Overland travel into and out of Vietnam is straightforward when you get one thing right and unpleasant when you do not. That thing is not the bus, the money or the language — it is whether your specific checkpoint is on Vietnam's approved list for the visa you hold.
Everything below is a snapshot of mid-2026. Border policy here is revised by resolution, sometimes quietly, and a gate that worked three months ago is no guarantee. Re-verify close to your travel date.
The rule that governs everything
Vietnam's e-visa is a $25 single-entry or $50 multiple-entry document valid up to 90 days, issued at thithucdientu.gov.vn. It works only at government-designated ports.
That list expanded substantially. Resolution 389/NQ-CP, dated 2 December 2025, added 41 border gates, taking the total from 42 to 83 — now 17 international airports, 27 land border gates and 39 seaports. Eleven of the newly added gates are land crossings, including the Dong Dang and Lao Cai railway checkpoints, Tra Linh, Long Sap, Nam Giang, Le Thanh, Binh Hiep and Thanh Thuy.
The practical consequence: several remote crossings that previously required an embassy visa are now usable on an e-visa. But the list is a whitelist — a gate not on it will turn you around however valid your paperwork.
Guidance on whether you must enter and exit at the exact gate named on your application has shifted, and sources conflict — some now say any approved port will do. Until that is settled, name the gate you intend to use, carry a printout, and confirm the published list within a week of travelling. Our Vietnam visa and immigration atlas tracks the policy changes.
The crossings at a glance
| Country | Checkpoint (Vietnam side) | Opposite side | Connecting cities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodia | Moc Bai | Bavet | Ho Chi Minh City ↔ Phnom Penh | Main route; 6–7 hrs |
| Cambodia | Vinh Xuong | Ka'am Samnor | Chau Doc ↔ Phnom Penh | Speedboat only |
| Cambodia | Ha Tien (Xa Xia) | Prek Chak | Ha Tien / Phu Quoc ↔ Kampot, Kep | Coastal, slower |
| Cambodia | Tinh Bien | Phnom Den | Chau Doc ↔ Takeo, Phnom Penh | Quiet road alternative |
| Cambodia | Xa Mat | Trapeang Phlong | Tay Ninh ↔ Kampong Cham | Low traffic |
| Cambodia | Le Thanh | O Yadav | Pleiku ↔ Banlung | Remote; e-visa since Dec 2025 |
| Laos | Lao Bao | Dansavanh | Dong Ha, Hue ↔ Savannakhet | Lao visa on arrival issued |
| Laos | Nam Can | Nam Kan | Vinh ↔ Phonsavan, Luang Prabang | Mountain road, long day |
| Laos | Na Meo | Nam Xoi | Hanoi ↔ Sam Neua, Luang Prabang | Pre-arranged Lao visa advised |
| Laos | Cau Treo | Nam Phao | Vinh ↔ Vientiane | Stamp-fee reports common |
| Laos | Cha Lo | Na Phao | Dong Hoi, Phong Nha ↔ Thakhek | Remote, sparse transport |
| Laos | Bo Y | Phou Keua | Kon Tum, Pleiku ↔ Attapeu, Pakse | Remote southern option |
| China | Huu Nghi (Friendship Pass) | Youyi Guan, Pingxiang | Hanoi ↔ Nanning | Busiest China gate |
| China | Lao Cai | Hekou, Yunnan | Sapa, Lao Cai ↔ Kunming | 07:00–22:00 China time |
| China | Mong Cai | Dongxing, Guangxi | Ha Long, Hai Phong ↔ Beihai | Coastal crossing |
| China | Dong Dang (rail) | Pingxiang | Hanoi ↔ Nanning by train | E-visa since Dec 2025 |
A note on provinces: Vietnam consolidated from 63 provinces to 34 in mid-2025, so older guides use province names that no longer exist. Match on the checkpoint name.
Cambodia in practice
Moc Bai to Bavet carries most of the traffic and deserves its easy reputation. Buses leave Ho Chi Minh City through the day — Giant Ibis, Mekong Express, Kumho Samco and Sapaco — and the run to Phnom Penh takes 6 to 7 hours including formalities, at roughly $12 to $35 as of mid-2026. The gate is about two hours from Ho Chi Minh City and 3.5 hours from Phnom Penh, with hours commonly published as 08:00 to 20:00. Bus crews collect passports, walk the group through both windows and hand them back. Cambodian visa on arrival is available at an official $30, and Cambodian e-visas are accepted here.
Chau Doc to Phnom Penh by river through Vinh Xuong is the memorable one. Hang Chau's speedboat covers roughly 170 km of the lower Mekong in 5 to 6 hours. As of mid-2026 the published fare is around 1,640,000 VND from Chau Doc, so budget roughly $60 — dearer than the bus, and priced as an experience. Immigration happens at a riverside post; you disembark, queue, re-board.
Ha Tien, also signposted Xa Xia, faces Prek Chak and serves the southern coast. From Phu Quoc, a Superdong, Phu Quoc Express or Thanh Thoi ferry covers the crossing to Ha Tien in about 1.5 hours for $12 to $16, then the gate is an 8 km ride costing $3 to $4. Kampot and Kep are 1.5 to 2.5 hours beyond, Sihanoukville about 4 hours.
One useful detail: Cambodia's e-Arrival Card is currently an air-arrival requirement. Land crossings including Bavet still use paper forms, and no online submission is needed.
