An over-full minivan: drivers wait for too many people than seats and seatbelts before going :-( that is not comfortable for the price but most important: this is not safe for people. We were also 30' late?
Minivan arrived on time. But too many people were squeezed into one minivan. Some had to sit on a stool for 6 hours. The minivan left 35 minutes late. You felt like an animal in a cage that was far too small.
Taking this van was a Great experience for us, but it is definitely mit for everyone. Being delayed shouldn't be a problem for you. It was the craziest drive of our life. As the street's' conditions were very bad, we we're shaked the whole 7h Trip. Most of the 20 People in our tiny van got more and more angry while driving. We also don't recommend it for tall or strongly built people - it was really tight.
Do not get irritated If the driver stops to grab some locals. One time we had a break for Toilette and eating at a Restaurant.
However, we we're glad we took this Option as we couldn't get Tickets for the train and want to have New experiences to enlargen put horizont.
There was extra stools added to the aisle that had no seatbelt or backsupport. We were told we would have a stop on the way to Vang Vieng for food/bathroom which we never got. We were stopped at a stop sign where there was construction and were left out there to climb over a ditch to pee. Not a fun trip but definitely an experience.
Easy to book and overall good ride, took only 5 hour with a toilet break. But the road was very bad and bumby so not the most comfy ride. The bus also has two extra seats/chairs (without back support) in the middle of the van so they can fit two extra people in the small van. Luckily I got in first so I got an propper seat.
Booked a 14 seater minivan to leave at 7:30 am, was told there was no bus at 7:30 but was leaving at 8:30. Had a flight to catch leaving us worried we would miss it. There was 20 people on a 14 seater minivan so be prepared for cramped conditions in hot weather so wasn’t pleasant.
On the positive side it only took 7 hours not the 10 specified so caught the flight on time. Great service from 12go though. Easy service booking the tickets and great communication. Got us from A to B
The bus is clean and beds are well maintained. Very organised everyone sleep in their designated cabin number. Cabin length is about 1.8m just nice for me. But is not overbooked and bus driver knows his way and drive safely, it took us 9 hrs to reach Vientiane fro Luang Prabang instead of 12 hrs. VERY GOOD EXPERIENCE!
My previous trip fro Vientiane to Luang Prabang was a nightmare. Took Soutchai bus:
1. Overbooked - 10 white guys have no cabin and sleep on corridor.
2. Beds are worn out and dirty cabin.
3. VERY UNORGANISED nobody follow cabin number and i almost didnt get a cabin because of this.
4. Cabin length is about 1.6m. i Had to bend my leg for 12 hrs because insufficient legroom!
5. Super bumpy and many fast cornering i was worried i couldnt make it to Luang Prabang in one piece.
6. Other than passenger they carry goods as well, my luggage was on top of the bus luckily when unload they didnt break my aluminium luggage handle!
7. SOUTCHAI BUS WAS TOTALLY RUNDOWN COMPARED TO THIS PLS DONT TAKE!
It has nothing to do with the buss actually, the buss was 5/5 and the comfort better than expected. But be prepared to fear for your life because the road is not close to good.
The online purchase was smooth and onsite check in got no issues. Do not ignore the prompt regarding purchase of two tickets if you value your privacy and if you are not the size of a small asian girl. Ultimately the experience of the ride is in your own hands.
VIP buses are not running daytime, so we were put on a minibus. The bus was scheduled to leave at 08:00, instead it departed at 09:00. The trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane took 10 hours!
Buying the tickets online is 30-40% more expensive than buying the tickets in Luang Prabang. You can easily buy the bus tickets at your hotel, travel angencies or at the bus station.
รถบัส เอ็กซ์เพรส, Vieng Chaleune, 6 ธ.ค. 2019
C F
Chelsea F
Long and very crammed, but good/careful driver
รถบัส เอ็กซ์เพรส, Vieng Chaleune, 10 พ.ย. 2019
M M
Maciej M
Pros: we got to Vientiane in one piece
Cons: we got to bus station one hour before departure; to my shock, the driver’s son (maybe 14) wanted to take/check our tickets and there was no one else around. We got no meal before during or after the ride. The driver turned on lights as he pleased throughout the ride, not just for stops. On one of the stop he nearly left with two people still not being back on the bus. He also smoked on the bus which was hard for us to do anything about given there are no windows and our seats were at the front. But I think my biggest bugbear was the music... the terrible music played over and over the journey especially loud around 3-4am which I assume was to keep the driver awake. We arrived at 7:15am and our bags were very dirty, one was wet too.
Sleeper night bus. Very Clean. No place to leave your little bag (main luggage kept down). You feel sometimes you lack space to move. DO NOT FORGET to take enough clothes or a blanket with you. It is very cold with the air conditioning. They blanket they provide you with is not enough.
They offer a meal of good fried rice and a bottle of water.
Partiti con un'ora di ritardo, durante il tragitto abbiamo preso a bordo altre persone che sono poi scese in punti non previsti causando ulteriori ritardi. Personale scortese.
รถบัส เอ็กซ์เพรส, Vieng Chaleune, 13 ส.ค. 2019
G E
George E
The seats we got given were not the best they were at the back of the bus beside the toilet, next to the engine and rather uncomfortable. There was a baby laying in the middle of an isle, which was fine until she unfortunately had an accident and stunk the whole bus out. The route was very windy which meant you moved around in your seat a lot, but we made it to Vientiane 10 minutes before scheduled which was a bonus.
Bumpy road ahead. Driver will stop at most places to fetch passengers and they will sleep on the floor which will be next to the other passengers on lower berth. Choose upper berth if u wish to have some privacy