Laos Archives

Guide to Visiting Vientiane, Laos

Susan Weston / June 26, 2025 / Leave a Comment

Thinking of visiting Vientiane, Laos? This guide with make your trip planning easier.

Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos, located along the northeastern bank of the Mekong River, near the border with Thailand.

I could have stayed in Vientiane for several more days. Vientiane maintains a relatively laid-back and relaxed atmosphere, especially compared to other Southeast Asian capitals. I could walk around the night markets without being haggled every few feet. And I felt very safe as a solo female traveler.

Guide to Visiting Vientiane, Laos — Bugs at the Food Market

Guide to Visiting the Vientiane Night Market — Bugs at the Food Market

Getting There

The three main options for entering Laos are via slow boat from Thailand, flying into Vientiane or Luang Prabang or taking the bus from either Thailand or Vietnam.

I flew into Vientiane, Laos, from China. Although you can buy an e-visa in advance, you can save 10 USD if you buy it on arrival, and the process is easy. It costs 40 USD. In case you left your USD in your check bag like me, they do take Laotian Kip, and there is an ATM in the immigration area. You also need two passport-size photos (I carry some with me when I am traveling), and you need to fill out the customs form that is available in the immigration area.

If you are planning to travel to Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng, I recommend the train. It was clean, cheap and saved a lot of time. Check out my guide to the train in Laos.

Riding the bus in Vientiane, Laos — City Bus

Transportation

The city center is small and easy to navigate on foot or by bicycle, but for longer distances, Vientiane has buses throughout the city. You can’t miss the lime-green buses. The bus is also the best way to travel from the airport to your accommodations.

Loca is the ride-share app in Laos. My flight arrived late at night, and the buses had stopped running. I had no problem getting a LOCA.

Where to stay?

My favorite areas of the city were Ban Anou and Watchan. They had beach town vibes, and the majority of cheaper accommodations are located here.

Sathiti Cafe & Bed– I had a studio above this cute coffee shop. It was clean and located near the night food market. I don’t recommend it for remote work, though. The wifi was very spotty.

Apatuxay Vientiane Hotel & Apartment – This hostel is centered around a pool. The bar has cheap beer, and it was very easy to meet people. They had a mix of dorms and private rooms.

Downtown Vientiane, Laos — Sathiti Cafe & Bed

What to do?

Visit Temples

I had temple burnout at this point in my travels, but if you do not, Vientiane has multiple temples to explore.

In the Ban Anou and Watchan neighborhoods, there was no one guarding the area or trying to sell you something. As you moved to the more popular ones downtown, you would need to give a donation to enter. Prepare to be approached by people trying to sell you a cheap fan or figurine. On another note, although I understand they need the funding, it was a shame to see these temples being used for paid parking.

COPE Visitor Center

COPE’s mission is to help victims of UXOs. UXO stands for Unexploded Ordnance, which refers to military ammunition or explosives that failed to explode as intended. Thirty percent of the land in Laos is covered in UXOs, which can detonate and kill or injure the local farmers and their families. COPE helps them with prosthetic limbs and other assistive devices. The center is free to visit, but they do ask for a donation.

Pro Tip: The COPE Visitor is very similar to the UXO Lao Visitor Center in Luang Prabang, Laos. Although it is nice to support both causes, you do not have to visit both if you are short on time.

Visiting a Temple In Vientiane, Laos — Wat Haisoke Temple

Madam Phasouk Vientiane Cooking Class

One of my favorite memories of Laos was taking a cooking class with Madam Phasouk. Highly recommend.

Night Food Market

A wide variety of food and very cheap. My go-to spot for dinner.

Night Market

Sadly, the permanent red-roofed stalls of the night bazaar sustained damage from flooding and were no longer in use. Instead, the stalls of the night market were temporarily set up each night and moved to a storage area during the day. The majority of the vendors were selling clothes and accessories.

Walk along the Mekong River

There is a paved “boardwalk” along the river. When I was there, the water was low, and the water’s edge was actually about a 5-minute walk down a dirt path. The waterfront was very peaceful during the day, but came alive at night with food vendors, the night market and even a children’s carnival.

The permanent night market closed after flood damage.

Extra travel tips

There are ATMs everywhere.
As with many places in Southeast Asia, the shops and restaurants open later in the day. The city comes alive at night.
As of June 2025, the city is doing major road work in the Ban Anou and Watchan areas. Expect it to be dusty, and you will definitely have to wash your feet when you get back to your hotel.

