Hoi An Visa Run Cost & Prices 2026

What a Hoi An visa run costs in 2026

A visa run from Hoi An to the Lao Bao border has exactly three cost buckets: getting there, the visa itself, and what you hand over at the border windows. Transport starts at 45 USD for a shared van seat. The full package with a new 90-day e-visa starts at 200 USD. And the Laos side takes 30 to 45 USD in cash, depending on your nationality.

That's the whole list. No booking fees, no service charges tacked on at the end, no surprise "border processing" line. The price you see on the booking form is the price you pay, and the guide who rides with you is included in every transport fare.

Transport. Shared van or private car, from Hoi An or Da Nang. This is the fare for the ride to the border and back, door to door.

The visa. If your current stamp is running out, you need a new 90-day e-visa before you re-enter. Our desk handles the filing, and the rate includes the government fees.

Border fees. Laos charges a visa on arrival fee for many nationalities, paid in cash at the crossing. This one goes directly to the Lao officers, not to us.

Most people only pay the first bucket. If you already hold a valid visa and just need a fresh entry stamp, transport alone is 45 USD from Hoi An. You add the visa bucket only when you need a new one, and the border fee only if your passport needs a Laos visa for the crossing.

One rule of thumb before you plan anything: check the expiry date stamped in your passport, not the date on your visa approval email. The stamp is what the border reads. If you have less than a week of slack, book the run now, because the price of waiting is an overstay fine that dwarfs anything on this page.

Transport: van or car, Hoi An or Da Nang

Two ride options, four prices. The shared van is the budget pick. The private car is for groups, families, or anyone who does not want to wait on other people's pickup times.

The shared van holds up to 10 passengers and runs on a schedule. Departures leave every two hours from 4am to 4pm, every day of the year. Your pickup window is one hour, and the van makes the rounds in Hoi An or Da Nang before heading to the border. It's the option most solo travelers and couples take, and it's the one that makes the run cheaper than a night out in the Old Town.

The private car is a flat rate for the whole vehicle, so the price per person drops fast as your group grows. Three people splitting a 140 USD car pay less than 47 USD each, basically the van fare with a better seat, cold water, and rest stops on demand. Four or five travelers do even better. The car also waits for you through both border crossings, so you set the pace instead of racing a van's schedule.

Every fare includes the same core items: door-to-door pickup from your hotel or apartment in Hoi An or Da Nang, the drive to the Lao Bao international border crossing and back, and an English-speaking guide who stays with you through both immigration windows. No extra charge for the guide, no per-person "assistance fee." If you are booking for more than four travelers, mention it in the booking notes and we'll quote the car separately.

One honest comparison: the DIY route means renting a car or taking a public bus to Dong Ha, then a motorbike taxi to the border. By the time you add the return trip and the hours lost figuring out where to stand, most people find the van fare is the cheap option, not the expensive one.

What the visa costs

If you need a new 90-day e-visa, you have two ways to pay for it: on its own, or bundled into a package with your transport. Both include the government filing fees, so the number you see is the final number.

The filing happens the moment you stamp out of Vietnam at Lao Bao. Our desk submits while you wait on the Laos side, and approvals typically sync to the border system within 30 to 60 minutes.

The same packages from Da Nang run 135, 230, and 255 USD. The Traveler package is the one to take if you plan to leave Vietnam again within the 90 days, since a multiple-entry visa means future border trips are transport only.

Push service for an existing application

Already filed an e-visa and it stalled? We can fast-track the existing application from the border. Times are business hours, and processing starts once you send a clear photo of your exit stamp.

The rush tiers exist for people who book late and realize their stamp expires tomorrow. If you plan a week ahead, the standard processing already built into the packages is all you need, and the push fee is money you never spend.

Border fees: the Laos side

This is the one cost that goes somewhere else. The Laos visa on arrival fee is paid in cash to the Lao immigration window, and it runs roughly 30 to 45 USD depending on your nationality. It is not part of our pricing, and no agent can pay it for you in advance.

