A short guide about how to go from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang.

The traditional itinerary from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang

We checked several backpackers’ blog, and the majority of them follows this itinerary:

DAY 1

• Chiang Mai – Chiang Khong by bus
• 1 overnight in Chiang Khong

DAY 2

• 08h00 am: Chiang Khong – border
• Entry in Laos
• transfer to Huay Xai pier
• 11h30 – 17h00: slow boat to Pakbeng
• overnight in Pakbeng

DAY 3

• 09h30 – 17h00: slow boat from Pakbeng to Luang Pakbeng

 

We checked some pictures and videos about the slow boat trip, and we noticed that the seats on the boat do not look really comfortable: there isn’t enough space for your legs if you are taller than 165 cm, and the backrest is really low or not existing… We personally decided to experience this “cruise”, but only till Pakbeng.

 

Here below you will find some of the alternatives, and all the steps we did to go from A to B.

 

Then, what are the alternatives?

Till Chiang Khong, there are actually not too many options. The easiest way to get there is by bus. Maybe you can stop in Chiang Rai for one night, but it is up to you. Once in Chiang Khong, you pass the border and then you can choose how to reach Luang Prabang. There are several alternatives.

Bus (sleeping bus)

It takes 12 hours to go from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang by sleeping bus, and it costs 160-180’000 LAK (18.50-21 $) per person.

It can be a normal bus or a sleeping bus (with small beds in it). It looks comfortable, a bit bumpy (people say) and not really expensive, but it takes quite long. If you have enough time, it can be worth it. With its cost, you cover the trip and 1 overnight.

You can also travel by bus among little villages, overnight here and there, till you reach Luang Pakbeng. Be aware that the bus doesn’t reach every village, so this option may take too long. We experienced a similar option from Pakbeng to Luang Prabang.

Speed boat

It is a 3 meter-long boat, with second-hand car’s engine. It takes 6-7 hours (with 1 break in Pakbeng) to reach Luang Prabang. It is faster, but wow… you need to be really brave to go by speed boat (due to high speed, driver and passengers “should” wear a helmet and life vest during all the trip). This boat fits only a few people (6-8) and costs 340’000 LAK (39.50 $) per person. It’s open, you sit practically on the floor and it is known to be a bit dangerous. The boat leaves when there are enough people on board.

Luxury slow boat

The slow boat takes 2 days (you overnight in Pakbeng) and it costs you approximately 130 $ per person, but it includes several services: pick up from the hotel in Huay Xai, coffee/tea and fruits on board, lunches, excursions, drop off at the hotel in Pakbeng and Luang Prabang. Be aware that you have to book the overnight in Pakbeng on your own.

Normal Slow boat

It is a DIY solution. You book the ticket directly at the pier in Huay Xai, and you arrange your stay in Pakbeng on your own. Only the trip is included (no excursions nor meals). The cost is 210’000 LAK (24.30 $).

 

Our choice

The alternative way from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang

The first plan was to travel by bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, sleep there for 1 night, and the following day to drive 2 more hours by bus to Chiang Khong and go directly to the border for the immigration formalities. Once entered Laos, go to the pier and take the slow boat to Pakbeng, and the following day the one to Luang Prabang.

We thought: “this is a DIY solution, quite cheap, interesting but also kind of stressful… what can we change in order to enjoy the experience and, at the same time, stay in the budget and reach our destination in due time?”.

TIP:

[su_note note_color=”#f2f2f2″ text_color=“#000000” radius=”3″ class=”p_tip”] One of the solutions is to plan your trip day by day. Go to the 1st destination, see how it goes, and then decide what to do next. [/su_note]

Luckily we didn’t book any hotel or transportation, so we could modify the plan without hassles.

Our only pressure was to leave Thailand in time, as our tourist visa was expiring.

Here below you will find our trip from Chiang Mai to Pakbeng step by step, with all the related information (costs, duration, etc.).

 

STEP 1: Book the bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong

We planned our departure date from Chiang Mai and we decided to travel by bus directly to Chiang Khong. We selected the VIP bus from the company GreenBus for THB 395 per person (12.50 $).

