Travel from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai

By bus the journey from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai is scheduled to take 17 hours 15 minutes.

Bus Times from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai

There are currently 2 bus services a day with GreenBus from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai

Use the Search Box below to buy your bus tickets from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai.

Chiang Rai Bus Station

Bus services from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai depart from Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 2.

Nong Khai Bus Station

Bus services from Chiang Rai to Nong Khai terminate at Nong Khai Bus Terminal.

About Travel to Nong Khai

Nong Khai is located 712 km road to the south east of Chiang Rai and 630 km by road to the north of Bangkok on the banks of the Mekong River. Nong Khai is the main border crossing point between Thailand and Laos. From Nong Khai the distance by road to the capital city of Laos, Vientiane, is 24 km.

Accommodation in Nong Khai

Despite being a relatively small city with a population of around 50,000 permanent residents, Nong Khai has fairly good facilities for leisure travellers. The city has around 30 hotels, guesthouses and hostels available to book online through major hotel booking websites, none of which are very expensive.

Among the cheapest places to stay in Nong Khai is Mut Mee Garden Guest House, which is a long running riverside resort located in the centre of the city. They typically charge from around 500 THB for a private room with shared bathroom and 750 THB for a private room with a private bathroom. At the other end of the scale you could choose pay around twice as much for the more luxurious LePont Riverfront Resort Nongkhai, which is about 300 metres further from the centre of the city than Mut Mee Garden Guest House.

Food in Nong Khai

Nong Khai’s range of bars and restaurants is more extensive than its range of accommodation. This is because a lot of visitors to the city don’t stay overnight in Nong Khai. Nong Khai has a pleasant riverfront promenade with several large restaurants, most notably Daeng Namnuang Nong Khai, which are very popular with Thai and Lao travellers.

For Western Food consider trying either Macky’s Riverside Kitchen, which is located on the riverfront Rim Khong Alley, or the German Bakery, which is located not far from the western end of the Rim Khong Alley.

In the evening time the most popular bar tends to be the Makinnee BAR, which is also located on the Rim Khong Alley.

More adventurous visitors wanting to try cheap local specialties should walk to the main road, Prajak Sillapakhom Alley, and try smaller local restaurants such as the Im-Em Restaurant.

Tourist Attractions in Nong Khai

The main tourist attraction in Nong Khai City is the city’s riverside area. It’s a pleasant place to walk because of the cooling effect of the wide river and the views along the river are good. On Saturday Nights there is a lively walking street type market on the riverfront Rim Khong Alley, and in the daytime there is a busy covered market (Tha Sadet Market) at the eastern end the Rim Khong Alley.

Another popular tourist attraction in the area is Sala Keo Kou, sometimes referred to as Buddha Park, which is located 5 km by road to the east of Nong Khai City. Sala Keo Kou is a collection of large, and sometimes bizarre, statues of gods and other supernatural beings from Buddhist and Hindu belief and folklore.

Travel by Train to Laos

There are currently 2 trains a day from Nong Khai to Vientiane, one departing at 08:35 and the other at 17:25. The journey takes only 30 minutes. The point of arrival in Vientiane is Khamsavath Train Station, which is inconveniently located 8 km to the east of Vientiane city centre, and 16 km to the south of south of the Laos – China Railway Station, which is the departure point for high speed train services to Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and onto China.

Passengers travelling by rail from Thailand to Laos are required to first visit the immigration desk at Nong Khai Train Station to complete immigration procedures for departing Thailand, and then to complete immigration procedures for entering Laos at Khamsavath Train Station after they alight from the train.

Travel by Road to Laos

Most travellers, however, complete the journey from Nong Khai to Vientiane by road.

To cross border either take a bus service from Nong Khai City direct to Vientiane, such as the Naluang bus service which departs from Nong Khai Bus Terminal twice daily, or make your own way in a tuk-tuk to the Thai immigration centre at the southern end of the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. The Thai immigration centre is just over 4 km by road from Nong Khai City.

On arrival at the Thai end of the bridge travellers need to complete immigration procedures for exiting Thailand. Once that process is completed travellers then need to board one of the frequent short distance bus services which crosses over the river and stops by the Lao immigration centre.

After completing immigration procedures for entering Laos, the third and final stage of the journey is to travel from the border to Laos. There are lots of taxis and shared minivan services available at Lao side of the border. A much cheaper option, however, is to wait for local bus service #14 which is scheduled to complete the journey to Vientiane Central Bus Station in slightly less than 1 hour.