Vientiane Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus & sǎwngthǎew

The northern bus station (260255; Th T2), a 5000-kip túk-túk ride from the centre of town, is the main departure point for domestic and international buses. Buses leave here for everywhere from Phongsali in the far north to Attapeu in the south, and HCMC.

Buses for Luang Prabang (US$10, 10 hours, four daily at 6.30am, 7.30am, 9am, 7pm; VIP US$16, eight hours, one daily at 8am); Phonsavan (60,000 kip, 12 hours, three daily at 6.30am, 9.30am and 4pm; VIP 80,000 kip, 10 hours, one daily at 7am); Udomxai (85,000 kip, 16 hours, two daily at 6.30am and 2pm) depart from the northern bus station. The long haul to Hanoi is a gruelling 20 hours on an air-con bus (US$18) versus a swift ride by plane ($120, Lao Airlines) and leaves at 7pm from the same location.

From Talat Sao, regular buses head to Vang Vieng (15,000 kip, three to four hours) until 3pm. After that, sǎwngthǎew leave from a truck station 7km west of Vientiane. Seats on air-con minibuses to Vang Vieng (US$7, three hours) can be purchased from guesthouses and travel agents around town.

Si Muang bus station (Th Tha Deua) is where the more expensive KVT (242101) and Laody (242102) buses head south to Pakse, via Tha Khaek and Savannakhet.

The other key departure point is the Talat Sao bus station (216507; Th Mahasot) from where buses run to destinations within Vientiane province and south. This is also where the Thai-Lao International Bus begins its trip across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai.

Local buses leave Talat Sao for Savannakhet (US$6, eight hours), departing at 7am and every two hours thereafter until 3pm, and for Pakse (US$12, 14 hours, nine daily from 10am to 4pm), stopping for a break in Tha Khaek on the way through. VIP buses to Pakse (US$18, 11 hours), including an overnighter, leave Si Muang Air Bus Station at 8pm. Tickets can be purchased from travel agents in Vientiane.

Up-to-date bus-fare information is published in the Vientiane Times or pop into Boualian Travel for information.

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Boat

It’s possible to take a slow cargo boat to Luang Prabang (US$26, upstream four days to one week). Ferries leave from Kiaw Liaw Pier, 3.5km west of the fork in the road where Rte 13 heads north in Ban Kao Liaw. Go to the Kiaw Liaw Pier to reserve a spot the day before. Boats make several stops and passengers typically sleep on board.

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Air

Lao Airlines (code QV; 212051; www.laos-airlines.com), Thai Airways International (THAI, code TG; 251041; www.thaiair.com) and also Vietnam Airlines (code VN; 217562; www.vietnamairlines.com) are the main carriers for Vientiane. From here you can fly to Siem Reap (US$140), Phnom Penh (US$50), Pakse (US$100), Savannakhet (US$60), HCMC (US$180), Bangkok (US$100), Chiang Mai (US$90), Kunming (US$140), Huay Xai (US$90), Luang Prabang (US$60), Phonsavan (US$50) and Hanoi (US$120).

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