Chiang Rai to Huay Xai Border Crossing (Thailand–Laos) – Step-by-Step Guide
Looking for the easiest way to cross from Thailand into Laos?
The Chiang Rai to Huay Xai route is one of the most popular and straightforward overland border crossings, made simple by the Thai–Laos Friendship Bridge.
We crossed this border by public bus in February 2024 and were surprised by how smooth the process was – clear signage, organized formalities, and easy onward transport once in Laos.
After immigration, you’ll arrive in Huay Xai, a small border town and the main jumping-off point for travelers continuing deeper into Laos, whether that’s by slow boat to Luang Prabang or onward buses to northern destinations.
This guide breaks down the exact steps, costs, documents, and timing for crossing from Chiang Rai to Huay Xai, along with our first-hand experience so you know what to expect at each stage.
Quick Answer: Chiang Rai to Huay Xai Border Crossing
Crossing from Chiang Rai to Huay Xai via the Thai–Laos Friendship Bridge is straightforward and can be done in half a day using public transport.
The process involves exiting Thailand at Chiang Khong, taking a short shuttle bus across the bridge, and applying for a Laos visa on arrival in Huay Xai.
We completed the crossing in February 2024 and outline the full step-by-step process below, including costs, documents required, and what actually happens at each checkpoint.
What You Really Need to Bring for the Thailand-Laos Border Crossing
Before we break down the Thailand Laos border crossing for you, first you’ll need to know what to bring with you to make the process as easy as possible.
- Your passport (of course) with at least 6 months validity and at least 4 pages free
- A pen to fill out relevant visa information at Laos immigration
- A passport sized photo (of yourself) to hand over with your Laos visa application
- Your Thailand departure card to give to Thai immigration. Keep this safe with your passport when you first enter Thailand to avoid a fee at the border when leaving
- US Dollars to pay for your Laos visa as well as the odd extra dollar to cover “administration fees”
TOP TIP: Buy some US Dollars before your trip to Laos. Ask the exchange office to give you smaller notes if possible. This will make your life easier when paying for any small expenses with USD.
🤔 Not sure whether to visit Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai before heading to Laos? We break down the differences between the two cities so you can choose the one that actually fits your travel style.
Chiang Rai to Huay Xai Border Crossing at a Glance (Costs & Steps)
Now, to make everybody’s life easier, here’s a condensed list of all the checkpoints you can expect on your journey from Chiang Rai to Huay Xai.
All information is up to date as of February 2024.
💡 Go ahead, take a screenshot, you’ll be able to check back whilst you’re traveling so you know what comes next! We’ve broken down every step below – keep reading for the full process.
- Catch the bus from Chiang Rai to the Laos border (2 hr, 140 Baht per person)
- Exit Thailand through Thai Immigration
- Buy your bus ticket to cross the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge (25 Baht per person)
- Take the bus across the Friendship Bridge (5 min)
- Pass through Laos Immigration to enter Laos
- Share a songthaew (tuk tuk) to Huay Xai town (15 min, 100 Baht per person)
Last crossed in February 2024. Border procedures and fees can change, so always double-check visa requirements before traveling.
Step-by-Step: Thailand-Laos Border Crossing (Chiang Rai to Huay Xai)
Below is the step-by-step process for crossing from Thailand into Laos via the Thai–Laos Friendship Bridge.
The sub-sections that follow walk through each stage in order, from leaving Chiang Rai to exiting Laos immigration in Huay Xai.
We’ve included our personal experience within each step so you know not just what to do, but what it’s actually like on the ground – including wait times, fees, and small details that aren’t always mentioned elsewhere.
Our Step-by-Step Journey from Chiang Rai to Huay Xai
The Bus Ride from Chiang Rai to the Laos Border – What It’s Really Like
When you get to the bus station in Chiang Rai, you’re looking for the big red bus, with the big red sign, like in the picture below.
As you can see, the final destination of the bus is Chiang Khong. You’ll just need to tell the driver you want stop at the Thai-Laos Friendship bridge.
Some travelers stay the night in Chiang Khong to break up the journey, giving them an early start into Laos the next morning. We chose to get it over and done with, cross the border, and spend the night in Huay Xai.