You should definitely put Vientiane, Laos, on your Southeast Asia itinerary. The laid-back vibe will be a welcoming change coming from the bustling streets of Bangkok, Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh.

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Train Travel in Laos: Review of The Laos-China Railway

Susan Weston / June 9, 2025 / Leave a Comment

The 414 km-long Laos-China Railway opened in 2021 and is the best way to explore northern Laos. The LCR shortened a bumpy 10+ hour questionable bus trip between Vientiane and Luang Prabang to a two-hour comfortable train ride.

Train travel around the world is unpredictable. You can arrive at a station with no working toilets and people trying to steal your luggage, or you can travel on Japan’s modern and clean bullet trains. I even had to share a bed with a stranger once. Train travel in Laos exceeded my expectations.

Where can you go?

The Laos-China Railway opened in 2021. It connects Vientiane, Laos, to the Chinese border city of Boten in approximately three hours. The majority of the trains are high-speed and make stops at Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Boten. There is a slower train that makes several more stops in between.

How do you get a ticket?

There are three ways to buy the tickets: (1) directly from the train station in person up to 3 days in advance, (2) from tour operators, and (3) directly from the Laos-China Railway (LCR) app.

To use the app, you need to have a Laos phone number. If you wait to purchase your ticket in person on the day of departure, you will most likely be out of luck. Tickets sell out quickly when they go on sale.

Your best choice is to use a tour operator. I booked through 12go.asia and was able to book my ticket ahead of time for $27.50 (USD). They need a photo of your passport and will send you a QR code when they book the ticket. Sending someone a photo of your passport sounds scary to some people, but it’s the same thing as when accommodations take a photo of your passport. It is a very common practice.

There are three classes – Second Class, First Class, and Business Class. I recommend Second Class to save money. It had plenty of room and was clean and air-conditioned.

VIentiane, Lao Train Station Water — Free Water

VIP Lounge Vientiane, Laos Train Station — Free Water

What are the Stations like?

My train left from Vientiane, Laos. I was in my taxi winding through the compact and chaotic streets typical of Southeast Asia when we pulled up to what looked like a modern airport terminal. It was honestly one of the nicest, cleanest railroad stations I have been to.

It is run very similar to an airport. To get into the station, you need to show your ticket (QR code if you bought it through a third party) and your passport. Then you need to go through security. The prohibited items are similar to flying on an airline, including no aerosols and no liquids over 100ml.

That said, I had full-size liquids and a small aerosol bottle of dry shampoo that they didn’t confiscate. It seems they have gotten lax since initially opening.

Security at Vientiane, Laos Train Station — Prohibited Items

The station itself was similar to an airport. Several food options, clean bathrooms, and even a business-class lounge.

They started boarding the train 25 minutes before. Since there are only a few trains/day and only one actual line, there are only two platforms. So easy compared to large train stations with 10 platforms and 50 trains/day.

Western Bathroom Laos Train — Western Style Toilet

Vientiane, Laos Train — Western Style Toilet

What are the trains like?

Modern and clean. I had a Second Class seat, which was arranged in the 2-2 configuration. I peaked in the First Class car, and it was in a 1:2 configuration. I sadly did not see the Business Class car.

There was plenty of room between the rows. I had my backpack at my feet and still had room. The cars were air-conditioned, and each had both an eastern and western toilet.

One negative was that there was minimal luggage space. There are racks above the seats, but they get taken quickly and do not fit a roller bag. I had to put my suitcase in the hall with several others. People were walking through selling food, and I learned afterward that there was a dining car.

Second Class Laos-China Railways — Second Class

Second Class Seat Laos-China Railway — Second Class

How to get to and from the station?

Loca is the ride-share app in Laos. I do not like haggling and prefer to know precisely what I am paying ahead of time. Plus, you can pay with your card, so you don’t need to have exact change.

Don’t use Loca to get from the station in Luang Prabang to town. I didn’t want to deal with the people outside the station trying to sell me a “good deal.’ I learned it was actually a good deal. I paid $10 (USD) using Loca. I could have taken a tuk-tuk for $2 (USD).

Pro Tip: When you leave the station at Luang Prabang, walk past the initial tuk-tuk drivers you encounter. Walk down the stairs to the parking lot. The first set of drivers you encounter are double the price.

For further information, check out The Man in Seat 61. It is my go-to resource for train travel all over the world. In short, I recommend using the Laos-China Railway when traveling in northern Laos. If you’re interested in learning more about travel in Asia, check out my trip to Guangzhou, China.

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