Vientiane

Vientiane in 2026 is a small, cheap capital with a new 9.3-kilometer Mekong riverfront, a bus rapid transit line on its second try, and a kip that has lost nearly two-thirds of its dollar value in a decade. Most visitors give it a night on the way to Vang Vieng, which undersells it.

Updated October 2026

BootsnAll Scorecard

7.0 / 10

Vientiane scores best on value and on how little it asks of you, and worst on getting around, because the train stations sit 7 and 14 kilometers out and tuk-tuk fares are a negotiation.

Value
8
Sits on the 8 anchor, with Hostelworld dorms from about US$4.60 to $9, street meals at $1 to $2 and a 640 ml Beerlao for $1 to $2, and the kip's slide since 2022 has made the city cheaper for anyone paid in dollars.
Getting around
5.5
Near the 5 anchor, since the center is walkable and flat and the Loca app takes foreign cards, but the Laos-China Railway station is 14 km out, the city buses run on loose timetables, and tuk-tuk drivers work from inflated fare cards.
Crowds and timing
7
Crowds never define a visit to a city where officials say most visitors stay one or two nights, but weather does, with 95°F (35°C) April highs, burning-season haze that pushed the AQI past 180 in April 2026, and 13.4 inches of rain in August.
Safety and hassle
7
Low violent crime and mild touts, pulled under 8 by motorbike bag snatching that the Canadian government flags, tuk-tuk drug setups, and a law against sex between foreigners and unmarried Lao nationals.
Food and drink
7.5
Closer to 8 than 5, with khao piak sen noodle shops, pâté baguettes and the Ban Anou night market cheap and everywhere, plus serious Yunnan and Hunan cooking, though the riverside restaurants charge more for the view.
Indie fit
7
Easy to run alone on a rented bicycle, with temples, markets and the COPE centre all open without a guide, but the default visitor path is one night between buses and most of the country's best scenery is somewhere else.

Editorial scores, 1 to 10, against the same written anchors for every city. Half points allowed. The overall is the plain average of the six.

Overview and Things to Consider

Vientiane is a capital of about 840,000 people that still feels like a provincial town with ministries attached. It runs along the northeast bank of a Mekong bend, with Thailand visible across the water, and the center fits between three parallel streets: Fa Ngum on the river, then Setthathirath, then Samsenthai. Gold-roofed temples sit between French shophouses, Chinese hotel towers and abandoned concrete shells from an investment boom that went bust. Traffic moves slowly enough that cycling across the center is a sane idea.

You'll like Vientiane if you're the kind of traveler who enjoys a city where nothing is staged for you, if you eat well on a few dollars a day, or if you need a calm place to sort visas, banks and onward tickets. You'll hate it if you want a skyline, a nightlife scene or a list of famous sights to tick off. Bars are expected to close before midnight. Luang Prabang, two hours north by train, is prettier and better preserved, and Wikivoyage's own Vientiane page tells you to go there if temples are your reason for coming.

The 2026 moment is a city spending money on its public space while its people feel squeezed. The second phase of the Mekong embankment, 9.3 kilometers of promenade, parks and bike paths, opened on July 1, 2026. A bus rapid transit line from Dongdok to Talat Sao relaunched in March after a failed first try in late 2025. Meanwhile the kip, which traded at about 8,100 to the dollar in 2016, sat near 22,400 in September 2026, and a fuel shortage in March 2026 pushed universities onto a three-day week. For visitors, that adds up to low prices and a few rough edges.

The overrated parts are the postcard ones. Patuxai, the Victory Gate, is a 1960s concrete arch nicknamed the vertical runway, and the view from the top is better than the monument. Pha That Luang is the national symbol, but it's a rebuild, and its gold is best seen in late afternoon light from outside the gate, not as a long visit.

