Driving to Cambodia for my last visa run

[sotonfarang]

I need to do a visa run in January. Usually I fly off for a little break but now I have a newborn baby so would like to get it over with quickly, if thats possible.

I dont fancy (or trust) taking a mini van trip and would rather drive myself from bang saray, near Pattaya to the border.

I would like some advice if possible please on the best way to go, best way to do it and approx how long it would take me.

I have a non-o visa based on marriage.

Should I leave my car this side and walk across the border or can I drive into Cambodia?

Would it be better to fly from U-Tapao to a town near a border?

Bit new to all of this. Thank you.

[KhunBENQ]

Would it be better to fly from U-Tapao to a town near a border?

Border run I assume, just getting a stamp (not a new visa)?

There are early flights to Udon Thani and Hat Yai with AirAsia.

Unfortunately the return flights do not fit for a one day excursion.

BUT: you could use the early (7:55h) flight to Udon Thani (oneway) and then a return flight to DMK or BKK with another airline?

E.g. ThaiSmile at 16:05h (19:35h) to Suvarnabhumi.

Quite convenient and does not break the bank.

Udon Thani to the Laos border is easy.

AirAsia also has a nonstop from U-Tapao to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) but also not doable without an overnight in KL.

Edited December 14, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[NightRider70]

Drive to Baan Pakhad, this is the nearest border crossing, 230km from Bang Saray. The crossing is very small so walking across is easy. If you pay the fixers sitting just past Thai immigration they do the paper work and walk over stamp you in and out.

Edited December 14, 2015 by NightRider70

[Woody1]

I agree with you regarding the minivans (most of the drivers are lunatics)!

I have driven myself to the border quite a few times for the same reasons as you mention.

The nearest border crossing is at Pong Nam Ron / Prum (Cambodian side) in Chantaburi province, it's approximately a 3hr drive each each way.

You can park up on the right (some 50m before the Thai immigration), pass through on foot, walk about 250-300m to Cambodian immigration, and then reverse the process coming back.

One thing I remember from my last couple of trips is that the Cambodian immigration have started asking for a small, "financial incentive" in dollars or baht, to grant the entry and exit stamps within a few minutes of each other.

Final tip, I wouldn't recommend getting there 1st thing in the morning as it can be busy with minivans of Falangs, and plenty of locals passing through. I would suggest arriving there late morning / early afternoon.

Hope this helps.

[Woody1]

Would it be better to fly from U-Tapao to a town near a border?

Border run I assume, just getting a stamp (not a new visa)?

There are early flights to Udon Thani and Hat Yai with AirAsia.

Unfortunately the return flights do not fit for a one day excursion.

BUT: you could use the early (7:55h) flight to Udon Thani (oneway) and then a return flight to DMK or BKK with another airline?

E.g. ThaiSmile at 16:05h (19:35h) to Suvarnabhumi.

Quite convenient and does not break the bank.

Udon Thani to the Laos border is easy.

AirAsia also has a nonstop from U-Tapao to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) but also not doable without an overnight in KL.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but do you mean the Laos border at Vientiane?

If so, this can be a nightmare due to queuing there, it can take several hours to cross and then re-enter (this was the case in August when I did it).

Edited December 14, 2015 by Woody1

[sotonfarang]

Okay, great, thank you for all your quick responses.

Ideally I want to do an overnight trip out of U-Tapao but my clothes may be in binbags all over my garden on my return

I will look into all your suggestions, I think driving to Baan Pakhad seems my best option so far. I always worry about handing over my passport to `fixers` who may leg it with my passport.

Never done one after coming to Thailand for 10 years, bit paranoid doing it on my own for some reason.

Is it easy and can I be sure to be allowed back in ?

what are the opening times for Baan Pakhad?

[KhunBENQ]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but do you mean the Laos border at Vientiane?

If so, this can be a nightmare due to queuing there, it can take several hours to cross and then re-enter (this was the case in August when I did it).

Well it has been 2011 that I used it.

