Dien Bien Phu Bus Station

Dien Bien Phu Bus Station is located in the northern western Vietnamese town of Dien Bien which is 36.5 km from a border crossing to Laos and 453 km to the west of Hanoi. If you are travelling from Sapa to Luang Prabang you will need to change bus at Dien Bien Phu Bus Station for the second stage of the journey through to Luang Prabang.

As well as being a place to go to get a bus across the border into Laos, Dien Bien was the location of a historically important battle between the Vietnam communists and French Colonialist armed forces. The Vietnamese separatists won this battle and the French left Vietnam as a consequence.  There are several locations related to the battle, and a small museum, easily accessible from Dien Bien town.

Bus and Minivan Services

Because of the nearby border crossing to Laos there are plenty of direct bus services between major towns and cities in Vietnam and Dien Bien Phu Bus Station.

There are many different types of service departing from this bus station, with every type of vehicle from large sleeper buses through to minivans operating out of the station. Services between major destinations in Vietnam (such as Hanoi and Sapa) and Dien Bien tend to use the larger buses which often travel overnight.

Travel from Dien Bien into Laos is typically in a micro-bus and journeys are always completed in the day time which means an early morning start from Dien Bien. Many of the roads in Laos, particularly near the border with Vietnam, are poor quality and larger vehicles can have difficulty negotiating sharp turns on narrow roads.

Bus Services from Dien Bien to Sapa

The journey by bus from Dien Bien to Sapa is scheduled to take 9 hours.

• Grouptour services from Dien Bien to Sapa:
  • Departure times: 17:30, 17:45, and 18:00.
  • Ticket price: $23 USD

• HT Travel services from Dien Bien to Sapa:
  • Departure times: 18:00
  • Ticket price: $24 USD

• Tickets: Buy tickets from Dien Bien to Sapa

Bus Services from Dien Bien to Luang Prabang

There are several joint bus and train services a day from Dien Bien to Luang Prabang available to book online. The journey is scheduled to take 9 hours.

• HT Travel services from Dien Bien to Luang Prabang:
  • Departure times: 06:30
  • Ticket prices: $41 USD

• Asian Bus Travel services from Dien Bien to Luang Prabang:
  • Departure times: 07:00
  • Ticket prices: $38 USD

• Tickets: Buy tickets from Dien Bien to Luang Prabang

Bus Services from Dien Bien to Hanoi

By bus the journey from Dien Bien to Hanoi is scheduled to take from 9 to 10 hours.

• HT Travel services from Dien Bien to Hanoi:
  • Departure times: 20:00
  • Ticket prices: $33 USD

• Asian Bus Travel services from Dien Bien to Hanoi:
  • Departure times: 20:15
  • Ticket prices: $30 USD

• Tickets: Buy tickets from Dien Bien to Hanoi

Location of Dien Bien Phu Bus Station

Dien Phu Bus Station is located at Mường Thanh, Điện Biên Phủ, Dien Bien, Vietnam.

Facilities at the Bus Station

Dien Bien Phu Bus Station is basically a large car park with a small number of buildings scattered around the sides of an open concrete parking lot. Inside the station there is a ticket office, toilets and a small covered seating area.

The side of the station by the main entrance has several private food vendors selling drinks, sandwiches and other simple snack type food. For a more substantial meal, and free WiFi, leave the station by the main entrance and cross over the road where you will find several large cheap restaurants which open from early in the morning to cater for bus passengers arriving on overnight buses or departing on early morning services.

Buy Tickets at the Bus Station

There is a ticket office on your left hand side as you enter via the main entrance to the bus station.

Tickets for all services operating out of Dien Bien Bus Station can be purchased from this ticket office. Payment must be made in the local currency, the Vietnamese Dong. Change any money you need to buy your bus ticket before you arrive in Dien Bien as there are no nearby money exchanges.