Laos forum

Hi

I was wondering if anyone had done either of the following two overland routes, and if so approximately how long will they take (including enough time in each main place to see a few touristy things)?

1. Vientiane - Paksan - Phonsavan - Sam Nua
2. Vang Vienne - Phonsavan - Sam Nua

I'm especially interested in the first option as it allows us to do a loop, as we are coming from Chiang Mai via the normal tourist route of HX, LP, VV. However, I am unsure about the Paksan - Phonsavan part and can't seem to find any information on transport or road conditions or travel time on this.

The second option will mean we are backtracking, so there will be no need to allow time in VV or LP unless it is an overnight stop to break the journey as we would have already been there previously.

We should have approximately 7-10 days for this part of the journey and it will be late May/early June '07. We definitely want to do the road travel through the day, I do not want to do any night trips if possible (too scary!). We are aiming to head to Hanoi overland - so any other advise or itninery suggestions are welcome.

Cheers
Debbie