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I'm trying to plan a trip route, which includes traveling from north Thailand to Vietnam. Since I don't have a strict time limitation, I thought that maybe instead of taking a flight I could travel by land through Laos. Now I'd like to ask if someone already done such trip. How much time such a route could take? What are the available transportations options? Is it safe?

Currently what I had in mind (according to some internet research), is to travel from Chiang Mai to Vientiane via the Friendship Bridge (as I understood this is a Thanaleng crossing) and then continue to Luang Prabang. I've found a few posts regarding the available routes from Luang Prabang to Vietnam here and here. So I guess I'll just have to choose one of them and hope that I'll be able to make all the arrangements when I'm there.

Any other tips and ideas are more than welcome.

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    I haven't done the trip, but people do it, though not that often. Public transport is available, though the frequency depends on where you want to cross the border.
    – MastaBaba
    Jul 8, 2012 at 10:09
  • @MastaBaba Thank you for your comment. This is exactly the information I'd like to achieve. What transport? From where to where? Where are the available border crosses? I'd like to mention that I'm not an experienced traveler and I want to see if this route is OK for a person like me or this is a hardcore way to get there..
    – Eugene S
    Jul 8, 2012 at 10:30
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    You might go through Vientiane, but if you're on your way to Vietnam, Luang Prabang is not on the way. Shortest path is Bangkok-Nakhon Phanom/Thakek-Vinh (and then either north to Hanoi or south to Hue).
    – dbkk
    Jul 8, 2012 at 11:28
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    The bus to Hanoi is a adventure on itself. Beds are made for asians and too short for europeans. Although nice sceneries , I will do it again.
    – user7883
    Aug 9, 2013 at 10:05
  • Related: Traveling from Thailand to Laos to Vietnam
    – hippietrail
    Sep 18, 2013 at 13:35

4 Answers 4

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If you're going directly from Bangkok to Vietnam, shortest path is Bangkok-Nakhon Phanom/Thakek-Vinh (and then either north to Hanoi or south to Hue). Luang Prabang is definitely not on the way, Vientiane is quite a detour.

For casual touring, one interesting route may be to go from Bangkok to north of Thailand, cross over the Mekhong to Laos in Chiang Khong (Chiang Rai province), then take the slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang (2 days with overnight stop, cheap, and quite an experience). From there, you can take a bus to Vientiane (with a stop in Vang Vieng for a few days). After that, you can go to Savannakhet and onwards to Vietnam (Vinh in Nghe An province is nearest to Laos).

I have done most parts of this, but not the Savannakhet-Vinh portion. Many interesting places along the way, but skipping long slogs in a bus may be worthwhile (e.g. flying Luang Prabang-Vientiane, often cheap if bought locally). Buses in Laos are infrequent, uncomfortable and slow, nothing like wonderful Thai VIP-24 buses... in Vietnam buses are slightly better than Laos, but still rather uncomfortable.

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    Hi and thank you for your answer. However I wonder if there is a safe and convenient way to travel from Luang Prabang to the Vietnam side, for example to Sapa? Thank you!
    – Eugene S
    Jul 10, 2012 at 7:59
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I've just crossed the border from Chiang-Khong (Chiang Rai, Thailand) to Huay Xai, Laos - Luang Prabang, Laos - Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam - Hanoi..It is very easy and I am so enjoying this trip.

  1. Bangkok to Chiang Khong by vip bus..Sombat Tour(http://www.sombattour.com/)..~ 900 THB. ....depart 20.00 pm. Friendship bridge around 8 am..then 3-wheel motorbike to the Thai border..international bus crosses the bridge to Laos border..local bus to Huay Xai..many options to go many places from here.

  2. For me ..2 days slow boat to Luang Prabang..recommend to buy ticket directly there on the boat is OK the boat depart around 11 am.(1000 THB for boat. Pay 2 times Huay Xai to Pakbeng 500 then in the morning Pakbeng to Luangprabang 500 or buy once is not different.)

