Before you plan anything around this post: it was written in 2012, and that's where it stays. The visa here is the one we got in Vientiane back then, with the prices and processing times of the era. I haven't updated it since, and Thai rules have changed a fair few times over the years. For what's required today, check with the Thai embassy and your own government's current travel advice.
In 2012, for Spanish citizens — and most nationalities — entry to Thailand was free, whether you arrived by air or by land. Crossing a land border got you 15 days in the country; flying into an airport, they handed you 30 days on arrival.
Unfortunately, in this case I wasn't travelling alone, and my girlfriend wasn't Spanish. Latvia wasn't on the long list of countries with free entry to Thailand — something we'd already discovered the hard way when we flew from Singapore to Bangkok. On that first visit to Thailand I got 30 days for free, while Ilze had to go through the visa on arrival process: nearly 30 dollars for just 15 days.
This time we were entering Thailand overland, specifically through Poipet, and we decided to go prepared. We were planning a proper stretch of time in a country we'd loved — at least a couple of months, taking in mountains and islands, jungles and beaches.
So while we were still in Vientiane, Laos — a couple of months before — we sorted out the Thai visa.
Our first morning in Vientiane we headed to the Thai Embassy, though thanks to a hostel change we didn't get there until gone 1 in the afternoon. Unlike most embassies we'd dealt with, the Thai Embassy didn't process any more visas after 12 noon — so we ended up spending two more days in the capital. One to submit the application, another to collect the passport.
How much did the Thailand visa cost in 2012?
The single-entry visa for Thailand, processed in Vientiane, cost 1,000 baht (around €25 at the exchange rate of the day). It let you stay in the country for 2 months, with the option of a 30-day extension arranged once you were inside Thailand.
There was also a double-entry visa at double the price: 2,000 baht (€50). The advantage was that each entry gave you two months in the country, plus that same 30-day extension option in each of those periods.
With the double-entry visa it was possible to stay in Thailand legally for 6 months straight — you just needed a visa run, a quick dash to a nearby border and back for a fresh entry stamp.
Where was the Thai Embassy in Vientiane?
Looking for the Thai Embassy, you had to be careful with Google Maps: the address that came up when you searched manually was an official building of the Kingdom of Thailand, but not the embassy where the tourist visa was processed.
The embassy where we applied for the Thai tourist visa was in Vientiane, Laos.
Anyone fancy escaping to Thailand? Every now and then a bargain did pop up!
Here I collected the visas from every other country we crossed.
So there you have it — get your passports ready. The visa you'd need today, though, is a question for the Thai embassy: this post stayed behind in 2012, 1,000 baht and all.
What you ask me most
- Do these prices and visas still apply for Thailand?
No. This is how it worked in 2012, when we got our visa at the embassy in Vientiane; Thailand has changed the rules a good few times since, and we haven't kept up with them. For what's required today, check the Thai embassy's website and your own government's current travel advice.
- What is a 'visa run'?
Leaving the country and coming back in to get another batch of days. In our day, plenty of travellers crossed from Thailand to a neighbouring border and returned with a fresh stamp in the passport. How many days you'd get on re-entry today — and whether you'd get them at all — depends on the rules of the moment.
