By air. Wattay International Airport sits about 4 kilometres west of the city centre. Bangkok Airways, Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines, AirAsia, and Lao Airlines connect Vientiane to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Kunming. Taxis to town cost a fixed 60,000-80,000 kip; an airport shuttle is cheaper.
By train. The Laos-China Railway, opened in late 2021, has transformed access to the city. Bullet trains run from Vientiane to Vang Vieng (about an hour) and Luang Prabang (about two hours), continuing to Boten and Kunming in China. The Vientiane station is at Khamsavath, about 15 kilometres from the centre; allow time to reach it. Book a day or two ahead in high season — tickets sell out.
From Thailand. The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, 20 kilometres south-east of Vientiane, is the most popular land crossing in Laos. Overnight trains from Bangkok reach Nong Khai across the river; from there a tuk-tuk or the shuttle bus runs to the bridge, where you walk through immigration and pick up onward transport on the Lao side. Visas on arrival are available for most nationalities.
By bus. The Southern Bus Station handles long-distance buses to and from southern Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The Northern Bus Station serves Luang Prabang and the north — though the train has now stolen most of the traffic on that route.