Huyen Chau

The bus leaves supposedly at six but you are supposed to be there an hour before, make sure you change your QR code to a physical ticket at counter 8 (vientaine). There is a service station stop around 9pm for dinner, make sure you have 60k kip if you wish to purchase food, it’s a set price not a menu. They reach the boarder a few hours later and stay there overnight until it opens in the morning, boarder process took about 3 hours, make sure you have a further 50k kip to go into vietnam, not sure why but thats required (not visa, everyone has to do this) and another stop is available at about 12 for food but they only take VND or maybe THB, dollars or kip won’t be accepted. Not a bad choice, for the price it’s pretty good. Fairly comfortable trip, i heard some other passengers got bed bugs though. Staff were pretty rude and unhelpful and if you’re unlucky you get a smaller area than everyone else.

It wasn't as bad as I had feared, but I was quite shocked by the driver's behavior and how low and rude the level of communication was.

My journey to Hanoi went very well. The trip lasted 22 hours and 30 minutes instead of the 24 hours initially announced. The bus was comfortable, equipped with power outlets, Wi-Fi upon arrival in Vietnam, and even onboard toilets, which was highly appreciated. We had a dinner stop around 9 p.m., so make sure to bring some cash if you plan to eat. We reached the border around 6 a.m., and there was a bit of a line, so we waited approximately two hours and a half before being able to cross. There is another food stop at noon once you are in Vietnam, and if you don’t have any Vietnamese dong, you can ask the locals at the border to exchange kip for you. Although the journey is long, it was overall very smooth and comfortable. You can easily sleep and get a full night’s rest during the trip.

Long drive but it was worth it, The bus was comfortable and we arrived earlier than advertised.

Arrived to the bus station 2 hours in advance thankfully. They said the bus was departing at 5pm instead of 6pm. There was a landslide in the way, we were stopped for 11 hours. The border crossing Laos-Vietnam is a mess, nobody speaks English and it was raining heavily, with no places to be safe from the rain. Drivers don't speak any English and they scream at you in their language.

Great overall sleeper transfer compared to other experiences I've read. Everyone had seperate beds, reasonably comfortable, good curtains for privacy. Charging ports and WiFi (only in Vietnam) were really appreciated. Funky, well lit, air conditioned, and toilet available (though no soap). The bus stopped for an opportunity to grab dinner in Laos at about 21:15 - great but don't know if you can rely on this happening each time. Some negatives: The instructions/clarity/ direction at the border was non-existant. Staff did not appear to speak any English, or very limited, and were uninterested in helping. The air conditioning was not always on - the bus arrived at the border at 00:45 at which point it just waited. Once the engine was off, so was the A/C. We were then required to leave the bus with all our stuff an hour before the checkpoint opened and stand outside. After border crossing, we waited for 1.5 hours. All in all, about 7-8 hours of downtime. The bed space was nice but a little small for a Caucasian frame. If you're over maybe 170 cm, it will feel a teeny bit crampt.

I got a smaller booth than the rest. The operator was not helpful at the border and very rude.