Da Nang Visa Run from Hoi An
Most visa run guides for central Vietnam start from Da Nang, because Da Nang is where the airport is and where most people land. But a big share of travelers in this part of the country are actually staying in Hoi An. The old town, An Bang beach, the rice fields around Cam Thanh. You wake up there, your visa runs out in a few days, and the last thing you want is to spend your last legal day figuring out logistics.
The good news is that the visa run from Hoi An is the same run as from Da Nang, with one longer morning. The border is the same Lao Bao crossing in Quang Tri province, about 320 km from Hoi An by road. The vehicle picks you up at your hotel, the fixer handles both checkpoints, and you are back in Hoi An the same evening with fresh stamps.
This page covers the Hoi An side of the trip: where we pick up, what time the morning starts, how the route works, what it costs, and what you need at the border. If you are comparing options, the short version is this. A shared van seat costs from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 VND, a private car for up to 5 people costs from 3,200,000 to 3,400,000 VND for the whole vehicle, and the day runs 10 to 12 hours door to door. The only real difference from Da Nang is that your pickup comes first.
Hoi An Pickup Corridor
Pickup from Hoi An runs between 04:00 and 04:30. We start at the southern end of town and work north, so the exact time depends on where your hotel sits. Old town hotels near the Japanese Bridge get picked up around 04:00. Places on the edge of town toward Da Nang, like An Bang or the resorts along the beach road, get picked up closer to 04:30.
The Hoi An corridor covers the whole town: the old town area around Tran Phu and Nguyen Thai Hoc, Cam Nam, Tan An, the An Bang and Cua Dai beach strip, and the Cam Thanh village side. If you are staying somewhere outside that ring, message us the hotel name when you book and we will tell you if the car can reach you or where the nearest pickup point is.
Why so early? The border gates at Lao Bao open at 07:00, and the drive from Hoi An takes about 5 to 5.5 hours. Leaving at 04:00 gets you to the border right as it opens, which means shorter queues and a full day of light on the way back. Every visa run from this part of Vietnam runs on the same logic, so the early start is not a Hoi An thing. It is just how the day works.
One tip: most Hoi An hotels do not have breakfast ready at 04:00. Grab a banh mi the night before, or tell us and we will add a breakfast stop near the highway. The vans have room for a bag, so you can eat on the road.
Route and Timing from Hoi An
The route from Hoi An follows National Road 1 north. The car leaves your hotel, joins the highway near the edge of town, and passes through Da Nang about 35 to 45 minutes later. That is the detour people ask about: Hoi An sits about 30 km south of Da Nang, and the border is to the north, so the run from Hoi An adds roughly 30 minutes of driving compared to starting in Da Nang city.
From there it is the same road every Da Nang run uses. Up past the Hai Van pass, through Hue, and on to Dong Ha in Quang Tri, where the road turns west on QL9 toward the border. Total distance from Hoi An is about 320 km, and the drive takes 5 to 5.5 hours with two comfort stops built in. The stops land roughly every 2 to 2.5 hours, which works out to a coffee stop somewhere past Hue and a proper break before the border.
The border itself is Lao Bao on the Vietnam side and Densavan on the Laos side. Your vehicle parks at the Vietnam gate, you walk through both checkpoints, and the same vehicle is waiting on the other side. With the fixer handling the forms, the crossing takes about 45 to 60 minutes. Then you turn around and do the whole drive in reverse, with a lunch stop at the border restaurants before you leave.
Door to door, the Hoi An run is 10 to 12 hours. That means you leave around 04:00 and you are back in Hoi An between 14:00 and 16:00, depending on queue length at the border. The return is the same route, so if you are the kind of traveler who gets carsick on mountain roads, take the front seat and keep the Hai Van section in mind. It is the curviest part of the day.
Pricing from Hoi An
Transport pricing from Hoi An is the same as from Da Nang. The city you start from does not change the rate, because the vehicle is doing the same day of work. Shared van seats cost from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 VND per person. A private car costs from 3,200,000 to 3,400,000 VND for the whole vehicle and fits up to 5 people plus luggage.
Which one makes sense from Hoi An depends on your group. Solo travelers and couples almost always take the shared van. It is the cheapest option, and the van does the Hoi An corridor most mornings, so you are not paying for a private car just to get picked up in the right town. Families and groups of 3 to 5 usually take the private car. Do the math for four people and it works out cheaper than four van seats, and you get the vehicle to yourselves.
Groups of 6 to 16 people fit in our larger vans, booked as one reservation with one price. That is the option for wedding parties, retreats, and friend groups who want everyone in the same vehicle. The per-seat rate stays in the same range as the shared van.
On top of transport, budget for the Vietnam government visa fees, the Laos visa fee for nationalities that need one, and food. Lunch at the border runs about 50,000 to 100,000 VND per person and the restaurants take cash only. The border stalls also take cash, so bring enough for the group and carry it in one place. If you need a Laos visa on arrival, add a passport photo to the list and some spare cash for the fee.
At the Border
The border paperwork does not change because you started in Hoi An. You still need the same documents: a passport valid at least 6 months from entry, your current Vietnam visa or visa-exemption stamp, and, if you are re-entering on a fresh e-visa, a printed copy of the approval. The fixer checks your documents before the run and again at the border, so a missing page gets caught in Hoi An, not at the gate.
Some nationalities get a 45-day visa exemption for Vietnam and only need the Laos side handled. Others need an e-visa to re-enter. Laos has its own visa-on-arrival list, and the fee is paid in cash at Densavan. Tell us your nationality when you book, and we confirm exactly what applies to you before you leave.
The crossing works like this. You get out at the Vietnam gate, the fixer takes the passports through the Vietnam exit stamp, you walk across the bridge, and the same fixer handles the Laos entry at Densavan. On the way back, the sequence reverses. Most travelers find the whole crossing takes 45 to 60 minutes, which is most of the reason people use a fixer instead of doing it alone. The forms are in Vietnamese and Lao, and getting them wrong means standing in line again.
One more thing about the border: it is quieter in the morning. Getting there around 07:00 means you clear before the tour groups and cargo traffic build up. By the time you come back through in the early afternoon, the queues are short again. The border restaurants are decent and cheap, but they close their kitchens between the lunch rush, so if you want a hot meal, eat before you cross back.
How to Book from Hoi An
Booking from Hoi An works exactly like booking from Da Nang, with one extra detail in the message: the name of your hotel. Send us a WhatsApp at +84 33 410 3857 with your date, your hotel name, how many people, and your nationalities. We confirm the pickup time, the vehicle, and the total price, usually within the hour during business hours.
Book at least 24 to 48 hours ahead so we can fit the Hoi An corridor into the day's route. The corridor runs most mornings, but it is not guaranteed, so the earlier you book, the more likely the van route includes your hotel. If you are in a hurry and your visa expires within 3 days, message us anyway. We keep a couple of seats open for urgent runs and will try to slot you into the next departure.
On the morning of the run, be in the lobby 10 minutes early. The car leaves at the confirmed time and does not wait, because the border gates do not. Have your passports, cash, and any printed e-visa approvals in one bag. Most guests are surprised at how smooth it is once they hand the documents over, so the only real job you have is being awake at 04:00.
A note for travelers comparing their options: the run from Hoi An uses the same vehicles, the same fixers, and the same border as the Da Nang service, just with the pickup leg extended south. If you are staying in Hoi An for another month and thinking longer term, read about 90-day e-visas and how the visa run fits into a longer stay. For everything else, the FAQ page covers the edge cases.
