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| Tips for getting around Vientiane posted by real travelers and Vientiane locals. Vientiane Map |
 | Vientiane Transportation | Tips 1 - 10 of 61 |  |
Vientiane is a fairly compact city so it is easy enough to walk just about anywhere but you can grab a tuk tuk to anything you think is too far. These motorcycle cum taxis are quite economical with a fare anywhere in the city only 10,000 KIP ($1).
We arrived in Vientiane on a local bus from Veng Viang that cost 10,000 KIP each for the hour plus trip.
Getting to the airport was another story. We opted for a tuk tuk and it was cheap enough at only 20,000 KIP but it was quite cool riding out there early in the morning. It was three kilometers and the wind was just ripping through us on the open vehicle!
We flew from Vientiane to Hanoi to avoid an excruciating bus trip but paid the price for it ($108 one way).
The airport departure tax is $10 per passenger and the airport is a pleasant enough place. I even found the best beer I had in Laos. It was made by a French expatriate in Champassack and tasted a bit like a dry Belgian ale. It was an extortionate $1 per bottle but hey, it was better than Beer Lao. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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Vientiane has got a medium size airport with 2 terminals: national and International.
The only transport from there are taxis, and they are really expensive (5 USD), as the centre is about 10 minutes from the airport. If you wanna avoid this, you can:
- Tell your hotel to pick you up at your arrival.
- Walk to the National Terminal (100 metres to the left as you exit the International Terminal) and try to find a taxi there. I think they charge 5 USD only to inexpert foreign tourists!
- Try to find a moto-taxi that has (by chance) come to deliver someone to the airport.
Anyway, a normal fare should be 1-2 USD, try not to pay more...
There are flights to Luang Phabang for 46 USD, Hanoi for 100 USD. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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Here the tuk tuks are slightly different from those in Bangkok. They are more colourful and the motorbike is more "independent" from the rear part.
They are really cheap, but in the center of Vientiane everything is at walking distance.
Anyway, they can be useful to go to the Buddha Park (25 minutes away) or to the That Luang stupa, a bit far from the centre (3 kms).
Bargain the price before going in. Leave a Comment Theme: Motorcycle
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This luxury bus is the best overland connection with Bangkok. It costs 650 Baths (about 15 USD), leaves at 19:30 and arrives at Khao San Road (Bangkok) at 6 am the next day (well, in fact, the time I took it, it arrived at 4:30!), but it can also stop at BKK airport under request.
You have to change buses at lao-Thai border and pass customs, but there is also a friendly crew accompanying you, so you won't get lost.
The ticket includes a dinner in the Thai side (noodles and some rice, drinks not included).
They show movies and the seats are comfortable. Leave a Comment
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You can take boats up the Mekong towards Luang Prabang.
There are mainly 2 options:
- Slow Boats: traditional boats that take 3-4 days to get there. Normally they transport goods too. Take your own food just in case.
- Speed Boats: Thing long small boats that run like hell, and are very dangerous (several accidents each year). You have to use a helmet if you go here. It is a kind of extreme sport. They take you to Luang Prabang in 8-9 hours!!!! Leave a Comment Theme: Ship/Boat
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A convenient way to reach Vientiane is to cross the border from Thailand via the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River. We took a flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani in northeast Thailand on Air Asia, which is an incredibly cheap discount airline. From the arrival terminal in Udon Thani airport you can catch a van to Nong Khai for only 100 Baht (US$2.50) per person, which takes around 30 minutes. The van will drop you at a bus station where you can catch a bus for 10 Baht that will take you across the Friendship Bridge. The bus first stops at Thai exit immigration, and then you reboard and continue across to the Laos entry immigration. We purchased our Visas on arrival at immigration (US$30 per person). After clearing immigration, we caught a taxi to Vientiane for US$5, but there are buses that are obviously much cheaper. The ride from the bridge to the city center takes another 30 minutes. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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The easiest way to go around Vientiane is by tuk-tuk, but You can make it by foot, Vientiane is not that big and everything is accesible by foot.