How Vientiane Got Here

Vientiane has been rebuilt more than it has been preserved, and that explains what you'll see. King Setthathirath made it the capital of the Lan Xang kingdom in the 1560s to keep his court away from Burmese invaders, and Pha That Luang was raised on his order in 1566. Then came the defining disaster. In 1827, King Anouvong rebelled against Siam, marched across the Khorat Plateau toward Bangkok and lost. Rama III ordered the city destroyed so thoroughly that it would cease to exist as a kingdom, and after a second revolt in 1828 Siamese troops razed it and deported the people who had returned.

That's why one temple matters more than the rest. Wat Si Saket, built in 1818 in a Bangkok style, survived because the Siamese army used it as a headquarters, and it may be the oldest temple still standing in the city, with more than 2,000 Buddha images in its cloister walls. Almost everything else is later. The French restored That Luang around 1900 from an 1867 drawing and again in the 1930s, and they made Vientiane the administrative capital of their Lao protectorate.

The modern city came out of the war years. The Royal Lao Government built Patuxai between 1957 and 1968 with concrete widely said to have been meant for an airport runway. Pathet Lao troops took the city in August 1975, and on December 2, 1975 the monarchy was pushed out. Meanwhile the United States flew 580,000 bombing runs over Laos between 1964 and 1973, which is why a rehabilitation center for bomb survivors is one of the most important stops in the capital.

Getting There and Around

Wattay International Airport (VTE) is only about 3 kilometers west of the center, small and easy. International flights come mostly from China, Bangkok, Hanoi, Seoul, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Wikivoyage reports that boarding passes from online check-in weren't accepted as of December 2024, so plan on using the counter. The airport shuttle bus costs 40,000 kip to the center and the Central Bus Station, running roughly hourly from about 08:20 to 19:30 from the airport. An airport guide site still lists counter taxis at US$7, a figure that predates the kip's slide. In February 2025 touts were asking US$18, about double the fair price, and a Loca app ride cost around 100,000 kip.

Overland from Thailand is often cheaper than flying. Since July 19, 2024, State Railway of Thailand train 133 has run direct from Bangkok's Krung Thep Aphiwat station at 21:25 to Vientiane's Khamsavath station at 09:05, with a 40-minute stop at Nong Khai for Thai exit checks. Seat61 lists second-class sleeper berths at 784 to 874 baht. Road travelers cross the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, an Australian-funded span that opened on April 8, 1994. Direct buses run from Talat Sao to Nong Khai and Udon Thani, and from September 9, 2026, Thailand's state Transport Company added two daily 80-baht buses to Udon Thani that stop at Udon's airport. Bus 14 links Talat Sao and the bridge.

Citizens of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most EU countries need a visa for Laos (Luxembourg and Switzerland are among the few European countries with 15-day exemptions). The visa on arrival costs US$40 at Wattay, the Friendship Bridge and Khamsavath station, paid in clean dollar bills, with a passport photo. The official Lao eVisa gives 30 days, takes about three working days (apply at least five days ahead) and works at nine ports, including Wattay, Friendship Bridge I, Khamsavath and Boten railway station. Wikivoyage says it costs about US$15 more than the visa on arrival. Everyone also fills in the online Lao Digital Immigration Form within three days before arrival. You need a passport valid for six months with two blank pages, and the Canadian government says to carry ID at all times.

In town, walking and cycling cover the center. Bikes rent for about 10,000 kip a day at guesthouses, or US$2 to $6 at Lao Bike on Setthathirath Road. For anything farther, use Loca, the local ride-hailing app that takes foreign cards, or Kokkok Move. inDrive was blocked nationwide on May 28, 2025, so don't count on it. Tuk-tuks should cost about 10,000 kip per person for a short hop, though the ones lined up outside riverside restaurants will ask 30,000 to 50,000. The BRT runs from 6:00 to 22:00 between Talat Sao and Dongdok.

What's Changed Since 2016

The money is the biggest change since 2016. In September 2016 a US dollar bought about 8,100 kip. By February 2024 it bought 20,800, and in September 2026 about 22,400. Wikivoyage's Laos page describes a currency crisis between 2020 and 2024, with annual inflation around 25 percent, and the Lao Statistics Bureau still had inflation at 9 percent in May 2026. For a visitor carrying dollars, Vientiane got cheaper. For the people serving you, it got harder, which is worth remembering when you're tempted to haggle over 5,000 kip.

