Visa run from Hoi An to Lao Bao: free pickup, back the same day

Why Hoi An crosses at Lao Bảo, and how the drive runs

A visa run is a journey, not a visa type: you exit Vietnam and re-enter on a new, already-approved e-visa. Tourist e-visas generally cannot be extended from inside the country, so a fresh entry is the normal legal route to more time.

From Hoi An, Lao Bảo in Quảng Trị is the nearest crossing that takes an e-visa — 278 km on QL1 → QL9, about 5–6.5 hours each way, facing Densavan on the Laos side. It is the same gate our Da Nang departures use, so you are on a route a driver crosses every week rather than a detour improvised for one booking.

One wrinkle worth naming: Hoi An was in Quảng Nam until Vietnam merged its provinces on 1 July 2025, and it is now administratively in Đà Nẵng. Old guides, old signs and most search results still say Quảng Nam. Both names describe the same place, and your paperwork is unaffected.

Distances here are road distances, rounded honestly. Queues at Lao Bảo, weather on QL1 → QL9 and public holidays on either side move the timings more than the kilometres do.

Select Lao Bảo on the e-visa — and check it twice

This is the part to get right, because it cannot be fixed later. When you apply at evisa.gov.vn the form asks for your intended entry checkpoint. If you are coming back through Lao Bảo, you must select Lao Bảo. A visa naming a different checkpoint will not admit you here, and the choice cannot be amended once the visa is issued.

Spell it the way the portal spells it. We keep the gate name in its Vietnamese form throughout this guide — Lao Bảo — precisely because that is the string you are looking for in the dropdown, and a translated version of it will not be there.

Lao Bảo is on the list of international checkpoints where foreigners may enter and exit on an e-visa. That list grew from 42 checkpoints to 83 under Resolution 389/NQ-CP of 2 December 2025, which is what made several of these regional routes practical in the first place.

Processing is officially quoted at three to five working days and takes longer around public holidays. Apply 7–10 days before your current visa expires so a typo or a rejection is recoverable. And do not travel until the new visa is approved — leaving without one is how people end up stuck on the Laos side.

Do you actually need a visa run?

Worth checking before you book anything. The answer depends on the visa you hold, not on how long you have been in Vietnam.

• Tourist e-visa (marked DL): usually cannot be extended in-country. A new e-visa plus a border run is the standard route.
• Business, work, investor or family visa: may qualify for an in-country extension with a lawful sponsor and complete paperwork. Ask before you book a trip.
• Visa exemption: your allowance and re-entry conditions depend on nationality and can differ from visa rules. Check yours specifically.
• Temporary residence card (TRC): no visa run needed while the card is valid.

How the day runs from Hoi An

Treat these times as indicative. The crossing is busiest at weekends, around Vietnamese and Laos public holidays, and on heavy freight days. Keep your evening free.

What Laos asks for at Densavan

You are only stepping across the line and turning around, but Laos still processes you as an arrival, so its own rules apply in full.

Important: the Laos e-visa is not accepted at Densavan. Depending on your nationality you will either be visa-exempt or need a visa on arrival, issued at the counter for cash — so bring clean, undamaged US dollar notes and a spare passport photo. Buying a Laos e-visa online before this trip is money wasted.

Fees vary by nationality and change without notice, and there is usually a small additional border processing charge. Confirm what applies to your passport before you travel rather than at the window.

Other gates within reach of Hoi An

Nam Giang is the realistic fallback from Hoi An, and it is the only other gate worth the drive. The usual reasons to switch are a long queue, a holiday closure on the far side, or roadworks on the direct route.

Switching gates is not a decision you can make on the day, though — your e-visa names one checkpoint and only that checkpoint will admit you. So if there is a reason to prefer an alternative, it has to be settled before you apply. That is exactly the kind of thing worth a message to us first.

Pickup from Hoi An is included in the published package price with no surcharge.

Whatever the transport costs, the government fees are separate and are the same wherever you leave from: the Vietnam e-visa itself, plus any Laos entry fee your nationality attracts.