If you’re coming from Bangkok to Northern Thailand, check out our Bangkok to Chiang Mai Travel Guide — it covers all the best ways to get there by train, bus, or plane.
🇹🇭 Planning a bigger Thailand trip before crossing into Laos? Our Thailand itineraries show you how to spend 10 days, 3 weeks, or a full month in Thailand, with routes that naturally connect Northern Thailand with the Laos border.
What Happens at Thai Immigration (and How Long It Took Us)
Once you’re off the bus and have your luggage, follow the signs for immigration and get in line.
We arrived around 1pm and there were only a handful of us making the crossing with many choosing to stay in Chiang Khong.
Here you will get your stamp out of the country and hand over your departure card. This process took less than 5 minutes as there were no queues.
If you have misplaced your Thai departure card, you will have to pay a fee to resolve this. There is no set fee unfortunately, it’s just how the immigration officer is feeling on the day.
Crossing the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge – A Quirky Experience
Whatever you do, please do not attempt to walk the bridge to avoid buying a bus ticket, it’s not worth it in our opinion!
It’s much easier to just pay the 25 Baht (usually 20 Baht but sometimes extra “after hours”) and avoid the blazing hot sun.
You will buy your ticket for the Friendship Bridge after Thai immigration. The ticket booth is on your right hand side.
There isn’t a set schedule for when the bus across the Friendship Bridge leaves – it will go when there’s enough people waiting to fill the bus.
We waited for about 10 minutes outside the bus while more people came through immigration. Once enough people were through, the driver loaded the bags and we were on our way.
Laos Immigration: Forms, Fees, and Surprises at the Counter
It’s a short and sweet ride across the bridge – you’re officially in Laos! Now you just need to go through Laos Immigration and your adventure begins.
After stepping off the bus, you will head into the large building in front of you. Once inside, you will fill out an arrival card (time for your trusty pen to shine) then get into the line on the right hand side.
When you get to the front of this queue, you will handover your passport, your arrival card and your passport photo. Next you move into the queue at the left hand window.
Here, you will have your passport returned along with a QR code that you will need in a short while. You will also find a shiny new Laos visa taking up a whole page of your passport.
TOP TIP: During this process, you may expect to pay what appears to be an administration fee. We had to pay $1USD per person but it was clear that this was not an official fee. We were happy to pay the small expense to get us across the border.
Next, we went to another immigration officer who checked our visa and ushered us through to the next station. This was a window located just before a turnstile to exit immigration.
Here, you hand over your passport and the aforementioned QR code, then pay $35 USD for the Laos visa.
With your passport, you will also be handed yet another QR code that you will use to scan out of the turnstiles, and into Laos!
🧭 Not sure how long to spend in Laos? We’ve got you covered with 1-week, 2-week, and 30-day plans tailored for epic adventures.
First Impressions of Huay Xai
Getting into Town – Tuk Tuk, Taxi, or Walking?
Congratulations, you made it through immigration and your journey in Laos begins!! There will be songthaews (tuk tuks) waiting to take you into town outside of the immigration building.
Usually, they wait for minimum 6 people to board before leaving, so gather some other travelers coming through and share a ride to town.
In February 2024, we paid 100 Baht per person for the 15 minute journey into Huay Xai.
Our Chaotic First Moments in Huay Xai
Of course, our first moments in Laos couldn’t go down without a bit of confusion and delay.
About 5 minutes into our drive into Huay Xai, our songthaew driver gets a call from immigration, and we stop on the side of the road.
The driver spoke very minimal English and none of us spoke Laotian, so we ended up on a video call with an immigration agent trying to figure out what was going on.
We were speculating that someone had skipped a step in immigration, but this wasn’t the case.
The real issue was that someone had left their passport and the immigration agent was calling every songthaew driver to see if the lost passport belonged to one of their passengers.
After we all confirmed our passports were safe and in our possession, we thought we’d be back on the road.
Not yet! Our driver was clearly overwhelmed (or bored, unsure) by the whole situation and felt it was time for a cigarette break.
We all just chilled in the back for another 10 minutes or so while he smoked, then we were finally on our way again.
An appropriate introduction to transport in Laos, we think!
🚍 To learn all the essential information for transit in Laos, check out our comprehensive transportation guide.