Two things to get right. First, bring US dollars in cash, and bring clean ones. The Lao officers check bill condition and will wave away torn, taped, or heavily marked notes. Second, know before you go whether your nationality needs a Laos visa at all. Many passports get visa exemption for short stays and skip this window entirely, walking straight to passport control. Your guide checks your status before you leave Hoi An, but it costs you nothing to check your own status first with a quick search of "Laos visa exemption" plus your country.

While you are at the border, budget for small stuff. Breakfast, coffee, and snacks at the stalls between the two checkpoints run a few dollars in dong. There are money changers at Lao Bao, but the rates are not the point; the point is that there is no reliably working ATM for foreign cards, so arrive with what you need. Carry the dong for food and the dollars for the visa fee, and you won't have to think about money again until you're home.

The one fee you should never pay: anyone at the border who offers to "expedite" your Laos visa for an extra charge. The official window is the only window that matters, and your guide will walk you straight to it.

What real runs cost: worked totals

Prices in a table only mean so much. Here's what the day actually costs in the situations we see most.

Solo traveler, valid visa already in hand. You only need the exit and re-entry stamps. Shared van from Hoi An at 45 USD, plus the Laos visa on arrival at 30 to 45 USD if your passport needs one. Total: 75 to 90 USD, all in, for a same-day run with a guide.

Solo traveler, stamp nearly expired. You need the new e-visa too. The Standard package bundles the van and the single-entry visa at 200 USD, plus the Laos fee if applicable. Total: 230 to 245 USD, and you re-enter with a fresh 90 days.

Couple sharing a car. The private car is 140 USD for the whole vehicle, so two people pay 70 USD each. Add e-visa processing for both at 95 USD each and you're at 165 USD per person, roughly 330 USD for the pair, door to door.

Family of four. This is where the private car shines. 140 USD split four ways is 35 USD per person, cheaper than the van seat. With single-entry e-visas, each adult lands around 130 USD total. Kids' passports follow the same process, and the car gives you room for a car seat and the usual family chaos.

Digital nomad planning multiple exits. The Traveler package at 310 USD: private car plus a multiple-entry e-visa. Any border trip in the next 90 days becomes transport only, 45 USD a pop, which is why regulars pick this one.

Last-minute panic. Stamp expires tomorrow, e-visa still pending. Transport at 45 USD plus a 1-hour push at 125 USD gets you back in the same day. It's the most expensive way to do the run and still the cheapest way to avoid an overstay fine, which starts around 300,000 VND per day and climbs.

Every number here is the same one you'll see on the booking form, in USD and VND, with no additions at the border except the Laos fee itself.

How to spend less, and when prices change

The cheapest visa run from Hoi An starts at 45 USD and you can hold that number with three habits.

Book the early van. The 4am departure is 45 USD like any other, but it clears the border before the midday crowd, which means fewer queued hours and no pressure to rush the windows. Same price, better day.

Fill the car with people. A private car is a flat 140 USD. Three travelers already beat the van fare per person, and four make it a bargain. If you're a group, one booking note about headcount gets you the right vehicle.

Don't buy rush you don't need. The push service is priced for emergencies. Book with three or four days of slack on your stamp, use the standard e-visa processing already in your package, and the 125 USD 1-hour tier never touches your wallet.

Skip the extras at the border. You don't need the expediter, the "fast lane" helper, or the currency exchange with the worst rate on the strip. The official windows and the included guide handle everything.

One more thing worth knowing: the numbers on this page are 2026 prices, and they're the same numbers the booking form shows today. Prices can shift with exchange rates, so the figure on the booking form at checkout is the one that counts, not a screenshot from last month. The VND figures are set from the current rate and rounded to the nearest 100,000.

And if you're comparing across Central Vietnam: runs from Da Nang cost slightly less (40 USD shared, 135 USD per car), runs from Hue use the same Lao Bao border, and the Da Nang site covers that city's pickup map in detail. The route, the border, and the process are the same; only the drive time and the pickup points change.