Rail rewired the country. The Laos-China Railway opened on December 3, 2021, cutting Vientiane to Luang Prabang from a full day on the road to about two hours, and international trains to Kunming started on April 13, 2023. On April 1, 2026, fares rose about 9 percent, so second class to Luang Prabang now costs 360,000 kip, up from 330,000. From Thailand, the direct Bangkok sleeper to Khamsavath began in July 2024, replacing the old shuttle to Thanaleng, and Seat61 reports that Laos began accepting e-visas at Khamsavath in February 2025.

The riverfront has been rebuilt twice. The first flood-control phase, launched in 2014, replaced most of the old bamboo beer gardens on the Mekong bank with 12 kilometers of levee, including Chao Anouvong Park. The second phase, 9.3 kilometers from Wat Nak village in Sisattanak to Hatdokkeo, opened on July 1, 2026, with 13 public parks, walking and cycling paths and boat landings. The Sihom night market, meanwhile, closed on July 25, 2026 for what officials called temporary maintenance, with vendors invited to rent space at a new site near That Dam.

Getting around changed in 2025 and 2026. The BRT launched in November 2025, was suspended after about a month following accidents, and relaunched on March 10, 2026 with two months of free rides, then added a Setthathirath Road route in April. Extensions to the airport and the railway station are planned. When fuel ran short in March 2026, the city ran 10,000-kip flat-fare electric buses from March 23 to May 30, and Lao Airlines raised its domestic fuel surcharge from 200,000 to 450,000 kip on March 11, 2026.

Visa rules tightened on both sides of the river. Laos ended its Visit Laos Year 2024 perks on January 1, 2025, so Americans, Australians and New Zealanders went back from 60 days to the standard 30. On September 15, 2026, Thailand cut visa-free stays from 60 days to 30 and capped visa-free land entries at two per calendar year for 60 nationalities, including Americans and Britons. That cap matters a lot here, since the Friendship Bridge is the classic visa-run crossing.

What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong

"Just buy your train ticket to Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang at the station." The Laos-China Railway station is about 14 km out of town, the ticket office takes kip in cash only, you need every passenger's passport, and the fast trains sell out. Seat61 says station sales open seven days ahead since July 2025, while booking agencies often can't confirm until two or three days before. Use the LCR Ticket app with a Visa card or ask your guesthouse, and leave time for a security check that has confiscated knives, opened alcohol and sprays marked flammable. Boarding opens 30 minutes before departure.

"Take the airport taxi, rideshare drivers can't pick up at Wattay." Wikivoyage reported in February 2025 that touts at arrivals were asking US$18 and telling people rideshare pickups weren't allowed. They are. A Loca ride to the center was about 100,000 kip, under $5, and Wikivoyage put the US$18 tout price at double what the ride should cost. The 40,000-kip shuttle bus is cheaper still if your timing fits.

"Bus 14 to the bridge is late or gone, so take my tuk-tuk for 50,000 kip." This is the classic Talat Sao pitch, and Wikivoyage warns that drivers who use it often dump passengers at the Lao border post with Thai touts waiting on the other side. Bus 14 runs roughly hourly from Talat Sao to the Friendship Bridge, though not always to the minute. At the bridge, expect at most a small exit or overtime fee of around 10,000 kip.

"Vientiane is your easy visa run to Thailand and back." Since September 15, 2026, Thailand allows visa-free travelers from 60 countries, including the US and UK, only two visa-exempt land entries a year, and the stay is 30 days, not 60. When the Laotian Times asked officials at the Vientiane-Nong Khai crossing on September 16, they couldn't say how the two-entry limit would be applied.

