Hanoi to Laos

Hi all,

My boyfriend and i are in Hanoi for the next few days, then moving on to Laos. Can anyone please advise us on the best route to take?! From reading the visa replies i know you can now get 30 day visas on arrival at land border crossings... Is it relatively easy to this trip independently? Which border crossing is the best? We're pretty sick of vietnamese tour companies telling us lies about times and routes at this stage!!
We don't have any definite plan for Laos yet but we've got some good tips and around 2-3 weeks to get to Thailand...

Any help would be much appreciated!

In post #9 in FAQ Vietnam at my sig, I listed the border crossings between Vietnam and Laos. If you go via Na Meo - Nam Xoi crossing, you must have a Lao visa in advance. Some TTer had to turn back in Hanoi as he was refused to cross at this border (no Lao VoA).