Slow Boat Trip Down Maekhong To Luang Prabang

[jaideeguy]

I would like to drive up to Chiang Khong with my Thai family and leave my truck parked safely somewhere, then take the slow boat down river to LP, then return by fast boat to CK.

Can do? anyone done it?? and what are travel times on river and costs??

Thinking of taking my Thai family on a week's trip and would like to find out pros and cons on doing this.

also, Have heard that Thais can now travel into Laos for up to 30 days without visa [true?]......but do they need passport or will ID card do?? Kids are 11 and 13 and have no ID cards yet.

Edited May 31, 2011 by jaideeguy

[skybluestu]

I went from CK to LP on the slow boat and, when I saw the fast boats, was glad I chose the slow one

It was about 7yrs ago now though so can't remember times/prices, sorry. Thais don't need a visa for Laos and ID card should suffice.

[jubby]

Only done the speedboat from CK to Pak Beng (i Think its Called) Anyway, its halfway and about 3 hours. So your looking at 6 hours actual time on the speed boat on return. So its doable in one day. The speed boat is 700 baht per passenger half way, so maybe 1400 each. maybe a bit cheaper for Thai's

The Slow Boat I think will be a two day trip, with an overnight in Pak beng. Not sure of the price, but I will find out if no one else does.

Likewise, I can check on the Visa issues too if no one else has the info already. Give me a couple of days.

I also know of a place you can park your Car free , Secure and under cover.

Sounds like a nice trip. I should do it myself sometime

The speedboats awesome by the way

Edited May 31, 2011 by jubby

[pomchop]

I've done the slow boat two times and learned a few things:

1. You may want to cross over to the Laos side (huay xai..pronounced sorta like Huey Sigh) across from Chiang Khong the afternoon before and sort out visas etc for departure the next day. This means you will need to get a hotel on the Laos side that night rather than stay on CK side. Some, but not all days, if you cross over early in the a.m. you may run into a long long and unorganized wait at the Laos immigration visa bunch. A good friend did it a few months ago and crossed the river at 8;30 am thinking he and his thai gal would have plenty of time to get visa and then catch the slow boat at about11:00 a.m......BUT....there are a lot of backpackers there (as there seem to be most days) and immigration was overwhelmed/understaffed and bottom line is that at noon my friends were were still waiting to get their passports back (which were not done on a first come/first serve basis but more at random)...so...meantime the first boat filled up and departed. Finally they got cleared at noon but then had to wait for others to clear and by the time they finally departed on second boat it was around 1;30 pm....what that meant was they could NOT make it to Pak Ben before dark so they pull the boat up on a sandbar and you get to sleep in your seats with little or no food, lots of skeeters etc. The next day they go all day long and eventually make it to Luang Prabang.

SO...the lesson of above is that those who crossed to Laos side in the afternoon got their visas sorted out fairly easily and then the next a.m. they got on the boat and left while most of the ones who arrived early a.m. missed the first boat and ended up not so happy sleeping on the boat. Beware. However, having said all that I have crossed the river early a.m. , got the visa, and caught the first boat with no problems...Seems to be little rhyme or reason as to how immigration sorts it out somedays and not on other days.

2. The problem I see/hear with the fast boat is the noise of the loud roaring engines blasting your ears for several hours and especially coming back upstream where they have to run at high rpms.....also there are some reports of fast boats hitting submerged rocks etc and having some fairly serious accidents. Up to you. And also not sure i would want to come back upstream at all as the trip down on slow boat is semi boring and really not much to look at along the way. But I have never done the fast boat so my comments are based on what I have heard from others.

3. The slow boat sells beer Lao, cokes, water, etc but no food. Bring something to eat. The seats are hard and the boat is usually completely full with mostly farang backpackers going downstream (not full on upstream run). Pak Ben is about halfway down and the boat will stop there late afternoon and everyone off to eat dinner and spend night in hotels. Lots of touts at the boat and plenty of cheap rooms in Pak Ben. The boat that leaves Pak Ben the next a.m. for Luang Prabang may or may not be the same boat you were on to Pak Ben. You will leave Pak Ben about 9 am and hopefully arrive in LP about 4 pm that day.

4. I can't remember the price but am sure you can find it with a google search.

5. Luang Prabang is a pleasant place for a few days. If you can figure it out it is an interesting trip to go from LP to Vang Vien and then onto Vientienne but it is a pretty long trip via bus over some serious mountains from LP to VV and then to Vientienne.

Good luck.

[dindong]

I went from CK to LP on the slow boat and, when I saw the fast boats, was glad I chose the slow one

It was about 7yrs ago now though so can't remember times/prices, sorry. Thais don't need a visa for Laos and ID card should suffice.

I was told different, though Thais don't need a visa, they do need a passport when travelling to Luang Prabang .