"Patuxai and That Luang are the reasons to come." Patuxai is a concrete arch from 1957 to 1968 that an English sign inside calls a monster of concrete, and That Luang is a much-restored stupa you'll see in half an hour. Wikivoyage calls Vientiane a comfortable a transit point not worth more than a couple of days if sights are the plan. The reasons to stay are the riverfront, the COPE centre, the food and the pace.

Ideas to Consider for Your Visit

Have you thought about starting at the COPE Visitor Centre instead of a temple? It sits on Khouvieng Road inside the Centre for Medical Rehabilitation, opens daily from 8:30 to 4:00 and is free. It explains how the United States dropped more than 270 million cluster bomblets on Laos between 1964 and 1973, about 30 percent of which failed to explode, and how prosthetics are made for the people still hurt by them. Watch a documentary in the bunker-style Cave Cinema, then buy a coffee at the Karma Cafe. Everything you see in the countryside afterward will make more sense.

Eat the way people here do, starting early. Breakfast is khao piak sen, thick rice noodles in chicken broth, or a khao jee pâté baguette, the Lao cousin of bánh mì. Lunch is larb, the minced meat salad with herbs and toasted rice, with tam mak hoong (pounded green papaya) and sticky rice eaten by hand from a little basket. Laos eats more sticky rice per person than any country on earth, about 171 kg a year. At dusk, the block-long Ban Anou night market does grilled skewers, miang lettuce wraps and hand-pulled noodle soup, and Wikivoyage reports that even night-market stalls in Laos now take QR payment through apps such as Ezykip.

If you're tired of Lao food, the Chinese cooking is the surprise. Chinese investment brought regional kitchens with it, and Wikivoyage singles out Jiu-Jiu for Yunnan-Sichuan food, Dihao for chili-heavy Hunan dishes and Fu Man Lou for Sichuan. For a sit-down Lao dinner in a colonial villa, Kualao has done traditional dishes, music and dance for years, at prices Wikivoyage calls expensive by local standards.

Ride the river at the end of the day. Rent a bike, start at Chao Anouvong Park, and follow the new embankment east toward Wat Nak, past the boat landings and parks that opened in July 2026. Mornings work too, before the heat. Vientiane ByCycle runs guided rides through villages, markets and temple yards if you'd rather not navigate. Stop at Wat Si Saket on the way back for its cloister of Buddha images, then cross the street to Haw Phra Kaew.

Buddha Park, or Xieng Khuan, makes a good half day, and it's better on your way to or from Thailand than as a round trip. It's about 24 km from the center and 6 km past the Friendship Bridge, and Bus 14 continues there from Talat Sao. The concrete Hindu and Buddhist figures date from 1958, built under the mystic Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat. He fled to Thailand after 1975 and built a bigger park, Sala Keoku, in Nong Khai, so you can see both on one border crossing.

Vang Vieng is the easy day trip now. The 07:20 express has been suspended since July 2025, so the first morning train now leaves Vientiane at 08:00 and reaches Vang Vieng at 08:55. The station is about 3 km north of town. Go for the karst scenery, the caves and the spring-fed lagoons, not the bucket bars. Six foreign tourists died in suspected methanol poisoning linked to a Vang Vieng hostel in November 2024, and the government banned Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey there that December. Drink sealed beer, skip free shots, and don't trust an opened bottle of spirits.

The Part Most Guides Miss

The best thing in Vientiane is the riverfront at dusk, and most guides still describe it the way it looked before the levees. Between the 12 kilometers built from 2014 and the 9.3-kilometer second phase that opened on July 1, 2026, the city now has about 21 kilometers of embankment along the Mekong, with 13 new parks, sidewalks and cycling paths in the second stretch alone. That's long enough for a real bike ride. Rent a bicycle for a couple of dollars, start near Chao Anouvong Park around 5pm, and ride downstream toward Wat Nak while the sun sets over the Mekong. The beer gardens that used to stand here are mostly gone. The open sky over the river is still the city's single best view, and it's free.

