Cheap flights from Bangkok to Laos (BKK - LA). Visa run from bangkok to laos from bangkok to laos
Many travel from Pattaya to Laos for visas - tourist, study, or visa-run. There is a belief that in Cambodia and Malaysia a tourist visa to Thailand is given only for three months, and in Laos - for six. So the route from Pattaya to Vientiane is very popular. I'll tell you how to drive it at the lowest cost (not taking into account such methods as hitchhiking, theft and teleportation).
It was our first visa run. Before that, we only once went to. We didn’t like this business: it’s expensive and tiring, although the nature along the way is beautiful (but there is no other way in Thailand). Therefore, having settled in a language school in Pattaya, we went from Thailand to Laos for a Thai study visa. And they successfully found it (about the pros and cons of a student visa to Thailand). On the trip, I got a lot of impressions - ambiguous, I must say))). But today we will not talk about how to get a study visa to Thailand, but about how the cheapest way to get from Pattaya to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Border between Thailand and Laos, Thai side. It is much more pleasant to cross it in the opposite direction.
There are no direct buses from Pattaya to Laos (read: Vientiane) - you have to go through Non Khai (or Nong Khai) - a city in northern Thailand, almost on the border with Laos. The only one bus station from which you can leave Pattaya for Nong Khai, is located on Sukhumvit Road, just north of its intersection with Central Street. If you left Central Street (Central Road or Pattaya Klang), then you need to turn left. After passing the pink school building, just before the fence of the mosque, turn left again. After 50-100 meters you will see a nondescript pavilion on the left. This is the bus station.
Bus station from which you can leave from Pattaya to Nong Khai.
The bus station from which you can leave from Pattaya to Laos on the map:
On the left side is the ticket office, on the right is the waiting room. Bus number 407 Rayong - Nong Khai leaves from this bus station every day at 20:00. There are many people who want to travel from Rayong and Pattaya to the north of Thailand, so it is advisable to buy a ticket either in the morning or a day or two before the date of departure.
There are two types of tickets: regular and VIP. But since we are talking about the cheapest way, we are interested in the usual ones. The cheapest ticket from Pattaya to Nong Khai costs 551 baht. The seats are very comfortable, massage chair, reclines by 45 degrees, beauty!
The cheapest ticket from Pattaya to Nong Khai costs 551 baht.
The bus arrives in Nong Khai early in the morning. Leaving at the Nong Khai bus station, many people take a taxi to overpay the driver, then give extra money for crossing the Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos ... And you immediately go to the ticket office, above which hangs bus timetable from Nong Khai to Vientiane(image clickable):
From Nong Khai to Vientiane there are several buses a day. You can also go directly to the Lao town of Vang Vieng. You will really like it there if you are a connoisseur of beautiful nature, a fan of the Friends series, or just a drug addict.
As we see, a bus ticket from Nong Khai to Vientiane costs 55 baht. Another 5 baht must be paid for something there related to crossing the border of Thailand and Laos.
Just in case I duplicate bus timetable from Nong Khai to Vientiane: buses depart every day at 7:30, 9:30, 12:40, 14:30, 15:30 and 18:00. Buses from Nong Khai to Vang Vieng (Laos) depart every day at 10:00.
Bus Nong Khai - Vientiane. A ticket for it costs 55 baht + 5 baht, it’s not clear why, but it’s necessary.
The first bus from Nong Khai to Vientiane leaves at 7:30. Therefore, having arrived from Pattaya to Nong Khai early enough, we managed to buy a ticket for it without any problems. The Nong Khai-Vientiane bus driver is the most kind person, he helped us in everything. It stops on the Thai side of the Thailand-Laos border, you get an exit stamp, then it takes you across the Friendship Bridge and stops again. By the way, if you have a question, do Russians need a visa to Laos, I answer: Russians do not need a visa to Laos. Thus, after passing the Friendship Bridge, you go through border control, get a Lao stamp in your passport and pay 5 baht for it in a special window. After that, get on the bus, which is already waiting for you on the Lao side (by the way, do not forget to remember its number). And he takes you to the Vientiane bus station, from where you go about your business.