  3. Luang Prabang to Dien Bien Phu via Muang Xai, Muang Khua. Recommend to buy ticket at the station. For local people they call Minivan station locates near the southern station. Tell 3-wheel motobike to take you there "bus to Dien Bien Phu or Bus to China"..international buses depart there. If you buy a ticket from travel agency they will add 20-30 USD for your ticket.

There is only one bus a day departing around 6.30. You must be at the station around 6 am. The bus is quite empty so they carry some things too.

For me I bought the tickets from agency so it's 32 USD for each.

  1. Bus from Dien Bien Phu to Sapa. Bus station is easy to find. It's only one station here. There are 3 buses a day. 6.00, 9.00, 11.00.

Recommend to go with 9 am bus because the scene of Fansipan about 2 hours is so wonderful, you won't see it if you choose 11 am bus. The 9 am. bus arrive around 6 am if no delay. On the bus maybe only 2 or 3 people that's on the bus from Dien Bien Phu to final stop at Lao Cai so it has a lot of space for you.

  1. Bus from Sapa to Laocai. Two simple choices by minivan and mini bus from the corner of the road in front of Catholic Church.

  2. If you leave Sapa early you can take the 10 am. train from Lao Cai to Hanoi. VIP bus during day time from near train station is one bus every hour and travel only 4 hours on the new highway. We use 10 am train. It took 10 hours so we don't really know the actual time.

Now I am in Hanoi October 12, 2016.

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I have travelled from Vietnam to Laos to Thailand overland. To be precise, Hue - Vientiane - Chiang Mai.

From Hue, there are daily open tour buses to Vientiane. The journey begins at 9.30am (there will be a pickup from your hostel/guesthouse) and you will reach Vientiane the next morning at around 8-9am.

From Vientiane, you have a choice of travelling to Chiang Mai or Bangkok. I chose to travel to Chiang Mai, of which was an overnight journey from Vientiane to Udon Thani on a public bus followed by a VIP seater bus journey from Udon Thani to Chiang Mai. I believe all overland travels from Vientiane to Thailand goes through Udon Thani.

All arrangements for the overland travels may be done through your hostel/guesthouse. Just note that there are two intercity bus terminal in Udon Thani and usually a bicycle taxi will transfer you from one terminal to the other. The pickup person will usually affix you with a coloured tape to help identify the travellers whose destination is to Chiang Mai.

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You can quite easily bus from Luang Prabang to Vietnam. You mentioned that you'd want to go over to Sapa. I'd recommend taking a bus from Luang Prabang to Hanoi, and from Hanoi going to Sapa.

The bus trip from Luang Prabang to Hanoi will take you around 24-30 hours, but really isn't that bad, as you'll most likely pay the extra for a sleeper bus with beds (room to lie down).

I'd also recommend finding a good travel agent in Luang Prabang and booking the bus there.

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  • Hi and thank you for your answer! This was exactly what I had in mind but I've just read tons of warnings regarding the Lao roads which tend to be pretty dangerous since most of them are just dirt roads and can get wet and slippery. It's good to know you had a better experience. Can you please mention the exact path I can take from Luang Prabang to Hanoi? Or is it just a direct bus? Maybe I can get to Sapa without going through Hanoi? Thanks again!
    – Eugene S
    Jul 27, 2012 at 8:31
  • Knowing South East Asia there is defintely a way to go straight from Luang Prabang to Sapa - if the tourist wants it, the locals will find a way :) However, that's one of those things you'd be best to check when you're there in Luang Prabang. I'd really recommend stopping in Hanoi for at least one night to have a look around though. When I was there I actually went from Vientiane (capital city) > Hanoi. With Luang Prabang > Hanoi, I'm quite certain that it ends up going to Vientiane and then to Hanoi (in one trip), but I'll ask some friends that route for confirmation.
    – bryceadams
    Jul 27, 2012 at 9:50
  • ...(continued): The trip really isn't that bad. The roads in Laos are at their worst in between Luang Prabang > Vang Vieng (tubing) > Vientiane. To be honest those bus rides would probably be quite hard for someone who gets car-sick, so I'd recommend taking something to knock you out before the trip. Regardless, have a good trip and good luck :)
    – bryceadams
    Jul 27, 2012 at 9:55

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