After the Border: Where to Stay, Eat, and Travel Next from Huay Xai
Where We Stayed (and Would Stay Next Time)
It is possible to simply show up in town and walk up and down the main street until you find a hostel or guesthouse with vacancies.
We chose to book the night before and we are glad we did because it was clear the most popular (and most helpful) accommodation options were fully booked upon arrival.
We stayed at Over the Moon Hostel. The room was clean, the showers were hot, and there was even a lovely terrace overlooking the Mekong River.
TOP TIP: All of the hostels and guesthouses in Huay Xai are pretty basic with no frills. Please don’t expect to find luxury here. For the price you pay, your basic needs are met – and what more do you really need!
How to Book Onward Travel
The owner of Over the Moon Hostel was super helpful in explaining the best route to get to our next stop, Luang Namtha, and took the time to explain the process of getting to the station and collecting our tickets.
She also offered services to Oudomxay, Pakmong, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane.
If you’re jumping on the 2-day slow boat, your accommodation can advise on this or you can just show up and buy your ticket at the Slow Boat Pier.
Alternatively, you can book a more luxurious slow boat and cruise in style. This boat looks so amazing and it’s on our bucket list to book next time we’re in Laos!
How We Got a SIM Card Without Stress
Another popular hostel is Little Hostel. We didn’t stay here as it was fully booked a couple of days in advance.
We did go here to get set up with a Laos SIM card though. The receptionist was quick to activate our SIMs and made sure they worked before we left.
If you’re staying in Laos for 7 days or less, there are some affordable eSIM options available on Airlalo.
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Getting Cash in Huay Xai – ATMs, Banks, and Fees
The currency in Laos is Laotion KIP. Cash is QUEEN in Laos so you will want to withdraw cash from an ATM as often as you can (when you’re running low).
The maximum withdrawal is usually 2,000,000KIP and the lowest withdrawal fee we found was 30,000KIP.
The most reliable bank and the one with the lowest fee, is BCEL bank.
You’re in luck, they have an ATM in Huay Xai. It’s located near to the Slow Boat Pier and is about a 10 minute walk from where most guesthouses and restaurants are on the main street.
The Best Food We Found in Huay Xai
By the time you’ve checked into your accommodation, arranged your onward travel, and sorted the important bits and bobs to get done upon arrival in Laos, you’ve probably worked up an appetite!
Huay Xai is very accommodating for tourists with plenty of restaurants and street vendors ready and waiting to give you your first taste of Laotian food.
Just stroll up and down the main street and see where you’re drawn to.
We enjoyed a tasty noodle soup at Mae Da Restaurant. If you drink, enjoy a Beer Lao and celebrate completing a long and hectic, yet productive day.
Things to Do in Huay Xai (Beyond Just Waiting for the Slow Boat)
The Gibbon Experience – The Best Thing to Do in Huay Xai
Huay Xai is a sleepy little border town, accustomed to tourists just passing through for the night. However, there’s still a little exploring to be done.
If you like the idea of sleeping in a treehouse above the Laotian jungle, listening to gibbons sing in the trees, and flying over zip lines above the canopy, then the Gibbon Experience is for you!
Their office is based in Huay Xai and they have a few different packages. We had no idea about this activity prior to arriving in Laos, but will definitely consider it next time we visit.
This activity gets booked out months in advance so act fast if it’s high on your list!
Why We Skipped the Slow Boat to Luang Prabang
Reason #1: We wanted to explore beautiful Northern Laos, but did not want to backtrack.
Had we taken the boat to Luang Prabang, we would have gone south to north to south – a waste of precious visa time, not to mention money.
Reason #2: Our 30-year-old bodies can’t handle two days of sitting on a hard bench as well as they used to!
While we truly considered if the inevitable post-trip soreness would be worth the experience, we ultimately decided against the boat to Luang Prabang.
🛶 Still planning on taking the slow boat? These are our top picks for where to stay in Luang Prabang once you get there.
Instead of the slow boat, we headed to Luang Namtha for a 2-Day Jungle Trek that we will never forget. We traded potentially sore bums for very sore post-hike legs, but trekking in Luang Namtha was well worth it.
An Alternative Long Boat Journey: Tha Ton to Chiang Rai
Even though we decided against the 2-day slow boat, we didn’t want to miss out on the experience all together!
