Savannakhet by bus · Savannakhet by bus
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Savannakhet by bus
Savannakhet by bus
There is bus service from Vientiane to Savannakhet. For the time being it is the only way to practically get to Savannakhet from the capital. It is a 9 hour bus ride on a newly paved road. While the ride is long, it is an excellent way to see the local villages and lush country side of Laos. Buses from Vientiane to Pakse, often stop in Savannakhet. There are two different types of buses that service the route from/to Vientiane:
Local Bus - These public bus leave Vientiane and Savannakhet throughout the morning, and make lots of stops to get passengers and goods. Takes approximately 9 hours, costs 75,000 Kip one way. A genuine experience of Laos.
VIP Bus - much like the local bus, but there are less stops, assigned seats, there is a toilet and all important air conditioning. Less frequent and costs more, but well worth it. This is a night bus. Total duration is approximately 8 hours as the bus doesn't run over 40 mph. There are two types of night buses: one with bunk beds (120,000 Kip) and one with seats (110,000 Kip). Each bunk bed accommodates two people - highly recommend buying out the space next to you if you are travelling alone or are travelling in odd numbered groups as you will be sleeping next to a stranger in a twin-sized bed.
There are also local buses from and to:
Thakhek (30,000 Kip, 2-3 hours)
Pakse (35,000 Kip, 5 hours)
Si Phan Don (75,000 Kip, 7 hours)
There are direct local buses from and to less travelled domestic destinations, such as Sekong (60,000 Kip, 5 hours), Salavan (60,000 Kip, 8 hours), Attapeu (70,000 Kip, 10 hours) and Sepon (30,000 Kip, 4 hours).
International
The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge across the Mekong to Mukdahan, Thailand opened to the general public on January 9, 2007. There is a regular bus service between Mukdahan and Savannakhet, with departures approximately once an hour. A one way trip between Savannaket and Mukdahan costs 50 Baht / 14,000 Kip. In case you have to process a visa at the Laos immigration, instruct the bus driver to wait for you, otherwise they won't wait.
Daily buses make the five hour trip (35,000 Kip) from / to the Lao Bao border in Vietnam via Sepon. Local bus 7.30am, 9am and noon.
VIP buses to Dong Ha in Vietnam go via Lao Bao, and are only available on weekdays at 10am. The 350 km trip takes around seven hours and costs 90,000 Kip. Local buses leave every day at 10pm (80,000 Kip) and take seven hours as well.
VIP buses to Hue (Vietnam) leave on weekdays only at 10am. The 410 km journey takes eight hours and 110,000 Kip. Get information and your reservation at Savanbanhao hotel (downtown). The local daily bus to Hue (leaving 10pm, 90,000 Kip) is not recommended, as you need to wait at the border checkpoint from 3am until the checkpoints opens at 8am, which will lead to insufficient night rest due to immigration officials, vendors and beggars trying to get your money. For local buses to Danang (also Vietnam) the same details apply.
The Sav bus station is located ~2km north of the town centre (16.5752 104.7525). ~50b for a tuk tuk rider into the city.
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Savannakhet Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.