Comments on: VIETNAM LAOS BORDER CROSSING: Visa, Cost, Bus, Where To Stay

By: Stefan von Imhof

Stefan von Imhof — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:03:45 +0000

In reply to Jose rivero. You should have no problem crossing the border in a rental car. It would not make a difference at all as far as I know. However, check with the rental agency beforehand to ensure you are allowed to leave the country. Many rental agreements explicitly prohibit this for legal reasons.

By: Jose rivero

Jose rivero — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 02:48:08 +0000

Hi… very informative article… just one question.. can you cross the border fron Vietnam to laos in a rental car ??? Thanks in advance.

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 10:10:19 +0000

In reply to pete.

Hi Pete,

You can ask the bus company which border point they will cross so you can look it up. These buses cross borders daily and I’m pretty sure they would go through the points that offer visa especially if they offer the transport services to foreigners. I don’t think you should worry about it but find out about the border point o you can check.

I hope this helps.

Mary

By: pete

pete — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 13:59:05 +0000

Hey. I’ll be travelling in two weeks form Hanoi to Luang Prabang with the Full Moon Party Bus – yep, stupid name 😉 I just got a little nervous because I read somewhere that not all the border crossings issue visas. The travel company assured me that “everything is gonna be fine, my friend” – well , from your experience, can it happen that the bus uses a crap border crossing and leaves me behind with no visa? 😀

By: Mary Charie

Mary Charie — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 07:28:23 +0000

In reply to Alyssa.

Hello Alyssa,

You have to enter the right entry point you add on your evisa but for the exit, you can exit wherever.

Hope this helps!

By: Mary Charie

Mary Charie — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 07:26:39 +0000

In reply to Floris Hegger.

Hello Floris,

I don’t think it’s an option at the moment. I’ve never heard of it but I think you should check or ask a travel agency in Vietnam just to be sure.

By: Floris Hegger

Floris Hegger — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 00:58:40 +0000

Hi,

Are there options to travel by train to Laos?

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 03:14:50 +0000

Hi Mary!

I’ll be in Vietnam in a couple of months, and then heading to Laos. I’ll be getting an eVisa for Vietnam, but I was told that you have to specify your entry and exit points from Vietnam. Did you run into this problem? Do you have any idea what to put or if it will cause trouble if I don’t put the correct exit point since I don’t know where the bus would be taking me?

Thanks!

By: Bouk

Bouk — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 02:33:09 +0000

In reply to James. Did you see any buses crossing the border of cha lo? We plan to travel from luang prabang to thakek and cross the border at cha lo or nam phao, to enter vietnam again.

By: Mary Charie

Mary Charie — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 10:52:44 +0000

In reply to ERIC H. Wow! That's an amazing update Eric! Thanks for taking the time. I made sure to add this update on this post. I'm glad to hear you gad a smooth crossing! Enjoy your trip in Laos and don't forget to visit Kuang Si falls :)

By: ERIC H

ERIC H — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 10:23:51 +0000

Today, JANUARY 15, 2020, I have successfully crossed with my motorbike (Honda Winner 150CC manual) from Vietnam to Laos at the Na Maew (Na Meo) / Nam Xoi (Nam Souy) border. The border crossing paperwork took 20 minutes total (about 10 min on Vietnam exit side, and about 10 min on the Laos side). No bribes and all costs were exactly as expected. COSTS: 200,000 Dong for Vietnam Export motorbike fee (you’ll get a white paper with red stamp). And over at Laos border control, I paid 70,000 Dong for Laos motorbike import document fee (actual fee is 25,000 Lao Kip, but I didn’t have Kip with me and the border control agent accepted VN Dong). The Vietnam Border Agent asked for my Blue Card (not in my name, but it didn’t matter, which I presented), I paid him 200,000 Dong and he gave me Export paperwork . I then walked into the next room and my US Passport was Stamped out of Vietnam. Then you drive about 500 meters and do Laos paperwork. NOTE: I had the LAOS Visa already (issued in HANOI for $50 USD – for US citizen) the week prior. All I had to pay after getting Stamped into Laos was the 25,000 KIP motorbike import fee (you’ll get a Blue paper). ROAD CONDITIONS: Vietnam side were excellent (9 out of 10 if I had to score it). Beautiful ride. Also, it should be noted that Vietnam Route 217 (QL217) is OPEN AND CLEAR. I rode the QL 15 South from Hoa Binh, Vietnam, and then West on the QL 217 all the way to the border at Na Mèo – No issues, even though Google Maps at the time of this post was not direct routing me along the QL 2017 when searching driving directions to Na Mèo border. ROAD CONDITIONS: Laos side were above average* (7 out of 10 if I had to score it). Laos side was way better than I expected based on everything I had read… *It should be noted I had absolutely perfect weather today (It was dry, 80 degrees, and zero mud). There was small loose travel and rough road patches, but you get this all over. If I had to travel this same route in the RAINY SEASON, I could see how there are many reports of the road being shit without a proper bike. In dry season, it’s nearly a piece of cake. The roads on Laos side is a mix of newly constructed perfect road, to gravel, to hard packed dirt (however, it would be mud in the rain). This border crossing region (on both sides: Vietnam and Laos) suffers from land slides, so I could see how travel in rainy season could be a challenge. Good luck!

By: Mary Charie

Mary Charie — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 15:16:19 +0000

In reply to James.

Hi James,

Thank you for sharing this and I’m sorry that it happened. Although I’ve heard many stories that these situations can be unpredictable depends on the person in charge. But I will make a note of this as an update to make sure other people who will read this from today.

We appreciate your update and sharing this information to us!

Safe travels!

By: James

James — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 19:07:36 +0000

We tried to cross from vn to laos at nam phao checkpoint on the 25/12/2019 with 2 motorbikes vn registered with blue card. We were refused. Motorbikes can’t cross here anymore. They told us to go to Cha lo. Which we did on 26/12 and worked great.

By: Mary Charie

Mary Charie — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 02:10:11 +0000

In reply to Katerina.

Hi Katerina,

That’s unfortunate to hear. Thanks a lot for the update, I’ll add this new information now.

I hope you didn’t have much trouble crossing the border.

Safe travel x