We asked our host to book the bus tickets by phone for us. It is really convenient: you get a reservation code on the phone and you can pick up the tickets at every “7eleven” (consider an additional fee of THB 25).

Otherwise, you can go to the official Greenbus seller agency in town, and book the tickets there (they also charge a small fee).

In lower season, you can directly go to the bus station, Arcade terminal 3, and buy the tickets at the Greenbus desk before departure. At your own risk 🙂

The bus we took left Chiang Mai at 8 am from lane 20 and arrived in Chiang Khong around 2 pm.

STEP 2: get to the bus terminal

The easiest way to reach the bus terminal is in a red car. We stopped one along the street, at 7 am. The guy charged THB 50 per person, which is normal if you go outside the city centre. The trip lasts approx 10-15 minutes if there is no traffic, it’s not too far.

STEP 3: trip by bus

The VIP bus looks expansive, but it is really comfortable for a 5-hour trip. Huge reclining seats with legs support, A/C (it’s actually too cold inside) and WC onboard.

A hostess will distribute water and cookies to everyone at the departure. When you hand in your luggage, you get a number that you can use to pick it up at the end of the trip.

Important: the hostess will ask you if you go to Chiang Khong village or directly at the border. If you go to the border, you will receive the 2 forms you need to fill in (arrival/departure card + visa on arrival) and you need to get out 1 stop before the final one (the hostess will inform you when).

Impressive and recommended!

STEP 4: arrival in Chiang Khong and hotel search

We decided to overnight in Chiang Khong, so we got out at the last stop. The bus stopped along a street, in a village next to Chiang Khong. From there you can walk (5-10 minutes) to Chiang Khong which is basically 1 main road with several shops and guest houses along it. There are only a few tourists so it is not difficult to find accommodation on the spot. We stayed at the Namkhong Guesthouse and Resort. It is a cute and cheap oasis in the green, with free WIFI, swimming pool and restaurant, offering rooms and non-isolated bungalows for a very convenient price. We paid THB 250 per night (7.80 $).

STEP 5: “survive” Chiang Khong

Outside the hotel, you are in the middle of nowhere… we walked up and down the main road, we were the only tourists at that time. Everything is written in Thai and almost no one speaks English. Where did we end up? In this village, you have 2 banks, exchange desks and few b2b shops. There are 3-4 restaurants, and we were very surprised to find 1 Italian restaurant owned by a Thai lady speaking Italian! There is also a Buddist monastery and a nice view of the Mekong.

If you look at the other side of the river, you see Laos!

Despite all, we decided to stay in Chiang Khong for 2 nights. On the second day, we enjoyed the sun in the swimming pool and worked on our projects.

STEP 6: transfer to the border (Thai side)

The border is at 10 minutes drive from Chiang Khong. The hotel arranged a minivan for us and charged THB 60 per person (1.80 $). We arrived directly in front of the building.

STEP 7: at the Thai border

Once inside, you have several desks (for foreigners, for Chinese, and for Lao passports). The foreigner’s desk was closed, so we all queued at the Chinese desk. The exit process is very easy: the employee checks your passport and “departure card” (the one you received when you entered Thailand), puts the exit stamp next to the entry one, takes a picture of you, and you are done. You can pass this checkpoint and prepare yourself for the Lao border.

STEP 8: bus to the Laos border

After the checkpoint, you will find another desk where you need to buy the ticket for the bus to the Laos border. You need to cross the Friendship Bridge by bus as it is not possible to walk there.

The ticket costs THB 25 per person (0.80 $), and it is about 5 minutes drive. It is a big bus, so the luggage will be stored below. Bring your belongings with you!

STEP 9: at the Laos border

There are 2 desks: one for the visa on arrival, and the other one for the visa payment. Before queueing, be sure that you have the 2 needed forms filled in, a passport-size picture, and the correct amount of $ for the payment. If you still don’t have the forms, you can find some of them next to the first desk.

