Get in
A visa on arrival is available at Wattay Airport, the Friendship Bridge and Tha Naleng train station. Bring US$30-40 in cash (depending on your nationality) and a passport photo. You can also get a visa in advance at the Lao Embassy in Bangkok; the only real advantages of doing this are that you need to spend less time queuing when you get to Laos and if you are traveling by through-bus from Udon Thani in Thailand to Vientiane the bus may not wait for visas on arrival to be processed.. By Plane: By planeVientiane's Wattay Airport is 4 km west of the city. International services are quite limited, but this is slowly changing. [edit] International flights. There are direct flights to/from almost Asia Countries.
By Trains: The railway link across the Mekong finally opened in March 2009, and there are now four shuttle services daily from Nong Khai to Tha Naleng, some 13 km away from Vientiane and reachable by shuttle bus from the Morning Market. The shuttle trains are timed to connect with overnight trains to and from Bangkok, with around 90 minutes buffer time at the Thai side of the border for buying tickets and Immigration. It's thus possible to hop aboard express #69 at 8 PM in Bangkok, arrive at Nong Khai at 9:30 AM and reach Tha Naleng around 10:30 AM. The train has first and second class A/C sleepers, which cost around 1200/800 baht respectively. Check State Railway of Thailand [3] for the the up-to-date time tables and fares, as well as online ticket booking. A Lao visa on arrival is now available at Tha Naleng station, though you need to arrange your own onward transport to get into the city. This is a major drawback, as the station (unlike Friendship bridge) is located in the middle of nowhere, and songthaew drivers asked as much as 100 baht/person (even from Thai/Lao people) for a shared ride to Vientiane.
The other option is to get off the train at Nong Khai and cross the border by bus via the Friendship Bridge. The Nong Khai station is just 1.5 km from the bridge, so if you take a tuk-tuk it should cost no more than 30-40 baht for all, after bargaining of course. Outside the station there's an information board listing the official prices to the nearby destinations. Most tuk-tuk drivers will stop at a travel agent just outside the station and try to coerce you to buy both a Lao visa and shuttle bus to Vientiane. Don't listen to them: you can get a visa and shuttle easily at the Lao border.
For those, who already have a Lao visa, or do not need one for a short visit (citizens of ASEAN countries, Russia, and a few others), getting off the train in Udon Thani then taking direct cross-border bus to Vientiane bus is a good option. See below for details.
By road
From Thailand
The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (Saphan Mittaphap) from Nong Khai, Thailand is the most common means of entry. The bridge cannot be crossed on foot or by bicycle, but there are frequent 20 baht shuttle buses just past Thai immigration. Bicycles can be carried on buses in the cargo compartment. Direct buses to/from Nong Khai (55 baht) and Udon Thani (80 baht) arrive and depart from the Talat Sao bus terminal. These are cheap, comfortable, hassle-free and popular, so book ahead or arrive early. Schedules change often, currently the buses start at 8AM and leave every 2 hours or so, until 6PM. Note: these buses are not an option if you plan to obtain a Lao visa on arrival at the bridge - the bus will not wait long enough. To get from the Udon airport to the Friendship Bridge, a 200 Baht minibus fare can be purchased in the airport and will drop you off on the Thai side of the bridge. Visas on arrival are available at the bridge. If you forgot your passport photo, they'll photocopy your passport for an extra US$1/40 baht (or do it on the Thai side for just 2 baht). When you get a visa on arrival, you get the entry stamp at the same time, so you don't have to wait in line afterwards. A 10 baht "entry fee" is sometimes charged once through. Just walk past the entry fee booth. If no-one stops you, you haven't done anything wrong. Once through immigration, you can take a jumbo (posted price 250 baht, easy to bargain down to 100 baht or less for immediate departure with only one passenger) or taxi (300 baht) to any destination in the city. Shared jumbos are cheaper. You should be able to negotiate to a good deal less than 50 baht/person if you're prepared to share (and possibly wait). The local bus (usually #14) to Talat Sao (the Morning Market) is the cheapest of all, 5,000 kip or 20 baht, but signage is nonexistent and you may be in for a wait (up to 20 minutes). The bus runs until at least 6:45PM or so. It's about 20km from the bridge to Vientiane; allow at least 30 minutes. When arriving via the Friendship Bridge, you might like to visit theBuddha Park sculpture garden before going on to Vientiane, and save yourself a return trip back past the border crossing later. The same local bus (usually #14) that connects Talat Sao (the Morning Market) and the Friendship Bridge checkpoint also continues on to Buddha Park. Ask the driver which way it's going, just in case. Going the opposite way, asking around the bus station for "Friendship Bridge" or "border" is effective. The last bus #14 leaves Talat Sao for the bridge and Buddha Park at 5:30PM according to the timetable, but it may run later. Don't believe anyone who tells you the bus is finished - just ask the bus driver. There are no immigration fees when exiting Laos via the Bridge, except at weekends when a token 2500 kip "overtime charge" might apply. Just walk past the exit fee booth. If no-one stops you, you haven't done anything wrong. Tickets from Vientiane to Udon Thani can only be bought from the Talat Sao bus station on the day itself for 22,000 kip. The bridge immigration shuts quite late, around 10PM. (Ambulances can go through at any hour, in an emergency.) But check with the locals if you are unsure. Although note that the Thai clock is very different to the western one, so using 24 hour time may be a better way to ask.
From Vietnam
A direct bus from Hanoi takes at least 20 hours (despite what the travel agents might say, avg 24 hrs) and should cost about US$15-20. There is a twice a week VIP bus (better seats) and a local bus that departs every day. For the local bus: apparently you're not always certain of a seat and Vietnamese people tend to sit and never get up again until you've arrived. The journey from Hue is 16hrs and should cost 16 US$
From other Cities
Buses to and from destinations in Vientiane Prefecture depart from the Talat Sao bus terminal, just east of the Morning Market. There is an informative schedule and schematic diagram of the bus piers painted on the central building, which is where you can also buy tickets. The Southern Bus Terminal, used by all buses coming from the south (including VIP), is on Thanon Kaisone Phomvihane (that is the first stretch of the "Route 13 South"), quite far from town leaving you at the mercy of the tuk-tuk bullies. Note that if you buy a ticket in town you should be able to get a free ride to the terminal. The Northern Bus Terminal, somewhat north-west of the city center on the T2 road (now officially named Asiane Road), is where all buses to the north arrive and depart. | 
HistorySettled since at least 1000 AD, Vientiane became the capital of the Kingdom of Lan Xang ("million elephants") in 1545. Ransacked in 1828 by the Siamese, Vientiane sprung back in time to be again named the capital of the protectorate of Laos by the French, a position it kept after independence (1953) and after the communists took over in 1975. Today Vientiane is the largest city in Laos, with an estimated population of 210,000 in the city itself and some 700,000 in Vientiane Prefecture. 
Vientiane is stretched out on the north-eastern bank of a bend in the Mekong River. From the river bank inland, the main roads running parallel to the river are Thanon Fa Ngum, Thanon Setthathirat and Thanon Samsenthai. The central district, Chanthabuli, contains most of Vientiane's government offices, hotels and restaurants. Vientiane's widest boulevard, Thanon Lane Xang, runs from the Presidential Palace (now used for government offices and for state receptions) to the northeast around Patuxai, the Victory Gate, towards Pha That Luang, the That Luang Stupa, the most important religious monument in Laos. 
