Laos Travel Forum

Hi!
We are a group of six and will be flying to Vientiane by Air Asia in late july. We have 6 nights and would like to cover Vang Vieng and L. Prabang as well as Vientiane. We would like to rent a minivan to take us straight to VV when we arrive and leave Vientiane for the last 2 days. Would be grateful if anyone could suggest the name of a tour agency/van driver whom we could contact beforehand or on arrival. This way maybe we will have time to see Ponsavan as well. It will be our first visit to Laos and we're really looking forward to seeing as much as we possibly can.

What will the weather be like in late July and early August? Also will it be easy to get accomodation on arrival at the various places? We hope to stay in guesthouses or familyrun budget hotels.

Thank you.

i have used vanasana travels and found their services good.
i rented a bus from them and it all worked out fine.

http://www.vansanatravel.com/

It will take you the best part of a day to travel from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang by minibus. It takes all day to cover 200 odd kilometres due to the mountainous terrain. The same goes for Luang Prabang to Phonsavan.
I think that you are trying to see too much in too little time. Vang Vieng deserves at least a day or two, and Luang Prabang also. I spent a week there and enjoyed visiting some temples, waterfalls etc. Maybe you should give Phonsavan a miss this time. Or, maybe if you travel at night you may save some time.

I think you're trying to cover too much ground in 6 days but it's your holiday. What time are you arriving in Vientiane. I'm assuming you're flying from KL to VTE?
It might be easy to have the driver meet you at VTE airport to transfer you to Vang Vieng (takes about 3 hours by van if not during rush hour--actually you'll already be on Route 13 but whereas years ago there wasn't much vehicle traffic, as Laos has prospered and especially Vientiane, more people use the 2 lane highway and thus more congestion). Or you could go into town and check with travel agencies to hire a van/driver.

In Vang Vieng there are daily departures at 9AM headed up to Luang Prabang but you could also hire your own van which would cost more since the shared vans usually seats approx. 10 passengers.

In Luang Prabang, you really don't need a van/driver since the town is relatively small and easy to tour via walking or bike rentals (U$1/day for 1-speed Thai made LA bikes). And if you're going to Kuangsi Waterfall, again you can hire a shared van (departures at 11:30AM or 1:30pm) or hire a tuk tuk to share amongst yourselves.

It'll certainly be cheaper for you to hire a van to take you back down to Vientiane than flying but there are good VIP buses (minimum 9-10 hours) or seeking out a shared van as well.

If you need a travel agency, I can recommend All Lao Travel Service which is my regular travel agent when I'm living in Laos. Their email is info@alllaoservice.com or you can check their website out at www.alllaoservice.com or via their www.mahoutlodge.com

It's still part of the rainy season which means it could rain for several hours, or have a deluge in half an hour to raining for half a day to sunny days. Very hard to predict that time of the year but the hills and mountain are very lush and green making road travel visually stimulating.

Also, should be pretty easy to just show up and find budget accomodations this time of the year. If you need suggestions, let me know.

Cheers and selamat pagi!

Due to extreme climatic changes the World is experiencing at the moment, trying to predict the weather can be difficult because of local, on the day variations.
Most places now are seeing weather conditions well outside the norm.
The information below should be used as a guide only.

Here is the average weather for Vientiane & Luang Prabang for this time of year.
Enjoy your holiday.

Vientiane
July.
High 90f / 32c
Low 76f / 25c
Rain 9.60in / 244.0mm
Rain days 20
Hours of sun 5
Daylight hours 13
UV level 11 = Extreme
Humidity = Very High

August.
High 89f / 32c
Low 76f / 24c
Rain 13.10in / 332.0mm
Rain days 20
Hours of sun 5
Daylight hours 13
UV level 11 = Extreme
Humidity = Very High

Luang Prabang
July.
High 87f / 31c
Low 73f / 23c
Rain 9.50in / 241.0mm
Rain days 24
Hours of sun 4
Daylight hours 13
UV level 11 = Extreme
Humidity = Very High

August.
High 87f / 31c
Low 73f / 23c
Rain 11.80in / 299.0mm
Rain days 27
Hours of sun 5
Daylight hours 13
UV level 11 = Extreme
Humidity = Very High

Thank you for all your suggestions. If possible I really like the suggestion of getting a driver to meet us at the airport and take us straight to Vang Vieng. We arrive at 9.40am and don't mind sharing transport. Alternatively where is the North bus station and what time does the bus leave for VV?
Cheers.