We had heard rumors of another very scenic long boat in Thailand from Tha Ton to Chiang Rai, so we headed up to the Myanmar border to see if we could find it.
After a short walk from the bus “station”, we paid 2500 Baht and were on the river en route to Chiang Rai less than 20 minutes from exiting the bus!
TOP TIP: Find other travelers in Tha Ton to share a long boat. We heard you can have up to four foreigners in one boat and splitting the cost makes it very affordable!
There used to be a public boat that ran daily at 12pm, but it never restarted after being shut down during Covid.
If you’re also interested in taking a slow boat from Tha Ton to Chiang Rai, here’s how we did it:
- Take a bus to Tha Ton – these run about four times a day from Chiang Dao. Check at the bus station for the most up to date times. To get to Tha Ton from elsewhere in Thailand, check out this comprehensive guide from Travel Fish.
- Walk to the slow boat pier. The pier is named ‘Thaton – Chiang Rai Longboat Dock’ on Google Maps. The location is marked as permanently closed, but this is not true.
- At the window, you’ll be asked to pay 2500 baht, but you may be able to negotiate down to 2200 baht. We didn’t attempt to bargain, though, as we thought this was a fair price for a 3 hour private boat.
- You’ll also be shown a map and asked where you’d like to stop along the way. We chose to head straight to Chiang Rai, but you can make a day of it and stop in various places along the river.
- Once you’ve paid, you’ll board a long boat and head off down the river! You’ll cruise along for 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on the current before docking in Chiang Rai.
TOP TIP: The long boat dock in Chiang Rai is about 4 km out of the center and there are no taxis around. If you don’t enjoy long, unscenic walks, make sure you have data to call a Grab!
🤔 Unsure if you want to visit Chiang Rai? Find out here if Chiang Rai is worth visiting.
Final Thoughts: Was the Chiang Rai to Huay Xai Border Crossing Worth It?
Since we arrived in Southeast Asia on a flight to Bangkok, the Thailand Laos border crossing was the first overland crossing of our 3.5 month trip.
Accomplishing this border crossing successfully put us at ease for what to expect further down the line.
The Thailand Laos border crossing is perhaps one of the most popular in Southeast Asia and there were other travelers to follow and ask questions if needed.
All checkpoints were clearly marked and the whole process was smooth and stress free. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, take a breath and have a look around. There’s always a signpost telling you where to go.
So, get your pen, passport photo, and crisp US Dollars ready and cross into Laos! Whether you’re spending one week or a full month, you’re sure to have the trip of a lifetime.
🏝️ Don’t miss Laos’ best-kept secret! Our Don Det guide + 4000 Islands stay recommendations will help you plan paradise from start to finish.
Chiang Rai to Huay Xai Border Crossing FAQs
How do you cross the border from Chiang Rai to Laos?
To cross the border from Chiang Rai to Laos, take a public bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong, exit Thailand at Thai immigration, ride the shuttle bus across the Thai–Laos Friendship Bridge.
Complete Laos immigration on arrival in Huay Xai. The entire process can usually be completed in half a day.
Can you get a Laos visa at the border?
Yes, most travelers can get a Laos visa on arrival at the Huay Xai border crossing.
You’ll need a passport with at least six months validity, a passport photo, and US dollars to pay the visa fee, which varies by nationality.
What documents do you need to enter Laos from Thailand?
To enter Laos from Thailand, you need a valid passport with at least six months remaining, a completed arrival form, one passport-sized photo.
Bring cash in US dollars to pay for the visa on arrival and any small administrative fees.
How far is Chiang Rai from the Laos border?
Chiang Rai is approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Laos border at Chiang Khong.
The journey by bus from Chiang Rai to the border usually takes around two hours.
Where do you cross the border from Thailand to Laos near Chiang Rai?
The main border crossing near Chiang Rai is at Chiang Khong, via the Thai–Laos Friendship Bridge, which connects Thailand directly to Huay Xai in Laos.
This is one of the most commonly used and straightforward Thailand–Laos border crossings.
Still figuring out where to travel in Thailand before heading into Laos? Our first-timers guide to Thailand breaks down the best places to visit, what each destination is known for, and how to plan your route.
