Ah, border crossings; some of the most confusing, anxiety-filled stories that travelers all around Asia love to tell. In my experience, I found no reason to fear the journey between Vietnam and Laos by bus and boat. Some of the most notorious border crossings I read about online panned out just fine with a little pre-planning. From Vietnam to Laos by bus and boat, was one such crossing I was told these horror stories of. However, in my experience, this fairly well-traveled route isn’t as bad as you’ve heard about along the backpacker grapevine.

Here’s how to travel from Vietnam to Laos by bus – and eventually boat!

Update 2019: This post will talk about the Tay Trang border crossing between Vietnam and Laos. During my visit in 2017, E-Visas were not accepted and passengers were denied leaving Vietnam into Laos. Since then, there is some information as of February 2019, these E-Visas are now accepted in Tay Trang. While this is mentioned online, I can not confirm that this is true. If you have been allowed/denied exiting Vietnam with an E-Visa, I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below.

 

How to Get From Vietnam to Laos By Bus and Boat

There are 24+ hour bus services initiating from Hanoi, Vietnam and ending in Luang Prabang, Laos. My partner decided to split this arduous journey up into more manageable bite-sized chunks – and I’m glad we did!
My partner and I followed the same route the overnight marathon bus takes – from Hanoi to SaPa and eventually the closest Vietnamese town to the Laos border, Dien Bien Phu, then finally on to Laos. We stopped in SaPa for amazing overnight trekking and spent a day in the relaxed and unassuming Dien Bien Phu. We even split the Laos side of the journey up by visiting the tiny village town of Muang Ngoy, before finally arriving in Luang Prabang around a week later than that nightmare bus would have seen us arrive. This was worth every second.

 

Vietnam To Laos – Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien Phu is around 7 hours by bus from SaPa. Pothole line this windy road almost the entire way. It is the closest Vietnamese town before the Laos border, and the dusty bus stop is accustomed to travelers continuing on this route. The leg from Dien Bien Phu to the first Laos town of Muang Khua takes around 3-4 hours, all up once the bus gets moving – and providing there are no major issues at the borders. This leg costs around 80,000 VND ($3.50 USD).

Booking tickets from Dien Bien Phu bus station are possible a day in advance. Securing your seat on the bus the day before is a great way to relax and spend another day in Vietnam. Alternatively, night buses that arrive early in the morning arrive before the bus to Laos departs. Giving you the option to continue on straight away.

From Dien Bien Phu, the next step is to take a bus across the border into Laos. This bus left a little after 6:30 am, and the scenery heading to the Laos border was beautiful. Northern Vietnamese mountains poked through the dimly lit fog as the sun rose.

About an hour from Dien Bien Phu is the Vietnamese exit border. Here you’ll get your Vietnam exit stamp, and in the next room over is where you can swap your money – from everything I’ve read and been told – to exchange money from Vietnamese Dong to Laos Kip. I checked my currency converter app, and it seemed like a very good deal! Make sure you count your money before and after you leave that currency exchange counter though.

This is a good time for a piece of advice. Depending on the type of Visa you got upon entering Vietnam, you may not be allowed to exit Vietnam through this land border. A couple on my minibus was denied exit from Vietnam as they held the E-Visa style of tourist visa, while I, along with many others had applied in person for a visa which was then imprinted into my passport. This had required sending my passport away in the mail and I did this in Australia. There were warnings that exit via E-Visa could be denied, but they were few and far between.

This couple was forced to remain in Vietnam. They were told to get their bags and left at the border crossing, hopefully, to get a lift to Dien Bien Phu. The minibus driver was of very little help, and sim card reception is very little reception.

 

Vietnam To Laos across Tay Trang – the Laos Side of the Border

The border talked about in this post is known as Tay Trang.

A short drive through the “no man’s land” section between the border crossings and the bus pulled up at the Laos entry side of the border. Depending on what country you’re from, you might have to pay a little more than the passenger sitting next to you though. For Australian Citizens, the fee is $30, but for Canadians, the fee is a whopping $42 (USD)!