Vientiane - the capital of Laos attracts a huge number of tourists from nearby Asian countries. Most travelers in this direction are on holiday in Thailand and go to Vientiane to cancel their Thai visa (the so-called "visa run"). Many go to the capital of Laos just to visit the country, and Vientiane is the best place for this. In one or two days in the city you can see almost all local attractions. Among them are the Wat Sisaket Buddhist temple, the Ho Phra Keo temple, the Patusai triumphal arch, the Pha That Luang temple, the Settatirathu monument. You can get to Vientiane from the capitals of other states by plane. From Thailand, the most popular route to Laos is Bangkok - Vientiane.
Bangkok to Vientiane by train
You can get to Vientiane from Bangkok by train. To get to Vientiane, you need to drive to the Thai city of Nong Khai and make a transfer there. Trains from Bangkok depart at 08.20, 18.35 and 20.00. It is best to depart from Bangkok in the evening at 20.00. The Thai Railways train leaves Hua Lamphong Station. He arrives at Nong Khai railway station in 10.5 hours. The cost of such a ticket will be from 1800 to 2700 rubles. In this direction, second-class tickets are available, identical to our reserved seat, VIP sleeping compartments and women's carriages. The carriages are air-conditioned and there is a steward who serves food and drinks. From Nog Khai to Vientiane we leave at 07.00 by bus or train of Naga Travel company. The capital of Laos can be reached in 2 hours, the ticket price will be about 750 rubles. Vehicles are air conditioned.
There are other buses that can take you to Vientiane. To buy a single ticket for Thai Railways and Naga Travel on the Bangkok - Vientiane route, you can use the services of a free search engine.
Bus from Bangkok to Vientiane
The message is carried out by several companies - these are Budsarakham Tour, Sawadee Esan, Transport Co Intl. Buses Bangkok - Vientiane depart from Mo Chit Station at 19.00, 19.45, 20.00, 20.30 and 21.00. Travel time is from 9 to 11 hours. Moreover, you need to clarify whether the Bangkok-Vientiane bus goes directly to the capital of Laos or you have to transfer to the Naga Travel bus. If it is the same bus, then after obtaining a visa, you will cross the bridge of friendship and continue moving on. The cost of tickets Bangkok - Vientiane varies from 790 to 1650 rubles and depends on the bus class.
VIP and Express are practically the same, except that the first-class Bangkok-Vientiane bus is equipped with TVs on which you can watch entertainment programs, the buses themselves are newer. Both first and second class are air-conditioned, there is a toilet, and drinks and snacks are served on the way. Buses regularly make stops at services and food courts. You can check the schedule of buses Bangkok - Vientiane from Mo Chit bus station, the class and cost of tickets, on the free website.
Flights from Bangkok to Vientiane
Phuket to Vientiane by plane
If you are relaxing in the southeast of the country, in Phuket, then you can fly to Vientiane by plane, having made a transfer at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang airport. In terms of logistics, you will have several options.
Phuket to Vientiane by plane and bus
The fact that you can fly from the island and take a bus is obvious. But from Phuket, you can also fly to Chiang Mai on an AirAsia low-cost airline for about 3,200 rubles and then continue on a Sueksa Tour bus for 1,500 rubles. Departure is at 14.15 and after spending about 2 hours in flight, you will catch the bus on the route to Vientiane, which leaves at 20.30, and the journey takes 12 hours.
Pattaya to Vientiane by plane and bus
From Pattaya, you can fly to Bangkok, and from there leave by train, bus or continue your journey by plane. There is also an alternative. You can fly on an AirAsia or Kan Air plane to Chiang Mai, and then continue flying on Laos Airlines directly to the capital of Laos. You can also take a bus from Chiang Mai. To see the schedule of vehicles and choose the perfect logistics option, you can use the services of the site.
We looked at various ways to get to Vientiane from Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. Airfare from Bangkok to Vientiane also depends on the season. In the low season, you can travel to Laos very cheaply.
— 20.00 . For some reason, there are no daytime flights, although I wanted to ride during the day.
