Hal65 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 I prefer to spend the night in Udon instead of Vientiane. So say I check out of a guesthouse near Central Plaza. Is there a shuttle to the border or will I need a tuk? I budget 1 hour to border, 2 hours checkpoints, 30 minutes border to Thai consulate. Say 4 hours with a 30 minute buffer. If I leave the guesthouse at 6am it shouldn't be an issue right? Google says the border opens at 6am and I'd expect to arrive at 7am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 The link in the chain can be tuktuk. I got on one and seemed to pickup dropped of Thai along the way. The taxi can wait for others and waste time. Some other members will advise a better way. If I was doing it again might take private taxi from border to consulate. You do know you need an appointment now at Vientiane consulate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal65 Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Yes I plan to book late to give myself a buffer 11am, maybe 12pm. If I cross the border 1-2 hours early I'll go to downtown first to setup my room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJack54 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, Hal65 said: Yes I plan to book late to give myself a buffer 11am, maybe 12pm. If I cross the border 1-2 hours early I'll go to downtown first to setup my room. So you don't have your appointment yet. There are threads running about appointments needing couple of weeks in advance. The system is having some issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal65 Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 My date is pretty far out so I'm okay on that front, thanks for the warning though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puchaiyank Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 If you walk out of Central Plaza and turn left...walk to end of street...about 2 city blocks...there is a train station and train that goes to Nong Khai for about 30 baht...You can google the schedule or walk down there and check departure times. You will then need a tuk tuk to Friendship Bridge and immigration. Busses and vans run between Udon and Nong Khai regularly...I believe they also have a bus to Friendship Bridge...bus station is located on the street directly in front of Central Mall...a very short walk... All cheap transportation...good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caldera Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I would not recommend doing this. If you miss your appointment for any reason, you won't get another one anytime soon as things stand now in Vientiane. Things can and do go wrong when traveling; spending an extra night in Vientiane gives you peace of mind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal65 Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 10 hours ago, Caldera said: I would not recommend doing this. If you miss your appointment for any reason, you won't get another one anytime soon as things stand now in Vientiane. Things can and do go wrong when traveling; spending an extra night in Vientiane gives you peace of mind. If the timings are tight I would agree. But say I do this: Leave Udon 5am. Arrive Thai border 6am Exit Lao border 8am Arrive Vientiane 8:30am So now with a late appointment at say 11am, I think the risk would be quite small. 2.5 hours extra in case something goes wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 11 hours ago, Hal65 said: So now with a late appointment at say 11am, I think the risk would be quite small. 2.5 hours extra in case something goes wrong. At this time the appointment time is 9 to 12 and it still states to show up 30 minutes early. This from an email sent after making an appointment. Quote 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritTim Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Take a bus from Udon to Nonh Khai. There are some minibuses that go to the Friendship Bridge, but just getting to Nong Khai bus station is fine (if a Friendship Bridge minibus is not leaving soon) taking a tuk-tuk from the bus station to the bridge. Avoid the train as you cannot predict when it will turn up, and it is very slow. Usually, immigration, including the bridge crossing and Lao visa application, should not take much over an hour. It may be optimistic to assume 30 minutes to the consulate after clearing immigration (especially if, like me, you haggle on the price). However, you should have time in hand if you left Udon at 7:30 am or so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Yes, should work I made a visa run there quite a few times, the longest it ever took to from arriving at the border on the Thai side, checkout, bus over the bridge, in and out of Laos, bus back and back into Thailand was 1 hour 15 minutes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now