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Vientiane · Laos

Car hire and driving in Vientiane

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In Laos traffic drives on the right. Picking up at VTE means 4 km (2 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648833 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648876 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25743518.

Drives from Vientiane

Car rental from Vientiane: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Vientiane to Udon ThaniThailand64 km (40 mi)about 59 min
Vientiane to Khon KaenThailand171 km (106 mi)about 2 h 36 min
Vientiane to SavannakhetLaos277 km (172 mi)about 4 h 14 min
Vientiane to LampangThailand330 km (205 mi)about 5 h 2 min
Vientiane to Yên VinhVietnam333 km (207 mi)about 5 h 5 min
Vientiane to VinhVietnam336 km (209 mi)about 5 h 7 min
Vientiane to Nakhon RatchasimaThailand337 km (210 mi)about 5 h 9 min
Vientiane to Hà TĩnhVietnam352 km (219 mi)about 5 h 22 min
Vientiane to Hoàng MaiVietnam359 km (223 mi)about 5 h 28 min
Vientiane to Nghi SơnVietnam372 km (231 mi)about 5 h 40 min
Vientiane to Ubon RatchathaniThailand387 km (240 mi)about 5 h 54 min
Vientiane to Thanh HóaVietnam391 km (243 mi)about 5 h 57 min
Vientiane to Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam905 km (562 mi)about 13 h 48 min
Vientiane to HanoiVietnam481 km (299 mi)about 7 h 20 min
Vientiane to BangkokThailand519 km (323 mi)about 7 h 55 min
Vientiane to HaiphongVietnam536 km (333 mi)about 8 h 10 min
Vientiane to Phnom PenhCambodia754 km (469 mi)about 11 h 30 min
Vientiane to Cần ThơVietnam946 km (588 mi)about 14 h 26 min
Vientiane to HuếVietnam556 km (346 mi)about 8 h 29 min
Vientiane to Da NangVietnam634 km (394 mi)about 9 h 40 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Vientiane?

The right, as everywhere in Laos.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.