Laos in practice
Laos is the harder of the three, not because the gates are closed but because visa availability varies gate by gate.
Lao Bao, opposite Dansavanh, is the crossing to use if you have a choice. Daily through-buses run from Hue and Dong Ha to Savannakhet at roughly $15 to $25 for a 7 to 10 hour day, and local minibuses cover Dong Ha to the border for about 70,000 VND. From the border, Savannakhet is around 220 km, about 3 hours by songthaew or 4 to 5 by bus. Crucially, a Lao visa on arrival is still issued here — roughly $40 to $50 depending on nationality, cash, with passport photos.
Na Meo, opposite Nam Xoi, is the one that generates the horror stories. It is the direct Hanoi to Sam Neua and Luang Prabang route, served by The Sinh Tourist and HTX Van Tai sleepers at roughly 300,000 to 600,000 VND, but the ride is around 24 hours over mountain roads. More importantly, traveller reports say the crossing has issued neither a Lao visa on arrival nor accepted the Lao eVisa since 2020 — you need a visa already stamped in your passport. Do not gamble on this one.
Cau Treo to Nam Phao is the Vinh to Vientiane road, and the gate most associated with unofficial charges. Nam Can heads for Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars. Cha Lo links Dong Hoi and Phong Nha with Thakhek but has thin transport on the Lao side. Tay Trang, Bo Y and La Lay are open and genuinely remote — not places to arrive at 4 p.m. without a plan.
Reports on Lao eVisa acceptance at Vietnam gates contradict each other — some say no Vietnam-facing gate accepts it, others list Nam Phao. Confirm with a Lao embassy for your crossing.
China in practice
Three things to know before you plan a China crossing.
First, you need a Chinese visa arranged in advance. There is no tourist visa on arrival at these gates, and China's expanded 240-hour visa-free transit scheme — now covering 65 ports — is built around airports and a small set of designated ports that do not appear to include the Vietnam land crossings.
Second, China runs one hour ahead of Vietnam. Lao Cai opposite Hekou publishes hours of roughly 07:00 to 22:00 China time, with processing typically 20 to 60 minutes. Arriving at what feels like 9 p.m. to you can be 10 p.m. at the window.
Third, the two useful gates are Huu Nghi (the Friendship Pass, opposite Youyi Guan at Pingxiang, about 170 km from Hanoi) and Lao Cai (opposite Hekou in Yunnan, the gateway from Sapa toward Kunming). Huu Nghi is the busiest China–Vietnam land port, served by a scheduled Hanoi to Nanning bus that shepherds passengers through both immigration halls, plus the T8701/T8702 international train via Dong Dang. From Hekou an overnight train reaches Kunming in about 10 hours. Mong Cai to Dongxing is the coastal third option.
Scams and unofficial fees
None of these will bankrupt you. All of them are worth refusing politely.
- The stamp fee. Travellers regularly report being asked for 10,000 to 20,000 VND, or one US dollar, for an entry or exit stamp at Vietnam–Laos gates, Cau Treo especially. There is no such official fee.
- Inflated visa quotes. At Cambodian windows the posted tourist visa on arrival is $30. Higher figures get quoted. Point at the board.
- Form-filling touts. Standard at Bavet and Prek Chak. They will complete a free form and charge you for it.
- Health or processing surcharges. No routine health check is required in 2026. Decline.
- Bus-company visa handling. Operators often arrange the Cambodian visa for a $5 to $15 markup over the official rate. Convenient, but know what you are paying for.
- Currency exchange. Border money changers give consistently poor rates. Carry small USD and local notes.
What to have ready
- Passport with at least six months validity and several blank pages.
- Printed e-visa or visa approval, plus a copy on your phone. Border posts lose connectivity.
- The destination country's visa sorted, or confirmation that visa on arrival exists at your gate.
- Two passport photos, 4x6 cm, for any visa-on-arrival window.
- Small US dollars in clean, untorn notes, plus small VND. Most gates are cash only.
- Onward travel proof and an accommodation booking. Rarely requested, occasionally decisive.
- A screenshot of any published official fee schedule for your crossing.
- Enough daylight. Aim to reach any gate before mid-afternoon.
For bus fares inside Vietnam on the way to these gates, see our sleeper bus fares guide; for overall budgeting, the Vietnam travel cost index.
Limitations
Border rules change frequently and this page will drift. Vietnam's approved e-visa port list is set by government resolution, last materially revised on 2 December 2025, and can be amended at any time. Laos and Cambodia adjust visa-on-arrival availability and eVisa gate coverage independently, often without English-language announcement. Nothing here substitutes for checking with the relevant embassy or official portal within days of travelling.
Several points remain unresolved. Whether a Vietnam e-visa holder must use the exact gate named on the application is reported inconsistently, and we could not confirm an authoritative statement. Lao eVisa acceptance at Vietnam-facing gates is likewise contradictory across sources. Cambodia's e-Arrival Card is described as air-only, but expansion to land borders has been signalled without a date.
Prices are mid-2026 estimates from operator listings and traveller reports, not audited fares, and they move with season and exchange rate. Published opening hours are not always observed. We have not personally verified every gate in the table this year, and the remote Laos and Cambodia crossings see so few foreign travellers that current reporting is thin. This guide also covers ordinary tourist crossings only — not local border passes, freight procedures, or the different rules applying to Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian and Chinese nationals.