Where to Base Yourself

Nam Phu and Setthathirath (Chanthabouly). The obvious base, and for a first visit the right one. Wat Si Saket, Haw Phra Kaew, the riverfront, the Ban Anou night market and the airport shuttle's stops are all within walking distance, and Wikivoyage suggests simply walking Setthathirath and its side streets to find a room, which works outside January's peak. Hostelworld's Vientiane dorms start around US$4.60. The catch is that some cheap guesthouses lock the doors at night without giving you a key, so ask before you go out.

Talat Sao and the Central Bus Station. Best if you're moving on by road or rail. Bus 14 to the Friendship Bridge, the international buses to Nong Khai and Udon Thani, Bus 28 to the Laos-China Railway station and the BRT all leave from here, and the railway's city ticket office is about 200 meters away near the Morning Market. It's busier, uglier and more commercial than the riverside, with malls instead of temples, but it saves a lot of tuk-tuk haggling on travel days.

Sisattanak and the riverside east of the center. Suits slow travelers and anyone staying a week or more. The new embankment starts at Wat Nak village in Sisattanak, and the district along Thadeua Road is quieter and home to several embassies, with the river path right outside. The catch is distance. You'll need a bike or the Loca app to get to the old center for dinner, and street food thins out compared with Chanthabouly.

Realities to Be Aware Of

Budget in dollars, since kip prices online go stale fast. A budget traveler can manage on about US$15 to $25 a day with a dorm bed at US$5 to $10 and street food at $1 to $2 a meal. Mid-range runs about $40 to $70, with central air-conditioned doubles listed at about US$30 to $60 on Wikivoyage, and a two-course restaurant meal with a drink around $10. Comfortable, with a better hotel and restaurant dinners, is $100 and up. Bring clean US notes dated 2009 or later, since changers reject marked bills. BCEL ATMs charged foreign cards 30,000 kip per withdrawal of up to 2 million kip in December 2024.

Violent crime against visitors is rare. The everyday risk is bag snatching by people on motorbikes, which the Canadian government warns about, so keep bags on the side away from the road and out of bicycle baskets. Watch the pavement too, since missing drain covers are a real hazard at night. Drug penalties are severe, up to death for trafficking, and Wikivoyage warns that tuk-tuk drivers who offer drugs sometimes work with police. Vaping is illegal. Canada's advice is to carry your passport at all times, since visitors who can't show ID can be searched, detained or fined.

Laos law bans sexual relations between foreigners and Lao nationals who aren't their spouses, and Canada's travel advice says violations carry prison and fines. Homosexuality is legal, and there's a small gay bar scene in the center, but public affection between same-sex couples is still frowned on. Cover shoulders and knees in temples and government offices, never touch anyone's head, and don't show people the soles of your feet. Don't drink tap water. Dengue is the mosquito risk in the rainy season, and Wikivoyage says Vientiane itself seems to be malaria-free.

Crowds are rarely the issue. Officials said Vientiane drew 2.2 million visitors in 2025 and that most stay only one or two nights, so crowds rarely build anywhere for long. The exceptions are Lao New Year, April 14 to 16, with water fights and riverfront parties, and the That Luang Festival at the November full moon, when the stupa grounds fill for days. Rooms get hard to find in January, the peak of the dry season.

What things cost in Vientiane

Prices checked October 2026. Each links to where we read it.

ItemPriceSource
Hostel dorm bedUS$4.60-9 (about 103,000-200,000 kip) a nightHostelworld Vientiane listings, Oct 2026
Wattay airport shuttle bus to the center40,000 kip (about $1.80)Vientiane Airport Guide (Netmobius), Oct 2026
Loca ride-hail, Wattay airport to the centerAbout 100,000 kip (about $4.50)Wikivoyage Vientiane, Feb 2025
Laos-China Railway, Vientiane to Luang Prabang360,000 kip (about $16) second class, 569,000 (about $25) first, 1,063,000 (about $47) businessLaotian Times, fares from April 1, 2026
Bangkok to Vientiane direct sleeper, second-class berth784-874 baht (about $24-26)Seat61, updated June 2026
Transport Company bus, Vientiane to Udon Thani80 baht (about $2.40)Laotian Times, Sep 2026
Lao visa on arrival, 30 daysUS$40, plus a passport photoSeat61, updated June 2026
Large 640 ml Beerlao in a restaurantUS$1-2 (about 22,000-45,000 kip)Wikivoyage Laos, 2025
Lao National Museum, foreign visitor30,000 kip (about $1.35)Wikivoyage Vientiane, Mar 2025

