Best way to go to Savannakhet

[steelepulse]

That was a Nok Air van as part of their fly/ride service, BKK>>Mukdahan R/T.

[BritTim]

I screwed up and booked the 16:55 flight out of NP. Is there any realistic chance catching that flight when you leave the consulate at say... 14:05?

As someone who cuts things very fine at times, I would say the chance is poor unless willing to spend a lot. If you book a taxi with car passport to take you from the consulate across the bridge (waiting while you clear Lao immigration) and then a taxi from the bridge to Nakhon Phanom airport, you will make it. This will be costly. If you wait for the bus to cross the bridge, I doubt you can make it.

[raro]

Just crossing the bridge into Laos, yes only one bus per hour, this won't work

[raro]

Ok, for the records.... Yes, the Laotian taxi drivers can bring you across the bridge. Costs 1,600 including 1,200 in fees for the car.

Then it's 1,400 for a taxi from the bridge to the airport.... Total 3,000.

A new ticket is less than 2,000

[raro]

It's feasible. I found a Thai driver who took on the challenge.

14:02 out of the consulate,driver on standby.

14:08 arriving at the bridge

14:20 back in Thailand

Now speeding down the highway...

[raro]

... And arrived at the airport at 15:35...

Highly recommendable service.

[khunyod]

Just to review, there is only one missing piece now:

- CNX - UBP on Kan Air (early flight), 2,000 THB

- Shuttle service UBP to Mukdahan (Ploy Palace), 350 THB

- Overnight in Mukdahan

- Next day cross to Savannakhet, visit Thai consulate

- Overnight in Savannakhet

- Next day Thai consulate, 2pm to pick up visa

- ***missing part, need to get from 2pm Thai consulate to 3:30pm Ploy Palace, what is the best? Should be fine but if inordinate delay, could screw everything up.***

- Shuttle service Ploy Palace (Mukdahan) to UBP

- UBP - DMK Nok Air, 1,000 THB

- DMK - CNX Air Asia, 1,000 THB

Two nights, three days.

[khunyod]

Ok, just finished the trip to Savannakhet and back.

- Kan Air flight CNX-UBP 06:20-08:10

- Picked up by the Ploy Palace shuttle (UBP-Ploy Palace, Mukdahan direct). This leaves at 9am because it meets a Nok Air flight out of DMK.

- Arrived Ploy Palace by 12:00 (some delay because the road is being widened in places with construction equipment).

- Walked down to the Indochina Market which has many curios, houseware, nicknacks, etc.

- Lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Mekong, very pleasant weather

- That evening (Sunday, 10-Jan-2016) there was a large carnival with rides and lots of loud music next to the walking street night market (great meals and produce). Music cut off exactly at 24:00 midnight.

The next morning getting to the Thai Consulate in Savannakhet is not a problem. Buses from the Mukdahan bus station leave every hour: 07:30, 08:30, etc., 50 THB. The consulate is open from 09:00-11:00 for applications (and 14:00-16:00 the following day for pickup). The 08:30 bus should be fine, but I missed that so took a Skylab to the Thai end of the bridge/immigration. That cost 120 THB though it might have been cheaper if I bargained harder. Talked him down from 150 THB.

The big problem with the Second Friendship Bridge is transportation across the bridge between the two immigration stations. Unlike Nong Khai/Vientiane, there is no regular bus that is dedicated to that purpose. Instead, people generally are travelling with their transportation all the way across. This means either the local bus (once an hour) or Savan Vegas minivan.

Note that the Savan Vegas minivan will transport people across the bridge for 50 THB (even if not going to Savan Vegas). That is what about 8 of us did on Monday, namely we had all gotten to the Thai immigration side of the bridge by some other transportation (taxi or skylab) and then were waiting for the local bus when the Savan Vegas minivan stopped there, and only had 3 people onboard at the time.

From the Lao side, it is a matter of paying for a visa on arrival (pdf version of the form available online), and then going through immigration and getting a tuk-tuk to the Thai consulate. The bidding generally starts at 200 THB and should go down to 100 THB (for one person only), but some of these guys may stick at 150 THB.

