Vientiane

From Thailand

The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge Saphan Mittaphap from Nong Khai, Thailand is the most common means of entry. The bridge cannot be crossed on foot or by bicycle theoretically; however people have been seen strolling the bridge, but there are frequent 20 baht shuttle buses just past Thai immigration. The price changes depending on the time of day and day of week. You will get a receipt. Bicycles can be carried on buses in the cargo compartment.

Direct buses to/from Nong Khai 55 baht , Khon Kaen180 baht and Udon Thani 80 baht arrive and depart from the Talat Sao bus terminal. These are cheap, comfortable, hassle-free and popular, so book ahead or arrive early. Schedules change often, currently the buses start at 8AM and leave every 2 hours or so, until 6PM. Note: these buses are not an option if you plan to obtain a Lao visa on arrival at the bridge - the bus will not wait long enough. To get from the Udon airport to the Friendship Bridge, a 200 baht minibus fare can be purchased in the airport and will drop you off on the Thai side of the bridge.

Visas on arrival are available at the bridge. If you forgot your passport photo, they'll photocopy your passport for an extra US$1/40 baht or do it on the Thai side for just 2 baht. When you get a visa on arrival, you get the entry stamp at the same time, so you don't have to wait in line afterwards. A 40 baht or 9000 Kip "entry fee" is sometimes charged once through. Just walk past the entry fee booth. If no-one stops you, you haven't done anything wrong.

Once through immigration, you can take a jumbo posted price 250 baht, easy to bargain down to 100 baht or less for immediate departure with only one passenger or taxi 300 baht to any destination in the city. Shared jumbos are cheaper. You should be able to negotiate to a good deal less than 50 baht/person if you're prepared to share and possibly wait.

The local bus usually #14 to Talat Sao the Morning Market is the cheapest of all, 5,000 kip or 20 baht, but signage is nonexistent and you may be in for a wait up to 20 minutes. The bus runs until at least 6:45PM or so.

It's about 25km from the bridge to Vientiane; allow at least 30 minutes.

When arriving via the Friendship Bridge, you might like to visit the Buddha Park sculpture garden before going on to Vientiane, and save yourself a return trip back past the border crossing later. The same local bus usually #14 that connects Talat Sao the Morning Market and the Friendship Bridge checkpoint also continues on to Buddha Park. Ask the driver which way it's going, just in case.

The bridge immigration shuts quite late, around 10PM. Ambulances can go through at any hour, in an emergency. But check with the locals if you are unsure. Although note that the Thai clock is very different to the western one, so using 24 hour time may be a better way to ask.

Khon Kaen - Vientiane direct bus, 185 THB per way, departs twice daily from Khon Kaen Aircon Bus Terminal Prab-argat at 07:45 usually delayed till 08:00 and arrives Vientiane Talat Sao Bus Station around noon. Second bus departs at 15:15.

From Vietnam

A direct bus from Hanoi takes at least 20 hours despite what the travel agents might say, avg 24 hrs and should cost about US$15-20. There is a twice a week VIP bus better seats and a local bus that departs every day. For the local bus: apparently you're not always certain of a seat and Vietnamese people tend to sit and never get up again until you've arrived.

The journey from Hue is 14-18 hrs and should cost US$20-30. The bus arrives to Southern Terminal where you have to bargain hard with tuk-tuk. The ride to town after midnight is 30 000 kip. There are local buses heading towards town from here that usually stop at the central market priced at about 10 000 kip.

By train

The railway link across the Mekong finally opened in March 2009, and there are now four shuttle services daily from Nong Khai to Tha Naleng, some 13 km away from Vientiane and reachable by shuttle bus from the Morning Market. The shuttle trains are timed to connect with overnight trains to and from Bangkok, with around 90 minutes buffer time at the Thai side of the border for buying tickets and Immigration. It's thus possible to hop aboard express #69 at 8 PM in Bangkok, arrive at Nong Khai at 9:30 AM and reach Tha Naleng around 10:30 AM. The train has first and second class air-con sleepers, which cost around 1200/800 baht respectively. Check State Railway of Thailand (http://www.railway.co.th) for the the up-to-date time tables and fares, as well as online ticket booking. A Lao visa on arrival is now available at Tha Naleng station, though you need to arrange your own onward transport to get into the city. This is a major drawback, as the station unlike Friendship bridge is located in the middle of nowhere, and songthaew drivers asked as much as 100 baht/person even from Thai/Lao people for a shared ride to Vientiane.

The other option is to get off the train at Nong Khai and cross the border by bus via the Friendship Bridge. The Nong Khai station is just 1.5 km from the bridge, so if you take a tuk-tuk it should cost no more than 30-40 baht for all, after bargaining of course. Outside the station there's an information board listing the official prices to the nearby destinations. Most tuk-tuk drivers will stop at a travel agent just outside the station and try to coerce you to buy both a Lao visa and shuttle bus to Vientiane. Don't listen to them: you can get a visa and shuttle easily at the Lao border.

For those, who already have a Lao visa, or do not need one for a short visit citizens of ASEAN countries, Russia and a few others, getting off the train in Udon Thani then taking direct cross-border bus to Vientiane bus is a good option. See below for details.

The train trip either way is pleasant if basic, if you have a sleeper. Less than 800 baht. You usually don't need air-con as the train isn't hot, though non-air-con often isn't available. A few cold-blooded travellers do say the air-con is too cold. Pack your own meals, beer, etc. The food on the train is expensive - and beyond awful. There is a 'change racket' operating among the catering staff: being seriously short-changed is the rule, not the exception. You need to note the prices on the menu, have baht USD or kip will result in a big loss on the change & have small denominations a 1,000 baht note can serve an excuse for a 9-hour delay in bringing change; even then you will have to go looking for it.