Overland travel to Laos

	The railway to Laos opened March 2009...  Looking back as the train from Thailand leaves the road/rail Friendship Bridge across the Mekong and heads towards Thanaleng station.  Photo courtesy of Andrew McIntyre.
	Thanaleng station...  The new rail terminal at Thanaleng, about 3km inside Laos beyond the Friendship Bridge, just 13km short of Vientiane city centre.  It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so arrange transfers in advance if you can.  Photo courtesy of Bob Fletcher
	Above:  Thanaleng station.  Photo courtesy of Ted & Heather.
	Above:  The tracks at Thanaleng station.  Photo courtesy of Ted & Heather.

It's easy to travel from Bangkok to Vientiane (or vice versa) by train, using the daily overnight sleeper train direct from Bangkok to Nong Khai and a special connecting local train to the new international rail terminal at Thanaleng in Laos, some 13km outside Vientiane.  The train uses the new rail link over the Friendship Bridge across the Mekong river into Laos, opened on 5 March 2009.  You can then take a local bus or tuk tuk to central Vientiane.  It's safe, cheap and comfortable.  Alternatively, you can still travel between Bangkok & Vientiane the old way, using any of the Bangkok-Nong Khai trains, then making your own way by bus or taxi between Nong Khai & Vientiane.  This section explains both options.

Bangkok ► Vientiane
Km	Train number:	133	77	69
	Classes:	s,2,3	DRC	1,S
0	Bangkok (Hualamphong) depart:	18:40	18:30	20:00
22	Don Muang depart:	19:27	19:13	20:50
71	Ayutthaya depart:	20:12	19:47	21:41
624	Nong Khai arrive:	07:35	05:05	08:25
630	Thanaleng (Laos) arrive:	|	|	10:05 *
643	Vientiane (Laos) arrive:	**	**	*

* Change trains at Nong Khai. Originally, through 2nd class sleeper cars operated between Bangkok & Thanaleng, but it's now reported that the Nong Khai to Thanaleng train is run as a totally separate train with 3rd class seats.  You've a couple of hours to change trains in Nong Khai and buy onward tickets, which is easy.

** Use local transport (bus, taxi, tuk-tuk) between Nong Khai & Vientiane

*** Use local transport (taxi, tuk-tuk) between Thanaleng & central Vientiane.

Classes...

1 = 1st class sleeper.  S = 2nd class sleeper (air-con).  s = 2nd class sleeper (non-air-con).  2 = 2nd class seats.  3 = 3rd class seats.  DRC = Diesel Railcar express with 2nd class air-conditioned seats, meals included.  Most western travellers use cheap & comfortable 2nd class sleepers, although others are happy to pay more for 1st class 2-berth sleepers.

Option 1, take the train all the way between Bangkok & Laos... 

The easiest option is to take the overnight train (train 69 northbound, train 70 southbound) between Bangkok & Nong Khai, and the connecting local train across the Friendship Bridge between Nong Khai & Thanaleng in Laos, just outside Vientiane.  An extension of the railway to the suburbs of Vientiane is planned.  How to buy tickets.  The new Thanaleng station is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so pre-arrange a taxi transfer into Vientiane if you can, perhaps by booking a hotel then asking them to arrange a taxi.  If you can't, you'll no doubt find a taxi or bus into town, and Thai baht are normally readily accepted.

VISAS:  'Visas on arrival' for Laos are now issued at Thanaleng station, costing US$35 + 1 baht entry fee.

Option 2, use any train between Bangkok & Nong Khai, then bus or taxi to Vientiane...

The other way to travel from Bangkok to Vientiane (or vice versa) is to take any train from Bangkok to Nong Khai, overnight train 69 (train 70 southbound) being the best choice.  Nong Khai is just a few kilometres from the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River into Laos.  You then use road transport across the Friendship Bridge into Laos like this: (1)  Take a local tuk-tuk taxi from Nong Khai railway station to the Nong Khai bus station.  (2) A shuttle bus runs from the bus station across the Friendship Bridge to Laos every 20 minutes throughout the day, fare about 30 baht.  It stops at Thai immigration 5 mins after leaving the bus station then crosses the Friendship Bridge to arrive at Lao customs & immigration some 10 mins later (a 15-day visa on arrival available for Laos at this border point).  (3) You now remove your luggage from the bus luggage hold and go through Lao customs.  Take another tuk-tuk to your chosen hotel.  Try this link for more information on the shuttle bus.  When travelling southbound, leave central Vientiane at least 3 hours before your train leaves Nong Khai for Bangkok to allow time for border formalities and the various bus/taxi journeys.

