Visas, borders and practical travel in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
This guide
About this guide and how we check it
Indochina Travel Guide is an independent, English-language handbook for people planning their own trips through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This page explains what we cover, where our facts come from, what the dates mean, what we do badly, and how to correct us.
Contents
What the guide covers
Five subjects, at country and border level: visa and entry rules; getting between the three countries by air, road and river; money, cards and SIM cards; seasons; and health, safety and the scams travellers report. The aim is to answer the questions that decide whether a route works before anyone books it.
The guide does not sell tours, visas or tickets, and it takes no bookings. It does not list, recommend or rate travel companies, hotels or guides. It does not carry paid placements inside the text. Deep guides to single cities and provinces are outside its scope.
Where the facts come from
We use sources in this order of preference:
- Official portals and documents of the three governments: the Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao e-visa portals, government resolutions and ministry notices.
- Travel advice published by foreign ministries, which is updated frequently and states its own revision date.
- Operators of the infrastructure itself, such as airports.
- Independent guides, traveller reports, specialist news outlets and commercial services, clearly labelled as such in the source line, and used only where nothing official answers the question.
When an official page could not be read on the day we checked, we say so and fall back to the next source rather than guessing. When two sources disagree, the page shows both. Where we cannot confirm a point, the cell or the sentence says so; we would rather leave a gap than fill it with something that sounds right.
What the dates mean
Each page shows when it was published and when it was last reviewed. Each block that contains a fact that can change, such as a fee, a stay length, a list of ports or an opening time, has a source line underneath it with a date marked "last checked". That is the day an editor read the cited source and compared it with the page, not the day the site was rebuilt.
A "last checked" date is a statement about our work, not a promise about the rule. Governments change visa arrangements without much notice, and a border post can apply a rule differently from the national website. Before you travel, open the official link in the source line and read it yourself.
What we do badly
- Nationality-specific detail. Visa rules differ by passport, and we cover the common cases, not every country.
- Real-time closures. A border closed for a holiday or a storm will not show here until someone tells us.
- Anything beyond a short tourist stay: work, study, residence and visa runs.
- Languages other than English. The guide is published in English only.
Corrections
If a page is wrong, out of date, or unclear, tell us through the form on the contact page. The most useful reports say which page and which sentence, what you found instead, when, and where: a link to an official source, or a description of what happened at a border and on what date.
Every report is read by an editor. Where a correction is confirmed, we change the page, update its "last reviewed" date and the "last checked" date of the block concerned, and note significant changes in the log below. Where we cannot confirm a report but it is credible, we may add it to the page as a traveller report, labelled as such.
Corrections log
First edition published on 3 October 2026. No corrections recorded yet.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Who writes the guide?
The pages are written and checked by the Indochina Travel Guide editors, who are named as the author on every page.
Do you accept payment to mention a business?
The guide does not name or rate businesses, and there are no paid placements in the text.
Why do some pages cite independent guides rather than governments?
Because on some points, such as which land border issues a visa on arrival, the official sources say nothing or could not be read. We label those sources clearly so you can weigh them.
How do I report a mistake?
Use the form on the contact page. Say which page, what is wrong, and how you know.
Related
Read next
This guide
Contact
Send corrections and questions to the editors through the form.
Independent travel handbook
Home
Start here: the guide to entry rules, border crossings, money and seasons across the three countries.
Visas and entry
Visas
Side-by-side comparison of e-visas, exemptions and visas on arrival for the three countries.
Getting across
Border crossings
Crossing-by-crossing tables for Vietnam–Cambodia, Vietnam–Laos and Cambodia–Laos, with sources and dates.
Planning
Health and safety
Health risks, medicine rules, road safety, methanol, unexploded ordnance and common scams in the three countries.
Start planning
Send a correction or a question
Tell us what a page says, what you found at the border or on an official site, and when. A link to the source helps us check it quickly.