I live in Washington, DC and was planning to get visa in advance so as not to get caught in line at Huay Xai. My traveling partner says I'm overthinking the issue and we should just get visa on arrival.
Anyone have any useful input about waiting times for visas when crossing?
Thanks in advance
Lew DrTraveller
If like the majority of travelers your next move is a slow boat down the Mekong, you'll be waiting with the heard anyway. Visa on arrival is easy and painless, but once you have a colored sticker on your shirt there's no point in rushing. Otherwise crossing in the afternoon is less of a bottleneck, stay a night in HX and choose onward transport next day.
I did it last summer (and no,I wasn't going on a 'slow boat down the Mekong ;-)
Took about 20 minutes start to finish...it was early afternoon I guess.Easy,no problems.
Hi,
I crossed in and out of Laos here earlier this year, via the new bridge. Coming into Laos there was a lengthy wait - not because there were many people buying visas, but because all the Laos border staff were eating their lunch, and everyone - regardless of whether or not they had a visa already - had to wait for lunch to end before we could get stamped into the country.
In a way, you're not over-thinking the problem. In Vientiane, the queues at the border to buy visas are sometimes very lengthy (1-2 hours), and getting a visa in advance would save you some time. But in Huai Xai, at least from my personal experience, this isn't the case. Getting your visa at the border should be fine. The main issue with this border crossing is the new bridge, which makes transport inconvenient. It's the best part of 10km or so from immigration at the bridge to central Huai Xai.
