Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang any hotel by van

I bought the ticket via 12go and I am aware that they are only selling the ticket and are not operating the buses. The bus had 12-15 passengers, give or take, during the tour. The trip between Vientiane and Luang Prabang was interesting and I can summarize it as: Pro: - We made it all the way without any incidents . That said there was several near-misses and some serious incidents observed on the way (see below) - The driver of the bus was politely and friendly - The air-con was not to cold (which is often a problem on this buses) - Plenty of stops en-route (might be annoying for some) ensured that the engine - and most importantly - the brakes could cool down before continue the ride. Con: - We observed a truck involved in a "front to front" collision with another heavy vehicle. This caused some delays both southbound and northbound. - We observed an incident involving two motorcycles with at least two fatalities. Shocking! - I showed up the 1 hour before pick up (as instructed on the ticket) just to experience that I had to wait for 1 hour and 20 minutes for the pick-up. - At the bus station there was some confusion about which bus to take, wen it was leaving etc, but it was sorted out in the end. - The bus was old, noisy and had seen better days. But remember- this is Laos - The roads was bumpy, and to some extent, unpaved. But remember- this is Laos

Driver did not seem that confident on the roads and at times felt dangerous. On the plus side, the bus left 15 mins early and did not take 6 hours, more like 4.5 - with a 30 min food stop and a shorter 10 min toilet break.

Nvt

Overall we managed to reach the destination safely and on time. However, we booked a sleeper van but we got a sleeper bus where the aircon broke down.

The driver who picked me up was very helpful and kind. The bus left 45 minutes late, and we got to Luang Prabang 3 hours late. The bus smelled very moldy and made me cough. The bathroom was closed, which was very inconvenient for me because I was sick. Thankfully the driver stopped many times so we could use the bathroom. The bus service was kind about letting me have my own bed since I am bigger than most Asian people.

We weren’t happy that once we boarded the mini bus in Vang Vieng, we had to drive around for ages back and forth to the same places to pick up other travellers who were not ready on time. There was not enough space in the mini van for every plus our bags, it was so cramped for a 4 hour plus journey.

Great driver, great travel

Long and hard on the butt. All okay. Thanks!

Bring some earplugs and you are fine.

A bumpy ride, but quite okay, through the mountains. The bus didn’t have so much space, but the beds were fine for sleeping. At the paper it said we were supposed to leave at 18 pm but the bus took off at 20.30 pm. It also said a ride for about 13 hours, and were supposed to be in Luang Prabang at 7.00am. But the bus came in at 12pm. At the bus station tuktuk’s are ready to pick you up, but be aware that they drive you to city center and not the accommodation, even though you tell them where to go.

The mini-van was in pretty good condition and the driver drove reasonably safely. The roads aren’t in great condition but the beautiful scenery en route compensates. Overall, I’d recommend this service, especially at busy times of the year where it’s worth paying the 12go. premium to secure a seat in advance.

Booked sleeper bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. Time on booking was 18.00 but not a real departure time. Mini van shuttle picked up me to northern bus terminal and real departure time was 20.00(same as another bus company) They gave a meal voucher that no staff speak english to tell how and where to use. The meal voucher are value 10k kip that can exchange some snack or drink, not enough for meal. Few passenger got only fucking sticky rice!!

The good: Someone picks you up from your hotel. GREAT scenery. Trip included lunch. The bad: Bus was fairly dirty, needed dusting and a good wipe down and vacuum. Driver played music for most of the trip, which seemed kind of weird. When it gets dark no lights are turned on, so you’re just sitting in the dark. This could have been a good opportunity for sleep, but the music was still playing. Near the end of the trip he made a lot of stops. Trip took about 13 hours

Amazing costumer service and excellent driver. Our ride to Luang Prabang from Vang Vieng was smooth sailing. Highly recommend!

Driver was very friendly, has good experience driving a bus in slippery conditions. Bravo !

It is not a tourist bus. Some locals bring live stocks on board. Seats are too small even for asian size. AC is not cold and I was even sweating. There was a landslide an hour drive near luang prabang and buses and lorries couldnt go as half of the road was covered with mud. Only small vans were able to go thru. Had to hitchhike a van to get to luang prabang.

Waited 2 hours to get on the bus, wasn't even told when it was leaving

Nice scenary. Bus ok-lah.

Comfortable van

The actual bus was absolutely fine - actually slightly better than expected. There was a complete mess up with my pick-up - it wasn't available from my hotel so I had to go to another hotel for pick-up which is fair enough, but it didn't arrive and the phone number I had didn't work. I was fortunate that the hotel I was being picked up from, although I wasn't their guest, were really helpful, found an alternative contact number, and sorted things out. The pick-up driver then got me to the bus station (still in good time) got my ticket sorted and got me to the right bus, which is why I have still given 3 stars as it was all sorted out in the end despite some stress.

Good, careful driver, spectacular scenery but a loooooong trip. Not for the vertiginous. You spend a LOT of time very close to a sheer drop. The A/c didn't work so bus was a sauna, windscreen wipers didn't work (and it was raining). No communication, no head count. A Spanish girl was left behind at the lunch stop.

It was cheap overnight bus travel and ok for the price, I guess. There wasn't much room for getting some good sleep though because the seats were not wide enough to turn on the side. But probably that's what comes at this price, I don't have much experience with overnight traveling in buses yet, so can't say anything for sure. One area where I probably would like some improvement though is providing more accurate departure times. In this case, the departure listed in the voucher was 6pm (so we all reached the ticket office before 6pm) but after we were dropped at the bus station we were told that the bus will depart at 8:30pm. That's over 2.5 hours of time that we could've used for sightseeing etc instead of spending it at the bus station. But then again, this was my first experience with overnight buses, so I don't know how it all realistically works.