Udon Thani to Pai/Soppong

Hey

I was wondering if people could give me some information on the best way to get from Udon Thani to Pai and Soppong. Information on the following would be great.

1. bus schedule/times
2. prices
3. what type of buses
4. can I do it in one day?

I am teaching in Sakon Nakhon province and figure leaving from Udon Thani would be best and only option. I have a week long break between July 27 - August 4 where all the Thai teachers will be going to some sort of seminar in Sakon Nakhon City (right after midterms... I have an incredible amount of days off at this school) so I will have 7 days to explore and I would like to go to the north, specifically Pai and the Cave Lodge outside of Soppong.

I assume I will have to transfer in Chiang Mai. The same questions as above. I would love some feedback. I also want to make sure I will have at least a solid 4 days to explore the area and that I wont be in transit / traveling all the time.

Thanks for your help! All input and information appreciated!

Most likely couldn't do it in one day. It's been a while since I've done the run, but it was something like 15 hours from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani (I did it overnight). After that, it's another 3 hours or so to Pai.

You might want to look into flights from Udon to Chiang Mai with Nok Air, there might be an affordable promotion.

There are several buses that run from Udon to Chiangmai, but as mentioned above it is a very long trip. If you're dead set on the bus I'd recommend booking a seat on a VIP overnight bus. If you do this through a travel agency you'll probably be picked up at your hotel or guest house.

There's also a bus that runs from Udon - Loei - Phitsanulok - Uttaradit. It's always busy, but there are several each day. Easy to get to Chiangmai from Uttaradit by either bus or train.

That's not much time. You're looking at around 40 hours of travel time (return). I'd consider flying.

I would do the government bus over a tourist bus. There are various reasons, all that you can search on the TT under tourist bus scams.

As others have said, a long and umcomfortable trip just toe get to Chiang Mai - then you need to change busses and go again.

Even if you have time you are going to chew up a lot of it with this.

Option B - Nok Air is stil running there Udorn to CM flight? Might check that one out, even if you only take it for one leg of the trip, likely worth it.

Nok cancelled their very handy Udon-Chiang Mai flight several years ago and I was lucky to use it a couple of times. Not only was it handy, but it could be cheap too. I bought a ticket at Suvarnbhumi for something like 790 baht, when I was passing through in late 2008 but knew I would be back in Chiang Mai and wanting to go to Udon about six weeks hence. That taught me never to think that getting tickets in airports as being necessarily expensive.

Nok Air Udon-CM
09:15-10:35, 2590b
Tuk tuk to bus station
Minivan or bus to Pai 3-4 hrs
Red truck to Soppong 45km

as Nok have restarted that flight then it is a no brainer especially if time is at a premium.

ok so the days I want to go would cost me on Nok Air 4,980 bht, including taxes and fees. Its definitely more than I wanted to spend but might just be worth it for time saving purposes. (I am on a public school teachers salary)

Does anyone know what time the last bus from Chiang Mai s to Pai on those days.

ok so the days I want to go would cost me on Nok Air 4,980 bht, including taxes and fees. Its definitely more than I wanted to spend but might just be worth it for time saving purposes. (I am on a public school teachers salary)

Does anyone know what time the last bus from Chiang Mai to Pai leaves? And how much it costs?

Thanks for the help and any and all information on this topic still gratefully accepted!

just go someplace else. If it is not affordable and/or logistically difficult then just choose another destination.

Decided to go to Poie and up to Chiang Khan, and the surrounding areas there. Much easier for me to get to. Only a couple hours and cheap.

I will save this trip for when time and finances allows it. Thanks guys!