Luang Prabang to Huay Xai

Hi all,

We%26#39;re flying into Kuala Lumpur on the 26th December, and are having issues getting to Laos. We%26#39;ve got a couple of options, but we%26#39;re being pushed back a day. While this doesn%26#39;t matter with connecting tours as we%26#39;re doing it ourselves, it does matter with our days we have to get through Laos and Cambodia. We have from the 26th december til the 21st Jan. In that time we%26#39;ve got to make it to the parts in laos not to miss, and the same in Cambodia, then back to KL to fly back to sydney.

My question....we were going to take the slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang...firstly...a lot of people recommended it, but it is there so much to see that i%26#39;ll regret not doing it? We%26#39;ve done many a slow boat day trips in Vietnam and were wondering if the scenery in Laos would be a lot different? or whether it%26#39;d be ok to skip this part to give us extra days? we basically dont want to get back and hear that we really should%26#39;ve done it.

Next question...if we were to do Laos from south to north - so go to cambodia first and go up that way - is this reasonable? or is it going to make it too hard for us, seeing as though most tours go overland from thailand? also, can we take that slow boat trip from Luang Praband to Huay Xai, or they dont do return tourist trips.

We%26#39;ve got no itinerary planned and i%26#39;m starting to fret a bit. We don%26#39;t usually plan much but with such a short amount of time to see two plentiful countries, i just dont want to miss anything. We%26#39;re budget backpackers, but happy to spend more if need be to see the things we want to :)

With just 11 days til we fly out I would love the help!

Jo :)

Luang Prabang to Huay Xai

Boats do run from LP to HX . They usually have less people on board BUt it is a slower trip because you are going against the current. The other option is a fast boat (read speedboat). This method of travel is generally discouraged for a number of reasons. Mainly that these boats can be crowded and are not much more than a surfboard with a longtail prop. Falang (foreigners) have to wear crash helmets.

The scenery is different from Vietnam, the Mekong is much narrower here and more difficult to navigate with rocks poking up as you go along. The traffic is much lighter than down on the delta.

The slow boat trip takes 2 days with a stop in Pak Beng overnight .There seems to be a bit of panic about getting accomodation there but 3 weeks ago we came down the river on a boat which was full ( I guess about 120-140 people) and there seemed to be plenty of guest houses. There are several newer ones that arent mentioned in the Lonely Plnet.

So yes I would do it if I had the time , it is also a nice way to meet fellow travellers.Main thing is not to try to move about too much in Laos because it takes a long while to get a short distance.

Shop around for your ticket and find out what you get for your money. Some Guest Houses offer a tuktuk ride to the boat with the ticket which can be handy.

Luang Prabang to Huay Xai

Thanks so much for a great amount of information. I%26#39;ve heard that the speedboat is a no go, so I%26#39;m more than happy to avoid that. I%26#39;m also trying to avoid Lao airlines as i am not a good flyer....and i%26#39;m a bit scared of their planes...so we%26#39;ll see how I go avoiding it haha :)

So with that in mind, that the LP to HX leg of the trip is possible....does that also mean that travel down south is also do-able? The one thing i was frightened of, was that perhaps as it is maybe less popular to go from the south to the north, that buses and boats etc would run less frequently. That I guess was my main concern.

Thanks again!

there is a stick on the Travelfish Laos messageboard on the slow boat - well worht a read and should definitely help u make your mind up - generally the feedback seems to be that the up stream trip esspecially is low key, relaxing and lots and lots of green scenery but... take a good bnook as it is s slow boat.

WE didnt go south but from what I gleaned from other travellers if you are using local transport ,certainly buses will be the same as the north. A little tip watch the whiteboards outside of travel agencies,they sometimes offer minibuses going to where you might want to go to at about the same rate as local buses. These are generally drivers looking for a backload. A slightly more comfortable and faster method of getting about.

As for Lao Air, we flew in and out of the country and also from Luang Prabang to Vientiane with them . The planes are Ok , I think they are mostly French prop jets and it is a good way to gain time eg about 40 minutes for above compared to 2 days LP to Vang Vien then VV to Vientane or a very long winding day in the bus.

I wouldn%26#39;t bother with the slow boat trip. Sure, it%26#39;s a beautiful trip for a few hours...but then monotony and discomfort sets in. If you want to experience the river, I%26#39;d recommend a day trip to the Pak Ou Caves from Luang Prabang. This is the most beautiful stretch of the Mekong in northern Laos anyway.

But if you really have your heart set on the two day trip, then definitely go upstream rather than downstream. The boats are much less crowded (thus a little bit more comfortable) in that direction.

thanks so much for more replies, I spent a lot of hours sitting here yesterday (preparing myself for the slow boat perhaps? haha), no, i did a lot more research and feel a bit more at east now with our plans going ok.

invincible, i dont have my heart set on slow boat. So i%26#39;m really going to take this into consideration, because by taking your option at least i can see an extra place in Laos and some of my days are freed up, which in turn....means more time for the short visit to the 4000 islands.

Hmm....still deciding...south to north....or north to south...hmmm

thanks again!

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