Getting to Laos from Bangkok
 

I may be due for a trip to Laos soon, and I'd like to ask, is it easy to get to Laos from Bangkok? Likewise, from Laos, would it be easy for me to make a few forays into Cambodia and Vietnam? Finally, as a citizen of a fellow ASEAN country, I don't have to worry about any visa requirements, right?

Fly?
 

Take TG to Udon Thani and cross there is that fits you needs. I hope this isn't a trool as there many places in Loas to visit and one could get there a few ways. I have mentioned the wat to the big crossing point!

There are flights from BKK to VTE, and also to LPQ (Luang Prabang). For Cambodia, it is easier to fly from BKK than from anywhere in Laos - there are more flights, and flights are cheaper ex-BKK.

I can't comment on Vietnam or on the visas you may / may not need.

Enjoy your travels,
Michael

You can take Bangkok Airways and their partners (Siam Reap Airways) from Bangkok to Luang Prabang and from Luang Prabang to Siam Reap (Angkor). If you want to go to Vientiane, THAI also flies there from Bangkok. Vientiane to Hanoi can also be done, with Vietnam Airlines. That covers the civilized, safe options :)

If you want to take a chance (their A320 seems fine but their support staff is not exactly trustworthy), Lao Aviation services Vientiane and Luang Prabang, with the ability of taking you to Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, etc.

I believe ASEAN residents are also required to obtain a visa - but they can be obtained on arrival in major airports.


http://www.visit-laos.com/before/visas.htm

You might want to look into Bangkok Air's Discovery Pass. It's priced per segment ($90 per on international flights) and there is a minimum of three segments for the pass. It was quite a bit cheaper for me to use the pass when fliying between Bangkok, Luang Prabang and Siem Reap. I don't believe Bangkok Air services Luang Prabang-Siem Reap as a non-stop, so that would be two flights (or segments) through Bangkok.

http://www.bangkokair.com/discoveryairpass/

Actually that pass (which is very much worth it!) seems to also cover the Siam Reap Airways flight from Luang Prabang to Siam Reap (direct)...the crazy thing is that they seem to only fly one way, in that direction! Nevertheless, it would be quite feasible to go BKK-Luang Prabang-Siam Reap-BKK (270$ + tax) and do whatever other segments on the side. Bangkok Airways even has a lounge for all its passengers in BIA :)

Thanks for all the replies! Flying seems to be the most direct option, but does anyone have any experience crossing the border over land? Are there any bus services or trains that I could try? I'm sorta gonna try roughing it (its my personal adventure :) )

That sucks... the treaty that guaranteed freedom of movement within ASEAN should be in force by now.

A while back B747-437B wrote about getting to Vientiane from Bangkok by domestic Thai flight coupled with bus and tuk-tuk in this thread. I did this and also took the bus from Vientiane to Vang Vieng up Hwy 13 on to Luang Prabang twice. Then Lao Aviation back from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, which was the real adventure.

Since then there have been additional bus services from Udon Thani and Nong Khai to Vientiane, but I don't have experience with these or know if these replace the Udon Thani airport to Friendship Bridge bus service.

Basically Laos is easy. You can just show up. Bring lots of US20, 5, and 1s as well as patience. If you have specific questions, let me know.

It's pretty easy to get to laos from bangkok. I highly recomend you get your visa first in bangkok, if you have a few days there before you head to laos. if not, it's no big deal--you can get it at the nong khai/vientienne border crossing (? about $30 usd, if i remember...).

I think the nicest way to go to loas is to take the overnight train w/ sleeper from bangkok to the end of the northern line at nong khai. you arrive about 6 am. exit the train station, cross the street, sit down and have breakfast and then either wait for a tuk-tuk to find you, or make an inquiry. i think 50 baht is the going fare for the 5 min ride to the bridge. there you pay yur money for the visa if you don't already have one. then catch a tuk-tuk or samlor to vientienne (about 25 minute ride, i don't remember what i paid for a seat on a samlor.) once in vientienne, you'll most likely be dropped off at the very busy bus station. if you want to continue on to vang vieng, just ask bus personnel which bus to take. you can be in v.v. by midafternoon. this is as far as i go when i take the overnight train from bangkok. the next days trip to luang prabang via bus is rough on the rear and nerves, so i don't try it all at once.

a good resource is to read the "thorn tree" bulletin boards over at lonelyplanet.com. good luck! i love luang prabang and laos, and hope to return soon. p.s. once you do the overland route, you may well pony up for airfare for your return to bangkok, or on to siem reap...

Trains don't exist in Laos and are very very bad in Cambodia (see www.seat61.com for more details), but you can take a train to the NE of Thailand (Nong Khai or Udon) and a short bus ride across the Friendship Bridge. Overland from Bangkok to Cambodia or within Cambodia, the options are covered in excellent detail by www.talesofasia.com

There is also a new highway, I believe, which makes bus travel quite comfortable from Laos to Vietnam...not familiar with such details, though.

Thanks for all the replies! It's still gonna be a month or two before I fly to Thailand, but at least I have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Oh, and in Laos, will I have better luck conversing in English or in French? (nobody can teach me Lao here at the moment :) )

English by a long way. Thai also comes in handy.

It's also possible to get from Bangkok to Pakse/Pakxe, Lao pretty easily. The abbreviated method is:
--take a train or TG domestic flight (US$66.15, 1 hour, 3/day) to Ubon Ratchathani in the Northeast.
--get to the Ubon bus terminal in the North of the city off Highway 212. City "buses" 2 (white), 3 (pink), or 11 (songtaew; oh, just take a #2 or #3 bus), 8 Baht.
--take Ubon-Pakxe international bus, B200 one way, 3 hours, 4/day
--bus stops at Chong Mek border crossing before continuing to Pakxe. At the Lao border station you can get a 15 day Lao visa on arrival for US$30 and 1 photo. B20 Lao "entry fee." The bus waits for all the pax to get stamped out and stamped in.

Pakxe itself isn't all that much, but it's a good place to base for a trip to Wat Phu, a dramatically situated Khymer temple about 30km away. (Motobike $8/day from Sabidy 2 guesthouse). $.50 for the ferry across the Mekong. Estimate $15 for a very nice mid range hotel, en suite Western bathroom, no breakfast.

Wat Phu is very different than the Angkor temples. It's axially oriented and set on terraces, like temples at Preah Vihear, just across the Thai border in Cambodia, and Phanom Rung, by Nang Rong, Th. Quite impressive and well worth the trip.

You'll be in the company of, perhaps, 10 tourists, unlike the hordes getting the "I wuz there" photo taken on the 2nd causeway of Angkor Wat, just before they race back to the Sofitel and hop in the pool, gasping for a G&T.

It's easy to link a Wat Phu visit with a visit to Preah Vihear and Phanom Rung. Then you can go Northwest to Phimai or South to Toilet, I mean, Poipet and then go overland on Highway 6 to Siem Reap.

Or, you can go South from Pakxe to Si Phan Don, the 4,000 islands, and do pretty much nothing except drink BeerLao and scout for river dolphins.

Hopping onto this old thread to ask about methods of getting to the Huay Xai border crossing from BKK. My impression is that you can fly to Chiang Rai and then get a bus--can anyone provide as thorough of a description of that process as rjh gave for the trip between BKK and Pakse? Duration of each leg, frequency of services, etc. is really helpful.

We are going to be doing a Laos trip that starts at Huay Xai and ends at Pakse. We will fly into and out of BKK--I'm trying to maximize time in Laos and minimize the duration of the Thailand logistics.