The Vientiane to Vang Vieng train.

The fastest scheduled departure covers the leg in 52m and the slowest in 1h 19m. 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 about two hours on the expressway.

Between US$16 and US$34 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. K12 at 08:25 runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. The other departures run every day of the week.

Neither station is in the town it serves. Vientiane station is in Xay village, roughly 15 kilometres northeast of the centre. Public bus 28 runs from the Central Bus Station for 25,000 kip (roughly US$1.20) and takes about an hour, but it is timed to the railway rather than to a clock: departures leave roughly 90 minutes before each scheduled train, so there is no later service to fall back on. A ride-hailing car or taxi costs 150,000 to 260,000 kip (roughly US$7 to US$12) and takes 30 to 45 minutes. 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 Vientiane gate 90 minutes before departure, because there is security screening and a ticket check, and the gates close five minutes before the train leaves.