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With only two weeks to spare before heading on to China, our time in Laos was short and sweet, taking the new Laos China Railway from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, experiencing atrocious roads in search of idyllic backwaters and trekking destinations, and finally (just) making it to Boten station, at the Chinese border, for our train to Kunming.

This post details how we travelled through Laos, with a focus on navigating the new Laos China Railway.

Visas

Visas on arrival with 30 day validity are available at all official Laos entry points. I believe e-visas are also available, but from quick research it seemed easier and cheaper for us to get a visa on arrival. Bring enough USD, a passport photo, and a pen (we paid $40).

Phone connection and getting cash out in Laos

It was easy and very cheap to get a local SIM card installed at the Laos Telecom office in Vientiane.

BCEL ATM’s were our go to for cash, with a fee of 30,000 kip for a max withdrawal of 2 million kip.

Travel

Entering Laos from Thailand

We crossed into Laos over the Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridge, just Southeast of the capital Vientiane. Arriving at the Laos border post at 19:00 we were dead tired after a very early start and a whole day of travel on the train from Bangkok to Nong Khai (see our post on travelling across Thailand to the Laos border here). Luckily, with no one else around, it only took 5 minutes to get our visas on arrival. At this time of the evening the public bus into Vientiane, or the train station, was finished for the day, so we had to get a taxi into town. We paid the regulated and displayed price for a taxi, 400 Thai baht or 250k Laos kip. Apparently visas are also slightly cheaper earlier in the day. With this in mind, it may be better to get the night train from Bangkok and to get through to Vientiane in the morning, or even directly on to the Laos China Railway if you’re moving fast.

Vientiane offered an easy evening with great food and beer, and even better coffee the next day.

After a relaxed morning in this sleepy capital, it was time to head to Luang Prabang.

Taking the Laos China Railway (LCR)

We had tickets for the Laos China Railway, leaving from the new Vientiane Railway Station.

We bought the tickets directly on the LCR Ticket App. I was able to easily create an account, add passenger passport details and pay with my foreign card. Tickets for domestic journeys are only available 3 days in advance, but be quick as they can book out. Booking directly on the app is much cheaper and easier than using third parties, especially if you need to change or cancel your ticket. The two hour journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang cost us 330,000 kip each for 2nd class tickets.

The stations for the new railway are well out of town, so plan ahead. We caught bus 28 which runs between the Vientiane Central Bus Station (corner of Nongbone Re and Khouvieng Rd) and the Vientiane Laos China Railway Station. Departures are aligned with train departures, giving you plenty of time to pass the security check. Bus tickets are 25,000 kip per person.

Laos China Railway security

There are many stories of travellers having items taken by security, we didn’t have anything that’s explicitly prohibited (no pocket knives) and were waved right through. I was worried about carrying tent pegs, trekking poles and crampons, but either security wasn’t looking at the Xray or these items aren’t an issue.

The LCR trains are new, clean and comfortable. Food is sold in the restaurant car or from carts pushed up and down the aisle. We could tell that travelling on this train at up to 160km/h was an exciting experience for many Laos residents, a stark contrast to the countries rough road network. It seemed like the train was in a tunnel half the time, and on a viaduct the other half of the time, this railway truly is a feat of brute force engineering and construction forging through the stunning mountains of Laos.

Getting from the LCR station into Luang Prabang

Arriving at Luang Prabang, there was a fleet of public minibuses to take passengers to hotels in town for 40,000 kip each. Buy a ticket at the counter down on the carpark and you’ll eventually be put in a minibus, just make sure you know the name and location of where you want to be dropped off.

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a gorgeous town, full of gracious traditional Laos and French inspired architecture and infused with tranquility. It is however, overrun by tourists, with many tourists groups now flocking in via the new railway, and cheap flights. We suggest staying out of the central old town and taking the time to explore the many interesting alleys and pockets of the town without the crowds. Don’t forget to enjoy the excellent Laotian coffee.

Bus travel in Laos

Travelling onward from Luang Prabang, we purchased bus tickets from our hotel. While tickets can also be purchased at bus stations, they are almost always way out of town, so you would need a tuktuk to get there and back to buy the ticket. We therefore recommend buying with your hotel or a nearby travel agent, tuk-tuk pick up and transport to the bus station will be included in the price.

Laos roads are an absolute wreck, by far the worst we’ve experienced during our travels in Asia so far.

It took us 7 hours to cover 200km between Nong Khiaw and Luang Namtha, and then 2 hours to cover 50km from Luang Namtha to just before Boten where the bus broke down. We then needed to hail a taxi to get us the rest of the way to the railway station. All this ‘fun’ on the road makes the Laos China Railway very very attractive.

Travelling into China on the Laos China Railway

International LCR tickets are available for sale two weeks before the date of travel. We purchased tickets from Luang Prabang direct to Kunming, China for 969,000kip each. For international journeys you MUST go to the railway station ticket counter before boarding, show your digital ticket, and pick up a physical ticket. We ended up boarding the train to Kunming in Boten, instead of Luang Prabang as indicated on our ticket, but this wasn’t an issue at all (we weren’t able to cancel and buy new tickets as the train had already booked out).

At Boten railway station all passengers travelling to China have to get off the train and go through Laos immigration and security with all luggage before getting back on again. The same procedure takes place on the Chinese side. It’s all well organised with plenty of time for these steps and good signage.

We recommend getting rid of all your remaining Laos kip before getting to Boten station as from here we didn’t see any money exchanges at the station and in China no one was interested in kip.