Didn't know that it has become so bad.

Is it easy and can I be sure to be allowed back in ?

If you have a valid multiple visa there is no reason to worry.

Valid: ENTER BEFORE date.

[Woody1]

Okay, great, thank you for all your quick responses.

Ideally I want to do an overnight trip out of U-Tapao but my clothes may be in binbags all over my garden on my return

I will look into all your suggestions, I think driving to Baan Pakhad seems my best option so far. I always worry about handing over my passport to `fixers` who may leg it with my passport.

Never done one after coming to Thailand for 10 years, bit paranoid doing it on my own for some reason.

Is it easy and can I be sure to be allowed back in ?

what are the opening times for Baan Pakhad?

The Baan Pakhad crossing is the same one as the Pong Nam Ron one I have mentioned I believe. You take route 3193 from Pong Nam Ron to the actual border (I presume Baan Pakhad) and your exit stamp is marked Pong Nam Ron.

It is very easy to do alone, you don't need to hand over your passport to any fixer (unless you wish to, I never have).

As far as getting back in, again presuming you haven't been doing back to back overland visa runs, which I doubt you have being on a Non-Imm O, there won't be a problem.

I'm not sure of the morning opening time, but as already mentioned, I wouldn't recommend getting there too early as it can be quite busy, definitely easier / quicker a little later on.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Woody1

[NightRider70]

Okay, great, thank you for all your quick responses.

Ideally I want to do an overnight trip out of U-Tapao but my clothes may be in binbags all over my garden on my return

I will look into all your suggestions, I think driving to Baan Pakhad seems my best option so far. I always worry about handing over my passport to `fixers` who may leg it with my passport.

Never done one after coming to Thailand for 10 years, bit paranoid doing it on my own for some reason.

Is it easy and can I be sure to be allowed back in ?

what are the opening times for Baan Pakhad?

The fixers will not leg it but if you are worried then do the paper work etc yourself.

Bring passport photos.

You can be sure to be let back in.

The border is open to at least 6 PM.

[Woody1]

Okay, great, thank you for all your quick responses.

Ideally I want to do an overnight trip out of U-Tapao but my clothes may be in binbags all over my garden on my return

I will look into all your suggestions, I think driving to Baan Pakhad seems my best option so far. I always worry about handing over my passport to `fixers` who may leg it with my passport.

Never done one after coming to Thailand for 10 years, bit paranoid doing it on my own for some reason.

Is it easy and can I be sure to be allowed back in ?

what are the opening times for Baan Pakhad?

The fixers will not leg it but if you are worried then do the paper work etc yourself.

Bring passport photos.

You can be sure to be let back in.

The border is open to at least 6 PM.

Correct regarding the passport photos (or you get taxed for not having them) although you can still get stamped in and out without them.

Two other simple bits of advice; take small denomination dollars or baht with you (this helps grease the wheels on the Cambodian side), and a PEN, the amount of people I've seen over the years trying to borrow a pen at the border crossings is unbelievable. They inevitably waste hours of their own time.

[sotonfarang]

A pen, bribes and photos are essential items when travelling these parts for sure

do I need any paperwork or just my passport?

[Woody1]

A pen, bribes and photos are essential items when travelling these parts for sure

do I need any paperwork or just my passport?

Just passport. But from memory I recall there was one form I didn't have for coming back into Thailand, but the Thai authorities let me through to pick it up from a porta cabin next to immigration on the Thai side.

I would recommend just asking the question at that porta cabin before crossing into Cambodia. It wasn't a big deal, just wasted about 30 mins of my time.

[NightRider70]

A pen, bribes and photos are essential items when travelling these parts for sure

do I need any paperwork or just my passport?

No other paperwork is needed.

[sotonfarang]

Okay thank you all very much for your help

Once inside Cambodia can I stay for a quick look around or a beer, is there anything there?

just got to find Baan Pakhad now.

Its all good experience.

