and walked back to Savannakhet bus station, caught a bus to the Laos departure border and handed in my departure visa. The bus then takes you over the Mekong where there is the Thai border to enter . . . There are 3 queues, I was shown to the middle queue which was quite a bit shorter than the other 2 as it was for foreigners and ASEAN if I remember rightly. Got through to Thailand no problem and was taken to Mukdahan bus station.

I first checked out the Yellow bus company lady on the platform who told me they were full for the whole day ( I got there around 5pm ), so I went to sahaphon window as advised by Buckbee and got the same response, all the buses from Muk to BKK or Patt were full! Obviously not the news I was hoping for so I went to the Yellow bus office in the far left corner of the station and the 2 girls, as pleasant as they were, did not understand my plight. Eventually, a male member of staff arrived who spoke quite good English, gave me the same info, no room until 6:45am. I hung around the ticket office a little while longer and luckily I did because they told me that if I would be OK sitting on a seat at the back that was not as comfortable as the normal seats I could have that. Although it still cost me 781 baht, I took it and had plenty of room as the seat next to me was free.

12 and a half hours later without sleep I happily arrive at Pattaya North bus station

here endeth my travels for now . . .

Wow never seen the sahaphon bus 85% full ! they always have spare seats. I would assume booking was overly busy as still a larger than normal amount of people returning to bkk after songkran period.

I was actually advised against pre-booking return by sahaphon ticket staff as more flexible & every time I turned up at 4pm-5pm had choice of all 3 bus times from 7pm to 8pm & looking at seat map loads free.

least you made it & got your double tourist plus route experience for next one ...

Just to finish off on this one, I got to the consulate yesterday and collected my visa at around 2:30pm and walked back to Savannakhet bus station, caught a bus to the Laos departure border and handed in my departure visa. The bus then takes you over the Mekong where there is the Thai border to enter . . . There are 3 queues, I was shown to the middle queue which was quite a bit shorter than the other 2 as it was for foreigners and ASEAN if I remember rightly. Got through to Thailand no problem and was taken to Mukdahan bus station.

I first checked out the Yellow bus company lady on the platform who told me they were full for the whole day ( I got there around 5pm ), so I went to sahaphon window as advised by Buckbee and got the same response, all the buses from Muk to BKK or Patt were full! Obviously not the news I was hoping for so I went to the Yellow bus office in the far left corner of the station and the 2 girls, as pleasant as they were, did not understand my plight. Eventually, a male member of staff arrived who spoke quite good English, gave me the same info, no room until 6:45am. I hung around the ticket office a little while longer and luckily I did because they told me that if I would be OK sitting on a seat at the back that was not as comfortable as the normal seats I could have that. Although it still cost me 781 baht, I took it and had plenty of room as the seat next to me was free.

12 and a half hours later without sleep I happily arrive at Pattaya North bus station

here endeth my travels for now . . .

Wow never seen the sahaphon bus 85% full ! they always have spare seats. I would assume booking was overly busy as still a larger than normal amount of people returning to bkk after songkran period.

I was actually advised against pre-booking return by sahaphon ticket staff as more flexible & every time I turned up at 4pm-5pm had choice of all 3 bus times from 7pm to 8pm & looking at seat map loads free.

least you made it & got your double tourist plus route experience for next one ...

Yes Buckbee I also thought the same about Songkran, the buses did look good I must admit and yes, 60 days until I have to do it all again . . .

Oh the joys

Just to finish off on this one, I got to the consulate yesterday and collected my visa at around 2:30pm and walked back to Savannakhet bus station, caught a bus to the Laos departure border and handed in my departure visa. The bus then takes you over the Mekong where there is the Thai border to enter . . . There are 3 queues, I was shown to the middle queue which was quite a bit shorter than the other 2 as it was for foreigners and ASEAN if I remember rightly. Got through to Thailand no problem and was taken to Mukdahan bus station.