Ticket for one is worth 900 baht, there are no options for classes and prices, only such VIP tickets:
We bought tickets for the evening, left some things in the storage room and went for a walk around the neighborhood.
You can also buy tickets online at this site. There are different options - not only by bus, but also by train (albeit with a transfer), by plane - in general, see what is more convenient for you. With a child, for example, I don’t know how to ride a night bus, it’s better to take a train then.
We spent half a day in, they are just not far from the Northern Bus Station. We had lunch at Big C at the food court, and about an hour before departure we were already at the bus station.
Our VIP bus:
The chairs are very comfortable, there is a lot of legroom, there are 3 chairs in a row: 
We had seats on the 2nd floor, there were films in Thai on TV for 4 hours: 
IN 20.15
we left Bangkok. There were practically no stops, because. There is a toilet on the bus. As soon as we left, everyone was given water, juice, buns.
The first stop was at 00.30 . And we will remember this stop for a long time ... Nothing was announced in English on the bus, so we did not even understand that this was a long stop for food. But then Vova still went out to see what was there, and I stayed on the bus. He is gone for 5 minutes, 10, and now all the passengers have already returned, and the bus has slowly gone! What I experienced at that moment is beyond words! It's just awful! Stay somewhere at night in an unknown suburb, without money and documents! I had all the documents. Of course, I stopped the driver (it's good that you could go down to him at all, the door was open), after 10 minutes Vova still returned. It turned out that when he went to see what was there at the bus stop, he could not find for a long time whether they were giving out food somewhere (and usually if you ride a VIP bus, then there is a stop along the way where you can get some dry rations on your ticket - cookies, juices). Then I saw that you can get coupons in exchange for tickets and buy something on them already in the store (like about 30 baht per person, just enough for juice and cookies). In general, he bought everything, left the store, and there was a whole bunch of identical buses, but ours was not there (you could only find out by the bus number), and no matter who he asked, no one spoke English and could not answer anything . But then someone nevertheless showed him that there are buses on the other side of the store (it turns out that the store has 2 exits, and he just went out the wrong door). Then he finally found our bus. Uff ... such a stop came out. Be careful! It is better to ask again, so as not to get lost somewhere without documents.
IN 5.00 there was a second stop - a toilet, a store, just to stretch.
Stop:
Pleasant swings at the bus stop:
Stood for 15 minutes, it was possible to run into Amazon Cafe for fresh coffee:
After the stop, they gave everyone a cup and a set of coffee (separately sugar, coffee, cream), it was possible to brew coffee on the first floor of the bus.
IN 7.00 drove up to the Thai border:
The queue went through in 5 minutes:
We put an exit stamp and went to our bus:
IN 7.30 arrived at the Laotian border. They didn’t know at all what to do there, it turned out that first you need to buy a ticket to pass the border here:
The ticket costs 11 thousand bales or 48 baht, you need to use it after passing through passport control.
After buying tickets, they filled out immigration cards (you can’t immediately see where they are distributed, you need to ask):
We pass passport control: 
Since it is very early, the exchangers are not working yet: 
Transport passes here, it is strange that all large things (suitcases, large backpacks) remain on the bus, no one inspects them, they do not shine through on the frame, in theory, you can carry anything: 
After passport control, we go through the turnstile, here you just need to lower your ticket (which you bought earlier) so that the turnstile opens: 
Prices at the border (you can get to, even to Luang Prabang):
IN 8.14 Finally the bus moved on 8.45 arrived at the Vientiane bus station:
Many in Laos wear these Vietnamese hats: 
There is a lot of transport, there are even such small minibuses: 
We took a picture of the schedule of buses coming from this bus station: 
Here you can immediately buy a ticket back to Bangkok: 
So it took us all the way from Bangkok to Vientiane 12.5 hours. True, I still expected to arrive early, at 7 o'clock, but it turned out like this. The bus was generally comfortable, but the air conditioner is just terrible, the flow of icy air blew constantly, and the air conditioner did not close in any way. I had to plug it with napkins, it's a pity there was no adhesive tape. So be sure to take warm clothes with you, even though they give out blankets on the bus, this is clearly not enough.