[Woody1]

Okay thank you all very much for your help

Once inside Cambodia can I stay for a quick look around or a beer, is there anything there?

just got to find Baan Pakhad now.

Its all good experience.

There's not a great deal to do there, I seem to remember a casino a few hundred yards from the Cambodian immigration (although I could be mistaken on that as I've crossed at a few borders).

No problem getting a beer or bite to eat (but will be outdoors).

There is a bit of a market there too, but as you can imagine everything is copied, including the cigarettes.

[marinediscoking]

I Drove to Pakard/Palin a couple of weeks ago, it is the easiest and safest drive compared to other boarders.

Even though I had a new non-O they first told me i could not stamp out, looked at every page, asked if i was working, etc, etc then said ok and stamped me out.

On the Cambodia side they said we are not sure we can give you a visa, he then gave my PP to the man in the back desk who made a phone call to someone and then after 5 minutes took my visa application that I had pre-filled out. Very strange. I gave them $30 and they said I had to give them $5 extra or spend one night there. They always have some excuse to extort money out of you. I walked around 30 minutes after getting stamped in then came back to stamp out, guy at the window said I don't think we can stamp you out. Waited 5 minutes then one of the other guys I guess told him i had paid their bribe and he stamped me out.

I am clean cut, have short hair, appropriately dressed, friendly attitude but still all the drama. Seems they want people doing this from visa run companies in groups. The boarder was dead, no people waiting except on my return to thaiand. Got behind a bus of cambodians, I was 5th in the cue but it took 30 minutes to process those 5 people.

Parking your car is 80 baht if you are longer than 5 mintues up to 24 hours. Took this photo for the opening times on the thai side. There is some road construction on the mountain road from Cantabury but traffic is not bad.

[NightRider70]

Okay thank you all very much for your help

Once inside Cambodia can I stay for a quick look around or a beer, is there anything there?

just got to find Baan Pakhad now.

Its all good experience.

Yes you can stay, as a matter of fact they may charge you an extra fee for not staying. There is one casino to the right just passed the border called Dream world Casino. There is also a nice little duty free shop called Triplets if you take the road to the left opposite the Dream world casino. You can walk to the duty free but you get a free ride if you ask the Cambodians at the border. Beer can be found in various places.

[Briggsy]

You can park your car in the Casino car park at Ban Pak Kaat (=Pong Nam Ron, Jantaburi). It is on the Thai side, about 100 before the border on the right. 20 Baht for parking. The fixers were not in their normal spot last time I went. This is because of all the building work going on at the border.

I would not recommend the Aranyaprathet - Poipet crossing in Sra Kaew. Very stressful and busy and fraught with pointless obstacles.

[Toscano]

Sotongfarang

Why do you need to do a Visa Run ? Is this in place of annual extension of stay , or instead of 90 day reporting .

I have extension of stay till October , 90 day report by post . I have financial shortcomings and may need to leave the country and re-enter next year .

Please advise .

[questionsreplies]

Thank you, i didnt know this border, can we cross by car also?

And why you didnt apply for cambo evisa online before going?

Do they xray each bag on Thai side when you come back with 3 wine bottles?

Thanks again to all ♡♥♡

[marinediscoking]

Thank you, i didnt know this border, can we cross by car also?

And why you didnt apply for cambo evisa online before going?

Do they xray each bag on Thai side when you come back with 3 wine bottles?

Thanks again to all ♡♥♡

Yes you can cross by car.

They do not accept the e-visa for entering at this crossing, but one can stamp out of cambodia with one when exiting.

I did not see any xray machine, I brought back a box of Cambodian beer.

[steve187]

Pong nam ron - leave the car at the parking area just before the thai immigration, stamp out of Thailand walk 10-20 yards and see the agents ( fixers) they will deal with everything, just sit and wait for the man to come back with your passport, he will fill in the Thai immigration arrival card, stamp back in and collect car and drive home. its worth the extra little bit for the agents, why walk across the bridge getting hot, just remember some photo's. you will be out of Thailand for 10 minutes tops. Have you done a 60 days visit Thai wife extension

have a good trip

i have looked at Utapao flights. Singapore could be done maybe, but its only about a 45- 60 minute turn around for the aeroplane. Kl would have to be on a sunday and return on the monday.