After filling out your initial application (with passport photos – don’t forget!), you proceed from window to window and pay these fees as they pass your passport from agent to agent on the other side of the windows.
Unfortunately, there are more fees coming. All up, there’s are another three fees imposed on each traveler.

A “Processing Fee” (20,000 KIP), “Tourist Fee”(20,000 KIP – $0.85 USD) and a “Health Check Fee”(5,000 KIP – $0.20 USD) are all expected. It is possible to get out of paying this final “Health Check” fee (which is just them taking your temperature) as it is widely regarded as a scam. Seeing it is the final ‘fee’ and by now your passport is in your possession, you can simply say no.

However, for less than $1 USD, I didn’t bother with the risk of getting on the bad side of a border agent and just paid up.

All good. You have that expensive, full-page passport-sized stamp and back on the minibus. It’s around an hour or so to the first stopover the Laos border, Muang Khua, and where this bus finishes its journey. Welcome to Laos! Get used to the bumpy roads.

While the journey from Vietnam to Laos by bus is over, getting to Luang Prabang is still a ways off yet.

 

Vietnam To Laos – How to get to Luang Prabang

If Luang Prabang is your intended destination for the day, you still have quite a journey ahead of you. A four-hour long-tail boat ride and another bus await you. If you’re lucky, the morning boat won’t be full, and the driver will wait for your bus to arrive. However, from my experience, don’t count on this. This country runs on what I personally dubbed as “Laos Time”.

Usually, things are late, and it seemed like really things continued on whenever the operator felt like leaving. From where the bus lets you off, it’s a short walk down a curving road to the river dock. Upon reaching the dock, our group of around 12 were able to secure a shared boat with some locals – carrying home appliances from T.V’s to a blender.

Along the journey, most of the river banks looked completely overgrown and uninhabited – yet we still picked up and dropped off passengers as we cruised along the fast flowing Nam Ou River.

This boat had seen better days. With 23 people, backpacks, and crates of food and appliances crammed onto this narrow boat, we began taking on water! You know the easy going, usually cheerful, locals laughing to each other – probably about the tourists on the boat – well when they start to shout at the driver and point to the water gushing into the boat, it’s time to worry.

Fortunately, after a pull-over to the riverbank and bucketing out some water we didn’t sink, but some bags did get wet… Be careful of your belongings!

After this incident, it became obvious just overloaded our boat was. Every boat driver heading the opposite way would either stare with eyes popping out of their heads, or start laughing.

 

How To Split Up The Bus/Boat From Dien Bien Phu To Luang Prabang

Around 2.5 hours into the trip, we docked at a tiny village along the river called Muang Ngoy. And I do mean tiny. This town consisted of one main street of dirt, and once you walked inland a few minutes, you were in the Laos jungle.

Muang Ngoy is a great way to split up an uncomfortably long journey to Luang Prabang, and if you have the time I highly recommend seeing what this relaxed little gem among the river, mountains and rice fields has to offer. For a more in-depth guide to hikes and swimming holes in Muang Ngoy.

 

Onwards To Luang Prabang

While the journey from Dien Bien Phu to Luang Prabang isn’t over, you have traveled across Vietnam into Laos across the land border. But there is still a bit more of a journey before you end in Luang Prabang.

From Muang Ngoy, a similar long-tail boat leaves roughly at 9:30 am, it’s a short 1.5 hours on the same hard wooden seat to another little town called “Nong Khiaw”. This section of the trip continues the beautiful scenery of lush jungle either side of the river.

Upon arriving at Nong Khiaw pier, a shared taxi is waiting to take everyone to the local bus station. For the final leg of this marathon journey is another 40,000 KIP ($1.70 USD), and a 3-4 hour bus finally brings you to the old capital of Laos, Luang Prabang.

Once again, the bus didn’t leave on time and the road was so bumpy my skeleton almost bounced right out of my skin. Once again, if you’re traveling Laos by buses, get used to these two things. If you’re prone to even the slightest amount of car sickness, have plenty of motion-sickness tablets available.

 

Vietnam To Laos By Bus And Boat – Information

The 4-hour boat, from Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw is not comfortable, especially for those of us over 6 feet (180cm). The narrow boat doesn’t provide much legroom at all, and the hard wooden seat becomes quite uncomfortable quickly.