TIP:

[su_note note_color=”#f2f2f2″ text_color=“#000000” radius=”3″ class=”p_tip”] Check if your nationality is visa-free. Sometimes you can enter the country without a visa, for a limited period of time. [/su_note]

Be ready to fill in your personal information, date of arrival, nr of days you will stay in Laos, from which country you are arriving, your race, accommodation in Laos (we just copied a hotel from booking.com and mentioned that) and next destination. So far so good! When you have everything ready, you get to go in the line and wait your turn. At desk 1 they will check your documents and forms, at desk 2 you will pay for your visa.

Make sure to have “clean and new” dollars (not written, without spots, and not too wrinkled).

Afterwards, you still need to go through passport control. You line again and get the entry stamp on your passport with mentioned the date when you need to exit the country. You are done and ready to discover Laos!

Here in this building’s area, you can find both ATM and an exchange desk (the exchange rate is maybe not too convenient…). Just outside, there is another desk selling tickets for tuk-tuks going to Huay Xai (both to the village and to the slow boat pier).

STEP 10: transfer to Huay Xai

The tuk-tuk ticket costs 20’000 LAK (2.30 $) and each one can carry 10 people. The driver charged all our luggage on the roof, without any protection or rope. We drove approximately 15 minutes to reach Huay Xai.

The surprising thing is that in Laos they drive on the left side of the car, but on the right side of the road. In Thailand, it is the contrary!

STEP 11: search for a hotel and “survive” Huay Xai

As Chiang Khong, Huay Xai is a road with few buildings along it. There are several guesthouses and a few tourists, so it is really not difficult to find availability for a good deal. Surprisingly, a bed in the only hostel costs more than a double room with bathroom in a hotel. We saw several rooms for different budgets, but in the end, we decided for a double room in the  Oudomsin Hotel. The cost was 80’000 LAK per night (9.20 $), including 2 bottles of water per day and room cleanings.

STEP 12: what to do in Huay Xai

Read more on this post dedicated to Huay Xai.

STEP 13: from the hotel to the pier

The pier is actually not too far from the village, it is about 1.5 Km so you can easily walk there. We found a tuk-tuk on our way and brought us at the pier for 10’000 LAK (1.15 $).

STEP 14: at the pier (buy slow boat ticket, have breakfast, etc.)

We arrived at the pier around 9 am. The pier is at the end of a road, where boats are docked. There were only local people and 2-3 tourists there. We immediately went to the “slow boat ticket office”, and found out that the ticket there costs even less: 105’000 LAK per person (12 $), till Pakbeng.

The unfriendly employee asked us to fill in a paper with our names and passport numbers, and we got the 2 tickets with assigned seats. Ok, the boat leaves at 11.30 am, so there was plenty of time for breakfast. We went to the only bar with WIFI (there are in total 3-4 bars down there) and ordered bread, jam and butter for 20’000 LAK per person.

Our boat left perfectly on time, but sometimes it doesn’t leave until a minimum number of passengers is there.

STEP 15: on the slow boat

This is an experience you need to do at least once in life. It is unique, the landscape is wonderful but the boat itself is not really comfortable. Read more on this post dedicated to the trip in slow boat, with tips and tricks.

STEP 16: arrival in Pakbeng

We were glad to get off the boat. As mentioned, it was a nice experience but 5 hours in that boat is kind of heavy. At the pier, you will see dozens of local guys holding boards with guesthouses’ names. They pickup who already booked, and they will try to get guests who didn’t book yet. It is advisable not to book in advance, as on spot you will find good deals and enough availability. Do not expect luxury, but the accommodations have everything you need for a comfortable stay. We met Palani, who told us a bit more about his village, Pakbeng.

Everyone has to overnight in Pakbeng as slow boats do not travel when it is dark outside.

STEP 17: departure by bus from Pakbeng to Oudomxay, and from Oudomxay to Luang Prabang

Here you can choose if you want to continue by slow boat or to take alternative transportation. We decided to proceed by bus… It has been a nice experience, even if very long and tiring. You can read more about that in our post.

STEP 18: arrival in Luang Prabang

Few last arrangements before being able to enjoy this beautiful city!

 

Talk to you soon 🙂