The road along the Mekong in Nakhon Phanom proper is where you will find most if not all of the government offices and about the midway point of the Mekong prominade you will see a long line of trucks waiting at the Port house for the ferry across to Laos.
Trade between Laos and Thailand is very high and the ferry across the Mekong is evidence of that. The Port operates 6 days a week from sun up till sundown. Most days there at least three ferries in operation taking anywhere between 5-10 trucks and cars each trip.
Now, you might think this is a great way to go over and explore Laos as I did but the crossing can be complicated for the falang. Although the Nakhon Phanom Immigration offices are directly across the street from the customs house there is no immigration checkpoints on either the Thailand or Laos side. The closest route across the border to Laos that has an immigration checkpoint is in Mukdahan via the Friendship 2 bridge.
Even though there isn’t an immigration checkpoint at the ferry dock in Nakhon Phanom all is not lost if you are planning on living or spending a considerable amount of time here. You can apply for a crossing permit through the immigration office that, if granted, will allow you to cross the Mekong into Laos via the ferry. From what I understand the permit can take up to three months to obtain because of the paperwork involved. No only does Thailand have to approve the application but it then needs to be sent to Laos for their approval.
I have heard differing prices on the application for permit but 3000 baht seems to be the number that comes up the most.
So, if you are considering using Nakhon Phanom for a visa run you may want to re-think your plans and head across to Laos from Mukdahan, which is only 20 minutes away, where there are immigration checkpoints. Apparently some people got the information that they could use the ferry because while I was in Nakhon Phanom last time I saw a few falang trying their best only to be turned away.
Tomorrow I’ll write more about the Immigration office in Nakhon Phanom as it was without a doubt one of the easiest and fastest immigration experiences I have had while in Thailand.
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The ferry crossing point between Thailand and Laos at Nakhom Phanom must mean that there is a real good market perched on the riverbank with some cheap goods and fine fish restaurants.
All this visa business is confusing and there must be many Thai’s making good money from all that confusion. Most falang think they can go it alone but someone who knows there eggs can save a lot of time if not money.
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Martyn, You’d think there would be great markets and there isn’t one on either side. Now, Mukdahan has some great markets right on the river as does the small town in Laos across from it. Nothing in Nakhon Phanom…just a crossing.
I think they like keeping us confused on the whole visa thing…
I haven’t been to Laos yet but I’m dying to go. It is supposed to be like Thailand was 20 years ago and more?
In a few weeks I’m heading to Burma for the first time. My flights inside Burma were just confirmed this morning. It was either that, not not go.
I had a choice: go with the group on a undetermined bus for 12-14 hours with pee stops being bushes and guarenteed karaoke the full trip, or fly up.
Right away I decided that if I couldn’t fly, then I’d forgo the trip. I’ve already done my karaoke bus time so I know that there is NOT enough beer in the world to make it survivable!
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Hi,
Been wanting for awhile to pop over to Nakhon Phanom for a weekend with my bkk gf (to re-visit her childhood growing up years there).
Intend to only fly. But after doing some research previously, was put off by this PB flight frequency and pricey ticket (was more expensive than flying back home from bkk to singapore!).
Never been there, intend to do this end Nov. Grateful if anybody can help advise if there any latest developments with regular airlines like Thai or AirAsia.
Cheers
Cyinyang from Sin
Charles,
PB is pretty much the only game in town when going to nakhon phanom. They are more expensive than the other carriers and only have the 2 flights a day but it’s so worth it.
You could fly into ubon or another city but you would still be looking at driving for a few hours as they are 150 miles away and the cost difference is only 1/3 difference.
Talen, good day.
Thansk for yours. Wasted some time this morning with PB Air webbie. Poor site, only booking box with schedule to 31/10 (!). And at bht6300 single 1 way, it’s out of this world..
Understand the re-routing via other cities is not optimal.
But are there any other airlines? Tried Bkk Airways, Thai and 1-2-go, Air Asia without luck. Looking at 28/11, return 30/11
Cheers
Charles
Charles,
I looked around for a while when I was leaving Nakhon Phanom for BKK and unfortunately PB is the best option although the price you got quoted is a lot steeper than I paid. One way from NP-BKK cost me 3600 baht. I know Thai air had flights out of Ubon that were half the price of PB but like I said you’d still have to drive 150 miles or so. Have to agree about PB’s website too…when I booked my flight in April I had to wait because they only had a flight schedule a few days in advance. Unfortunately PB is the only airline that flies in and out of Nakhon Phanome.