My bus trip from Danang to Pakse

by Mae
(Philippines)

Hi,

Good day. Our SE trip had come to an end. We crossed the border of Vietnam and Laos, from Danang to Pakse. We made a call in the central bus station in Danang 10th of October and was informed that there's only one bus going to Pakse and this was not air conditioned. We realized that we were on the both opposite ends of Danang and it would cost us much to go to the station via taxi. We instead booked our bus going to Pakse in camel travel upon recommendation of our guesthouse. Sadly, we did not get the service we were promised of.

We were told that the bus would drop us in Pakse but the bus we rode was actually a Danang - Vientiane bus. The driver dropped us in Sepon, Savannakhet province (almost 400km away from Pakse) and gave us 50,000 kip each to ride another bus (local bus) to Pakse. Also, we were told that we would arrive Pakse by 9pm but that's too far to what really transpired. We were dropped off in Sepon at 12 (midnight) and arrived in Pakse at 3am.

Maybe the two stops (lunch and dinner) accounted for these delay. This is acceptable since the VIP sleeping bus also didn't have its own toilet (which it was also told to us that we would have one). Bus having flat tires, stopping on a vulcanizing shop, stopping on an area to unload the number of sacks of goods and stopping again to reload them- these also made the travel time longer.

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Oct 27, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		What an adventure trip
by: Duangpy

Hello Mae,
Thanks you for taking the time to share. it is interesting and I appreciate it.

What an adventure trip eh! It's often like that for Vietnam-Lao bus, engine breaks down, flat tire(s), stopping at unexpected places to load/unload goods and so on, ...so that why the trip takes long and they don't usually make it to the destination as they say the would.

I've heard similar stories a few times before, about passengers got dropped of in the middle of nowhere at night, it sounds scary to me. But you made your way to Pakse safe and sound (I guess), that was good. It could have been more scary if you traveled alone. You din't, did you?

This is one of the reasons that I kind of hesitate to give much details especially about bus schedule. They don't often live up to their promise. It's normal if they depart before schedule because they get full early and
sometimes they wait till they fill up most seats, doesn't matter if it delays. It's hard to say. Anyway, good that you share your experience, that confirms that what I heard is not just a rumor.
Hope you had a good and memorable time traveling Laos.
Oct 27, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Yes
by: Mae

Yes Duangpy, I was with a friend who is also a 'she'. She was really really scared when we were dropped off in Sepon at 12 midnight. I don't know why but I managed to be so calm and so trusting eh :) I am believing what I've read
that people of Laos are good hearted. My friend was still scared even we're in the local bus, you know the path that this will trod and no lights most of the time while me is having some in-between naps.

I would really love to go back to Laos that's why I am still checking on the 'sure' trips/bus from Danang to Pakse. I would like to tag along my other friends as well. :)

Its also nice talking to you. have a good day!
Feb 03, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		don't dare to take this bus
by: travelgirl

Avoid at all costs the "sleeping bus". That was the worst experience I ve ever lived in my live!! We were dropped off in the middle of nowhere at midnight and we were told that it was Pakse- far from where we were (4h from pakse )
They gave us 50.000 kips because we didn't want to get off the bus since we knew that wasn't Pakse..they shouted at us and kicked us of the bus as we resisted to get off..
We felt lost and scared..it was dark and cold..luckily one of the locals was there selling food to bus drivers who spoke No English but somehow we managed to communicate with him. And luckily one of the bus that stopped to get some food was heading to Pakse.
It was a nightmare all together..it took us exactly 24 hours to get from Danang to Pakse..I still don't know how we made it to Pakse
Yen Hai is the bus company
May 02, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstar 		in agreement - avoid Yen Hai/Chau Chinh transportation co
by: Anonymous

We saw a bus at the Danang bus station with "Danang-Pakse" on it, so there IS a direct bus, but I'd recommend going to the bus station to make sure you book the right one.
We ended up on a bus from Yen Hai/Chau Chinh Transportation Co and had a similar experience, even after asking our hotel specifically to book a bus that goes TO Pakse. Someone Lied about this bus.
The bus picked us up from a cafe somewhere in Danang. We were told that it would leave at 720am, bring us to the border at 1230pm, and drop us off in Pakxe at 730pm.
The bus arrived at 830am.
We arrived at the border at 3pm and waited there for the bus for 2 hours.
The bus did NOT go to Pakxe!
As in the other stories, we got dropped off in the middle of nowhere at 10pm, had to ask for the money for our next bus, and he told us to wait on a bench until the next bus comes at 8am! There was a guesthouse nearby, so we got some sleep, but the bus ride the next day was long and hot. The whole trip took 36 hours.
We arrived OUTSIDE Pakse, at the airport, at 5pm, where only the tourists were kicked off the bus and a local songtheaw waited to take us into town for 20k each. We were so pissed. We walked the 2km (not 5km, like the songtheaw driver said) into town.
Jun 13, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Da Nang to Pakse
by: Ming

Hello everybody,

I'm sorry to hear what you guys had to encounter with.

I'm planning to go to Pakse for the Bolaven Plateau Loop next week. If Da Nang is not the place to get to Pakse, which Vietnamese city should I depart from?

Thanks.

Cheers,
Ming
Aug 16, 2019
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Same experience : avoid Chau Chinh at all cost!!!
by: Frédéric Pirault

Same story, we took a bus yesterday from Danang to Pakse, departure scheduled at 8 and arrival at 11 pm.

The bus actually departed at 9.30am and kicked us out in Sepon at 10.30pm, 240km north of Pakse, in the middle of nowhere, in the rainy night. They gave us 50k to take another bus to Pakse, only because we made a huge fuss.

We finally caught a bus around midnight and arrived in Pakse at 4am.

Of course none of that bullshit was planned, we were supposed to arrive directly in Pakse from the start.

The bus company and drivers are clearly a bunch of liars, and among the most rude people I've ever seen in a number of trips in the area in the past.

Avoid them at all cost!
Aug 16, 2019
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Wordless and sad to hear such a thing
by: Duangpy

Every time I hear a story like this I'm very angry and want to cry, honestly. I can imagine how you felt being a victim of this bus scam, I'm sorry.

I don't understand why they do things like this, they're not just hurting passengers like you, but they're killing themselves and the tourism in Laos too. It's a shame.
The government spends a lot of resources to promote tourism but these people have no clue how they destroy it.

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