Myanmar to Laos (Yangon to Vientiane)
 

I am planning a regional trip in which part would involve being in Yangon, Myanmar and then going directly to Vientiane, Laos, overland. I have been doing the research and can only find the google map route, but nothing on buses. I do not want to fly, I want to go by bus or minibus and see the countryside. I know this route involves travel via Thailand, and still cannot find any bus routes. Maybe I have not broken down the long trip into legs, but also given that Myanmar is only recently opening up, maybe information is not quite readily available. Help please

Well, the reason you can't find any bus routes has to do with travel restrictions in Myanmar. You cannot take a bus from Yangon (or Mandalay) to the Thai border crossing. You can fly from either one to a town closer to the border, like Kentung. You might be able to get a permit to exit Myanmar across that border, but getting a permit is time-consuming and expensive. In general, Myanmar wants you to fly in and out of the country. Many are hoping the land borders will open soon, but I wouldn't hold my breath. From northern Thailand, you can certainly get to Vientiane, though I expect you will need to change buses and you may have to get off the bus and cross the Friendship bridge on foot.

As Kathie says, you should plan to fly. I do have friends who have crossed from China to Myanmar overland, but they certainly didn't go by bus, and one of them is Chinese. You might, I suppose, check Lonely Planet's Thorntree to see if anyone has crossed into Thailand recently, but remember that that border area has seen fighting between rebels and the government and may not even be open to foreigners.

The China/Myanmar border is the only land border "open" right now. It also requires permits and pre-arrangement of transport.

While you van sometimes enter Myanmar from Thailand, you leave your passport at the border and have to stay within 5 km of the border. With special permits, people have entered from Thailand and traveled farther into Myanmar, but an official guide is often required as well.

The folks on Thorntree will have the latest in the ever-changing saga.

Ironically, while people now think of Myanmar as being "open" it is less open to foreigners in many ways than it was a few years ago. For about a 6 month period, they offered a real visa on arrival at the Yangon airport, and it used to be possible to enter overland without too much hassle at the northern Thai border, and then fly farther into the country.

PS I'm assuming you know that you must have a visa in advance.

Yeah, I know the visa requirements. Thanks for the help so far.

Good luck to you. Let us know what you decide to do.