{"id":999,"date":"2025-02-28T12:30:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T12:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/?p=999"},"modified":"2025-03-02T08:17:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T08:17:35","slug":"crossing-the-thailand-laos-land-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/2025\/02\/28\/crossing-the-thailand-laos-land-border\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossing the Thailand-Laos land border"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"999\" class=\"elementor elementor-999\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7b0015f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7b0015f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c70882d\" data-id=\"c70882d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d29c1e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d29c1e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We crossed this border a few weeks ago and thought our experience could be helpful for anyone who\u2019s thinking of doing the same.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e257a1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e257a1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87a256b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"87a256b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We crossed Friendship Bridge No. 4, which seems to be the most popular, but there are several border-crossing points in the north. After staying in Chiang Rai for a couple days, we took the bus from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/g.co\/kgs\/cCPJtaf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 1<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> heading to Chiang Khong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a lot <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of tourists traveling this route so everything is easy to follow and straightforward. In fact, about half the bus was filled with backpackers who were also crossing the border to Laos. You can buy tickets directly on the bus and it will actually stop directly at the border. The price is slightly higher than if you were to take the bus all the way into Chiang Khong but it\u2019s very convenient.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The bus itself isn&#8217;t the most comfortable &#8212; we arrived at the last minute so they told us to just throw our stuff in the back with us. The back doors wouldn&#8217;t close but we trusted our bags not to fall out xD<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-b2317ac elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b2317ac\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-132b18b\" data-id=\"132b18b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b68b1ec elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b68b1ec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"226\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-226x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-1006\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-226x300.jpg 226w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-771x1024.jpg 771w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-768x1020.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-1157x1536.jpg 1157w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-1542x2048.jpg 1542w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/alex-in-bus-to-chiang-khong-scaled.jpg 1928w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-aa18ea7\" data-id=\"aa18ea7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e967fd6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e967fd6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"771\" src=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bus-1024x771.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1007\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bus-1024x771.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bus-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bus-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bus-1536x1157.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/bus-2048x1542.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c752422 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"c752422\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Crossing the Thailand - Laos border<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8db6a5c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8db6a5c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bus will drop you off directly in front of the restrooms (very convenient) on the Thai side of the bridge. The process of exiting the country is very easy \u2013 apart from the other people on our bus, the immigration point was empty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the checkpoint, we had to buy tickets for the bus that would drive us across the bridge. YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE BORDER IN THIS BUS which is kind of unfortunate because the ticket was quite pricey and it would have been easily walkable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are flags along the bridge \u2013 Thai flags as you leave the country, then, after reaching the middle-point of the bridge, Lao flags.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-f34d51f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"f34d51f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-7e2ff7e\" data-id=\"7e2ff7e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ebea0e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ebea0e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"245\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/thai-flag-245x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-1005\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/thai-flag-245x300.jpg 245w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/thai-flag-835x1024.jpg 835w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/thai-flag-768x942.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/thai-flag-1253x1536.jpg 1253w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/thai-flag-1670x2048.jpg 1670w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 245px) 100vw, 245px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-e376729\" data-id=\"e376729\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bf117c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1bf117c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-231x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-1004\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-788x1024.jpg 788w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-768x998.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-1182x1536.jpg 1182w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-1577x2048.jpg 1577w, https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Laos-flag-scaled.jpg 1971w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-475296e elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"475296e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-column .elementor-spacer-inner{height:var(--spacer-size)}.e-con{--container-widget-width:100%}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer{width:var(--container-widget-width,var(--spacer-size));--align-self:var(--container-widget-align-self,initial);--flex-shrink:0}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container,.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer{height:100%}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer>.elementor-spacer-inner,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer>.elementor-spacer-inner{height:var(--container-widget-height,var(--spacer-size))}<\/style>\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b9400f6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b9400f6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Arriving in Laos <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4486155 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4486155\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upon arriving on the Laos side of the border, you begin the visa application process. They accept Thai Baht and USD but BE SURE TO PAY IN USD as the conversion rate they use is really high.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A quick side note about using USD in Laos \u2013 ATM fees are often quite high and the ATMs themselves are unreliable. It\u2019s often much more convenient to exchange cash (and many places will actually let you pay in Thai Baht or USD). However, the Lao banks are very, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">very <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strict about the appearance of foreign bills. If there\u2019s even a tiny tear or mark on USD bills, or if the bills are older than 2017, it\u2019s likely they\u2019ll be turned down in Laos.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were pleasantly surprised to learn that Swiss and Luxembourgish passport holders can enter Laos visa-free for up to 14 days so we didn\u2019t need to pay for the visa! From what we saw, it should cost 40 USD. Though we didn\u2019t need a visa, we still had to pay 40 Baht as a \u2018stamp fee\u2019 and another 20 Baht for some kind of \u2018tourism tax\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-badca75 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"badca75\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">You're in Laos! Now what?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70a7a43 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"70a7a43\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we left the Lao immigration checkpoint, we saw a line of tuktuks waiting outside. The only destination seemed to be Huay Xay and prices were fixed at 100 Baht per person. They managed to fit eight of us (and our bags) into the back of a tuktuk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The drive was about 20 minutes and we had a great view of the sun going down on the other side of the Mekong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crossing the border took the better part of an afternoon but the entire process was very straightforward and easy to get through. I\u2019d recommend going early in the day (leaving Chiang Rai in the morning and arriving at the border late morning or early afternoon) as there is a small overtime fee for visas processed and issued after a certain time (16:30 if I\u2019m not mistaken). This surcharge also applies to weekends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We crossed this border a few weeks ago and thought our experience could be helpful for anyone who\u2019s thinking of doing the same. Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong We crossed Friendship Bridge No. 4, which seems to be the most popular, but there are several border-crossing points in the north. After staying in Chiang Rai [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,26],"tags":[],"blocksy_meta":"","aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=999"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1010,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions\/1010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sitesandbites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}