Luang Prabang Travel Forum

hey ther...
any tips on the trip from luang prabang to chiang mai would be great!!!
has anyone taken the 10 hour boat from luang prabang to huay xai recently? ive heard a couple of stories bout the 2day trip thats really putting me off since ill be travelling alone..and the speed boat doesnt sound too appealing either!

if youve taken the 10hour trip ...have you any idea how much it would cost now? and once you get to huay xai whats the process with crossing the border and continuing on to chiang mai...would i need to overstay near the border before heading to chiang mai? sory sory ..millions of questions...which would be the best mode of transport to chiang mai then ???
thanks

hi

i have taken the trip in reverse and well, on the slow boat... which i recommend. fast boats are not very safe, it seems - and anyway you won't really enjoy the trip, it'll be wet and bumpy, not scenic. the mekong is to be enjoyed slowly. As for being alone, I would not worry, you'll meet plenty of people. btw by fast boat it should be 10-12 hours at least...

chang khong (huay xai border) to chiang mai is a good 4 hours by minibus, if i remember correctly. So basically you won't manage the trip in one day, anyway.

Hope this helps
happy trails

rhia

hey
cool thanks for the reply! so if i take the slow boat from luang prabang ..which takes two days...would i still get to chiang mai in the evening on the second day..or would i be better off staying at the border for a night?!!

the 10 hour boat only goes down stream from Huay Xai to LP, upstream it takes two days. The boat we went on is the Naga of Mekong and is a slow boat but faster than most of the slow boats. It leaves at 8.30am and arrives at LP at aprox6.00pm. The other way the Naga takes 2 days. When you arrive in Huay Xai it will most likely be after the border closes so you will have to stay on the LP side. We stayed just around the corner at a place called Arimid Guest house, its run by an older couple who were lovely, place cost USD7.00/night rooms were very clean and the wife cooked a fantastic meal. Once you cross the border, which is just a matter of catching a boat accross the river - 10 minutes into Chiang Kong you get your visa on the other side, you could organise a bus directly to Chiang Mai.

Hi, if you go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0eqZEFbHI you can see a 10 min video of the trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. If you go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT_qFZK12vI you can see the speedboat trip from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai. Hope this helps you make up your mind,have a great trip. Barry

wow that speed boat looks so dodgy!!!! thanks a mil for the link!!