Dollar figures use about 22,400 kip to US$1, the rate listed for September 20, 2026 on Wikipedia's Lao kip page, and about 33 baht to US$1, the rate Seat61 uses.

If Vientiane Is Part of a Longer Trip

Vientiane is the hinge between Thailand and the Laos-China Railway, and that's how to use it. Coming from Bangkok, take the overnight sleeper to Khamsavath, spend two or three days here, then ride north. The fastest trains reach Vang Vieng in about an hour and Luang Prabang in under two, and the D-series international trains continue to Kunming, about ten hours from Vientiane with border stops at Boten and Mohan. You can't get a Lao visa on arrival coming south from China by train, so an e-visa is required on that leg, and the railway has turned northern Laos into an easy line instead of a two-day bus ordeal.

From Chiang Mai, a bus to the Huay Xai border, the two-day slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang and then the train south to Vientiane makes a classic loop. Going east, buses run to Hanoi in at least 20 hours, and Seat61 lists a daily bus from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. The Phnom Penh to Vientiane bus takes about 27 hours with several changes, so if you're heading for Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, fly or break the trip in Pakse.

For a longer Southeast Asia route, Vientiane works well as an overland entry with an air exit, or the reverse. You can come in by train from Thailand, cross the country by rail and leave by air from Luang Prabang or Kunming, so you don't backtrack. That kind of open-jaw routing is what AirTreks builds multi-stop tickets around. Remember Thailand's new two-per-year cap on visa-free land entries if your plan crosses the Friendship Bridge more than once.

Yearly Things to Consider

Vientiane has three seasons, and the money season isn't the best one for everybody. November to February is dry and pleasant, with highs of 84°F to 88°F (29°C to 31°C) and almost no rain, and it's the high season, with January hardest for rooms. March and April turn hot, with April highs around 95°F (35°C), and it's the burning season. In April 2026 the government warned of dangerous haze, with the capital's AQI above 180. May to October is the monsoon, wettest in August at 13.4 inches, and it's low season from June to September.

The counterintuitive pick is late October into November. The rains are tapering off, October rainfall is down to 3.4 inches, the haze is months away, and the That Luang Festival comes at the November full moon. If you have a choice between late March and the monsoon, take the rain. Wet-season storms come and go, while burning-season haze can last for weeks and hides the river.

Vientiane month by month

MonthTempRainfallSeasonNotes
January84°F (29°C)0.3 inHighCool, dry peak season. Book rooms ahead.
February88°F (31°C)0.7 inHighStill dry, warming up. Haze can start late in the month.
March92°F (33°C)1.7 inShoulderHot, with burning-season haze from farm fires.
April95°F (35°C)3.5 inShoulderHottest month. Lao New Year water fights on April 14 to 16.
May92°F (34°C)8.9 inLowMonsoon arrives and clears the haze.
June91°F (33°C)10.4 inLowWet, humid and quiet. Low-season room rates.
July89°F (32°C)11.8 inLowHeavy afternoon storms. Dengue season.
August89°F (31°C)13.4 inLowWettest month. Some years the Mekong floods.
September89°F (32°C)10.4 inLowStill wet, with heavy storms.
October89°F (32°C)3.4 inShoulderRains ease and the dry season starts to show.
November87°F (31°C)0.6 inHighDry again. That Luang Festival at the full moon.
December84°F (29°C)0.2 inHighDriest month, with lows around 67°F (19°C).

