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A Few Questions about a Trip to Thailand.
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mjp08123
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Hi Guys
new to the forum and after having a look there are still a few things which i'm unsure about.
Me and my GF are aiming to start travelling in Thailand on 18th of July and return to the UK early September. As far as i can tell, as we will not have any onward flights within thirty days we will need a tourist Visa, which we will have to extend mid trip. However, the validity of a tourist visa seems to be three months from the time of issue. I was wondering does this mean that we need to enter Thailand and start the visa before the end of it's validity, or does the visa still need to be valid at the time of exit?
Also, unsure on a route to travel. As we have around 2 months, we cannot decide between flying into Chiang Mai and then making our way slowly to Phuket, or flying into Bangkok and travelling overland to Hanoi via Laos... Would 2 months be adequate to cover three countries or is that ambitious?
Finally, should we book the flights now and worry about visas etc. after, or get everything in place before booking the flights? Worried that if we book flights now and need to wait until the period we are travelling is covered by the 3 month visa validity that we might be declined and lose our money, but equally worried about missing deals on flights! never planned a trip as ambitious as this before and slightly worried about all the things which could go wrong!
Thanks,
Matt.
#1 Posted: 6/5/2011 - 21:42
Captain_Bob
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"does this mean that we need to enter Thailand and start the visa before the end of it's validity, or does the visa still need to be valid at the time of exit?"
It only needs to be still valid when you enter Thailand. Even if you enter on the last day of validity you'll still get a 60-day entry stamp.
With two months you have tons of route options. Laos road travel can be slow, especially in the far north, but maybe spend at least a couple weeks there. An overnight sleeper train is usually part of the "Thai experience" - maybe up to Chiang Mai or down to Surat Thani.
Book your flights first then deal with visas. The Thai consulate in Hull/UK is fast and user-friendly. http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com
#2 Posted: 7/5/2011 - 01:03
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guava_girl
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You should try to sort out a Vietnam visa beforehand. But bear in mind that you must state a specific date that you wish to enter and can not enter before that date.
As for a Laos visa, this can be done at the border.
You could easily spend a month travelling around Laos or even more. Most travellers head north but the south is also stunning, I actually enjoyed it more and spent 3 weeks there.
If you go to Chang Mai you could enter Laos from there and continue onto Vietnam by land. Then fly from Vietnam to BKK and head south. But this may mean getting another tourist Visa for Thailand. If you want to use your visa first than go to Chang Mai and travel south as you stated on your post.
#3 Posted: 7/5/2011 - 09:58