Thorn Tree travel forum

China to Laos by bus

As of Dec 08.

There is a daily direct bus from Kunming to Luang Prabang (24hrs sleeper, 5pm) which leaves from the train station bus station - not the main bus station but the older one on your right when you come out of the main train station. I didn't take this bus so I don't know how much it costs.

Alternatively you can take the bus to Mengla (12hrs, Y199), departures from both main and train station bus stations. Mine arrived at 7am which left plenty of time to have breakfast and get the next bus.

From Mengla there are direct buses to Udomxai (8:30am, Y36) and Luang Nam Tha (9am, Y36). The bus stops to let everyone do their thing at the border, and it took 5hrs to get to Udomxai. There is also a bus to Phongsali but when I crossed foreigners could not take this bus.

On the way back, I took the sleeper bus from Luang Prabang to Mengla. The bus leaves at 7am and arrives at 8am in Kunming the next day, dropping off in Mengla at 8pm. The bus picks up passengers in Udomxai but does not stop in Jinghong, so you must get off in Mengla and make your own way (incidentally the road is now good and Mengla-Jinghong is just 2.5hrs). If you are interested in this bus, there are many travel agents which can book it for a fee in Luang Prabang (was quoted 190,000kip to Mengla, 450,000kip to Kunming). When I went the bus wasn't even half filled, so it would have been easy to just rock up at the bus station and buy your ticket on the day. The bus leaves from a parking lot in the south of Luang Prabang (not the main southern long distance bus station) - the tuk tuk drivers can take you there if you say the magic word Kunming. There is also a Chinese-run guesthouse adjacent to the bus parking lot if you are not inclined to an early rise.