Crossing the Laos-Vietnam Border: The Bus From Savannakhet to Hue
We took a bus from Vientiane to Savannakhet which was a killer nine-hour ride. Our butts were sore but we headed to Leena Guest House for the night.The next day we were up early to catch the 9am bus going from Savannakhet to Hue, Vietnam. It was a sleeper bus. A new experience for us. We had middle seats; not the best. I had the coffin-like bottom bunk, but Ryan was pretty comfortable on the top rack.
After an hour I was cramped and uncomfortable. For some inexplicable reason there is a nifty tray placed perfectly at shin level, and the seat was far too short to stretch your legs out. I’m 5’10” but you would have to be under 5’5″ to fit comfortably in one of those seats, especially if you were planning on getting any sleep. The hinge of the seat sits at the level of your tailbone allowing about 10 minutes of comfortable sitting time before you have to fidget some more. Having all you weight on your tailbone is not the best way to travel. Thinking that this couldn’t get any worse, cramped into a coffin with not enough headroom to sit up straight for ten hours, the bus stopped to pile on a bunch of passengers who didn’t have seats and they proceeded to sit on the floor surrounding me. Some of them laid down and went to sleep on the floor, others decided to lay their heads on my seat or use me as a general foot/arm/back rest. There was a gross meal included though!We got to the Lao Bao/Dansavanh border crossing at about 3pm. Crossing the border was a breeze. We had got our Vietnamese visas ahead of time (in Sihanoukville, Cambodia — a 15 minute process). The bus drops you off at Laos immigration to get your exit stamp, then you walk five minutes down the road to Vietnam, show your Vietnamese visa, and pay US$1 for the privilege of entering the country, then back on the bus. The entire process took 45-60 minutes.We arrived in Hue, Vietnam around 7:30pm (10 hours after our departure) stiff and tired and hungry.
Vicky
May 18, 2012 @ 3:04 pm
Just came across your blog today and am loving the posts! My boyfriend and i are setting off on a 2 year backpacking trip through Europe and Asia this September. We are starting out in Asia so I’ve been taking tons of notes on your posts — tons of incredibly helpful and practical info!
itchyfeetonthecheap
May 26, 2012 @ 11:02 pm
We’re so glad that you have found the blog helpful. Thanks for reading! Enjoy your trip. If you have any specific questions that you think we can answer, feel free to ask.
AvocadoPesto
May 29, 2012 @ 2:58 pm
Thanks! Will definitely let you know if I have any questions! Keep up the incredibly helpful posts and safe travels!
Denisa
May 24, 2013 @ 5:43 pm
Hey guys I LOVE the posts here! Me and my best friend are planning 2 months trip in Southeast Asia! I have a question thoug. We are planning to go from Thailand to Laos, then a bit there and from Vientiane want to to go to Hue the same way like you did. If we get the visa to Laos when we cross the boarder from Thailand and then go to Savanakhet, is it through Thailand? If so, then we have to go back to Laos and get another 30 USD visa? Or is the way through Laos and we dont have to pay anything? I would really appreciate your help. Thank you!
itchyfeetonthecheap
May 25, 2013 @ 11:32 am
If I understand correctly, you want to go from Thailand to Vientiane, then from Vientiane to Savannakhet, then over to Hue. You won’t need to go back into Thailand to do this. You can take a bus from Vientiane to Savannakhet and there is no crossing into Thailand. It’s a nine hour bus ride though so make sure you get to the bus station early and get a good seat. If you want to break up the trip, you could always spend a night in Thakhek.
Kconan
January 31, 2014 @ 4:23 am
Wow, crossing a land border there and no mention of scams! You got lucky man. Sounds like a fun trip despite the gross meal
Michael Hydrich
August 6, 2014 @ 12:20 pm
I work in Vietnam for part of very year and I find the Border crossings are quite relaxed without scams, except for the 1$ fee if you don’t have immunization card and that’s not really a scam, I guess.Nothing like the crossings from Thailand into Cambodia I’ve only crossed in from Cambodia. I just hope entering Laos isn’t as bad as the Cambodia borders. I plan on visiting Laos next January from hanoi via Sapa. Possibly from hue via the Lao Bao crossing. Thanks for the information.
Steve Snyder
January 24, 2015 @ 6:09 am
Crossed into Laos from Thailand and Vietnam many times. Fill out the arrival/departure card, pay $30 or $31 ($1 OT fee) and you are stamped into Laos. No fuss, no muss.