There are 2 immigrations post next to each other from memory Pong nam ron is the closest Ban packard is further on about 20-30 minutes drive.

Edited December 14, 2015 by steve187

[Woody1]

Pong nam ron - leave the car at the parking area just before the thai immigration, stamp out of Thailand walk 10-20 yards and see the agents ( fixers) they will deal with everything, just sit and wait for the man to come back with your passport, he will fill in the Thai immigration arrival card, stamp back in and collect car and drive home. its worth the extra little bit for the agents, why walk across the bridge getting hot, just remember some photo's. you will be out of Thailand for 10 minutes tops. Have you done a 60 days visit Thai wife extension

have a good trip

i have looked at Utapao flights. Singapore could be done maybe, but its only about a 45- 60 minute turn around for the aeroplane. Kl would have to be on a sunday and return on the monday.

There are 2 immigrations post next to each other from memory Pong nam ron is the closest Ban packard is further on about 20-30 minutes drive.

There is no bridge!

Please read the above posts by people who have actually been there.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Woody1

[Woody1]

Thank you, i didnt know this border, can we cross by car also?

And why you didnt apply for cambo evisa online before going?

Do they xray each bag on Thai side when you come back with 3 wine bottles?

Thanks again to all ♡♥♡

Proper piss taking going on now, either that or......

[Woody1]

I recommend, if possible, the OP ignores the last few posts, as the original questions have been answered by a few folk who know what they are talking about.

[Woody1]

Pong nam ron - leave the car at the parking area just before the thai immigration, stamp out of Thailand walk 10-20 yards and see the agents ( fixers) they will deal with everything, just sit and wait for the man to come back with your passport, he will fill in the Thai immigration arrival card, stamp back in and collect car and drive home. its worth the extra little bit for the agents, why walk across the bridge getting hot, just remember some photo's. you will be out of Thailand for 10 minutes tops. Have you done a 60 days visit Thai wife extension

have a good trip

i have looked at Utapao flights. Singapore could be done maybe, but its only about a 45- 60 minute turn around for the aeroplane. Kl would have to be on a sunday and return on the monday.

There are 2 immigrations post next to each other from memory Pong nam ron is the closest Ban packard is further on about 20-30 minutes drive.

What a complete load of rubbish!!!

[thailanddogerator]

Hi, do you think that they have good hotels on the cambodia side if I want to stay overnight ?

Thanks.

[steve187]

There are some persons that seem to know a lot and criticise others posters first hand knowledge, here is a google image of Pong nam ron ( stamped in passport) crossing, this is the first crossing that is reached, as stated earlier the second Ban Laem is some 20 mins or more further along the 3193 road. i may be mistaken about the bridge, as i have never been across in Cambodia, (but both crossing have a large structure across the road ).i have always used the agent. i can assure all including the loud doubter that i have on several occasions driven this route and have been to both crossings. I only post useful advice and rarely diss another poster.

Ban Laem crossing has a market next to the Thai immigration office

https://goo.gl/maps/RizV5QKs5ev

and Ban Laem here - https://goo.gl/maps/sZ1N37MFcyk

sorry if the mention of a bridge confused or caused distress. I haven't been to either crossing for 2 years as i now use either burma or obtain 60 day extensions, T

[Farang99]

A pen, bribes and photos are essential items when travelling these parts for sure

do I need any paperwork or just my passport?

If you have a "non-O visa based on marriage", why do you have to leave the country? Surely the only requirement is the 90 days reporting?

[NightRider70]

Hi, do you think that they have good hotels on the cambodia side if I want to stay overnight ?

Thanks.

There are (or used to be) two bigger hotels. Diamond Crown Hotel and Ceasar Hotel.

Hotel map