Ideas for Itineraries

3 Days in Vientiane

Day one, walk the old center in the morning before the heat. Start at Wat Si Saket, cross to Haw Phra Kaew, then eat khao piak sen for lunch and spend the afternoon at the COPE Visitor Centre. Ride the riverfront at dusk, then eat at Ban Anou. Day two, take a Loca ride out to Pha That Luang early, climb Patuxai for the view, and take the BRT out to the Lao National Museum. Day three, take Bus 14 out to Buddha Park, ideally on your way to the Friendship Bridge, or catch the 08:00 train for a day in Vang Vieng.

5 Days in Vientiane

Do the three-day plan, then give Vang Vieng a proper overnight instead of a day trip. Take the morning train, rent a bicycle for about 60,000 kip and ride out to the caves and lagoons west of the river, and come back on a late-afternoon train. Back in Vientiane, use day five slowly. Eat at Jiu-Jiu or Dihao for Chinese regional food, ride the new eastern embankment toward Wat Nak, and take an evening Lao meal with music at Kualao. Buy your train tickets through the app or your guesthouse the moment sales open.

1 Week in Vientiane

A week lets you treat Vientiane as a base for the line north. Spend two days in the capital, two in Vang Vieng and three in Luang Prabang, all by train, about an hour per leg to Vang Vieng and another hour to Luang Prabang. Fly back from Luang Prabang, or take the morning train south and the 18:25 departure to Nong Khai and Bangkok from Khamsavath. If you're arriving from Thailand, the overnight sleeper from Bangkok gets you in at 09:05, saving a hotel night.

2 Weeks or More in Vientiane

For a longer stay, settle near the river in Sisattanak or near Nam Phu and rent a bicycle by the week from a shop like Lao Bike on Setthathirath Road. The Immigration Department in Vientiane extends a 30-day tourist stay for US$2.50 a day plus a small form fee, per Wikivoyage. Weekends go to Vang Vieng, Nam Ngum lake 90 km north for its floating fish restaurants, or the Thakhek motorbike loop. Since Thailand now caps visa-free land entries at two a year, ration your trips to Nong Khai and Udon Thani.

Sources

What this guide is built on. Every page below was read for this guide; prices and rules were checked in October 2026.

Vientiane Travel FAQ

For most travelers the visa on arrival is fine and cheaper, at US$40 in cash at Wattay, the Friendship Bridge and Khamsavath station. The e-visa costs more, takes about three working days and only works at nine ports, but it lets you skip the visa queue. You must have an e-visa if you're arriving by train from China at Boten, since that crossing doesn't issue visas on arrival. Use only the official laoevisa.gov.la site.

Often, but you'll lose money. Hotels, agencies and bigger shops take dollars and sometimes baht, and Wikivoyage reported in January 2025 that paying the visa fee in kip cost about 50 percent more than paying in dollars. For daily spending use kip, which is hard to change back outside Laos, so convert leftovers before you cross. The largest note is 100,000 kip, worth under US$5.

The station is about 14 km northeast of downtown. Bus 28 leaves the Central Bus Station by Talat Sao about 90 minutes before each departure and costs 25,000 kip, according to Seat61. A Loca ride costs around 80,000 kip, per Wikivoyage, and Seat61 puts a taxi at about US$15. Bring your passport and ticket, and expect a security check at the entrance.

Plan to ride. The bridge has a footpath, but Wikivoyage says walking and cycling across are prohibited, and the border posts are built around the shuttle bus. On the Thai side, a shuttle bus runs from behind Thai immigration and cost 30 baht in January 2024. On the Lao side, take Bus 14 to Talat Sao, a shared jumbo, or a taxi for about 300 baht into town. If you're on a direct international bus and need a visa on arrival, the bus may not wait for you.

Beer is the safe choice. Six foreign tourists died in suspected methanol poisoning linked to a Vang Vieng hostel in November 2024, and in July 2026 prosecutors announced charges against the Tiger Vodka factory owner. Canada's advice is to avoid free or very cheap drinks and buy drinks only from licensed bars and restaurants. Stick to sealed Beerlao, and skip free shots and buckets.