At the Thai consulate I arrived around 9:45 and there was a 30 minute wait in line (no numbers, just a single-file queue. There was only one window open but several immigration officers were there checking and sorting everything. For pickup the next day my number was #100, so around 150 people or so were there (this is a Monday during the busy season).

From there it should be 50-100 THB to one's lodging of choice.

The next day is when the real mad dash began. I decided to go an hour early, and indeed there were about 30 people already waiting outside, at tables, in the shade. Only three people were actually queuing at the gate itself (stand or sit on the ground, and only shade for about 6 people). But going there, I managed to have a nice conversation and was fourth in line to get my passport with new visa.

From there it was 100 THB (for one person only) on a tuk-tuk to the border. And again, the same problem presented itself: once through immigration there is no way across the bridge except for the hourly bus to Mukdahan, or a Savan Vegas minivan (which was not presenting itself, this being 14:15 and not a time when people are leaving back to Thailand).

And so there was a wait for another 25 minutes, then we were packed like sardines in a barely functioning bus (limited air conditioning and a number of ripe fellow passengers). Another 10 minute wait and it was over the bridge to Thai immigration. It became a madhouse at that point as Thai immigration did not have any officer handing out the arrival/departure forms. Everyone milled about for three minutes then a mad dash to get those forms from the immigration kiosks, which promptly ran out after about 10 were dispensed. Even though I was in the back of the bus, I was the sixth person through the immigration.

I was definitely going to miss my 15:30 minivan at Ploy Palace if I was stuck at that bus, as it had to wait for everyone (perhaps 40 people) to pass immigration. However, I and another passenger went looking for a taxi, tuk-tuk, or skylab. It is discouraging at first as there seems to not be any, and nearly everyone doesn't know where to get one. However, one bedraggled denizen pointed out that if we go past the main gate (perhaps 500 meters away in the distance) they should be there. And indeed, a nice man with an air conditioned car offered to drive the two of us to the Mukdahan bus station for 150 THB (for two people). Note that these folks do not speak English, so at least this much needs to be communicated in Thai.

From the bus station where the second passenger was let off I negotiated 50 THB back to Ploy Palace and arrived at 15:25, enough time for a bathroom break and an iced coffee.

From Ploy Palace shuttle to UBP it was direct (one stop for a bathroom break) and an easy hour before the Nok Air UBP-DMK flight. At DMK it was another hour before the Air Asia DMK-CNX flight.

All good, with a bit of panic in the middle.

[baneko]

Ok, just finished the trip to Savannakhet and back.

- Kan Air flight CNX-UBP 06:20-08:10

- Picked up by the Ploy Palace shuttle (UBP-Ploy Palace, Mukdahan direct). This leaves at 9am because it meets a Nok Air flight out of DMK.

- Arrived Ploy Palace by 12:00 (some delay because the road is being widened in places with construction equipment).

- Walked down to the Indochina Market which has many curios, houseware, nicknacks, etc.

- Lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Mekong, very pleasant weather

- That evening (Sunday, 10-Jan-2016) there was a large carnival with rides and lots of loud music next to the walking street night market (great meals and produce). Music cut off exactly at 24:00 midnight.

The next morning getting to the Thai Consulate in Savannakhet is not a problem. Buses from the Mukdahan bus station leave every hour: 07:30, 08:30, etc., 50 THB. The consulate is open from 09:00-11:00 for applications (and 14:00-16:00 the following day for pickup). The 08:30 bus should be fine, but I missed that so took a Skylab to the Thai end of the bridge/immigration. That cost 120 THB though it might have been cheaper if I bargained harder. Talked him down from 150 THB.

The big problem with the Second Friendship Bridge is transportation across the bridge between the two immigration stations. Unlike Nong Khai/Vientiane, there is no regular bus that is dedicated to that purpose. Instead, people generally are travelling with their transportation all the way across. This means either the local bus (once an hour) or Savan Vegas minivan.

Note that the Savan Vegas minivan will transport people across the bridge for 50 THB (even if not going to Savan Vegas). That is what about 8 of us did on Monday, namely we had all gotten to the Thai immigration side of the bridge by some other transportation (taxi or skylab) and then were waiting for the local bus when the Savan Vegas minivan stopped there, and only had 3 people onboard at the time.

