ATTENTION MEMBERS
BORDER BOUNCING BY LAND
With more and more people coming to the end of their covid extensions and needing to get on to a new entry stamp we are seeing a LOT of posts asking about border bouncing by land to get a new stamp.
Most we decline because thailand is almost 200 thousand square miles in size :O and where you are in thailand depends on what border you can easily bounce out and back at by land AND your stamp/stay history has a LOT to do with it too.
Keep in mind (no matter what you're being told) ALL land borders with Burma (Myanmar) are CLOSED and foreigners can't get out and back in at those crossings to get a new stamp. (that goes for the boat run down in Ranong with the Andaman Club)
Your success at bouncing out and back on your own totally depends on how many covid extensions you have in your passport, whether you have an ED or Volunteer visa/extension AND whether you took that 7 day get out of dodge "extension denied" week stamp to leave the country. Each one of those things CAN cause you a problem trying to stamp out and back in.
While we don't recommend border bounce/visa run services by name on the group we URGE people (who have a passport full of covid stamps) to post on a f/b group related to where you live in thailand and use a service that serves your area to bounce you out and back. They "pre-grease" the wheel at the border so you don't have issues, that's why they cost what they cost.
Please believe me when I say, this is NOT the time to be stepping over dollars to pick up dimes :O . We get post requests every day of people who did a bounce on their own, picked the WRONG border, had too many of the wrong stamps and now can't stamp back IN to thailand as they were told to go to an airport and fly back.
Malaysia;
We have very little info on bouncing out and back with the southern border crossings with Malaysia. There were problems at the southern borders before covid shut them down about people having to pay an 'entrance fee' to get IN to thailand (and we can't tell if that resumed or not)
Cambodia;
The info we have on the border crossings with Cambodia are AVOID <-(read that as DO NOT GO) to the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border. It is problematic. Ban Laem / Duang and Ban Phak Kad / Phsar Prum are workable borders but bouncing on your own you will be asked for "fees" to get back in. Ban Hat Lek / Cham Yeam in Trat can be finicky, Chong Chom / O Smach in Surin isn't too bad.
They CAN hard line you and say you have to spend a night in cambodia if they want to at ANY of the border crossings before you can stamp back in to thailand.
Lao
There is zero <- as in no issue at all bouncing out and back with any of the borders with Lao, they don't care how many covid stamps you have, if you have uncancelled ED/Volunteer visas or the 7 day stamp, they'll let you out and let you back in
Again, if you're one of the demographics I outlined as far as your stay history and stamp history think LONG and HARD before you decide to bounce out and back on your own
AND
go prepared just in case you're denied entry to thailand and have to make your way to either another border crossing to try again or to the airport and fly back (which has it's own set of risks depending on stay/entry history)
Good Luck people, (y)
TLDR : Answer Summary
This post provides a comprehensive guide on the current state of border bouncing by land in Thailand as many expats are nearing the end of their COVID-19 extensions. It outlines the status of various border crossings with Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos. Critical points include the closure of land borders with Myanmar, warnings about specific crossings with Cambodia, and the ease of bouncing back through Laos. The post emphasizes the importance of knowing one's visa stamp history and suggests using reputable services to avoid complications at border crossings.
