Travel and Transport Info for Vientiane, Laos by Hobo Maps - - - Home

Click to see our Vientiane Central Map

Click to see New Location of Laos Immigration Dept. Building in Vientiane.

The new Lao-China Railway station is located north of central Vientine. Please visit our web page Lao-China Railway Info .

Railway tickets can be purchased up to 3 days in advance at the station where payment can only be made by cash and at Vientiane Center Mall where payment can be made using OnePay app. Online ticket purchases are not yet available. Passengers must carry photo identification that matches the name on their tickets. Passengers should arrive at the station at least one hour before departure time.

Chart below shows ticket costs for trains departing from Vientiane in November 2023 and onward after a 20% fare increase. Excludes agency fees and extra 20,000 kip charged when using App or when buying at ticket offices not at railway station.

Vientiane Railway station parking is free for a stay of less than 10 minutes but motorbikes and other vehicles are charged a fee. Overnight parking is allowed.

On arrival at Vientiane Station there are green buses waiting to take passengers into central town.

Vientiane Railway Station images below:

E-cigarettes and vaping are illegal in Laos and these items may be confiscated by train station security staff. Separate police action is possible with fines or prosecution.

Click to see our Vang Vieng to Vientiane Routes Map showing the Railway Line, Toll Road Expressway, Highway 13 and Highway 10 routes

Expressway toll-road entrance in Vientiane below:

No pedestrians or bikes on the Expressway.

Getting Around Vientiane Town
- The most popular public transport option for visitors is to charter a tuk-tuk or songtaew pickup bus by bargaining for a price in advance. Regular taxi cabs are also available but can be hard to find. Bicycles and motorbikes are easily available for rent but beware of bag theft from the baskets. Regular buses on fixed routes go from Talat Sao Morning Market and schedules are shown below.

Bus Transport
The Northern Bus Station is northwest of the central town area at grid code GJ142 on THIS MAP and has buses going to Vang Vieng, Phonsavanh, Luang Prabang, Oudom Xay, Bokeo, and other destinations north of Vientiane.

Minivans to Vang Vieng depart whenever full and cost is 150,000 kip if using the new Expressway. Only takes about 1.5 hours going to Vang Vieng.

Bus Schedule below at Vientiane Government Tourism Office December 2019.

Northern Bus Station sign images below show fares in January 2024 - departure times seen are not reliable and prices may rise again as the kip depreciates.

The Southern Bus Station is located northeast of the central town area at grid code FO248 on THIS MAP and has buses going south to Paksan, Thakhet, Savannakhet, Pakse and other southern Laos locations. It also has Internationl buses to Vietnam. Southern Bus schedule below as of Nov. 2022.

Southern Bus Station bus schedules at the station as of 2023 below:

Talat Sao Bus Station is a local bus station mostly for destinations not far from Vientiane and is located in central town at grid code ID202 on THIS MAP - it is now also called the Central Bus Station, Vientiane Bus Station or the Morning Market Station. Some schedules are posted on this Facebook page .

Central bus station international buses to Nong Khai and Udon Thani Thailand are now running per schedule below.

Central Bus Station to Railway Station with stop at Southern Bus Station bus schedule below:

Central Bus Station to Friendship Bridge and Xieng Quan Temple bus schedule below:

Central Bus Station to Dongdok bus chedule below with apparent stop at Southern Bus Station on the way:

Central Bus Station to Tha Ngon bus schedule below:

Vientiane to Vang Vieng - Vang Vieng may not be listed as a destination at the Northern Bus Station (for big buses) but there are minivans departing in the mornings whenever enough passengers fill the bus. Many hotels and guest houses offfer minivan pickup service to Vang Vieng for 150,000 kip.

Click to see our separate web page with info about Applying for Thai tourist visa at the Thailand Consulate in Vientiane.

Air Transport
- Vientiane's Wattay International Airport Terminal is located west of town center at grid code HS157 on THIS MAP.

Water Transport
- There are basically no public river transport options from Vientiane on the Mekong River to other destinations.

Railway Transport to Thailand
- Trains from Thanaleng Railway Station in Vientiane Province to Nong Khai, Thailand go twice a day at 10:00 and 17:30 and the trip only takes 20 minutes to arrive at Nong Khai Railway Station. Not many people use this train connection to cross the border since it is so easy and cheap to cross using motor transport any time of the day. See Jan. 2024 schedule below that also has info for sleeper train from Nong Khai to Bangkok.

Agent transport image below - Jan. 2024

Vientiane image below looking north:

Patuxay area image below:

That Luang image below:

Mekong Riverside area image below:

Railway ticket sales office is located in Vientiane Center as seen in map below.

In less than 2 years Vientiane has come from having only one small passenger railway station to now having 3 passenger railway stations, 2 cargo terminals and a railway Logistics Park as seen in the map below: