Hi. I'm planning a trip to Laos in March and would like to fly in to Vientiane. The closest major city to me is Los Angeles, so I will most likely be flying out of LAX. From what I have seen so far using search engines it looks like there are no direct flights to Vientiane. The flights I have found have multiple stops with extremely long lay overs. It seems difficult to even find direct flights to Bangkok, but I am wondering if the best way to do this trip is to get two separate fares, one to Bangkok, and from there a fare to Vientiane?I gather this is not the easiest trip to make, going from LA! I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations regarding route and also if anyone can suggest a travel agent that might have good fares. Thanks for your help.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Vientiane is not a major airport and so you will not get direct flights there from anywhere outside SE Asia. The air hub for South East Asia is Bangkok, and you should be able to get a direct flight from LAX-BKK - shop around for prices, though, as they might vary drastically.

When I travelled in Laos 6 years ago Lao Airlines had a very poor reputation for safety. Things may have changed since then, but it's worth looking into their reliability. From the schedules they currently seem to fly four times a day from BKK-Vientiane, as do Thai Airways, who have a much better reputation.

As an alternative, have you considered a sleeper birth on the night train from Bangkok to Vientiane instead? Fly to Bangkok, spend a day or so there, get your visa for Laos at the embassy there, and then get a train ticket for the night train... waking up in Vientiane mid-morning. You won't really be losing precious time on your holiday as you're travelling overnight. It's a great experience too and less than $25 for the journey one way.

Join us over on the Thailand Forum and we can give you plenty of advice about Bangkok!

Safe travels,
Steve

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Thanks for your reply.