How to : Visa Run from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai
If you are in Thailand for an extended stay you will most likely do a visa run or two or five! We recently did a visa run from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai which is the easiest and quickest land crossing that you can do from Chiang Mai. It takes about a total of 15 hours and you can come right back into Thailand. Currently (December 2018) you can do these land crossings twice a year.
We took the 8:00 am bus to Mae Sai and the 14:30 bus from Mae Sai back to Chiang Mai. I would recommend taking the 6:00 am bus as 14:30 was really pushing it. We got back to our bus with only 4 minutes to spare.
Here’s a video of exactly what to do.
Buy your ticket online 2-3 days in advance ( 4-5 days if it’s high season ) on www.GreenbusThailand.com
You will need the to bring the following :
Passport with departure card.
500 baht or $10 USD ( crisp bills only)
Toliet Paper or wipes
Hand santizter
Good book or movies to watch for the bus ride.