From the Lao side, it is a matter of paying for a visa on arrival (pdf version of the form available online), and then going through immigration and getting a tuk-tuk to the Thai consulate. The bidding generally starts at 200 THB and should go down to 100 THB (for one person only), but some of these guys may stick at 150 THB.

At the Thai consulate I arrived around 9:45 and there was a 30 minute wait in line (no numbers, just a single-file queue. There was only one window open but several immigration officers were there checking and sorting everything. For pickup the next day my number was #100, so around 150 people or so were there (this is a Monday during the busy season).

From there it should be 50-100 THB to one's lodging of choice.

The next day is when the real mad dash began. I decided to go an hour early, and indeed there were about 30 people already waiting outside, at tables, in the shade. Only three people were actually queuing at the gate itself (stand or sit on the ground, and only shade for about 6 people). But going there, I managed to have a nice conversation and was fourth in line to get my passport with new visa.

From there it was 100 THB (for one person only) on a tuk-tuk to the border. And again, the same problem presented itself: once through immigration there is no way across the bridge except for the hourly bus to Mukdahan, or a Savan Vegas minivan (which was not presenting itself, this being 14:15 and not a time when people are leaving back to Thailand).

And so there was a wait for another 25 minutes, then we were packed like sardines in a barely functioning bus (limited air conditioning and a number of ripe fellow passengers). Another 10 minute wait and it was over the bridge to Thai immigration. It became a madhouse at that point as Thai immigration did not have any officer handing out the arrival/departure forms. Everyone milled about for three minutes then a mad dash to get those forms from the immigration kiosks, which promptly ran out after about 10 were dispensed. Even though I was in the back of the bus, I was the sixth person through the immigration.

I was definitely going to miss my 15:30 minivan at Ploy Palace if I was stuck at that bus, as it had to wait for everyone (perhaps 40 people) to pass immigration. However, I and another passenger went looking for a taxi, tuk-tuk, or skylab. It is discouraging at first as there seems to not be any, and nearly everyone doesn't know where to get one. However, one bedraggled denizen pointed out that if we go past the main gate (perhaps 500 meters away in the distance) they should be there. And indeed, a nice man with an air conditioned car offered to drive the two of us to the Mukdahan bus station for 150 THB (for two people). Note that these folks do not speak English, so at least this much needs to be communicated in Thai.

From the bus station where the second passenger was let off I negotiated 50 THB back to Ploy Palace and arrived at 15:25, enough time for a bathroom break and an iced coffee.

From Ploy Palace shuttle to UBP it was direct (one stop for a bathroom break) and an easy hour before the Nok Air UBP-DMK flight. At DMK it was another hour before the Air Asia DMK-CNX flight.

All good, with a bit of panic in the middle.

You cant pick up same day...before you could leave in the morning and pick up afternoon.

[ubonjoe]

The went back to the next afternoon service on February 1st of last year.

[luke000]

EDIT; Question unrelated to thread, but do i need to cancel my ED visa extension before going to Savannakhet ? I used up all entries, my classes finish this month and currently on my last extension of stay valid until 14june.

I did have to cancel my Ed=Visa when I departed a few months ago .

I had to go to my school and get a letter stating I m cancelling my visa, then take this to immigration in CM and get them to cancel my visa .

I was told that if I didnt cancel my Ed-visa, it would still be valid, which means if I left Thailand and returned a month later, I would get charged with a 1 month over stay .

Others at the border who hadnt canceled their Ed-visa were able to get their school to send the documents by E-mail to the border immigration and they were able to cancel the visa there

[khunyod]

Ok, just finished the trip to Savannakhet and back.

- Kan Air flight CNX-UBP 06:20-08:10

- Picked up by the Ploy Palace shuttle (UBP-Ploy Palace, Mukdahan direct). This leaves at 9am because it meets a Nok Air flight out of DMK.

- Arrived Ploy Palace by 12:00 (some delay because the road is being widened in places with construction equipment).

- Walked down to the Indochina Market which has many curios, houseware, nicknacks, etc.

- Lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Mekong, very pleasant weather

- That evening (Sunday, 10-Jan-2016) there was a large carnival with rides and lots of loud music next to the walking street night market (great meals and produce). Music cut off exactly at 24:00 midnight.