It will probably easier to hire your own van instead of trying to share one since the shared vans to Vang Vieng also leave early in the morning but some as late as 9-10am. You can arrange a van through the Lao travel agency I mentioned above and with 6 people, it wouldn't be that expensive to get to Vang Vieng.
HOwever, if you want to do it on the cheap, one option is to walk out past the airport's gate to Route 13 and flag down a northbound bus headed to Vang Vieng or beyond. Vientiane's North Bus Station is on T-2, and is not far from the airport if you want to walk out to the main road/Rt. 13 and flag down a tuk tuk for the North Bus Station. It will certainly be less expensive than hiring the taxi from inside the airport which charges 50,000-60,000 kip for the whole taxi into town but I doubt they'll fit all 6 of you into a car taxi.
I've never taken the bus from the North Bus Station to Vang Vieng, though that's is also the station for 8AM VIP bus to Luang Prabang that I've taken multiple times.
My experience is that you catch the buses from the Talat Sao or Morning Market Bus Station up to Vang Vieng and those seem to leave hourly in the morning. Those are local buses. There's also a Vip bus that departs from the parking lot along the Mekong for Vang Vieng at 10AM but I don't think you'll clear immigration and customs and get your luggage in time for that one unless you're lucky enough to flag it down at the airport's gate on Route 13.
The buses headed up to Vang Vieng from the Talat Sao will pick you up if they have room but make sure you know how much they want to charge you before taking a seat.
Again, if you want to hire a van to share among the six of you, contact the agency I mentioned above by email.

The "VIP" bus that I caught (hotel pick-up) left Vientiane at 10am, but it was pretty well full before it left the town. It stopped at the northern bus station but I don't know why. No-one got on. This was "Malany Transport Co". Cost was 50,000 kip. There was no aircon and I would not call it VIP. I would follow Seagypsy's advice. Get straight to Vang Vieng by private mini-bus. You will only need a day in Vietiane when you return.

Hi... we rented 4 WD for 6 people from Lao RC company (we checked almost 10 different companies and choose that one because they were cheapest and didn't insist on taking their driver) and they had been very helpful. We didn't need driver because my husband is Lao and know Lao roads. Most rent a car companies want that you take their driver for security reasons. There's their page if you're interested: http://www.laorc.com/
They speak english and are near Wattay airport. It's new company and if they weren't good I wouldn't recomend them.

If you want cheaper, travel by public bus and take tuk tuks in town for sightseeing - like seagipsy said. But you're 6 and you'll always need to multiply your expenses with 6. So think about it... you want see many things, maybe too many in 6 days. Honestly saying, Phonsavan isn't that interesting place unless you're into archeology and war history. If you want to see something there you will need at least one day to get there, then 1 day to take a tour (either with tour guide or your own) and 1 day to get back.

A bit to compare: it's about 4 hrs by public bus from VTE to VV. 3 hrs by car if smooth traffic. It's no certain when accidents happen but they happen often. Then from VV to LPB is 6 hrs by bus or car. Noone can travel very fast this road and if you do, you can easily have a crash. VV to Phonesavan was about 7 hrs by bus. Again, it's slow road through mountainous areas. Going from there to LPB will be slow, but there are 2 way, one via Nong Khiaw and another one back to the rd 13.

Thanks Seagypsy. I took your advice and have rented a van from Alllao travel Service to pick us up from Wattay airport and head north immediately. We shall be using it for 6 days.

They suggested this itinerary. The first night will be in Vangvieng, then either 1 or 2 nights in Phonsavan then either 2 or 3 nights in Luang Prabang and the 6th day back to Vientiane. Do you think this is OK.

I was told there is spectacular scenery around Kasi and would not want to miss this if possible. I just hope it will not rain too much then. Will it be easy to get rooms on arrival or should I try prebooking?

Cheers.

Selamat enewons--sorry I did not see your last post. Anyways, late July shouldn't be a problem to just show up since this year in particular, given the worldwide slump, it's not busy in Laos.
For Luang Prabang, if you're seeking a relatively quiet place for less than U$15 for en suite bathroom (no TV, no AC, but ceiling fan) than I can recommend the Cold River Guesthouse along the banks of the Nam Khan River. It's about a 12 minute walk, half of which is along the riverfront road, to the central tourist area/mainstreet Sisavangvong Road. Very friendly family run place and is very popular amongst Asians (Thais, Malays, Singapore, Japanese, Koreans, etc).
For Phonsavan, I recommend KongKeo Gueshtouse.
For Vang Vieng, I recommend Dokhoun 1 Guesthouse.
All 3 places offer a variety of room types and are in the budget backpacker to moderate price range.

