Travel and Transport Info for Savannakhet, Laos by Hobo Maps - - - Home

Click to see our Savannakhet Town map

Savannakhet town satellite image below - with Mukdahan, Thailand across the Mekong:

There are both Thai and Vietnamese Consulates in central town which makes it a good place to arrange visas. The Thai Consulate might allow walk-in applicants without reservations in contrast to the Thai Consulate in Vientiane where reservations are required and must be made in advance. The Vietnam Consulate takes walk-in applicants and had a simple and friendly procedure when we applied for a visa in 2020.

Savannakhet is not directly on the major Highway 13S and long distance buses sometimes drop off passengers at the junction of 13S and Hwy 9W at Xeno (Seno) where they must change buses for the last 30 km into town on Highway 9W. But this remote location gives Savannakhet a quiet charm and relaxed pace of a sleepy town on the Mekong.

When leaving Savannakhet your bus may make a quick trip out on Hwy 9W to Hwy 13S only to wait at the bus station in Xeno for additional passengers to arrive and only head out on Hwy 13S after the bus is full which may take an hour or more.

The Savannakhet bus station is conveniently located in central town near the traditional market and is easy to use with good signs and schedules in English. Tuk tuks can be chartered to go from the station to various places in town. Many guest houses and hotels are within walking distance of the bus station.

Bus station schedules below from signs seen April 2020:

The bus schedule below was for travel to Vietnam before the 2020-2022 pandemic and may no longer be operating or only for Lao and Vietnamese citizens.

Savannakhet / Mukdahan Mekong Bridge image below (Second Thai Lao Friendship Bridge):