Posts about Laos (travel)
Since it was such a hassle to find relevant and updated information after corona times, I thought to share what we’ve experienced so far. We were traveling from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani by a plane.
Going from Udon Thani to Vientiane (Thailand to Laos)
there’s no direct bus from Udon Thani Central Bus station to Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng
at Udon Thani bus station go to the International Bus Tickets counter (red color), they have a lunch break between 12:30-13:30 and you must have a visa/e-Visa already printed out, otherwise they won’t let you buy the tickets (we’ve heard you can go with van for 50 THB to the border, but we didn’t listen to the details, since we already had a visa - read further)
these buses leave at: 8:00, 10:30, 11:30, 15:00, 18:00, cost 80 THB and take around 1,5 hours to the border then another 1 hour to get to Vientiane (together roughly 3 hours)
if you don’t have your Laos visa, then you’ll need to get a van to the border (50 THB per person), just ask anyone at the bus station and they’ll lead you to the van driver (departure times are not scheduled)
at the Laos border don’t wait in the line for the booth as everyone else, but go to window 1 (at the beginning of the main building), it’s labeled in blue color
give them your eVisa, passport, proof of vaccination and 100 THB for service fee and wait a few minutes at window 3 and they’ll give you your passport back in a few minutes
bus drops you off at the city center
Going from Vientiane to Luang Prabang (LL)
By bus (very slow, 9-11h)
there are NO VIP or overnight buses anymore from Vientiane to Luang Prabang (at least from Vientiane Bus Station North), supposedly due to covid and the new train station
VANS from Bus Station North leave at: 6:30, 8:00, 10:00, 13:00, 16:00, 18:30 and cost 200,000 KIP per person
beware that VANS are NOT buses. They’re smaller and ultra uncomfortable, especially after 2 hours of riding. TAKE THE TRAIN INSTEAD.
By train (fast, 2h 40m)
you cannot book a ticket online unless you buy it at least 4 days before departure date (no idea why, but that’s how it is).
while booking online, you will see a 15:05 train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang which costs $40. Don’t buy this one, as you can get to LL for $12 in the morning as well (read further)
check the timetable on this link (https://booking.baolau.com/en/s/vientiane/luang-prabang/train/2022-07-20)
you must buy your ticket in person at the ticket office at new Vientiane Train Station which is 15km from the city center (around 20 minutes ride at 06:00 in the morning, probably around 45 minutes or more with normal traffic)
alternatively you can buy the ticket at the ticket office in Vientianne Center Shopping Center, but the opening times are from 10:00-15:30
check out Laos-China Railway Company Limited Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LaosChinaRailway/) for the number of remaining available tickets (that you can only buy in person), they post the availability on a daily basis)
at the train station, there’s going to be a HUGE line for the tickets outside. Don’t wait in the line, but rather just ask the staff at the door about your destination and they will let you in immediately (since you’re a foreigner)
we bought 3 tickets for the “normal” train departing at 08:00 and it cost us 170,000 KIP per person and takes 2h 40m in total to LL
don’t be fooled about Boten as a wrong end destination (this is NOT the same Boten as on the south-west side of Laos, but Boten in the north border with China) — ALL trains to Boten go to Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng
bring your own toilet paper, as there are no “sprinklers” as everywhere else and there is NO toilet paper (although the train station is brand new)
Here's the contact info about the railway: contact@baolau.com and they're very responsive (here's their email)
Online reservation is available from 30 days up to 4 days in advance. Ticket sale officially opens 3 days before departure, so we cannot accept reservations within 3 days before departure. For more information, you can check our Train Guide in Laos.
If you wish to book tickets within 3 days before departure, for July 19 or 20, you will need to buy directly at the railway station.
Then head to Vientiane Railway Station to purchase the train tickets or try at the ticket office at the Vientiane Center shopping mall. Mind that tickets sell out quickly and sometimes it's impossible to find tickets for the same day as everything is sold out so keep in mind that you may need to depart on the next day.
Feel free to ask any questions, we're currently in Laos ;)