Try to find a map.
Tuk-tuk is a bit more expensive than Thailand because of the gasoline price (It´s dirt cheap anyway)
The tuk-tuks are in poor condition and quite slow (thank God!) Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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Unlike Bangkok where you must avoid these people at all costs, tuk tuks are a good way to get around in Vientiane. It will cost two or three dollars to get from one place to another or you can negotiate an hourly price for a tour of the city - I paid 6 USD/hour (the asking price) the one time I did this which I am sure is too expensive but I just couldn't bring myself to bargain for such a small amount of money.
My favorite thing was to walk until it was just too hot and I was too exhausted to go any farther and then just get a tuk tuk back to the guesthouse. They are everywhere and no they will not take you to the gem factory (there isn't one) nor will they take you to some dodgy tailor shop. Vive Vientiane. Theme: Other
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There are a few ways to do it, but this is how I got across the firendship bridge into Laos:
1. Take a bus to Nong Khai. Tell the driver that you are going to go to Laos so that he will drop you off at the right place. The bus fare from Udon Thani is about 80 baht and it takes just over an hour.
NB - There are buses directly to Vientiane, but the schedule is limited and you can only travel straight through to Laos if you have obtained a visa in advance.
2. There are tuk tuk drivers at the drop off point. You can either go from there to the border yourself or go to a visa agent. I went to a visa agent.
3. There are numerous visa agents along the highway near the border. They will fill in all of your immigration forms for you and then escort you in the tuk tuk to the border.
4. At the border, the visa agent will submit your documents for you, pay the visa fee and get you through immigration faster (i.e. you don't have to line up). After you pass through Thai departures, you board a bus with the visa agent across the friendship bridge to Lao arrivals. Again the visa agent will line up for you and sort everything out. After this, you're in Laos and the visa agent returns to Nong Khai. The whole process, from getting off the bus in Nong Khai to entering Laos takes less than an hour. The tuk tuk, buses, visa fee and services cost USD44 total. The do-it-yourself cost is $30 plus tuk tuk plus bus. Money well spent I think.
5. Once you're over the border, there are the typical negotiations to get to Vientiane. Walk past the taxi stand at immigration (as always). About 200 baht / 30 minutes. There is also a bus, which takes longer and is cheaper.
Good luck :-) Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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If you are in tight budget or prefer overland, the bus from Hanoi to Vientiane cost US12-14 and takes 23 hours.
You can get the ticket in most of the travel agency in Hanoi. I picked the travel agency heading 'Sihn Cafe agent' but turned out to be with Kim cafe. Better choose the comppany which having own bus than through agent, it cost more.
The bus will depart at 7pm and arrive at north bus terminal in Vientiane at 6pm the next day. In the middle of the night, the bus will stop somewhere in Vihn and the driver sneaked in a local guesthouse to have his nap without informing the passangers what is happening. Inside the bus is stuffy so most of us come down from the bus.
As a whole, the road condition is okay except for the part after the border into Laos. You will reach the border(Cao Treo) in early morning around 8:50am.
For the custom stamp to exit Vietnam, US1 is charged; for the entry stamp to Laos, 2500 Kips is charged.
Just to bear in mind that the situation inside the bus can be a chaos! If the bus is full, your backpack will be laid on the pavement and everyone just stepped on it to get to their seat. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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- Homduang Boutique Hotel Vientiane
379 Samsenthai Road (formerly the Asian Pavilion Hotel), Vientiane - Novotel Vientiane
Unit 9 Ban Khountathong, Samsenthai Road, Sikhotabong PO Box 585, Vientiane - Cosmo
Km 7, 13 South Rd., 894-26 Ban Phakhao, Saythany Dist., Vientiane - Novotel Vientiane Hotel
Unit 9 Ban Khountathong, Samsenthai Road, Sikhotabong PO Box 585, Vientiane - Royal Dokmaidaeng
Lane Xang Ave, Vientiane
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