Boat To Luang Prabang

[Tim16]

Hi,

Will be in Chiang Rai in May and would like to visit Luang Prabang - laos - by boat.

I understand i will have to travel to Chiang Khong.cross to Laos to catch boat.

Are there any on line sites where i can book this trip before i arrive?

Or is it best to book through travel agent when i get to Chiang Rai?

Tim

[sceadugenga]

I've never heard of it being booked on line.

The Tourist Inn Guest house in Jed Yod Street provides a bus service to the river along with bookings on the boat.

I think the phone is 053 714682.

[pomchop]

I would just show up early and get on the boat.

Some people who had bought tickets from some guesthouse were complaining they paid more etc. I didn't see any advantage at all to having prebooked as it is pretty much a free for all to get on the boat and get a seat. Immigration on the Laos side can be horribly slow so get there early.

[jubby]

I would just show up early and get on the boat.

Some people who had bought tickets from some guesthouse were complaining they paid more etc. I didn't see any advantage at all to having prebooked as it is pretty much a free for all to get on the boat and get a seat. Immigration on the Laos side can be horribly slow so get there early.

and maybe get your Visa this side in chiang Khong. may pay a bit more but it should help with slow immigration.

[sceadugenga]

Can you get a Lao visa in Chiang Khong?

Is there a consulate there?

[jubby]

Can you get a Lao visa in Chiang Khong?

Is there a consulate there?

I've certainly seen them advertised in the many travel agent type places in chiang Khong. I don't see why not , its just a tourist Visa.

[sunholidaysun1]

If your going to Chiang Khong by bus then make sure you get there the day before , its a slow bus to Chiang Khong and slow Boat to Luang Prabang . Buy your visa in The Laos Immigration office on the other side of the river, buy your ticket on the boat when you get there it will save you money and you know you will get what you paid for , buying in advance is a risk and will cost you more. If you want the comfort of a travel agency then you will pay a premium . Shouldnt be too many people wanting to travel in May.

[sceadugenga]

Can you get a Lao visa in Chiang Khong?

Is there a consulate there?

I've certainly seen them advertised in the many travel agent type places in chiang Khong. I don't see why not , its just a tourist Visa.

They have to get them from Lao though, it's not just a rubber stamp.

Given the option of waiting in Chiang Khong at a travel agent, possibly over night, and lining up over the river for an hour or so...

I've got this trip pencilled in as a "oneday" myself and I can't see anything wrong with the Tourist Inn option. They take the responsibility of getting you to the river and onto the boat.

I think any savings involved in doing it yourself would be hardly worth the effort.

[Riggi]

I did this trip in February last year.

When I shopped around the travel agents it was about 1800baht for a minivan to pick you up in the morning, take you to Chiang Khong, a bout to take you across the river and then the ticket for the 2 day boat ride to LPB.

Doing it myself saved about 600 baht I think.

Irrespective of the money, if you have the time I woud recommend doing it yourself and catching the bus to Chiang Khong the day before. It's easy to find the bus to Chiang Khong at the bus station in town. It's well sign posed.

You don't have to get up early and you won't be stuck with all the other tourists that got a minivan in the morning trying to go through 2 immigration checkpoints and board the boat at the same time.

Take a boat across the river (I shared the cost with 2 other people I met on the bus).

Go through Loas immigration - try not to get there at kunch time or you may need to wait an hour for them to come back from lunch like I did.Although it wasn't too bad as there is a bar/restuarant in the no-mans land zone so we just sipped on beer Laos and watched the Mekong river for an hour.

Stay 1 night in Huay Xai. Not a lot to do, but a nice place to chill and relax before your 2 day boat ride

Get up early and buy your boat ticket from the office at the boat ramp.

Note that the boats to LPB leave from a different ramp to the one you arrived atfromThailand. The LPB boat ramp is further north. Can walk it, but with a backpack take a tuk tuk,.

There are some guesthouses close tothe LPB boat ramp so probably better to stay there soit's not a long walk in the morning.

Board the boat and find a seat - I'd recommend one up the front as the engine noise at the back is LOUD.

Wait about an hour for all of the tourists that came from CR that morning to arrive and scramble for a seat. Quite a few people ended up sitting on the floor or their backpacks.

Sitting on the boat and watching the groups of tourists arrive and being herded onto the boat made us glad we stayed overnight at Huay Xai instead of beingrushed through in the morning.

Enjoy your trip to LPB.

hope that helps,

Rich

Edited March 3, 2011 by Riggi

[sunholidaysun1]

I did this trip in February last year.

When I shopped around the travel agents it was about 1800baht for a minivan to pick you up in the morning, take you to Chiang Khong, a bout to take you across the river and then the ticket for the 2 day boat ride to LPB.

Doing it myself saved about 600 baht I think.

Irrespective of the money, if you have the time I woud recommend doing it yourself and catching the bus to Chiang Khong the day before. It's easy to find the bus to Chiang Khong at the bus station in town. It's well sign posed.