On a minibus. Today I’ll tell you how to get from Pattaya to Vientiane by train, and also share my opinion on what is the best way to travel to Laos for a visa.
For those who still decide to conquer the train, below I will describe in detail my route, and also give some advice.
Pros of traveling to Laos by train
This time we decided that Nika would go for a visa through a travel agency for 5500 baht, and I would go to Laos on my own, and in a new way for myself - by train. There is no economic sense in an independent trip: as a result, you will pay the same 5000-5500 baht for travel, food, accommodation and a visa, but let your brain work, get a new life experience and new impressions.
This (experience and impressions), perhaps, will be the main argument for choosing an independent trip to Laos. Although another indisputable advantage of traveling by train is that, unlike the minibus, you can sleep well on the train and not feel like a poop in the morning.
Otherwise, the process of obtaining a visa is exactly the same as we have already described. You arrive in Vientiane, stand in line at the embassy for two or three hours, hand in your documents, and pick up your passports with visas the next day. Everything is simple.
The main plus of a trip through a company is that you don’t need to think about anything at all, everything takes place in the excursion mode. You are picked up from Pattaya, transported across the border, helped to submit documents to the embassy, settled in a hotel, and the next day they are taken back home. Lunches and dinners will also be included, so you don’t even need to worry about nutrition.
You will live on the banks of the Mekong in the immediate vicinity of the Vang Vieng Night Market, where all local entertainment is located: bars, cafes, discos. So even a decent entertainment program in Laos is provided for you.
Clarification : written from Nika's experience, in some travel agencies they take you to another hotel and feed differently.
Another undeniable and very fat plus of traveling for a visa through a company is the boost of networking. During the trip, all visa holders get to know each other (without coercion), exchange contacts, share experience, etc. In this regard, you can really get useful contacts, which later can even develop into mutually beneficial cooperation or just good friendships. So, if you still have few acquaintances and friends in Pattaya, then this option of a trip for a visa is exactly what you need.
Well, the main disadvantage is a long transfer in a minibus (it’s not realistic to sleep at all). Approximately at 5 pm you are picked up from Pattaya and only at 6 am you are taken to the border. The ride is long and uncomfortable, but generally tolerable.
Which way to choose?
Everything is simple here. If you prefer independent travel and comfortable conditions while traveling, then choose a train or bus. If you do not want to worry about anything and love communication, then your choice is a trip through a travel agency.
How to get from Pattaya to Vientiane by train
So, for those who want to travel to Laos for a visa by train, here is a quick guide on how to do it.
First of all, a few days before the trip, you need to buy a Bangkok-Nong Khai ticket. A ticket can be bought at the railway station in Pattaya, or through the service (the cost at the time of writing is 998 baht).
A train to the border city of Nong Khai with Laos departs daily from Bangkok's Hua Lamphong railway station - the same name as the metro station you will need to get to. Train departure time is 20:00, arrival time in Nong Hai is 6:45 am.
The easiest way to get from Pattaya to Bangkok is by bus from the Jomtien bus station (next to the Food Mart). Buses leave every hour, the fare is 120 baht. The end point is Suvarnabhumi Airport. It is better to leave either at 15 or at 16 o'clock. It takes approximately 1 hour to get from the airport to the railway station.
Once you get to Suvarnabhumi, without leaving the airport, go down to the lower level (B), follow the signs for City Line.
Then at the box office you buy a ticket to the Makkasan station (35 baht). You reach it and again, following the signs, go to the Phetchaburi underground metro station. There you buy a ticket to Hua Lamphong - the final station of this metro line and it is also the exit to the railway station. The route is not difficult, everywhere you can navigate very well by the signs.
Tip 1: The train has a dining car where you can have breakfast. But it closes at about 6:20 in the morning, so you need to come early.
Tip 2: When you arrive in Nong Hai at the exit of the station at the box office they will sell tickets to Vientiane, you should not buy them, because drivers in Laos may refuse to take you without additional payment. It is best to get to the border by tuk-tuk for 30 baht, and after passing through passport control in Laos, charge the minibus for 100 baht.
That's basically it. If you have any questions, I'm ready to answer them in the comments.
