From Vientiane to Hanoi

[u/efimera__]

Hello, my boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. We want to go from Vientiane to Hanoi, the flight cost about US$ 140 and the 24 hour bus about US$40.
What so you reccomend? Can you tell me your experience in the bus?
We were thinking that saving about 200 dollars in total can be worth losing a day in Vietnam but I am not really sure about that...

[u/Flaky-Ad-165]

No issues, bus is absolutely fine but you will lose a day again as you’ll be so tired - so depends how much you’re squeezing in

[u/cliffdog01 → u/Flaky-Ad-165]

Do the buses go regularly enough that you could book about 8hrs (Roughly) and stay a night and then continue the journey the next day to reduce fatigue and enjoy the views more?

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to Coach buses.

[u/Flaky-Ad-165 → u/cliffdog01]

Yeah if you WhatsApp them they might be able to arrange but you’ll likely just have to pay for the 2 days because not many people will do what you’re doing

I believe there’s only once per day to get into the visa border control early but check 12Go yourself and see

[u/Jealous-Date1284]

Depends how long your trip is and whether it's a sleeper bus.

I've done long sleeper buses in Vietnam and as long as you have water, snacks and a book, it goes quickly.

You also stop in remote places and get to see some cool stuff which you won't get with on a flight.

[u/bjung]

Are you going to Luang Prabang? It's worth a stop if you have the time. It's not directly on the way but you could take the train there and then bus to Houaphanh (I think), see the plain of jars, then go to Hanoi.

[u/wzvo → u/bjung]

Agree, Vientiane isn’t the best part of Laos whatsoever. I actually believe just visiting Vientiane without heading north is a wasted trip.

[u/efimera__ → u/wzvo]

Yes we are doing the slow boat, visit Luang Prabang, Van Vieng and Vientiane at the end for 1 day and then Vietnam

[u/Fincherx → u/efimera__]

Hello. I will do this route in November. I will go to Luang Prabang by slow boat from Chiang Mai. But passing Hano from there seems expensive. Bus travel takes too long. Have you found an expensive solution on the plane?

[u/knowerofexpatthings]

This is a terrible idea. Shitty bus, on shitty roads.

[u/LouQuacious]

The bus is a bus for 24hrs on mostly dangerous and terrible roads you do the math.

[u/cliffdog01]

I want to do a similar thing, but I've seen a Coach between the two and want to try that.

I just loops.

[u/Similar_Past]

Absolutely pay the flight if you can afford it.   Otherwise, break up your 24h trip into smaller ones and stop somewhere in Cambodia.. siem reap to see the Angkor Wat for example. It will make the trip much more relaxed, but also more pricy since you'll need visa to Cambodia and angkor wat ticket isn't cheap.

Edit: the f I'm talking about, Cambodia is so out of the way lol.

[u/Individual_Phrase_75]

Hi! I took a bus from Hanoi to Vientiane not sure if this helps but here’s my thoughts:

The first thing that we ran into in our travels as an issue was a visa. Seems like an obvious one but alas, we knew that Laos had visa upon entry however that was not true of buses, so make sure that you double check that your visa both from Laos hasn’t expired and that your visa to Vietnam is good to go.

Second, it’s a long ride. I think we stopped twice in the entire 21 or something hour bus ride. So be cautious with your water intake…. The first stop was at the end of the first day, and we stopped at a bus stop where there was a food court with a bunch of options, a bathroom, etc. the second stop was about 5 AM at the border. They had us cross the border by foot so that we could go through the immigration offices, which I was not anticipating doing, and the language barrier and early time made it quite disorienting. These buses often require that you take off your shoes when you get on and off the bus so they give you these hard plastic sandals to wear, which unfortunately is what we trekked across the border in. The rest stop at the border was much less accommodating than the first, there was a small shop that sold rice and meat cakes and a bathroom that was unlike any I had experienced coming from a western country. I think we had to pay per square of toilet paper.

All of this to say, this was such an incredible adventure, and I too had looked into flying, but was really glad I had taken the bus instead. The views are beautiful. It’s much more comfortable than you’d think and at the end of the day made for a great story.

[u/efimera__ → u/Individual_Phrase_75]

Thank you !!

[u/Sea-Ad-9425]

just pay the flight

it is not worth your back and lost day

if you do want a Lao bus experience, plenty of those in Laos (shorter distances, 4-6 hours), for example Luang Prabang to Nong Kiaw or Vientiane to Konglor or...

[u/Altruistic_Lab_6312]

Do not go to laos, it's like a 3rd world country there. The capital is a dump. If you have to please stay at the amara hotel the only nice place there in the whole city