Vientiane Transportation

There are three ways to get to Pak Lay:
1. slow boat
2. speed boat
3. local bus

Going by slow boat you'll need to get to Kaoliew boat/ferry station, which is about 10 km outside the VTE centre. Take tuk-tuk. Slow boat to Pak lay leaves few days a week (Fridays for sure), around 9 am (it is never really punctual) and it's recommended to be there before 9 in order to sort out ticket and something what they call immigration (which is strange, because you don't leave Lao teritorry really and you'll land in Pak Lay... on the other hand, you'll be flowing on the borderline, so it somehow make sense). In the immigration "office", you'll be required to show your passport or identification paper if you're Thai, Lao, or working in Lao, then pay some small fee before departure - we were charged 2000 KIP. The officer will only make a note in their notebook including your name, destination and nationality plus they'll take money.
You can pay the ticket on the boat (in this case they can sometimes charge more) or the ticket office and as a foreigner you'll pay 130 000 KIP. If you live there or work or Lao national, you'll pay less. It's a long journey, about 9 hrs to Pak Lay and about 5-6 hrs to Sanakham so take snacks or lunch with you and drinking water. There is toilet on the boat, which can be sometimes very small place (depends on the boat) and you need to have your toilet paper.
It's probably the nicest mode of transport to Pak Lay and the most comfortable too. You'll learn a lot about Mekong on that journey.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 2011: Boats no longer run to Pak Lay! Buses, do.

If you want to take a local bus to VV, HH and so forth (short distance) you'll take one at the bus station near Morning Market, by Khua Din Market precisely. These buses won't have air-con, comfy seats, they'll get crowded and journey will take 4 hrs untill they reach Vang Vieng. But... you'll experience how Lao people travel and maybe made have some nice conversations with s local. Quite a growing numbers of backpackers and adventurers take these buses nowsadays. Ticket price is 40 000 KIP to VV and you pay on the bus.

From the very same bus station you can take Lao Thai bus to Thailand (Nong Khai, Udon Thani). Buy ticket at the counter, but since tickets are real cheap, they can sell out pretty fast, so it's worth to come earlier to secure a seat at one of the buses. They run several times daily.

If you travel to Southern provinces, you will have to go to Southern bus station, which is about 8 km from the centre. Take tuk-tuk. It's new station, opened since 2006 only.
There are many buses leaving almost every hour to Pakse, Savannakhet and once or twice a day to Paksong, Attapeu and less popular destiantions; for the local bus VTE-Paxse you'll pay 100 000 KIP one way, VIP is more. But... we took once VIP, got flat tire twice, seats were old... and arrived there in 12 hours (we took it in Thabok!) Suppose you arrive to the station with your backpack and just want to leave with the fist one, you better ask what kind of 'VIP' bus you get at that time and for what price, because perhaps you will feel disappointed over the VIP title - it won't look much better than a local bus, but you'll pay more than it was worth.

In late march 2001, we rented bicycles and cycled around to have a look at some temples, pagodas and the city in general. It would have been nice if it wasn't for the heat!... We stoped at any place with AC, like internetcafes, cafes etc. But we did see some pagodas and temples inbetween...

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There's a Thai-Lao International Bus from Vientiane to the Thai town of Nong Khai, which is just over the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge that spans the Mekong River. It left at 9.30am from the main bus station beside Talat Sao Mall and took all of 10 minutes to clear immigration on the Laos side. However, Thai immigration took ages as it was a Sunday with many Lao people visiting Thailand for the day. The trip took about 2 hours and cost 15,000 kip (55 baht). Remember that a land crossing back into Thailand now only gets you a 15-day stay.

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Tuk-tuks and their bigger cousin’s jumbos are ubiquitous in Vientiane. To charter a tuk-tuk/jumbo, agree on the fare in advance; short hops within the city shouldn't cost more than 5000 kip, although as a tourist you may have difficulty bargaining to less than US$1 (10000K). All the tuk-tuk drivers carry a fare card for popular destinations but these fares are ridiculously inflated. Walking away can make the fare drop by 50% instantly.

Flights to Vientiane are not frequent or cheap. Most air service is only once a day. The exception being Lao Airlines from Bangkok, Siem Reap and Hanoi with two flights a day and Thai from Bangkok. Other airlines with service are China Southern from Guangzhou, Air Asia from Kuala Lampur and Vietman Airlines from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Phen.

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The Tuk Tuk is the best way to get around town under $3 to anywhere you want to go no matter how far the distance. From the airport to downtown its about $2 verses a taxi which is at a fixed price of $5. In order to get a Tuk Tuk at the airport you must go to the main road in front of the airport. They are not allowed to stop at the airport in order to give the taxi's more money.