For Spanish citizens — and most nationalities — entry to Thailand is free, whether you arrive by air or land. Cross a land border and you get 15 days; fly into an airport and they hand you 30 days on arrival.
Unfortunately, in this case I wasn't travelling alone, and my girlfriend isn't Spanish. Latvia isn'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 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 wanted to be 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 stops processing visas at 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 does a Thai visa cost?
The single-entry visa for Thailand, processed in Vientiane, cost 1,000 baht (around €25 at the time of writing). This visa lets you stay in the country for 2 months, with the option to extend by 30 days once you're inside Thailand.
There's also a double-entry visa at double the price: 2,000 baht (€50). The advantage is that each time you enter the country you get two months, plus the 30-day extension option each time.
With a double-entry visa it's possible to stay in Thailand legally for 6 months straight — all you need to do is a visa run, a quick dash to a nearby border and back to reset the entry stamp.
Where is the Thai Embassy in Vientiane?
When looking for the Thai Embassy, watch out with Google Maps — the address that comes up when you search manually is an official building of the Kingdom of Thailand, but it's not the right place to apply for a tourist visa.
Here's the map with the correct address for applying for a Thai visa in Vientiane, Laos:
View [Thai Embassy in Vientiane](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=218426466903268119320.0004d2b7d06a8ceb09583&gl=uk&hl=es&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=17.974774,102.62754&spn=0.014287,0.025749&z=15&source=embed) on a larger mapThinking of heading to Thailand? Bargain flights do pop up!
So there you have it — get your passports sorted, work out which visa suits you best, and if you're Spanish, make the most of that free entry by air or land.
