Trail of Asia

Bus Travel in Northern Laos

If you have been reading and researching on long distance bus travel in Laos, you should be well aware of the frequently breakdown ancient local public buses and the journey could take forever in a dusty, windy and bumpy road.

*Local bus to Vang Vieng departing from Talat Sao Bus Station*

For this trip, our travel itinerary covers north of Vientiane, heading to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. Traveling on a bus is not that horrible as it sounds unless you choose to do it the local way.

The earliest local bus leaves at 7am and it takes 5-6 hours to arrive Vang Vieng. If the bus breaks down, it will take even longer. This is the seats and interior of a local bus

Local buses heading to Vang Vieng occasionally stop for picking up and dropping passengers along the way. When the proper seats are full, plastic stools (shown on picture) are lined up along the aisle. So there’s no such thing as ‘no more seats’, there’s always a space for everyone or anything including livestock.

So yes, you should be prepared for the worst in Laos. Long distance travel in Laos is more difficult and dangerous than its neighboring countries. We spotted 2 breakdown incidents and 1 car accident along the narrow and winding hill. These guys were repairing the bus and decided to take a break.

With the little time we have, we can’t afford to spend too much time on the road.So we decided to go for VIP/tourist bus which departs daily to Vang Vieng at 10am or 2pm and it takes 4 hours. Bus ticket should costs around USD6-8.

Taking the local bus can be a nightmare to most travelers but it is part of traveling adventure and experience one can tell others.

VIP bus schedule departing from Vang Vieng to other destinations.

VIP bus from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang costs 90,000 Kip/USD11 . It takes approximately 6 hours.

Though it’s a VIP bus, the air-conditioning is not working and there’s no fan available.

So off we went up the dusty and ridiculously windy mountain road with windows open for any semblance of air.

Yet another sharp turning, close to a “V” shape.

Passing a toll.

Luang Prabang bus station.

Bus schedule from Luang Prabang to other destinations. *As of June 2010

An express bus to Vientiane approximately 9-10 hours. Do take note that “express” bus from Luang Prabang is not faster than VIP.

VIP bus to Vientiane approximately 8 hours. This bus comes with a toilet, but be warned that the toilet is really tiny and please mind your head too.

Such a huge difference as compare to the local bus, this bus is sturdy (less impact on the windy road) and comes with functioning air conditioner. Putting comfort and safety aside, a trip to Laos is not complete without few hours of traveling experience on a local bus. I am definitely going back to Laos again, this time with much more traveling time to spare.