You don't have to get up early and you won't be stuck with all the other tourists that got a minivan in the morning trying to go through 2 immigration checkpoints and board the boat at the same time.

Take a boat across the river (I shared the cost with 2 other people I met on the bus).

Go through Loas immigration - try not to get there at kunch time or you may need to wait an hour for them to come back from lunch like I did.Although it wasn't too bad as there is a bar/restuarant in the no-mans land zone so we just sipped on beer Laos and watched the Mekong river for an hour.

Stay 1 night in Huay Xai. Not a lot to do, but a nice place to chill and relax before your 2 day boat ride

Get up early and buy your boat ticket from the office at the boat ramp.

Note that the boats to LPB leave from a different ramp to the one you arrived atfromThailand. The LPB boat ramp is further north. Can walk it, but with a backpack take a tuk tuk,.

There are some guesthouses close tothe LPB boat ramp so probably better to stay there soit's not a long walk in the morning.

Board the boat and find a seat - I'd recommend one up the front as the engine noise at the back is LOUD.

Wait about an hour for all of the tourists that came from CR that morning to arrive and scramble for a seat. Quite a few people ended up sitting on the floor or their backpacks.

Sitting on the boat and watching the groups of tourists arrive and being herded onto the boat made us glad we stayed overnight at Huay Xai instead of beingrushed through in the morning.

Enjoy your trip to LPB.

hope that helps,

Rich

Exactly .

[villagefarang]

Nice report Riggi.

[dindong]

Maybe need a Thai to book this as they may not speak English and you will have some extra visa requirements.

Package travel by air-conditioned van to Chiang Khong + hull Chiang Khong - Luang Prabang. The car every day.

Speed boat 2150 THB

Slow Boat 1,400 Baht

Also package tours both domestic and foreign many.

Please contact Sopa species TRAVEL Tel .053752555.

[pomchop]

I took a friend up to Chiang Khong about a month ago to do the boat trip. At 8;30 am he was at thai immigration and left thailand no problem and was on the Lao side of the river by 9 am. That is when the problem began. Apparently the Lao immigration was totally unable to handle all the people there trying to get a visa and it was total chaos. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to how they processed the passports. Long story short, my friend finally got his passport / visa back at around noon but by that time the first boat had already left. So they put people on a second boat but then hung around waiting for others to get their visas and finally left at about 2 pm.....but ...too late to make it all the way to pak ben before dark. So at dusk they pull over to a sandbar and everyone had to spend an uncomfortable night (with no food except what you had brought) on the boat.

But, I have done this trip two times myself and never had a problem. In fact it only took me maybe 15 minutes at Lao immigration to get the visa and the boat left on time and no problems at all....So, OP should be aware that one day everything may run fine and another day it might be a major circle jerk.

I think the best way to avoid it would be to do as one suggested and cross over to Lao in the afternoon after all the morning crowds have departed. Get your visa then and spend the night on the Lao side of the river. Get up next morning, visa in hand, buy your boat ticket and away you go.

I would also think that in May there will be a lot less people doing the boat so maybe there would be no problem in doing it all same day.....but....you can never be quite sure. There were people there that had bought packages from guest houses but from what i could see they got treated no differently than the independents and some were grumbling about paying too much etc. And if you are riding the regular bus up to Chiang Khong with the idea of getting your visa in the afternoon and spending the night on the Lao side and doing the boat the next day you would have plenty of time without taking a van or needing some kind of tour to lead you through the process.

I would suggest you bring along some food as the boats don't seem to sell anything and there is nothing available until you get to pak ben late the first day. They do sell beer Lao/cokes/water on board. Pak Ben is a bit of a hell hole with a lot of dodgy guesthouses but you will leave early the next morning so it's no big deal. And forget about the speedboats...very fast, very very loud, and several bad accidents reported as there are a LOT of rocks in the river along the way and if the speed boat hits one it is goodnight all.

Luang Prabang when you finally get there can be a very pleasant place to hang out for a few days.

Good luck

[Tim16]

HI,

Thanks for all your replies.

Travelling the day before and staying 1 night in Huay Xai looks like being my best option.

Tim

[jubby]

Can you get a Lao visa in Chiang Khong?

Is there a consulate there?

I've certainly seen them advertised in the many travel agent type places in chiang Khong. I don't see why not , its just a tourist Visa.

They have to get them from Lao though, it's not just a rubber stamp.

Given the option of waiting in Chiang Khong at a travel agent, possibly over night, and lining up over the river for an hour or so...

I've got this trip pencilled in as a "oneday" myself and I can't see anything wrong with the Tourist Inn option. They take the responsibility of getting you to the river and onto the boat.

I think any savings involved in doing it yourself would be hardly worth the effort.

Ok, Your right as usual Scea. I checked with a couple of places yesterday , some go across and get the paperwork for the Visa from Loas immigration for your convenience, part of the package. I suspect theres a very small commision for the package. 150 baht or something. Boat ticket and Visa. probably suite some people, The package from Tourist inn is also indeed a convenient option.

The OP's spoilt for choice.