How to buy tickets for the Laos-China Railway

How you can purchase Laos-China Railway tickets, together with shopping for tickets on-line, by cell phone app, ticket places of work, and journey brokers.

The Laos-China Railway is a contemporary and environment friendly semi-high-speed railway system, however shopping for tickets isn’t as clean because the prepare trip.

The official web site at www.lcrc.ltd doesn’t promote tickets, and there are guidelines and time restrictions for getting tickets.

Right here is tips on how to purchase tickets for the Laos China Railway.

Purchase tickets for the Laos-China Railway

Buy tickets online
Mobile phone app
Ticket offices in Laos
Travel agents in Laos

Purchase tickets on-line

The Laos-China Railway web site doesn’t provide tickets on-line, however you should purchase tickets by way of the web reserving website Baolau.

Baolau are a reserving website that provide transport tickets throughout Southeast Asia. Readers have requested me about Baolau as they aren’t an enormous model title but. Baolau began in Vietnam so I’ve been utilizing them for years.

I’ve since taken a trip on the Laos-China Railway to check out the reserving course of by means of Baolau, and the method was straightforward.

Prepare tickets are solely offered as much as 3 days upfront (similar day plus subsequent 2 days), so you want to mark your calendar for when to e-book. Tickets do promote out, so e-book as quickly as you already know your date.

The reserving web page exhibits the trains accessible for that day and the most affordable seat accessible.

Click on on a prepare time, after which you may be proven ticket choices on that service.

Costs are proven in USD, and there’s a fee and repair price added (Nomadic Notes is an affiliate of Baolao).

After making the reserving, an official PDF model of the ticket is shipped by e mail. The ticket has a QR code which you scan when getting into the station. Tickets are checked to make sure that the title and passport quantity matches.

The ticket exhibits the costs in Lao Kip. This ticket from Vientiane to Vang Vieng was 171,000 LAK. The speed from an internet forex converter exhibits $7.70 USD whereas the reserving worth was $7.96 USD. It is a affordable conversion.

[PDF ticket includes QR code and train and seat details.]

You may also gather a printed prepare ticket on the station when you desire a paper ticket. When you do that you possibly can’t use the PDF ticket.

[My paper train ticket at Vientiane Railway Station.]

E-book Loas-China Railway tickets online.

Cell phone app

Tickets might be purchased by way of a smartphone app when you have a cellphone quantity from Laos, China, or Thailand.

The app is on the market on Android and iOS.

Ticket places of work in Laos

[Ticket office at Luang Prabang Station.]

Tickets can be found on the prepare stations and at official ticket places of work in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.

Vientiane Ticket Workplace: Vientiane Heart Mall.
Luang Prabang Ticket Workplace: Phothisalath Rd, subsequent to Le Pavillon de Jade.

[Ticket at Luang Prabang ticket office.]

In Vientiane, I purchased tickets on the ticket workplace on the Vientiane Heart shopping center. This workplace wasn’t accepting money or bank cards after I went. I had learn on-line that they settle for Wechat, so I arrange my Wechat to make funds. After I arrived on the workplace I discovered they solely settle for a neighborhood cost app referred to as OnePay. I ended up asking somebody within the queue to pay for me with their app, and I gave them money. The ticket places of work on the prepare stations settle for money.

[OnePay and UnionPay at Luang Prabang ticket office.]

The town ticket places of work solely promote tickets departing from that vacation spot, so that’s one other inconvenience.

The ticket places of work on the prepare stations have a board displaying what number of tickets can be found on every prepare. The knowledge scrolls rapidly between English, Lao, and Chinese language, so I might by no means learn it correctly, however there have been courses displaying 0 tickets.

[Ticket availability shown at Vang Vieng ticket office.]

Journey brokers in Laos

Journey brokers and accommodations in Laos provide tickets for the railway. They’re shopping for tickets in particular person and add a fee. I’ve seen brokers on the ticket workplace with a pile of passport photocopies and a listing of itineraries.

[Travel agent in Vang Vieng selling bus and train tickets.]

This was a helpful service earlier than you have been capable of e-book on-line. They could promote the ticket as a part of a package deal, comparable to providing a taxi trip to the station.

This prepare journey information for Laos railways is a part of the Southeast Asia railways information.