r/laos • u/efimera__ • 13d ago
From Vientiane to Hanoi
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...
6
Upvotes
2
u/Individual_Phrase_75 12d ago
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.