The next morning getting to the Thai Consulate in Savannakhet is not a problem. Buses from the Mukdahan bus station leave every hour: 07:30, 08:30, etc., 50 THB. The consulate is open from 09:00-11:00 for applications (and 14:00-16:00 the following day for pickup). The 08:30 bus should be fine, but I missed that so took a Skylab to the Thai end of the bridge/immigration. That cost 120 THB though it might have been cheaper if I bargained harder. Talked him down from 150 THB.

The big problem with the Second Friendship Bridge is transportation across the bridge between the two immigration stations. Unlike Nong Khai/Vientiane, there is no regular bus that is dedicated to that purpose. Instead, people generally are travelling with their transportation all the way across. This means either the local bus (once an hour) or Savan Vegas minivan.

Note that the Savan Vegas minivan will transport people across the bridge for 50 THB (even if not going to Savan Vegas). That is what about 8 of us did on Monday, namely we had all gotten to the Thai immigration side of the bridge by some other transportation (taxi or skylab) and then were waiting for the local bus when the Savan Vegas minivan stopped there, and only had 3 people onboard at the time.

From the Lao side, it is a matter of paying for a visa on arrival (pdf version of the form available online), and then going through immigration and getting a tuk-tuk to the Thai consulate. The bidding generally starts at 200 THB and should go down to 100 THB (for one person only), but some of these guys may stick at 150 THB.

At the Thai consulate I arrived around 9:45 and there was a 30 minute wait in line (no numbers, just a single-file queue. There was only one window open but several immigration officers were there checking and sorting everything. For pickup the next day my number was #100, so around 150 people or so were there (this is a Monday during the busy season).

From there it should be 50-100 THB to one's lodging of choice.

The next day is when the real mad dash began. I decided to go an hour early, and indeed there were about 30 people already waiting outside, at tables, in the shade. Only three people were actually queuing at the gate itself (stand or sit on the ground, and only shade for about 6 people). But going there, I managed to have a nice conversation and was fourth in line to get my passport with new visa.

From there it was 100 THB (for one person only) on a tuk-tuk to the border. And again, the same problem presented itself: once through immigration there is no way across the bridge except for the hourly bus to Mukdahan, or a Savan Vegas minivan (which was not presenting itself, this being 14:15 and not a time when people are leaving back to Thailand).

And so there was a wait for another 25 minutes, then we were packed like sardines in a barely functioning bus (limited air conditioning and a number of ripe fellow passengers). Another 10 minute wait and it was over the bridge to Thai immigration. It became a madhouse at that point as Thai immigration did not have any officer handing out the arrival/departure forms. Everyone milled about for three minutes then a mad dash to get those forms from the immigration kiosks, which promptly ran out after about 10 were dispensed. Even though I was in the back of the bus, I was the sixth person through the immigration.

I was definitely going to miss my 15:30 minivan at Ploy Palace if I was stuck at that bus, as it had to wait for everyone (perhaps 40 people) to pass immigration. However, I and another passenger went looking for a taxi, tuk-tuk, or skylab. It is discouraging at first as there seems to not be any, and nearly everyone doesn't know where to get one. However, one bedraggled denizen pointed out that if we go past the main gate (perhaps 500 meters away in the distance) they should be there. And indeed, a nice man with an air conditioned car offered to drive the two of us to the Mukdahan bus station for 150 THB (for two people). Note that these folks do not speak English, so at least this much needs to be communicated in Thai.

From the bus station where the second passenger was let off I negotiated 50 THB back to Ploy Palace and arrived at 15:25, enough time for a bathroom break and an iced coffee.

From Ploy Palace shuttle to UBP it was direct (one stop for a bathroom break) and an easy hour before the Nok Air UBP-DMK flight. At DMK it was another hour before the Air Asia DMK-CNX flight.

All good, with a bit of panic in the middle.

You cant pick up same day...before you could leave in the morning and pick up afternoon.