This was about 3 or 4 years ago and our daughter was about 9 years old.

[el jefe]

My advice is same-same, but different.

I've crossed at Chiang Khong - Houei Xai 7 or 8 times. I agree it's essential to cross from Thailand to Laos in the morning, but in my experience there has never been a delay on the Laos side. But the lines going thru immigration to leave Thailand have been incredibly long, sometimes hundreds of people. My experience has only been from November through April so low season might be better. Crossing from Laos to Thailand doesn't matter as the tourist trail only goes one way.

There are many slow boats that make the trip from Houie Xai to Pak Beng to Luang Prabang but they only run enough to meet demand so you never know which boat you will get. Most of the boats now appear nicer than the ones that plied the river 5-7 years ago, but you still have no control over how many passengers they will attempt to cram in on any given day. You could have a nice comfortable trip or a miserable two days.

You need to weigh the potential for an overcrowded, uncomfortable trip on a slow boat vs the small but real danger of an accident on the speed boats.

If you decide to go both ways by river, my advice would be to take the speed boat south from HX to LP and then return on the slow boat. Yes, the amount of time on the boat will be greater, but you are guaranteed a more comfortable trip as the trip up-river as you might be the only ones on the boat. There are also private slow boats for tour groups that travel the river. They are much more comfortable and always go back empty. You might be able to negotiate a deal with one of them. iirc, the current fare is about 350,000 kip on the slow boat.

But the best advice I can give is to fly back. Three days on the river is too much. Fly LPQ-CNX in the late morning and catch the first bus to CR and you'll be home by early evening.

[skybluestu]

If you are an adrenaline junkie like our Jubby then you may also find the speed boat awesome but the folk I spoke to who went on it said, although it was exciting, it was fairly dangerous.

On the slow boat (although it takes longer) you will be able to take in the scenery, enjoy the refreshments (get drunk), feel relatively safe and enjoy a night in Pakbeng while on the fast boat you'll have to wear an ill-fitting helmet, hold on for dear life and be wet & cold. But saying that it is supposed to be a 'white-knuckle ride' you won't forget and you only live once so maybe give it a go, downstream would be the better option though. I'm sure if you are taking kids they would love it but make sure their lifejacket is done up properly.

Dindong and the others have been more recently than me so I could be mistaken about an ID card being OK, I think it may depend where you go as my wife said she went to huay xai with only an ID card but down to LP might be different.

Edited June 1, 2011 by skybluestu

[harrry]

With a Thai ID card Thais must get a paper from a thai department allowing them to go and stay for about 3 days. It costs about 10baht and a photo. With a passport the visa is free. I found it strange that Thais must fill in their Departure and Entry card to Thailand in English.

Edited June 1, 2011 by harrry

[jaideeguy]

Thanks for the info guys.....Especially confirming the need for my Thai wife and kids to get their passport. I had a feeling that might be needed as the kids are too young to have IDs yet. Good idea for them to have anyway.

A bit of conflicting info and opinions, but the best plan that I can gather out of the replies are to get over to Laos the afternoon before and overnight there. What kind of acomodation, food and what to do with family in Houei Xai??

The return up river does sound like a chore, especially going upriver at full throttle. It must take more than the 2 days going downriver?? And the fast boats don't sound too fun either. they are too dam_n loud even from shore.

having said that, Maybe the best/easiest plan would be to just do one of those package trips out of Chiang Mai [where we live] and just leave my truck at home. They arrange transport by van to CK. Then fly back to CM.....but, are there direct flights from LP to CM?? and any idea what costs are/? If they go thru BKK, I'm sure it won't be cheap.

BTW.....this trip is planned in October during school semester break. Should be low season with the backpackers, right?? and river should be running good then too??

And once in LP....are there any other boat trips down river to Vientien?? that could be an option?? long overland trips in Lao busses on Lao roads don't sound like fun for my old butt and my spoiled family.

[skybluestu]

When I did it I'd been working in Australia for 1yr and received a substantial tax return (thanks to a slightly dodgy lawyer I found just before I returned home) so treated myself to a trip with these guys http://www.luangsay.com/ as I'd been travelling on a tight budget for the previous year. Fairly pricey but well worth it, a beautiful boat and hotel for the overnight stay.

Bangkok Airways http://www.bangkokair.com/en/index.php fly direct from LP to CM so definitely an option to boat down the mekong then fly back to CM.

[jaideeguy]

When I did it I'd been working in Australia for 1yr and received a substantial tax return (thanks to a slightly dodgy lawyer I found just before I returned home) so treated myself to a trip with these guys http://www.luangsay.com/ as I'd been travelling on a tight budget for the previous year. Fairly pricey but well worth it, a beautiful boat and hotel for the overnight stay.

