VISA RUN to Vientiane.....any tips or recommendations?

[donald1]

Hi guys,
If you have been following the saga, I arrived last monday in Pattaya and
found a great job teaching on Wednesday. Thursday I secured a
great condo near the beach at a nice price.
Now I need to arrange my Visa run to Vientiane. The school is arranging
all the paperwork for the working papers and Visa. I just need some
advice such as reputable companies; do it all on my own without a company;
should I stay a day or two in Vientiane; how much am I looking at
to spend and any other advice from those who havedone it.
As always, Thank you
Donald

[SmoothLegs]

Several companies, do these Laos Visa runs.
They leave on Sundays and Tuesdays (around 6pm)

You "sleep" on the mini-van and arrive at about 8-9 am in Vientiane
First stop is the consulate, where you wait and wait to hand your passport over (Guide should do that).
Just make sure they know you want a non-immagrant visa, not just a 3-6 months extension.

You stay 1 night in a "nice" hotel and the next day around 11-12am time to go and get the Passport with new Visa and then back to Thailand.

Not a nice trip, but a must.

Total costs depend on company, but around 7000-9000 baht, ALL IN, if I remember correctly (been a few years, I did it last)

If you want to go on your own (not recommended) http://www.pattaya-funtown.com/visa_run_laos.html

[arsenal]

Donald: I think Cambodia is a lot closer and a hell of a lot cheaper at about 2000 Baht. There and back in a day.

[cdnmatt]

If you're getting a Laos VISA on arrival, bring USD cash. You'll save a bit of money, because they rape you if you pay in baht. For example, for Canadians it's $45 USD or 1800 baht ($60+ USD).

Unless you're going to be able to get to the Thai embassy by 10am at the latest on the day you arrive, you'll want to spend 2 nights in Laos.

Doing it yourself is just fine, if you have your paperwork in order. If doing it yourself, while waiting make sure to go upstairs to the copy machine. Hand him everything, he'll check it all out, photocopy what's needed, glue your passport photos onto the application, etc... all for about 10 baht. It's like a nice pre-screening to ensure your docs are in order.

I'd personally just use one of the VISA agents though, and pay the extra ~3000 baht. Otherwise, you're stuck waiting around for hours in the hot weather to submit your application, which isn't too bad, because there's alot of shade to take advantage of. Then the next day when they open at 1pm for passport pickup, if you show up at say 12pm to be one of the first in line, you're stuck standing on the sidewalk for an hour in the blistering sun, and that's hot. Especially if you're wearing heavy clothes to look good for immigration. Easier to just pay the 3000 baht, and have all that hassle removed, so you can enjoy your time in Laos.

EDIT: And please dress appropriately. I don't know, but it just irks me when I see a bunch of farang slobs with wife beaters and shorts wandering around Thai embassies. All the while, I'm sweating my ass off in long pants, undershirt, and a nice dress shirt to show a little respect.

[Brad the Impala]

Donald: I think Cambodia is a lot closer and a hell of a lot cheaper at about 2000 Baht. There and back in a day.

Thinking that this may just be for a tourist visa extension, rather than the Non Immigrant visa it sounds like Donald is looking for, but I could be wrong on either count.

[arsenal]

BtI: Ah yes, you could well be right.