While there was a small shelter over our heads, escaping the sun was not always possible. Have plenty of sunscreen and water. However, this boat also doesn’t have any planned bathroom breaks. I’m sure you could figure out something with the driver if need be.

 

Vietnam To Laos By Bus And Boat – Tips

The bus legs of this journey are incredibly windy in sections. If you’re prone to motion sickness, some sort of nausea pill is a great thing to have.

Keep in mind though that Laos was the most heavily bombed country on the planet during the “Secret War” spearheaded by the US so trekking off into the jungle isn’t a good idea in Laos. Ever. It isn’t good for your body, but I dehydrated myself a little to cope with this. The boat was already quite uncomfortable without busting for a bathroom break.

While on buses in Laos, a bathroom break may just be the side of the road. It might be a better option to relieve yourself on the side of the road. I know, it’s not the best option, but a long sarong/skirt helps give a little privacy. Remember Laos is riddled with explosives. Waking off into the roadside scrub might not be safe.

Another tip about Laos buses is to expect the unexpected. Leave yourself plenty of time for connecting transport as many types of transport I took left later than scheduled, (for reasons that weren’t always obvious). A term, the “Laos Loop” was made by my partner and I. For some reason some buses would do a little loop around cities, ending in the same place it started. Why? I don’t know. But it was common throughout Laos.

If you’re on a tight timeline and don’t want to miss out on the highlights this beautiful country has to offer, a great resource is this Laos 12-day itinerary!

If you’d like to research this post on things to know before visiting Laos is a great place to start!

Here is a great post on how to pack smart for traveling Vietnam.

 

Where to stay in Muang Ngoy

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While I was in Muang Ngoy, I stayed at Rainbow Guesthouse. With views right on Ou Nam River, there’s no better sunset view in the small village. The rooms are clean, tidy and comfortable and the staff were always helpful. Plus, the rooms were very affordable.

 

Where to stay in Luang Prabang

The old capital of Laos is a beautiful destination. With plenty of accommodation to choose from, there is something to suit your style and budget. I stayed at Mad Monkey and absolutely loved it. A short walk into the main street of Luang Prabang and the lively night markets, as well as a cheap, clean and comfortable bed to rest in. Plus, there’s a refreshing pool to escape the Laos heat!

 

Dien Bien Phu to Luang Prabang, Vietnam to Laos Map

This is a map of Dien Bien Phu to Luang Prabang – as you can probably see, this follows roads all the way there, which is very different that the journey from Laos to Vietnam detailed in this post. You can see the Nam Ou River in between the two suggested routes (you may have to scroll in a little). This is the route I took from Dien Bien Phu to Luang Prabang in Laos.

If you’re winging your travel from Vietnam to Laos (like I was), I can’t stress a decent guidebook enough. I used mine almost daily and it was super handy when I had to find a hostel address to write down when entering Laos – I do suggest you have your first night accommodation in Laos book beforehand, but Lonely Planets guide to Laos saved me!

You can also save this full post as an offline guide – just click the button at the very bottom of this post!

 

Vietnam To Laos By Bus And Boat – Highlights

• Visiting Muang Ngoy for a couple of nights to split up this marathon journey.
• The entire journey from Dien Bien Phu to Luang Prabang is full of beautiful scenery -there’s not much else to do but take it in.
• Being stuck in confined travel spaces with random people can be infuriating, however, I met one of my best travel buddies in all my adventures on this trip.

 

For other Vietnam highlights, check out my other posts!

• Hiking the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Phong Nha.
• The best things to do in the ancient port town of Hoi An.
• Visit an abandoned water park near Hue.
• Laos is a country with a troubled history, to learn more about it I suggest visiting Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars sites.
• Around four hours south of Luang Prabang is a small town called Vang Vieng. While partying is the number one activity here, there is a lot more to it than most people see. Visiting the Blue Lagoon 3 is a Laos highlight for me!

 

Have you done this journey from Vietnam to Laos? Let me know what you thought, along with any other questions or comments below! 

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