Flights Introduction
The national airline for domestic flights is Lao Aviation. Vientiane is their homebase.
Their safety record is terrible (have a look at www.airsafe.com for details), and they mostly use Chinese planes (YUN 12 & 7) and some helicopters.
Here are some examples of destinations, but be aware that prices and schedules change quickly.
Schedules | Day | Departure | Arrival | Flight | Transfer | Aircraft | Class | | From (VTE) | | To Houeixay (HOE) | | 1----6- | 0830 | 0950 | QV161 | non stop | YN2 | Y | | --34--- | 0840< | 1000 | QV163 | non stop | YN2 | Y | | To Luangnamatha (LXG) | | ---4--7 | 1100 | 1210 | QV131 | non stop | YN7 | Y | | -2----- | 1150 | 1300 | QV133 | non stop | YN7 | Y | | To Luangprabang (LPQ) | | 123-567 | 0930 | 1010 | QV101 | non stop | YN7/AN74 | Y | | 1234567 | 1200 | 1240 | QV103 | non stop | ATR72/YN7 | Y | | 1234567 | 1530 | 1610 | QV105 | non stop | YN7 | Y | | ---4--- | 0830 | 0910 | QV635 | non stop | ATR72 | Y | | To Oudomxay (ODY) | | -2--5-- | 1000 | 1050 | QV171 | non stop | YN7/AN74 | Y | | To Pakse (PKZ) | | 1------ | 1230 | 1350 | QV511 | non stop | ATR72 | Y | | -234-67 | 0700 | 0820 | QV201 | non stop | AN74/YN7 | Y | | ----5-- | 0705 | 0825 | QV203 | non stop | YN7 | Y | | To Samneua (NEU) | | 1234567 | 1130 | 1240 | QV141 | non stop | YN2 | Y | | 1234567 | 1230 | 1340 | QV143 | non stop | YN2 | Y | | To Savannakhet (ZVK) | | 1234567 | 0730 | 0855 | QV221 | non stop | YN2 | Y | | To Sayabouly (ZBY) | | -2--5-7 | 0940 | 1025 | QV151 | non stop | YN2 | Y | | To Xiengkhouang (XKH) | | 12-4--- | 0910 | 0950 | QV121 | non stop | YN7/AN74 | Y | | --3-56- | 1050 | 1130 | QV123 | non stop | YN7 | Y | | 1234567 | 1430 | 1510 | QV125 | non stop | YN7 | Y | | -2----- | 1510 | 1550 | QV127 | non stop | YN7 | Y |
Prices (10/99)
- Vientiane-Luang Prabang: 55 US$ (40 min.)
- Vientiane-Savannakhet 61 US$ (1 hour)
- Vientiane-Pakse: 95 US$ (1h 25 min)
- Vientiane-Luang Nam Ta: 95 US$ (1 hour)
- Vientiane-Houai Xai: 88 US$
- Vientiane-Xieng Khouang (Plain of Jars): 45 US$ (40 min)
Domestic boat trips The rivers used to be the traditional highways of the country. However, with roads being increasingly built, less people are using them nowadays.
For tourists, the most famous river trips are:
- Huay Xai (Thai border) to Luang Prabang: You have the choice between the fast and the slow boat, have a look at the Luang Prabang section for details.
- Muang Sing to Luang Prabang: see Muang Sing chapter for details
- Pakse to Si Phan Don: see Pakse getting out
- Luang Nam Tha to Huay Xai: not frequent anymore, see Luang Nam Tha "getting out".
If river travelling is your thing, you'll find a boat in every river town. Prices are OK once you get off the beaten track.
There are also some rivertaxis for small trips.
Buses and pick ups For long distance trips, you have 3 options:
- From Vientiane to the North till Luang Prabang, they have some Japanese buses. They are quite new, with 2 + 2 seats, but they put extra people in the middle, so they get VERY crowded. On your way to Savannakhet, you'll find some older buses.
- Once the road gets bad, you'll get old wooden buses, open air, with hard benches. Don't forget your jacket if you ride on one of these.
- The most frequent means of transportation are pick up trucks. They have hard benches on each side. In the middle they put all kinds of luggage. A pick up is NEVER full, an the classical trip takes between 6 and 9 hours, so it's very tiring. Nevertheless, it's also an adventure and the ideal way to meet locals. Don't forget your sweater and jacket because it can get cold in the mountains.
Prices are sometimes very strange: sometimes you even pay more for an old bus then for a new Japanese bus
This is the road situation at the moment (10/99):
- Vientiane-LP: good and safe road (nr 13)
- LP - Pak bang: quite good (nr 13)
- Pakbeng - Luang Nam Tha: BAD road (nr 1)
- Pakbeng - Muang Sing - further: BAD road (nr 1 and 6)
- Luang Nam Tha - Huay Xai: very bad road (nr 13), only open in dry season
- Vientiane-Savannakhet-Pakse-Si Phan Don: bad road, only sand for the moment, but construction is going on (nr. 13)
- Savannakhet - Vietnam: bad road
DUE TO BAD ROADS AND POOR TRANSPORTATION TRAVELLING IN LAOS TAKES TIME AND EFFORT, take this into account when making your plans.
Renting a bike This is a great way to visit some villages.
Nice trips are the one around Muang Sing to visit the surrounding villages, or around Vang Vieng to visit the caves.
If you want to travel through Laos by bike, it's definitely a good way to see the country.
In Luang Prabang, we heard that they were not allowed anymore to rent bikes to tourists. We rented one at the Phounsab guesthouse without problems though.
Tuk Tuk You'll find Tuk Tuks in most cities. Sometimes they are very small, sometimes they are small cars.
A 2 to 5 km trip will cost something between 1000 and 5000 Kipp (10/99)
They can carry up to 8 people.
Taxi In Vientiane and LP, you'll find some taxis, mostly used by business men.
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