Travel Guide and Transport Info for Vieng Xay, Laos by Hobo Maps -

Visiting Vieng Xay
- Although the town of Vieng Xay is small there are a few decent guest houses and restaurants that cater to visitors. All the central roads are paved and many have nice sidewalks. There's a good feeling walking around as things seem clean and orderly with really nice views out to impressive tall hills just outside of town. It has a strong governmental feeling to it which makes you feel safe and secure. Dirt roads and walk paths lead out of town to the caves and some nice hiking and biking routes. A big lake is in the center of town which adds to the scenic beauty and is a great place for panoramic photos - try taking them from where a road goes thru the middle of the lake. Most visitors arrive by bus from Sam Neua about 30 km to the west via regular songtaew bus service from the Nathong Bus Station just east of Sam Neua. The trip only takes about an hour on Hwy 6 and goes thru some nice scenery. Day trips can be made out from Sam Neua to Vieng Xay with a return the same day but you should start from Sam Neua on the earliest bus to be able to spend some time in Vieng Xay as the last buses back to Sam Neua may be in the early afternoon. You won't have time to do a cave tour on such a day trip. Many of the longer distance buses that go from Sam Neua to the border with Vietnam or into Vietnam via Hwy. 6 don't actually come into Vieng Xay and stop at the bus station but just pass by the junction of the road that leads from Hwy. 6 south into Vieng Xay town. If you want to flag down one of these buses for a ride you need to get out to that junction to do it and consult the Sam Neua bus schedules to estimate the times they may be coming by the Vieng Xay junction.

Visiting the Caves
- The Viengxay Caves Visitor Centre is open daily from 08.00-12.00 and 13.00-16.00. Tel: 064 314321, email: info@visit-viengxay.com, website: www.visit-viengxay.com. A guided Audio Tour of the caves and a one-day trek including caves, culture and nature are available, as is a bicycle rental service. It's not possible to see the caves without a government guide. Tours can be arranged on arrival, but they will only depart between 09:00 and 11:00 and after lunch at 13:00 until 16:00. These tours are either walking or bicycling tours. Each tour group must be all walkers or all cyclers and not a mixture of these in any single group.

Vieng Xay Transport
- Vieng Xay is a small town where all places can be easily reached by walking which is good because there may not be any tuk-tuk or songtaew buses available for transport around town. There is a bus station at the market area and you could always try to hire a private vehicle from there if you needed a short lift. This is when you'll be glad you learned to speak Lao before making the trip. If that doesn't work, maybe walk down to the Caves Visitor Center and ask an English-speaking guide there to help you find transport.

Songtaew Buses to Sam Neua
- the official Vieng Xay bus schedule shows daily songtaew buses doing the 30 km trip from Vieng Xay bus station to Sam Neua's Nathong Bus Station 7 times a day from 05:40 to 15:00. But when we were in Vieng Xay in May 2011 the last bus from Vieng Xay to Nathong Station left at 13:00 and there were only 2 passengers. We must assume in the low season they have a reduced schedule. The trip takes about an hour, costs 15,000 kip and goes thru a nice scenic area that would be a nice route to cycle yourself.

Travel to/from Vietnam
- Please refer to our webpage Travel Sam Neua HERE for transport info to and from Vietnam as most or all such transport originates from Sam Neua and there is some conflicting info to deal with. The Vieng Xay bus schedule below has a note advising passengers to wait by the Highway where the road to Vieng Xay joins the highway to flag down and get on the buses going to the Vietnam border and to Thanh Hoa, Vietnam as these buses do not come into the town of Vieng Xay or to the Vieng Xay bus station. It takes about 1 hour for buses to get from Sam Neua to the Vieng Xay turnoff intersection on Hwy. 6 so you can estimate the time they will come by Vieng Xay as 45 minutes after departure from Sam Neua if they depart on time.

Songtaew Buses to Nameo at the Vietnam Border
- the official Vieng Xay bus schedule shows daily songtaew buses doing the 55 km trip from the junction of Highway 6 just outside Vieng Xay town to Nameo at the border with Vietnam. It advises that this songtaew starts it's trip from the Nathong Bus Station in Sam Neua at 06:40 and you need to flag it down as you stand on the highway around 07:15 Am. But we doubt the reliability of these times and strongly advise travelers to check as many sources as possible first.

The Huaphanh Provincial Tourist Map for 2010 has info regarding the Vietnam border crossing at Nam Soi and it is shown just below. Please note the 2 hour border closure over noon and the early closing time of 17:00.

Cycling Around Vieng Xay
- Bicycles are for rent at the Cave Office but are rather expensive at 30,000 kip per day. The same bikes rent for 15,000 kip per day when combined with a tour of the caves. The area outside of town is quite scenic and dirt roads go out in several directions. With only 28 km distance between Sam Neua and Vieng Xay it may be possible to cycle out to Vieng Xay and back the same day from Sam Neua with enough time in Vieng Xay to have a good look around. Unfortunately there were no bicycles for rent in Sam Neua in May 2011 but motorbikes were available for rent and a motorbike trip out and back would be easy with enough time to take a cave tour as well. Highway 6 is a fine paved road with not much traffic going thru nice scenery.