I first checked out the Yellow bus company lady on the platform who told me they were full for the whole day ( I got there around 5pm ), so I went to sahaphon window as advised by Buckbee and got the same response, all the buses from Muk to BKK or Patt were full! Obviously not the news I was hoping for so I went to the Yellow bus office in the far left corner of the station and the 2 girls, as pleasant as they were, did not understand my plight. Eventually, a male member of staff arrived who spoke quite good English, gave me the same info, no room until 6:45am. I hung around the ticket office a little while longer and luckily I did because they told me that if I would be OK sitting on a seat at the back that was not as comfortable as the normal seats I could have that. Although it still cost me 781 baht, I took it and had plenty of room as the seat next to me was free.

12 and a half hours later without sleep I happily arrive at Pattaya North bus station

here endeth my travels for now . . .

Wow never seen the sahaphon bus 85% full ! they always have spare seats. I would assume booking was overly busy as still a larger than normal amount of people returning to bkk after songkran period.

I was actually advised against pre-booking return by sahaphon ticket staff as more flexible & every time I turned up at 4pm-5pm had choice of all 3 bus times from 7pm to 8pm & looking at seat map loads free.

least you made it & got your double tourist plus route experience for next one ...

Yes Buckbee I also thought the same about Songkran, the buses did look good I must admit and yes, 60 days until I have to do it all again . . .

Oh the joys

Well actually 120days & if do 2 extensions 180days before need savannakhet trip again, should be easy as you got basic experience so second time will be smoother process. Border is very smooth/friendly, border bus superb for 50baht & tour bus times to consulate times work perfect really.

Time for a break lol . have fun ...

Yes of course!! That has made me smile bcos I do not want to think about that for a long time! Maybe that could be my business venture? Buy a minivan and do the border runs? Obviously not me driving but From here to Mukdahan, maybe 2000baht return per person? And do a Cambodia run for the 30 day extensions . . .

You do the 30 day extension or your 60 day entries at an immigration office for a fee of 1900 baht. In Pattaya that will be at the office in Jomtien.

You do the 30 day extension or your 60 day entries at an immigration office for a fee of 1900 baht. In Pattaya that will be at the office in Jomtien.

Yes I thought that was the case Joe, so after my first 90 days (60 + 30) I leave the country and re-enter to start my 2nd entry?

You do the 30 day extension or your 60 day entries at an immigration office for a fee of 1900 baht. In Pattaya that will be at the office in Jomtien.

Yes I thought that was the case Joe, so after my first 90 days (60 + 30) I leave the country and re-enter to start my 2nd entry?

Yes

You wrote 30 day extension in your previous post for border runs to Cambodia.

Hello,

I use this chance to ask you if you know what if the closest border to Vientiane in Laos to go to Vietnam ? Is it easy to cross ? Can we get a visa on arrival or visa exempt for Vietnam ?

Thank you.

Hello,

I use this chance to ask you if you know what if the closest border to Vientiane in Laos to go to Vietnam ? Is it easy to cross ? Can we get a visa on arrival or visa exempt for Vietnam ?

Thank you.

I suggest you do a topic on the South East Asia or the visas for other countries forums.

I came into Laos from Vietnam on the Lao Bao side (VN) and included in the thread were some difficulties I faced. As a newbie, I could not offer advice on visas apart from I applied and received mine online through https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/

They advised me it takes 2 working days but since talking with someone else who went through this company, it only took 1 day. Im not sure if there is any difference between land crossings and flights regarding visas, but I have learned Ubonjoe is the mine of information when it comes to visas

Hello thailandforumaddict!

As Joe suggests, you should go to Laos or Vietnam forum for the info on that.

FYI, you can't get a Vietnamese visa upon arrival at any land borders. There're

Vietnamese Consulates in Savanakhet and Pakse where you can apply for a

visa.

You can get a visa upon arrival only if you fly into the country. You must then arrange

for one online beforehand, as Walter Travolta said. You can get visa exemption if you're

from one of these countries. You should double-check it because nothing will stay the

same for ever. http://www.vietnamvisa-easy.com/pages/vietnam-visa-exemption

As for the closest Vietnamese land border to Vientiane, it all depends upon where you're

going in Vietnam.

Edited April 26, 201511 yr by Too