Luang Prabang Travel Forum

Hi,

I have heard about a slow boat that goes from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai in Thailand - i wondered where would i organise a ticket for the trip?

also heard that speedboat was an option, so if anybody has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

recommendations for accomodation in LP would be great too :-)

Cheers,

K

We took the slowboat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai, and then you cross over into Thailand at Chiang Khong. We took a bus to Chiang Rai, and then onto Chiang Mai the next day. This is a 2 day trip, booked easily at Luang Prabang, and stay overnight at Pak Beng. Cost about US$20 all up for the tickets. Then, accommodation in Pak Beng - we paid 200Bt only for a new guesthouse. We enjoyed the trip on the Mekong very much, but had a misadventure on the second day/night, when the boat broke down and we were towed and then dumped quite a long way from Huay Xai. Wrote about this in my tips. Just caution about the standards of some of the boats. There are more than one daily, so just sus the boats out before you leave. The fastboats are a fairly perilous way to get around, and there are plenty of stories and evidence of mishaps (debris in the river). They are noisy and look fairly awful, which seems to be the consensus of people who have taken them. No time to see anything either!

yes the boats are a bit dodgy, but a great experience nevertheless, and I still recommend it. Day 2 of our trip the boat people squashed 2 boat loads of tourists onto 1 boat. very crampped. You must pack food and water. ( and a deck of cards) The fast boat looks a bit dangerous. They really are very fast, and the Mekong narrows in some spots and rocks jag out of the water.

Take the slow boat, and be patient with it. You will have a great time.

And a VT'er gave me info about an alternative boat, which is somewhere in between the standard of the backpacker boat and the luxury one - for about $60 - know it goes Huay Xai to LP - and assume it would do the return trip.

Hi,
Do you know were we can book it?
Regards,
Emma

from chiang khong thailand, or LP in Laos. there are visa services avaliable in Chiang Khong too. very easy to organise, as there are many tourist agencies in both places