Map of train routes in Southeast Asia      Taking bikes    What are Thai trains like?

Vientiane ► Bangkok
Train number:	76	70 *	134
Classes:	DRC	1,S,3	s,2,3
Vientiane (Laos) depart:	**	*	**
Thanaleng (Laos) depart:	|	17:00	|
Nong Khai (Thailand) arrive:	|	17:15	|
Nong Khai depart:	06:00	18:20	19:05
Ayutthaya arrive:	15:30	04:23	05:34
Don Muang arrive:	16:12	05:22	06:26
Bangkok (Hualamphong) arrive:	17:10	06:25	07:30

Fares
(in Thai baht)	1st class sleeper  a/c express train	2nd class sleeper  a/c express train	2nd class seat a/c fast railcar	2nd class seat ordinary train	3rd class seat ordinary train
Bangkok to Nong Khai or vice versa	1,217 (£26, $37)	778 (£16, $23)	498 (£10, $15)	388 (£8, $11	258 (£5, $8)
Nong Khai to Thanaleng or vice versa	20 baht for a seat

Children aged 0 to 3 and less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under 150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or over 150cm high) pay full fare.  

The sleeper fares shown here are for a lower bunk, an upper bunk is 50-100 baht less in 2nd class.  Non-air-con 2nd class sleepers (available on a few trains) cost 160-200 baht less than the air-con variety.  You can check fares at www.railway.co.th (but do this by selecting 'timetables' as the fares shown at the bottom of each timetable page include the air-conditioning supplement, sleeper & special express supplements.  If you select the 'fares' option, the fares shown don't include those supplements).

How to buy tickets from Bangkok to Vientiane...

You can't buy through tickets from Bangkok to Thanaleng, at least not yet, you have to buy a ticket from Bangkok to Nong Khai, then buy the onward ticket from Nong Khai to Thanaleng at the station when you get to Nong Khai.  You can buy your Bangkok-Nong Khai sleeper ticket at the reservations office in Bangkok or online using the new Thai Railways online booking service.  The new online service can now book 2nd class air-con sleepers from Bangkok to Nong Khai on train 69, but it won't book 1st class ones or tickets for any of the other Bangkok-Nong Khai trains, at least not yet.  Or you can buy tickets through an agency such as Traveller2000.  For details of all these methods see the How to Buy Tickets section on the Thailand page.  You then buy your Nong Khai to Thanaleng ticket for 20 baht when you arrive at Nong Khai station.  There's plenty of time to do this, as the train has a 2 hour layover in Nong Khai before the connecting train heads to Thanaleng.

How to buy tickets from Vientiane to Bangkok...

Booking online:  You can book a Nong Khai to Bangkok sleeper ticket online using the new Thai Railways online booking service, see the How to Buy Tickets section on the Thailand page.  Currently this system will book 2nd class air-con sleepers on train 70 from Nong Khai to Bangkok, but not 1st class ones or tickets for any of the other Nong Khai to Bangkok trains.  You can only book online less than 60 days before travel, but more than 3 days before travel (in other words, if you need to travel within the next 3 days forget about online booking, you'll need to buy tickets at the station).  Once you've booked the critical Nong Khai to Bangkok sleeper and printed out your ticket in .PDF format (so make sure any internet cafe you use has a printer!), you can easily buy a Thanaleng to Nong Khai train ticket at the station at Thanaleng on the day of travel.

Buy tickets to Bangkok at Thanaleng station:  It's now (as of November 2009) possible to buy tickets all the way to Bangkok at Thanaleng station ticket office, even on the day of travel.  You must buy your tickets in Thai Baht only, in cash at Thanaleng station. There is no currency exchange or ATM there, so get hold of some baht before leaving central Vientiane.

Customs & departure procedures when travelling from Tha Naleng to Bangkok:

Ted & Heather of JumpAMonkey.com report:  "Arrive at Tha Naleng station a little early to be on the safe side. “Stamping out” at the customs window in Thanaleng station takes only 1 or 2 minutes.  When the train arrives, board a 1st or 2nd class SEAT for the 13-15 minute ride to Nong Khai, Thailand. NO SLEEPER CARS WILL BE ON THE TRAIN YET.  In Nong Khai, disembark the train, go to the customs window and ‘stamp in’ for your Visa On Arrival in Thailand.  You have about an hour hour to wait.   Smile and toast the other passengers arriving from their 90+ minute bus / tuk-tuk / Friendship Bridge Customs journey who didn’t know about this option."

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