Laos – land crossings and airports
A brief rundown on the various land border crossings and international airports used on our small group tours to Laos.
Airports
Vientiane – Wattay International Airport
Lao’s capital Vientiane is the arrival point for most, but not all, of our Laos small group tours including; Highlights of Northern Laos, our Laos and Vietnam tour Mountains and Hill-tribes, Laos and Cambodia Indochina Adventure plus the 2 tours venturing into southern Laos – Mekong Adventure and Far North to Far South. From Vientiane, the tours take you by train to Luang Prabang before returning to the capital as, with cheaper fares and a wider choice of flights, Vientiane is a more practical arrival point than the historic northern town.
Vientiane, tuk-tuks at the morning market Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang does have its own international airport, although it offers relatively few (often pricy) direct international flights and frequently requires a connecting flight at Vientiane anyway. Both Vientiane and Luang Prabang airports are conveniently located close to the respective downtown areas and both offer straightforward visa on arrival and e-visa facilities. The former costs $35 for UK citizens, although prices do vary according to nationality, with the latter costing a fairly hefty $52.
(We would point out that on our most recent flight to VTE, the e-visa queue was considerably longer than the visa on arrival option, which therefore defeated the supposed time-saving purpose. While this obviously varies from day to day and indeed hour to hour, the advantages of obtaining an e-visa in advance are debatable.)
Luang Prabang – sunset over the Mekong Pakse
The country’s third international airport is Pakse in the far south which sometimes features on our Laos family and tailor-made tours. However, in the case of tiny Pakse Airport, international schedules are limited and often expensive so we generally recommend driving some 2 hours west to Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Airport which has regular connections to Bangkok with budget airlines.
Laos land border crossings
Although relatively small in surface area, Laos’ central location within mainland Southeast Asia, as well as its mountainous terrain, means land crossings are often rather far flung – particularly bearing in mind that our Lao tours may be combined with Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Laos-Thailand – Chiang Khong to Huay Xai and Chong Mek to Vang Tao
Details for the 2 Laos-Thailand land crossings featured on our tours are covered in our Thailand land crossings post and include the Friendship Bridge between Chiang Khong and Huay Xai on our Thailand and Laos, Golden Triangle, tour as well as our Mekong River cruise to Luang Prabang. Chong Mek to Vang Tao is the southern crossing point on our Thailand, Laos and Cambodia Emerald Triangle itinerary. Lao e-visas are valid for the former but not the latter, although, as visa-on-arrival procedures are generally painless, an e-visa in advance is not always a significant advantage.
Chiang Khong, with Huay Xai on the far bank Laos – Cambodia; Nong Nok Khiene to Dong Kalor/Trapaeng Kreal
The same tour, along with our aforementioned south Laos tours, also includes the Laos-Cambodia land crossing at Trapaeng Kral. A certain amount of confusion is caused by an error on the Cambodian immigration website but a detailed explanation is available in our earlier Cambodia Entry and Exit Point post. Cambodian e-visas are valid for this land crossing.
Sunset on Don Khone with the hills of Cambodia in the background Laos – Vietnam; Nam Xoi to Na Meo
This remote Lao land border crossing with Vietnam is situated between Sam Nuea Town to the west and Vietnam’s Phu Luong District to the east and features on our Laos and Vietnam tours, Mountains and Hill-tribes and Unexplored – the Far North. (The latter tour therefore includes the Thai-Lao crossing at Chiang Khong – Huay Xai and the above Laos-Vietnam border post.)
That’s about it for our brief Laos land crossings and airports rundown, and if anything is not clear, please don’t hesitate to contact our UK office for further clarification.
