gt-rider.com) for advice.Travel via neighbouring countries
Sharing land borders with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, Thailand works well as part of many overland itineraries, both across Asia and between Europe and Australia. Bangkok is also one of the major regional flight hubs for Southeast Asia. Cross-border links in Southeast Asia have improved considerably recently and are likely to continue to do so in the next few years.
The main restrictions on overland routes in and out of Thailand are determined by where the permitted land crossings lie and by visas. All Asian embassies are located in Bangkok, but waiting times can be shorter at visa-issuing -consulates outside the capital: China and India run consulates in Chiang Mai, and Laos and Vietnam have consulates in Khon Kaen. In Bangkok, many Khao San tour agents offer to get your visa for you, but beware: some are reportedly faking the stamps, which could get you into pretty serious trouble, so it’s safer to go to the embassy yourself.
The right paperwork is also crucial if you’re planning to drive your own car or motorbike into Thailand; see the Golden Triangle Rider website (gt-rider.com) for advice.
Looking beyond the country’s immediate borders, it’s possible to get from Vietnam into Thailand, via Savannakhet on the Lao–Thai border, in a matter of hours; you’ll need to use Vietnam’s Lao Bao border crossing, west of Dong Ha, where you can catch a bus to Savannakhet and then another bus across the Mekong bridge to Mukdahan. Coming from China, the much-improved Route 3 and the Fourth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong at Chiang Khong now form a popular link between Yunnan and northern Thailand; this has made the passenger route by speedboat or cargo boat down the Mekong from Yunnan to Chiang Saen redundant.
There are now four overland access points between Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand that are open to non-Thais: at Thachileik opposite Mae Sai; at Myawaddy near Mae Sot; at remote Htee Khee opposite Phu Nam Ron in Kanchanaburi province, a crossing that’s being developed to facilitate transport between the major new port at Dawei on the Bay of Bengal and Bangkok; and at Kaw Thaung (Victoria Point) near Ranong. At these borders Western tourists forearmed with a Burmese tourist visa can enter Myanmar, and at most of them you can get a temporary US$10 (or B500) border pass, which will allow you to make limited-distance trips into Myanmar, usually just for the day (see relevant accounts for details). The crossings at Three Pagodas Pass near Kanchanaburi and at Dan Singkhon near Prachuap Khiri Khan are currently open only to Thai tourists.
At the time of writing, six overland crossings on the Thai–Cambodia border are open to non-Thais; see the relevant town accounts for specific details on all the border crossings.
Most travellers use the crossing at Poipet, which has transport connections with Sisophon, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and lies just across the border from the Thai town of Aranyaprathet, with its transport to Bangkok and to Chanthaburi; there are now also direct public buses that run all the way between Bangkok and Siem Reap and between Bangkok and Phnom Penh, which should help you dodge the scams and touts at this frontier post. The second most popular route is from Sihanoukville in Cambodia via Koh Kong (Cham Yeam) and Hat Lek to Trat, which is near Ko Chang on Thailand’s east coast.
The crossings in northeast Thailand include the Chong Chom–O’Smach border pass, near Kap Choeng in Thailand’s Surin province, and the Chong Sa Ngam–Choam border in Thailand’s Si Saket province; from both these borders there’s transport to Anlong Veng and on to Siem Reap. There are also two little-used crossings in Chanthaburi province, with transport to and from Pailin in Cambodia.
Tourist visas for Cambodia are issued to travellers on arrival at all the above-listed overland border crossings. If you want to buy an advance thirty-day visa, you can do so online at evisa.gov.kh. Of the land borders discussed here, these “e-visas” can be used only at Poipet and Koh Kong, but they should help you to avoid the more excessive scams at these two frontier posts.
There are seven main points along the Lao border where tourists can cross into Thailand: Houayxai (for Chiang Khong); between Nam Ngeun and Huai Kon in Thailand’s Nan province; on the Nam Heuang River at the Thai settlement of Tha Li (Loei province); Vientiane (for Nong Khai); Khammouan (aka Thakhek, for Nakhon Phanom); Savannakhet (for Mukdahan); and Pakse (for Chong Mek). Increasing numbers of direct, long-distance public buses, such as those between Loei and Luang Prabang via Tha Li and between Nan and Luang Prabang via Huai Kon, use these crossings to link major towns in the two countries. There’s a remoter frontier post, where transport is a little more difficult, between Paksan and Bueng Kan. All these borders can also be used as exits into Laos; tourist visas are available on arrival at all of the above-listed land borders except Paksan, or you can buy one in advance from either the Lao Embassy in Bangkok or the Lao Consulate in Khon Kaen.
Travelling between Thailand and Malaysia has in the past been a straightforward and very commonly used overland route, with plentiful connections by bus, minibus, share-taxi and train, most of them routed through the southern Thai city and transport hub of Hat Yai. However, because of the ongoing violence in Thailand’s deep south, all major Western governments are currently advising people not to travel to or through Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces, unless essential (and consequently most insurance companies are not covering travel there). This encompasses Hat Yai and the following border crossings to and from Malaysia: at Padang Besar, on the main rail line connecting Malaysia (and, ultimately, Singapore) with Hat Yai and Bangkok; at Sungai Kolok, terminus of a railway line from Hat Yai and Bangkok, and at adjacent Ban Taba, both of which are connected by road to nearby Kota Bharu in Malaysia; and at the road crossings at Sadao, south of Hat Yai, and at Betong, south of Yala. (The routes towards Kota Bharu and Betong pass through particularly volatile territory, with martial law declared in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces; however, martial law is not in effect in Hat Yai itself.)
Nevertheless, the provinces of Trang and Satun on the west coast are not affected, and it’s still perfectly possible to travel overland via Satun: by ferry between Satun’s Thammalang pier and the island of Langkawi, or overland between Satun and Kangar; or by boat between Ko Lipe and Langkawi. For up-to-the-minute advice, consult your government travel advisory.
Most Western tourists can spend thirty days in Malaysia without having bought a visa beforehand, and there are Thai embassies or consulates in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Bharu and Penang.