Getting Around Laos

Lao Aviation is the national air company.
They have domestic and international flights.
I took one from Vientiane to Luang Phabang that lasted 40 minutes and costed 45 USD.

Apart from that, you can find cheap flights Bangkok-Luang Phabang and Angkor (Cambodia) - Luang Phabang with Bangkok Airlines (www.bkkair.co.th)

Mate I didn't end up doing it because of any injury but a couple of mates did and had an amazing time. Great way to get off the beaten path and they thought the roads were suprisingly good.
The ride from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is particularly spectular.
Enjoy and if you have any other queries let me know.

local buses in laos can be slow, crowed, noisy, unreliable but then this is not the discovery channel.
this is national geographic live. tip; check bus "schedule" at the correct bus station the day before you go anywhere. when you arrive at your destination, at a bus station hopefully, check the "schedule" there for your next trip. buses run between your towns, huay xai, luang nam tha, udomxai etc fr bus stations, there are other means of transportation available to the traveler between these towns and wide spots along the road. these may have their own station to operate out of, usually near a market. of course talk to any other travelers you meet along the way, over a Beer Lao, they've been there already or are going the same way as you.

There is a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur LCCT to ViengCheng VTE on Air Asia on 24th december it is pricing out to be 318 myr which i would guess would be around 90 usd or 150 sgd. seems a very reasonable fare to me. There are direct flights to Luang Prabang from BKK. or you can take Tiger airways to Chiang mai from Singapore and one way to LPB for about 100 usd on Lao Airlines. and then work your way back to VTE. Good Luck

1. Yes, you can fly from Bangkok to Chiang RAI on budget airlines such as Thai Air Asia or perhaps Nok Air. Chiang Rai is only 2.5 hours from the Chiang Khong to Huay Xai border crossing but the bus from C. Rai drops you off in town so you'll still have to take a short tuk tuk ride several kilometers to the Thai immigration building, exit formalities, then catch a very short boat ride across to H. Xai where you can get the Lao visa upon arrival but BEST to pay in U$35 dollars because it costs more if you pay in Thai baht. there's a small exchange booth as well but only exchange a little bit because the rate is not that great. Also, you can get by with Thai bahts and U$ until you get into larger tourists centers but it's usually best to pay in local Lao kip.
PS--there's also a very long overnight VIP bus from Bangkok's Mochit Bus Station near Chatuchak Market (end of the Skytrain noth line and you'll have to transfer to a taxi for the bus station).

2. While Lao Airlines operates a Pakse-Bangkok flight, this last year quite a number of these flights got cancelled on short notice due to lack of passengers. Some passengers had to re-route from Ubon Ratchathani across the border in Thailand. There's an international bus that runs between Pakse's bus station and Ubon Ratchathani several times a day. Previously there used to be VIP bus service between the Chong Mek border all the way to Bangkok's Mochit
Station but I'm not positive now. There's certainly VIP overnight buses and the overnight sleeper compartment train to Bangkok's Hualamphong Station as well from Ubon Ratchathani. Also budget flights on Thai Air Asia between Ubon and BKK but best fares are booked well in advance via their website.

Yes, Lao Airlines does offer a 'discovery pass' that's modeled after Bangkok Airway's discovery pass. I think you need a minimum of 3 flights, so you could fly: BKK to Vientiane, VTE to Luang Prabang, and Luang Prabang to Hanoi.
Then you could fly inexpensively from Hanoi back to Bangkok aboard Air Asia. It's best to book the Lao Airline's flights via a Lao travel agency.
I copied an article about the discounted fares and will try to look it up for you.

I think you're trying to cover too much ground in 6 days but it's your holiday. What time are you arriving in Vientiane. I'm assuming you're flying from KL to VTE?
It might be easy to have the driver meet you at VTE airport to transfer you to Vang Vieng (takes about 3 hours by van if not during rush hour--actually you'll already be on Route 13 but whereas years ago there wasn't much vehicle traffic, as Laos has prospered and especially Vientiane, more people use the 2 lane highway and thus more congestion). Or you could go into town and check with travel agencies to hire a van/driver.

In Vang Vieng there are daily departures at 9AM headed up to Luang Prabang but you could also hire your own van which would cost more since the shared vans usually seats approx. 10 passengers.

In Luang Prabang, you really don't need a van/driver since the town is relatively small and easy to tour via walking or bike rentals (U$1/day for 1-speed Thai made LA bikes). And if you're going to Kuangsi Waterfall, again you can hire a shared van (departures at 11:30AM or 1:30pm) or hire a tuk tuk to share amongst yourselves.

It'll certainly be cheaper for you to hire a van to take you back down to Vientiane than flying but there are good VIP buses (minimum 9-10 hours) or seeking out a shared van as well.

If you need a travel agency, I can recommend All Lao Travel Service which is my regular travel agent when I'm living in Laos. Their email is info@alllaoservice.com or you can check their website out at www.alllaoservice.com or via their www.mahoutlodge.com

It's still part of the rainy season which means it could rain for several hours, or have a deluge in half an hour to raining for half a day to sunny days. Very hard to predict that time of the year but the hills and mountain are very lush and green making road travel visually stimulating.

Also, should be pretty easy to just show up and find budget accomodations this time of the year. If you need suggestions, let me know.

Cheers and selamat pagi!

well honestly I heard lots of bad news about the bus from Vientaine to Hanoi.
but it was not as bad as I expected. I was expecting something terrible but we were just 14 ppl then I had 4 seat for my self to lean on them. it was good . with ac & I think It worth to give it a try.