Going to Lao Licences and car hire

[kimamey]

I'm going to Lao on the 13th Feb. I've been before with my wife but only for a couple of days for visa reasons and then only to Vientiane.

This time I'm going with my wife and my sister and bil who are visiting us. We are going to Vientiane for one night and then to Vang Vieng for two nights. We were going to use the bus but thought driving would be a good idea and more flexible. I could use our Honda Jazz but I thought maybe something bigger and more robust might have its advantages. The Jazz is Ok but there are times on some roads in Isaan where ground clearance is an issue. I have two questions really.

Firstly does anyone know what the vehicle hire situation is in Vientiane. I see that there is AVS but I don't know much about them.

My other problem is a licence. My bil is OK as he will have an IDP. I used to always have one but I've got a Thai one now so never thought about it. It's still the 1 year type and runs out on 21 st March. From what I've read a 5 year one is needed. Apparently you can change it for a 5 year one up to one month before it expires so I can't do that in time.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

[vtjforyou]

A van with driver is a far better choice.

Forget driving and relax.

[khwaibah]

Your Thai licence is no good. It has to be a 5 year Thai dl,

[kimamey]

Your Thai licence is no good. It has to be a 5 year Thai dl,

Yes that's what I thought as well. My wife just contacted Land Transport here in Mahasarakham and I can change it 60 days before expiry so that solves the problem. I think it's just a month elsewhere.

If anyone has any experience of car rental in Vientiane it would be welcome. My wife isn't keen on me driving partly because of driving on the right and partly because of other drivers. Apparently it's not like driving in France.

We may just get a vehicle and a driver but I'd just to know if anyone has rented self drive in Lao.

[Tomtomtom69]

Your Thai licence is no good. It has to be a 5 year Thai dl,

Yes that's what I thought as well. My wife just contacted Land Transport here in Mahasarakham and I can change it 60 days before expiry so that solves the problem. I think it's just a month elsewhere.

If anyone has any experience of car rental in Vientiane it would be welcome. My wife isn't keen on me driving partly because of driving on the right and partly because of other drivers. Apparently it's not like driving in France.

We may just get a vehicle and a driver but I'd just to know if anyone has rented self drive in Lao.

Yes, rented cars in Laos many times. In fact, every time I go to Laos I rent although from now on I'll hopefully be able to finally bring across my Thai car.

AVIS Laos is a franchisee of a company known as Asia Vehicle Rental (AVR) - AVR has only started operating under the AVIS brand since December of last year. Previously AVR operated as Europcar Laos. The owner and managing director is Joe Rumble. Book through the AVIS website for better rates.

Traffic in Laos is fairly light, and the road to Vang Vieng is rather winding. The number of foreign registered vehicles you'll see driving around is just staggering. Every single day when I'm in Vientiane I see Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and vehicles registered in other foreign countries; sometimes even vehicles registered in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, amongst others.

Nobody in Laos cares about whether you have a 1 or 5 year license. My 1-year license is always accepted in Laos both by rental companies and by the police. The Lao authorities have no idea about the rules that the Thai department of land transport office imposes regarding the validity of Thai licenses abroad. I don't think that the Thai DMV is a good source to trust - they claim that Thai vehicles can enter Vietnam when they can't, claim that Thai licenses are valid in Cambodia when they aren't and so forth. By all means get a 5-year license before leaving but don't trust every claim you hear.

[kimamey]

Your Thai licence is no good. It has to be a 5 year Thai dl,

Yes that's what I thought as well. My wife just contacted Land Transport here in Mahasarakham and I can change it 60 days before expiry so that solves the problem. I think it's just a month elsewhere.

If anyone has any experience of car rental in Vientiane it would be welcome. My wife isn't keen on me driving partly because of driving on the right and partly because of other drivers. Apparently it's not like driving in France.

We may just get a vehicle and a driver but I'd just to know if anyone has rented self drive in Lao.

Yes, rented cars in Laos many times. In fact, every time I go to Laos I rent although from now on I'll hopefully be able to finally bring across my Thai car.

AVIS Laos is a franchisee of a company known as Asia Vehicle Rental (AVR) - AVR has only started operating under the AVIS brand since December of last year. Previously AVR operated as Europcar Laos. The owner and managing director is Joe Rumble. Book through the AVIS website for better rates.

Traffic in Laos is fairly light, and the road to Vang Vieng is rather winding. The number of foreign registered vehicles you'll see driving around is just staggering. Every single day when I'm in Vientiane I see Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and vehicles registered in other foreign countries; sometimes even vehicles registered in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, amongst others.

Nobody in Laos cares about whether you have a 1 or 5 year license. My 1-year license is always accepted in Laos both by rental companies and by the police. The Lao authorities have no idea about the rules that the Thai department of land transport office imposes regarding the validity of Thai licenses abroad. I don't think that the Thai DMV is a good source to trust - they claim that Thai vehicles can enter Vietnam when they can't, claim that Thai licenses are valid in Cambodia when they aren't and so forth. By all means get a 5-year license before leaving but don't trust every claim you hear.

Thanks for that. I do know that some people have managed without any licence at all, as many do here in Thailand but I just wanted to give myself the best chance. I had to get my licence changed by March 21st anyway and I haven't lost anything by getting it early.

Just checked the Avis site. I knew it wasn't Europcar anymore but I didn't know it was now Avis.

Thanks again.