Bangkok Airways http://www.bangkokair.com/en/index.php fly direct from LP to CM so definitely an option to boat down the mekong then fly back to CM.

Wow, the luangsay luxury boat looks like the stylish way to go....not stinking with backpackers on top of each other, but prices are a bit steep for my price range. Too bad there isn't something in the middle between bacpacker and luxury for travel on the river.

And I checked the bangkok air link and they don't fly direct from LP to CM. Lao air does, but their website is a bit confusing, so maybe I'll stop into my friendly travel agent in CM next time I'm in town.

[skybluestu]

Sorry, should have checked that link before I posted, was sure that bangkok air had started a direct flight.

[jubby]

What about taking the speedboat half way. the first leg of the trip. huay Xai to Pakbeng. They set off sometime after 11am. plenty of time to get the immigration stuff sorted out in the morning. they appear to round up the tourists and put them on a seperate boat to the locals. usually the first boat.

The speedboat would appear to be the preffered method of travel for the locals. Its about as safe as any form of transport here in my opinion, except the Slow boat granted. don't need to wear the ill fitting helmet at all, a pair of sunglasses and a decent hat to keep the sun off is better. need a chin strap and it could help if the hats aero-dynamic .

The boats not that noisy either once its on the move, you can hear the water against the hull more than the engine.

Next day, take the slow boat from pakbeng to Luang prabang.

return journey, the otherway around. Speedboat first followed by slow boat.

I think Kids would get Bored on the slow boat for 2 Day stretch , less chance of getting Scurvy or Gout too

[skybluestu]

Jubby could be onto something there, sounds like a plan. And seems you might not need an ill-fitting helmet after all. I made that comment after seeing pics and comments by two friends on facebook who just did the trip a few weeks ago and were 'forced to wear ill-fitting helmets by the driver of the speedboat' but looks like not everyone has to.

[jaideeguy]

Sounds like a decent plan......could even bring our own motorcycle helmets, but then will have to lug them around. Any Idea what the costs would be for both speedboats and slow boats?? and approximate time on the water for both??

Ane what to do in Pakbang [sp?] and huay xai.....acomodation etc.

Thanks for the idea.....seems that there are many ways to do it.

[davidgtr]

I’ve done several Mekong boat trips, the first Pak Beng - Houei Xai n 95.

My preferred way to go now is hire your own boat, put your bikes & family / friends on board & sail down the “Khong from Houei Xai to LPQ in a day.

The Mekong Boat & Lost Rider Trip.

The Hongsa Elephant Stuff up.

Losing My Laos Cherry

Mr KTM Version of the Laos Trip.

Select your own boat. The VIP boats can comfortably eat 0 people. You can take out half the seats, put in a half dozen bikes. Sail down the Khong to Luang Prabang, ride around with your wife / g/, then fly them back to Cnx & you can ride out via Phonsavan – Vang Vieng – Vientiane- Loei – Chiang Mai.

You need to sleep in Houei Xai the night before, with the bikes loaded on the boat & the paper work done at the port before time so that the shipper can get away at 7AM before he port officially opens. Otherwise you will struggle getting into LPQ before dark, which is a NO NO.

Bikes on board & moored for 45 minutes downstream for the fog to clear through a treacherous stretch of rapids

The end of a slow start & late arrival in the dark

The disembarking plank

Gently gently disembarking..

Edited June 7, 2011 by davidgtr

[kandahar]

David, when you take a trip, you take TRIP.

[davidgtr]

David, when you take a trip, you take TRIP.

Last one was a few years ago - the Hongsa Stuff up when I broke my left shoulder - the head of the humerus in 4 pieces = Ouch.

If you click on the links & reports you will see the dates over the years.

IMHO the best to go is early-mid Feb when the water is low & you can see all the amazing rocks in the river.

Go in the cold season & I think that the fog will kill it so it cant be done in a day = you have to go slower & overnight in Pak Beng.

Go in wet season, the river is high & flooding, dangerous & you wont see much just rain & jungle covered river banks.

[jaideeguy]

Great trip report David......but no mention of cost of hiring the boat from XH to LP that I could find. How much??

Maybe I could get a few friends here in CM together and share costs.

thanks

[RidersCorner]

David, when you take a trip, you take TRIP.

Last one was a few years ago - the Hongsa Stuff up when I broke my left shoulder - the head of the humerus in 4 pieces = Ouch.

If you click on the links & reports you will see the dates over the years.

IMHO the best to go is early-mid Feb when the water is low & you can see all the amazing rocks in the river.

Go in the cold season & I think that the fog will kill it so it cant be done in a day = you have to go slower & overnight in Pak Beng.

Go in wet season, the river is high & flooding, dangerous & you wont see much just rain & jungle covered river banks.

You can go as early as November if you get a feel for the cycle of weather patterns. The longer i'm here the more i notice that the weather cycles can give you a window