I am a malaysian and planning to travel to Loas. Is it possible for me to join your group? If yes, pls contact me at 012-3115879.

Regards

Thanks, Seagypsy, for recommending the guesthouses in the various places. Will look them up when we are there. Can you also please suggest a GH in Vientiene?

In Luang Prabang, as we will be using a van, is it possible to drive right to the Kuang Si waterfall? Is it easy to visit Pak Ou cave on our own or do we need to join a tour? We want to take a boatride anyway.

Also to go to the Plain of Jars should we take a guided tour and does it take us to all 3 sections? Would any of you know how much it will cost and will the GH arrange it for us. Is there much to see in Moung Khoun and is it worth going to the old Xieng Khoung city? I have not been able to find Moung Khoun on the map.

Would it be better to go to Phonsavan from Vang Vieng or from Luang Prabang?
Hope some of you can help with some answers.
Thank you.

'In Luang Prabang, as we will be using a van, is it possible to drive right to the Kuang Si waterfall? '

There's large parking place in front of Kuang Xi. It's possible, it takes about an hour.

'Also to go to the Plain of Jars should we take a guided tour and does it take us to all 3 sections? Would any of you know how much it will cost and will the GH arrange it for us. Is there much to see in Moung Khoun and is it worth going to the old Xieng Khoung city? I have not been able to find Moung Khoun on the map.'

MK is 32 km south from Phonsavan. I didn't take guided tour but rented a motorbike. Those who did paid about 150 000 KIP per person and it takes you to 3 sites, old capital and villages... It can be one day or 2 day tours, guide, entry fees and transport included. Any GH can arrange it for you. In MK you can see 2 old stupas and temple with Buddha statue which was bombed during the war, but it's still quite good shape. It's about 450 years old.

I don't know if this is any help, but here goes:

Vientiane Guesthouses: I stayed at Mali Namphu Guesthouse. It was a very nice place to stay and the double room that I had cost $24 including breakfast. I also stayed at "Youth Inn" 80,000 kip and very ordinary and finally "Orchid Guesthouse" $18 for a double room. It was OK, good location opposite the riverfront restaurants.

Pak Ou Caves: It takes around 2 hrs along the Mekong to reach the caves (dry season) I did a half day trip that cost 50,000 kip plus 20,000 to go inside the caves. I'm not sure if you can do this trip on your own, but yes it's pleasant to travel along the river & look at the scenery. We stopped at a "whiskey village" along the way. It sold souveniers etc. but I would have prefered more time at the caves. That was a bit rushed, I think we had only 20 minutes there, then another 1.5 hrs back to LP.

Kuang Si Waterfalls - As already mentioned, plenty of parking available. Entry 20,000 kip.

Plain of Jars - I took a mini bus from Luang Probang and when we arrived there were some guys selling day trips to see the jars - I paid 110,000 kip to see the 3 sites and that also included lunch & entry fees. Other stops included a half-buried Russian tank & a whiskey village (but there was no-one home). It probably dosn't make much difference if you travel to Phonsavan from LP or VV.
You will be re-tracing the road back to highway 13 anyway.

For accomodation in Luang Prabang, there are several small streets just west of the post office that lead down to the Mekong River. Plenty of good places to stay, I stayed at "Phonemaly" $10 per night for a double with fan, cable TV, own bathroom with plenty of hot water. It was more than this but they lowered the price when I said I didn't need the aircon. Also free coffee/tea.

It's a shame that you have such a rushed trip. I spent 3 weeks travelling from LP all the way to the Cambodian border and could have done with a few extra weeks.
Have a great trip.
betska

Sorry - just a small footnote - if you do make it to Phonsavan. I stayed at Nice Guesthouse - very NICE 80,000 kip for a double. Top floor, cable tv etc (there's not much to do here at night) They fill up fast as the tourists arrive in the afternoon.

For a good feed in Phonsavan - Nisha Indian Resturant. Dosn't look very exciting but very good food. I ate here all the time in my 3 days here!