Not sure where you got that I picked up the visa the same day. My longwinded report is: Day 1 CNX to Mukdahan (night in Muk), Day 2 Savannakhet (Thai consulate) (night in Sav.), Day 3 Savannakhet, Thai Consulate, back to Mukdahan, Ubon, DMK, CNX. Even back when there was same day service, it was not possible to do 2 days (1 night) from Chiang Mai.

[ChrisB87]

Anyone recently used the guarded parking? Still available?

[EcigAmateur]

On 3/30/2016 at 12:58 PM, ChrisB87 said:

Anyone recently used the guarded parking? Still available?

 

Got your reply ?

 

 

[mickey13]

Hello everyone :),

i would like to know 2 things please. I need to renew my non immigrant visa (multi entry) based on mariage in savannakhet.

- I would like to know first if nothing had change for the process (papers) ?

- then i have a flight at 18h45 in Ubon ratchatani. Need to pick up passport at 14h. Can i make it the same day ? If yes what is the best option

 

Thanks for your reply and have a good day.

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, mickey13 said:

I would like to know first if nothing had change for the process (papers) ?

- then i have a flight at 18h45 in Ubon ratchatani. Need to pick up passport at 14h. Can i make it the same day ? If yes what is the best option

No changes.

I would say it would be very tight to make the flight at 18:45. But with luck you could make it.

[mickey13]

ok thank you

do you think the best option is to take a taxi from the bus station or with the normal bus it s possible to make it ?

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, mickey13 said:

ok thank you

do you think the best option is to take a taxi from the bus station or with the normal bus it s possible to make it ?

The hold up would be getting from the consulate to the Thai side of the bridge.

If you could get form the consulate to the bus station in Mukdahan by 15:00 you would have enough time.

[mickey13]

thanks for your advices and help :). Have a great day.

[sikishrory]

On 5/19/2015 at 1:46 PM, beechbum said:

Ive just done the same run from Phuket for a non O marriage multiple entry.

Flew and mini bused with Nok air.

Bkk to Nakhon Phanom, mini bus (very comfortable) to the bridge, taxi or tuk tuk over the bridge to Savan.

DONT STAY AT SAVANVAGAS, its a rip off, Daosavanh resort's nice or Hoongthip hotel's ok.

Grab a bottle of water an umbrella and get to the consulate in Savannakhet about an hour early, the sign says it opens at 0830 but It doesn't really open until 0900 or just after.

Once the gate opens your'l go to a window and hand over your docs and money (5000 for multi-entry, I think it said 2000 for single), they'l give you a numbered slip of paper.

When you go to pick up your visa the following day get the an hour early, take a bottle of water and umbrella just i case.

As the flight to BKK from Nakhon Phanom is 12 noon daily I stayed at the night at the Ploy Palace hotel in Mukdahan(the Nok air mini bus for the return to Nakhon Phanom stops there for a pick up at 0915 each morning)

I know this is a bit old but maybe still the same. I am doing the nok air route bkk- nakhon phanom - mukdahan also. It doesn't say anything about a mini bus to the border though? It says it goes to ploy palace and apparently few taxis someone has written above?

[BritTim]

6 hours ago, sikishrory said:

I know this is a bit old but maybe still the same. I am doing the nok air route bkk- nakhon phanom - mukdahan also. It doesn't say anything about a mini bus to the border though? It says it goes to ploy palace and apparently few taxis someone has written above?

The van passes the bridge on the way to Mukdahan, and will drop you at the bridge on request. This is usually more convenient than going on to Ploy Palace, unless you plan to spend the night in Mukdahan (not a bad idea, as Mukdahan has a bit more going on than Savannakhet).

[sikishrory]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

The van passes the bridge on the way to Mukdahan, and will drop you at the bridge on request. This is usually more convenient than going on to Ploy Palace, unless you plan to spend the night in Mukdahan (not a bad idea, as Mukdahan has a bit more going on than Savannakhet).

Ah thats handy to know. Thanks

[beechbum]

On 5/26/2018 at 2:10 AM, sikishrory said:

I know this is a bit old but maybe still the same. I am doing the nok air route bkk- nakhon phanom - mukdahan also. It doesn't say anything about a mini bus to the border though? It says it goes to ploy palace and apparently few taxis someone has written above?

The mini bus has stopped at the border before it carries onto Ploy Palace each time I've done this run.