Road Vientiane to Luang Prabang

I was thinking of renting a car over four days and driving Vientiane to Luang Prabang with a stop in VV. Does anyone know the current state of the road? If the road is well sealed and one just has to watch out for pedestrians, slow moving vehicles and the occasional animal that would be fine. If the road is a pot hole ridden nightmare it would be good to know now :-).

Vientiane to VV is not too bad but onward to Luang Prabane is iffy, and uphill all the way. Take the bus, leave the driving to them, food and bathroom breaks are made, and you'll meet different people. Bonus if you can make the trip from top to bottom.

I drove from Luang to Vientane a few years ago. It was ok but count 7 hours to get there.

if you take the bus, count 10-12 hours. Better get a private driver, around $100.

if you take the bus, count 10-12 hours. Better get a private driver, around $100.

was thinking the same, any recommendations for car rental/driver? thnx

Do a search on recent posts because someone has done it fairly recently. They self drove with children and dont recall them having any problems, quite the opposite. Found it here

Thanks. :)

I think it depends on where you have been in the past and what your experience is.

When I did Luang Namtha - Luang Prabang by bus a couple of years ago the person beside me in the minivan said that it was a terrible road. I thought it was fine, certainly much better than most African roads. And Luang Prabang to Vientiane is better still. IMHO when you are travelling if a road has painted lines in the middle then it's pretty bloody good.

the topic is pretty much covered here

Driving from Vientiane to Luang Prabang

North of Vang vieng at Kasi there is an alternative route to Luang Prabang. I haven't driven it for about 13 months and then it wasn't complete. It is I believe slightly longer but significantly less twisty and it is claimed that it is a lot quicker than the old road. it then joins route 4 into L/P.

I drove a lot of that road at night as we weren't allowed onto it until 5.30 pm when the earth-movers had finished their work.

You can learn a few things from this. Firstly that roads in Laos can change pretty quickly and there are various factors involved - the rainy season puts pay to a lot of surfaces.
Landslips often block roads and road works or road building can make 4WD advisable.
Give yourself plenty of time to do the trip as there are many problems that can arise.
The old road to L/P is fantastically scenic - it occurred to me the first time i drove it that you don't so much drive it a dance it........
one point about those rural roads is that especially when they don't have asphalt, they can be incredible dusty - so when driving past habitations, keep the speed down or you'll be coating the inhabitants in your dust. i've been driving in Laos for about 5 years now and it is a great place to drive about in....the roads are gradually improving, in fact some roads seem to have improved dramatically in the last 3 years - but be prepared for setbacks.

Thank you wilcopops for a levelheaded reply. I have read the link provided, too.

Am reasonably good driver used to curvy mountain roads, ready for it, though would prefer not to drive alone all the way.

One more thing - I'd rent something with more ground clearance than a standard sedan. Pick, preferably 4WD. You may never need 4WD but it would be a shame if you couldn't get past a road works or something just because of the road surface or clearance being too much for a car. You also will then have the opportunity to explore a little, for example around Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang, where there are some interesting excursions but mostly on dirt roads.

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