JS
Jamie SI very rarely review things however wanted to share my experience with other travellers. Bus left 1 hour later than advertised however arrived on time to destination so can’t fault that. Bus was not what we expected but weren’t too bothered (got very hot in the day time). However issue was around bus drivers being overly aggressive to myself and my girlfriend giving us the feeling whenever we left the bus they may drive off without us making border crossing very stressful. Basically making us feel on edge for the whole journey as it was very intimidating (not worth it in our opinion).
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus Van + VIP Luxury Cabin 24, Son Hue Bus, Jun 9, 2026
SB
Stephen BThat was a terrible experience. The bus driver was unfriendly and constantly yelled at the passengers.
There was absolutely no information provided for the entire trip.
We waited six hours at the border in 40-degree heat on the bus with the air conditioning off. Sleep was impossible.
At 7:00 AM, the bus driver kicked us off the bus without giving us any information. We had to walk across the border with our luggage.
After crossing the border, we waited until about 9:30 AM for our bus, without really knowing if it would come.
I can't understand why they couldn't provide passengers with an information sheet outlining the procedure... especially when the bus driver just yells "NO NO NO!" at you.
Take a flight and save yourself the hassle.
If you still want to try it, bring money.
The border officials on both sides are very corrupt and demand 50,000 Dong bribes.
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus Royal Cabin, HT Travel, Jun 4, 2026
DN
David Ngood. Drama free. Arrived early. had a small problem at check it that was my ommision (you are supposed to have phones and charging packs in hand luggage).
Vientiane to Hanoi, flight Economy, Vietnam Airlines, May 31, 2026
C
Charlotte Rude Staff, very small Cabins, rough driving, bad AC
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus VIP Luxury 24, Son Hue Bus, May 31, 2026
JB
Janet BThe operator tried to scam me into buying a second seat on the bus. He seemed to indicate there were only 2 person seats and I would need to pay an extra 500,000. I insisted that I had a seat on the bus and he did let me on. I liked my bed/ seat and it was very comfortable. The operators did not make any effort to give directions to us. They didn’t say where to go eat or help us in any way. On one occasion in Vietnam nobody could eat anything, but the operator went to their set tables and ate. Most people went hungry. The pdf guide was great because I would have fallen for the scam if not for the guide warning about it. I’d suggest to bring both Vietnam and Laos money and even better an e sim that would work on both sides. Overall I would go again on this, it’s a good value for the money despite the terrible service.
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus Semi Sleeper, HTX Van Tai 277 (HTX Vận Tải 27-7), May 4, 2026
KC
Karol CThe ride was good. I was upgraded from semi sleeper to VIP bus. But the instructions were not updated. It was mentioned that bus is parked in A8 but it was not. Also the bus is the voucher was not the bus we rode. If you avail this service, make sure to call or message via WhatsApp once you arrive in the terminal to make sure the bus details and the bay where to find it. Also
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus Semi Sleeper, HTX Van Tai 277 (HTX Vận Tải 27-7), Apr 27, 2026
AP
Alpha PBefore getting this bus we read a big range of review and I was feeling quite anxious for the journey but it was much better than expected. It is very important that you read all the instructions and arrive at the bus terminal at least 2 hours before the bus leaves to secure your seat. we got there over 2 hours before and managed to get a bottom bed. we saw people trying to arrive 30 minutes before the bus left and they were not allowed to get on. you can adjust the seats so can be sitting up or lying down. they aren’t the biggest beds but they are satisfactory. we got handed a bottle of water and there was good AC and a small toilet on board. for the first part of the journey there were lots of people sat/laid down in the aisles (who had been picked up on the way) which made it hard to go to the toilet but was comforting to know there was a toilet as a lot of the reviews we read stated there was not one. we got the us that left vientiane on a tuesday.
we left around 5:15 (bus was due to leave at 5:30 but i guess it left early as was full) and the first stop was 9pm where you could get dinner. we then got to the border at 12.30am and the bus was turned off so it did get very very hot without the AC. at 6am they woke us up and we all got off the bus with our bags to get ready for the border crossing (which opened at 6:50). nothing is really explained but the process was pretty simple if you just follow people. as a stamp fee you had to pay (so make sure you have some cash!) we paid in kip, one of the staff gave us dong to pay the stamp worker and then we were given our change back in kip. we paid 50,000 kip each but speaking to others doing the crossing it seemed they were charged more because they didn’t have the right money.
we also read reviews about the staff being rude, we did not experience this. we did witness a fair few westerners being quite rude to the staff, which was understandably met with similar behaviour. but we were friendly to the staff and they were friendly back
once we crossed the border, which took around 3 hours. we drove untill 12 and then stopped an hour for lunch. after we drove a few more hours and actually arrived in hanoi a bit earlier than expected
the beds had curtains and personal AC. there was a TV but i didn’t test that. there was a reading light per bed but i personally found this too bright so didn’t use it.
i would definitely recommend this bus, as i said the journey was much better than i expected.
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus Semi Sleeper, HTX Van Tai 277 (HTX Vận Tải 27-7), Mar 26, 2026
LN
Lydia NOur driver and staff amazing, we forgot our bag and manage to rearrange for us to collect
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus VIP Luxury 24, Son Hue Bus, Feb 10, 2026
CN
Charlie NThe staff were very rude, we had to share and yes was bigger than a single but was very squished with all our bags as well, ones we stopped at the border my bag wouldn’t fit in the bottom so they just chucked it on and broke stuff off of my bag
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus VIP Luxury 24, Son Hue Bus, Jan 31, 2026
RI
Ronnie IThe 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.
Vientiane to Hanoi, Bus VIP Cabin, Huyen Chau, Jan 30, 2026
