The Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng train.

The fastest scheduled departure covers the leg in 51m and the slowest in 1h 29m. The difference is the service rather than the day: the trains whose code begins with D make fewer stops inside Laos than those beginning with C, and the K service calls at every station on the line. The same journey takes six hours or more by road.

Between US$16 and US$33 per passenger, depending on the departure and the class. That is the total: the railway ticket and our booking assistance are both inside the figure shown before payment, and there is no separate charge added afterwards.

Seats become buyable 7 days before departure, from 06:30 Vientiane time, because that is when the railway booking system opens for the day. In high season the convenient departures are taken within minutes of that hour. We are in Vientiane and online at 06:30.

Not quite. K11 at 16:31 runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. The other departures run every day of the week.

Neither station is in the town it serves. Luang Prabang station is 13 to 15 kilometres east of the peninsula, a transfer of 25 to 35 minutes. A shared minivan to the peninsula costs 35,000 to 40,000 kip (roughly US$1.60 to US$2) per person and can be booked through most accommodation. Vang Vieng station is about 5 kilometres north of town, a ride of about 15 minutes. A shared tuk-tuk or songthaew costs 30,000 to 50,000 kip (roughly US$1.50 to US$2.50) per person, and a shared minivan with hotel drop-off runs about 40,000 kip (roughly US$2). Plan to be at the Luang Prabang gate 90 minutes before departure, because there is security screening and a ticket check, and the gates close five minutes before the train leaves.