Travel advice to Laos needed

[Guest Simon208]

Hi

 

I have a few days during my up-coming trip to Thailand and hope to go to both Burma and Laos for a few days each.

 

Have read with interest the information recently posted on Burma...but was hoping some of you could offer some adivce on Laos.

 

Have a few problems finding cheap airfares to Laos with Thai quoting around $350.

 

I see that Air Asia fly to another Thai airport close to the border can it be crossed there or are there other airlines that I can check out.

 

Can you fly direct between Rangon and Vientiane for example.

 

On an itenary when I am there...only have a about 3 full days...any suggestions for the tourist stuff and entertainment.

 

Thanking you in advance.

 

 

[fedssocr]

yes, flights to Laos are expensive. Bangkok Airways flies to Luang Prabang at least so you may want to check them to compare or use a site like kayak.com to compare multiple airlines. There aren't a lot of airlines that fly there so prices tend to be a bit high. I think Lao Airlines also flies to BKK.

 

you may want to take a look at Purple Dragon's Laos offerings. I am using them for my trip later this year. I have traveled with them the past two years and while they are not cheap I think they provide a great service.

[dapitt]

This website has information that you may find helpful with respect to air service and other items:

www.visit-laos.com

 

Lao Airlines has service between Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang, with schedule and pricing found at this site:

www.laoairlines.com

 

And Air Mandalay has service between Chiang Mai and Yangon:

www.airmandalay.com

[Guest Simon208]

This website has information that you may find helpful with respect to air service and other items:

www.visit-laos.com

 

Lao Airlines has service between Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang, with schedule and pricing found at this site:

www.laoairlines.com

 

And Air Mandalay has service between Chiang Mai and Yangon:

www.airmandalay.com

 

 

Many Thanks for the information

[Guest MonkeySee]

Trying to do both Laos and Burma in a few days each, is not going to be fun. If I were you, I would go to Laos and save Burma for another trip, or vice versa.

[Gaybutton]

I see that Air Asia fly to another Thai airport close to the border can it be crossed there or are there other airlines that I can check out.

 

That's Udon Thani. Thai Airways also flies there for a lot less than flying directly into Laos. The following is an excerpt from a article I had on my old web site about a trip to Laos. Bear in mind that this article was written nearly ten years ago, and I haven't been back to Laos since, so I can't guarantee that there haven't been changes. But I would hazard a guess that any changes, other than prices, since then would be minor:

__________

 

As soon as we exited the luggage retrieval area at the Udon Thani airport, just to the right we saw signs for a bus that leaves right from the airport to Nong Khai. The price of a ticket for the bus was 100 baht per person, and the trip takes about ninety minutes. We bought the tickets, boarded the bus, and the bus left immediately. Ninety minutes later, the bus stopped at Nong Khai, the border town. If you are traveling with a Thai citizen, he can enter Laos even without a passport. All he needs is his national identity card. There is a small, easy-to-find office right there at the bus terminal at which the Thai citizen pays a 200 baht fee, fills out some paper work, and is granted an exit permit.

 

Once we finished the twenty-minute process, we boarded another bus that takes us across the border. The bus makes a stop just before crossing the Mekong River. At that point, you go through a line at which the Thai customs officials take your departure card out of your passport, and they rubber stamp in your exit. Then, you re-board the bus and cross the river. If you happen to miss the bus, you can take the next one, which will come along in about ten minutes. Make sure you take your luggage off the bus you were riding just in case you miss it.

 

Once you cross the Mekong River, now you are in Laotian territory. The bus stops at the Laotian customs offices. The first thing you have to do, assuming you don’t already have an entry visa for Laos, is to go to the window, which is clearly marked in English, that is the visa-on-entry window. The fee for foreigners, other than Thai foreigners, is US $30, which is payable in either U.S. dollars or Thai baht. You will first receive some documents to fill out. Then you submit the documents, along with your passport and fee. A few minutes later, you will receive back your passport, which will now have the Laotian entry visa. You will also receive an entry-departure card, not very different from the one you received in Thailand.

 

Then there is a second series of lines. One is for Thai citizens entering Laos. One is for Laotian citizens returning to Laos. The third is for all other foreign nationals. You present your passport and entry-departure card there. A few more rubber stamps are entered, and now you pass through. At that point, there will be a table where customs officials will inspect your luggage, if they so choose. Most people, however, are merely waved on through without anybody bothering to inspect your luggage unless you somehow appear suspicious to them. Now, you have to pay an additional 10 baht entry fee, and receive a receipt for it. I have no idea why they don’t simply include that in the visa fee, but that’s the way they do things.

 

Now you have to pass through one final line, at which the receipt for the 10 baht is taken, the entry portion of the entry-departure card is taken, the visa is inspected, and the departure card is stapled to the inside of your passport.

 

Welcome to Laos. The whole process took about a half hour.