Chiang Mai to Vientiane runs about 2 times a day, with the first departure around 07:30 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays €52.64, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 4h 48m over 554 km, on services run by 3 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €52.64, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for 12 October 2026
€52.64
- 219%Moves across the booking window
219%When it runs, leaving Chiang Mai
Typical first and last departure on this corridor.
- 07:30First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 2Services per day
- 0%Run direct
07:30
07:30
2
0%Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €171.83Thu24
- about €132.89Fri25
- about €137.61Sat26
- about €105.75Sun27
- about €82.15Mon28
- about €89.82Tue29
- about €82.15Wed30
- about €79.20Thu1
- about €74.48Fri2
- about €79.79Sat3
- about €83.92Sun4
- about €73.89Mon5
- about €67.99Tue6
- about €69.17Wed7
- about €66.81Thu8
- about €68.58Fri9
- about €73.30Sat10
- about €72.12Sun11
- about €52.64Mon12
- about €60.91Tue13
- about €60.32Wed14
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Vientiane. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Vientiane for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Vientiane Railway Station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Vientiane on AgodaOr compare on Booking.com
Partner links. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Chiang Mai to Vientiane
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €53.8290 days
- €53.8260 days
- €59.1445 days
- €66.2230 days
- €60.3221 days
- €69.1714 days
- €82.157 days
- €137.613 days
- €171.831 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 90 days ahead, at €53.82.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 219 percent. The dearest point is €171.83, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 90 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Chiang Mai to Vientiane and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
554 km
392 km as the crow flies, 41% further by the route services take. The bearing runs east.
Who lives at each end
127,240 → 840,940
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 0% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 100% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 554 km against 392 km in a straight line, a detour of 41 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Udon Thani, Luang Prabang. The gap between arriving and leaving is 76 minutes, of which about 14 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 13 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
The fare from VTE into Vientiane is set by whoever drives it.
A car waiting when you land in Vientiane
Settled in advance, so the ride into Vientiane costs what it said it would rather than what the rank says.
Book a transfer from VTE with Daytrip
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Vientiane Railway Station
Most of the points near Vientiane Railway Station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Vientiane on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Chiang Mai to Vientiane
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
The fastest journey from Chiang Mai to Vientiane takes 4h 48m door to door, of which 1h 37m is spent moving, on the flight. Most services take around 5h 41m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
The cheapest fare from Chiang Mai to Vientiane is €52.64, as of 23 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €79.50. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
The cheapest way from Chiang Mai to Vientiane is by flight, at €52.64 for one passenger on 12 October 2026. That journey takes 4h 50m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
Fares from Chiang Mai to Vientiane bottom out around 90 days before departure, at €53.82. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 219 percent, measured on 23 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Chiang Mai to Vientiane, at €67.99. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 23 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Chiang Mai to Vientiane, at €45.56 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
3 operators sell services from Chiang Mai to Vientiane across 1 mode: Lao Airlines, Nok Air, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
0 percent of the services we sell from Chiang Mai to Vientiane are direct. The rest connect at Udon Thani, Luang Prabang, with about 76 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Chiang Mai to Vientiane use?
Services from Chiang Mai to Vientiane by flight leave from Chiang Mai International Airport CNX and arrive at Vientiane Railway Station. Allow about 1h 57m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Chiang Mai to Vientiane?
1 of the 3 operators we sell from Chiang Mai to Vientiane allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labelled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Chiang Mai to Vientiane on 23 September 2026: 554 km of route against 392 km in a straight line, 2 services a day, 3 operators a cheapest fare of €52.64, and 4h 48m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Vientiane a set of days out that do not start at a station.
Day trips out of Vientiane and across Laos
Day trips that leave Vientiane in the morning and cover a good part of Laos by evening.
See Vientiane on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Chiang Mai reaches 125 places in 23 countries on services we hold, over distances from 20 to 13,358 km. Vientiane reaches 56 places in 17 countries, from 64 to 9,299 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Chiang Mai
- 125Places you can leave for
- 23Countries
- 28Operators
23
28Arriving in Vientiane
Leaving Vientiane
- 56Places you can leave for
- 17Countries
- 17Operators