Travel to Laos.

[malt25]

Good morning all :-)

Probably wrong forum but I'm sure mods will shift to appropriate site.

I'm seeking info, advice, on a short, 4 or 5 day trip, sightseeing, to Laos.

We reside in Sakon Nakhon so can access Nakhon Phanom, Nong Khai or Mukdaham without problem.

The party will consist of myself, Thai wife & her teenage daughter.

We'll be on somewhat of a budget. I welcome any info on recommended places to visit. Places for overnight stay. Transport, bike or car hire. Buss or mini van.

It'd be ideal if we could take my Thai registered vehicle but understand that's not an easy option.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Cheers..... Mal.

[tonray]

I think everyone likes different sets of things when traveling. A hotel I might like may not suit you and your family. BUT...there are many excellent travel guides to help :

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos

[phuketrichard]

Taking ur thai car is VERY EASY, first u need go to the motor vehicle dept an ask them for the cars purple passport ( which is needed to travel to Laos) You need show ur blue book to get it

it costs 50 baht and take 2-4 days

u need buy insurance to drive in Laso, easy to get at the border.

lovely country, worth having ur own transport.

Make a trip up to Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang an come back via Phonsavan ( plain of jars)

give urslef at least 8 -10 days

if only 4-5 days at least drive up to Vang Vieng,(4 hour drive each way) the scenery is fantastic. If ur only going to stay in Vientiane no reason to take ur car but 4-5 days there is to much

Hotels run around 500-1,000 baht/night, food same as Thailand, BUT in Vientiane u can get great french and Chinese food

Edited May 20, 2016 by phuketrichard

[Rob13]

If you don't take the car; I'd recommend staying in Vientiane and doing day trips from there. If you've never been then you have plenty to do for a few days and won't be stressed with long bus rides.

[dddave]

I took the 10 hour bus trip from Vientiane to Luang Prabang and it was a spectacular journey through beautiful mountain scenery and unspoiled local villages. Because the roadside vegetation is quite high, I think people riding in cars miss a lot of the great views. The much higher vantage point of the bus opens the scenic vistas.

[malt25]

Thanks for the replies.

Mal.

[stoli]

We traveled to Vang Vieng & Luang Prabang in December. We found the room cost there for a 2 bed room was around 1750 baht. The roads, (we traveled by bus), are the worst I have seen in my life, and I have traveled a lot. If you take the "new" highway to Luang Prabang, which is much shorter, you will find that 1 lane of the 2 lane road is missing on 1/3 of the roadway as it has already slid down the mountain. The road from Vientianne to Vang Vieng was missing pavement,or huge potholes, on half the road trip there. I am definitely in the minority, in that everyone else raves about Laos. Have fun and report back, will you?

[hgma]

enjoy the simplicity of the Lao people, my experience is that the foreigners who established their guest house business are mostly closest to the original people,fair and square.

your teenage 'daughter' (and you perhaps, would love a thrilla in the jungle with green discovery and the monkey's up north.......(stay away from the touts and hustlers,cops in cars and tablet bars and you never be alone!)

[12DrinkMore]

IMO Vang Vieng is awful.

Go to Krabi/Phang Na instead.

[Rob13]

I think the US gov. won't allow it's employees to travel the road to Vangvieng, too many snipers. Pretty sure it's that road, it may be another one you may want to check before you travel.

[zaZa9]

^ if the last post is meant to be funny I dont get it.

Me and my tg did the Vientienne - Van Vieng- Luang Prabang roda trip by public bus 8 years back , and not once felt in danger.

Be warned your tg will insist she doesnt need a Visa , but last i knew that was only for less than a 24 hour visit to Laos by Thais.

In those days the road was new and excellent , but every bus was still late , and the Laos people very laid back and carefree about everything.

LP is a great small city , and every night the hill tribe folk would come down from the mountains and set up a very nice market with delicious ( spicey ) food.

Enjoy your trip - Laos is not expensive at all ...

[SoiBiker]

IMO Vang Vieng is awful.

Go to Krabi/Phang Na instead.

I'm guessing you went a few years ago. It's much improved.

[Tomtomtom69]

I think the US gov. won't allow it's employees to travel the road to Vangvieng, too many snipers. Pretty sure it's that road, it may be another one you may want to check before you travel.

Yep, it's both roads from Kasi to Luang Prabang, the new and old one. I've travelled on both. However, I'm not so sure I'd go now, despite indications daytime travel remains relatively safe. There was however an attack on a Chinese registered bus heading from Kunming to Vientiane, that occurred on the new bypass road north of Kasi, coming from Luang Prabang, though it did happen after dark, around 9pm I think. 6 injuries including the bus driver and 1 death (local pickup driver).

The section from Vientiane just to Vang Vieng though is safe, as long as you stick to the main road. There have not been any reports of problems there, only north of Kasi, which is around another hour's drive north of Vang Vieng and well into the jungle and the mountains.

If the OP is in Sakon Nakorn, why not cross at Nakorn Phanom and head for the caves in Khammouan province nearby? You can do the Tha Khaek loop, look it up in the lonely planet. Then head south to Pakse and the Bolaven plateau where some fantastic coffee is grown, plenty of waterfalls in the area including the most famous in the country, Khon phapeng waterfall and you can also head for the 4000 islands, both located right on the Cambodian border. The Khmer style Wat Phu is also nearby, located around 30-40min drive outside Pakse. Unlike the north, southern Lao roads are much straighter and faster to drive on.

With 4-5 days I wouldn't bother with heading north - you'd be spending all your time either driving or on a bus, unless you fly from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. Not to mention the curves on the road north of Kasi and as mentioned, the security issues. There's plenty going on in central and southern Laos, Vientiane is pretty boring and certainly not worth going to at the expense of nice scenery in central and southern Laos, you can always visit Laos again in the future and do Vientiane then. Especially if you're in Sakon Nakorn surely you're not going to say: "this is the one and only time we're ever going to Laos, so let's make the most of it". Even if you did, you can't go wrong with the southern part of the country and 4-5 days is just enough to give you a good taste - you won't be spending too much time driving (Tha Khaek to Pakse takes about 4-5 hours) and then it's only another 1.5 hours or so from there to the 4000 islands. There's a border crossing west of Pakse at Vang Tao/Chong Mek from where you could re-enter Thailand and use Thailand's much better roads to drive back home via Ubon Ratchathani.

[sandyf]

I went with my wife and 2 nieces on a 4 day bus tour to Pakse. I was a bit apprehensive but it was very good. They run us around the various attractions, waterfalls,coffee plantation and an ancient temple. There was also a boat trip but gave that a miss, had a bad back at the time and couldn't get on the boat. Sat at a bar until they came back, not bad that Lao beer.

The hotel was mediocre but we only had breakfast there, the restaurants were excellent particularly the one near the waterfall. We traveled from Bangkok but the same company operates out of Ubon. If I remember right I think it was about 7000 baht each which included food and accommodation.

[malt25]

Thanks again for all the replies, very much appreciated.

Cheers..... Mal.