I am going to show you how to make the border crossing from Chiang Rai, Thailand, to Luang Prabang, Laos, on your own - on a budget!
We decided against booking a package from Chiang Rai due to our budget as many tour operators charge an excessive price.
If you are on a budget yourself and you are up for a three day adventure filled with beautiful views, then this guide will show you exactly how to make the overland border crossing between Thailand and Laos – without needing the help from anyone else!
You will save a lot of money on flights or tour operator commission charges and you will see a beautiful side to Laos whilst cruising down the Mekong River on a slow boat for 2 days.
Note that this journey takes 3 days as I have included a night in Huay Xai (the Laos border town) to break up the journey and to reduce rushing. If you get the early bus in Step 1 you may be able to complete the journey in 2 days but this will be a push for time.
Table of Contents:
Travelling from Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang by Slow Boat: Everything You Need to Know
Step 1) Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong (Thai Border)
Mode of Transport: Local Bus
To start your journey to Laos make your way to the local bus station. You will want to take the distinctive red bus to Chiang Khong which departs hourly between 07:30 am and 16:30 pm – as of January 2024.
Tickets cost 90 baht (£2) to Chiang Khong where you will be dropped to the centre and then you will need to find a tuk tuk to take you to the border – when split between 6 people this costs 60 baht (£1.30)
However, I believe it is a new addition that the bus now offers tickets directly to the Thai border for 150 baht (£3.35) This made our journey much more straight forward. You cannot buy tickets in advance and will pay during the journey.
My Experience: We decided to get the 07:30 am bus and arrived at the bus station just 15 minutes before departure. Luckily we took the last seats on the bus. We ended up sharing the bus with many Thai soldiers which was an experience. The bus was crammed full, with our bags tied to the roof. It was a fun experience and we ended up meeting another couple travelling to Luang Prabang. The journey to the border took us exactly 2 hours.
Step 2: Thai Border - Exiting Thailand
The earlier you arrive, the quicker and easier your experience will be as once the tour groups start arriving it can get quite busy. It is very organised and clean at the Thai Border, all you need to do is walk through and get your passport stamped for exit.
You will then come across a booth selling coach tickets to the Laos Border for 30 baht (£0.67), purchase your ticket and board the coach for a quick 5 minute journey.
My Experience: We arrived at the Thai Border at 09:30 am and had a very smooth experience. It was very quiet and efficient. I recommend arriving as early as possible.
Step 3: Laos Border - Entering Laos
Once you arrive at the Laos border it is time to organise a visa. For most European countries, the USA, Australia and the UK, you can get a 30 day visa upon arrival at the border.
Firstly, it is recommended to pay in Baht or USD to avoid extra charges for the visa. You cannot pay by card. Unfortunately, we had used all of our Baht at this point and did not have US Dollars.
As you come into Laos immigration, you will see a red BCEL ATM – you can withdraw in Laos Kip here if you do not have any other currency – like us!
The first step is to fill in an immigration form and a visa application. You will then hand your passport over with your application and wait for the visa to be approved – this only took 10 minutes for us. You will need 1 passport photo for the visa application.
Also be prepared to pay 40 baht (£0.89) for admin fees for processing the visa.
You will then go through immigration and just before leaving pay for your visa. As we only had Kip we did get charged a slightly higher rate (I really don’t understand why when you pay in the local currency!) and this came to 950,000 Kip (£36.23)
Once you exit immigration you will come across tuk tuk’s waiting to take you to the town centre. We were unfortunately the only people at the time travelling independently so we had to pay 120 baht each (£2.67)(which we actually negotiated as the driver wanted 300 baht split between however many people). You can pay in Kip, Baht or USD.
My Experience: We arrived before the tour groups, apart from 1, so we managed to go through Laos immigration pretty quickly. We had a few questions with our application forms and the officers were happy to help us. The only issue we had was that we were the only people waiting for a tuk tuk so we had to pay a higher price each to split it. You could either wait for more people or arrive at a busier time but this will slow down the whole process.
Step 4: Huay Xai - Overnight Stay
If you arrive early enough, you may be able to skip this step and head straight onto the slow boat, however, we definitely did not have the time despite leaving Chiang Rai at 07:30 am so I would advise staying by the port for the night.
I would recommend staying at Sabaydee Guesthouse, we chose a private room with a bathroom and air conditioning for £8.28 per night – £4.14 each a night if split between 2.
The first thing you will want to do in town is book your slow boat ticket for the next morning. The cheapest option is to visit the ticket office at the pier where you can buy your 2 day ticket for 400,000 Kip (£15.19). We arrived at the pier at about 13:00 and the ticket office was unfortunately closed so we paid the cafe on the corner of the pier an extra 30,000 Kip (£1.14) to arrange our tickets for us.
I was pleasantly surprised by my stay at Huay Xai. To be perfectly honest, I was expecting it to be quite dull but we enjoyed our stay overlooking the Mekong River and there were plenty of restaurants as well as a small night market.
Be sure to grab some breakfast in the morning before boarding the slow boat and a takeaway lunch as you will not arrive in Pakbeng (the overnight stop off) until around 17:00. Most restaurants in Huay Xai open very early and offer takeaway options, I would recommend a baguette for the journey and some bananas.
Step 5: Slow Boat Day 1
The most important thing to note for the slow boat journey is that seats are often first come first served. It is necessary to come early to the pier to secure yourself a good seat because tickets are usually oversold and you may end up sitting on the floor for 8 hours if not.
The boat departs around 09:00 am but check your ticket beforehand. I would recommend arriving at least 90 minutes early to ensure that you have a good seat. You also want to choose a seat away from the back of the boat as it the engine is extremely loud – this can easily ruin the slow boat experience.
My Experience: As you can see from the photo above, our boat was very overloaded. Unfortunately, many people had to sit on the floor on day 1. We were surprised to find seat numbers on the chairs and these were actually enforced – this was completely different to what we had heard online. I believe the people who were sat on the floor had bought their tickets late or from a tour operator who had to pick up the tickets with seat numbers from the pier upon arrival. Luckily, the cafe who had bought our tickets had purchased them early from the pier so we had seats at the front of the boat! We had arrived 2 hours early anyway to secure our seats as we had heard that it is a free for all.
The type of slow boat that you will travel on is dependent on the day. Sometimes you will be lucky and have a boat with tables and chairs with USB ports or you may have the larger boat with old bus seats stapled into the floor – like we did on both days!
You will be on board for about 7-8 hours on day 1 and sail to Pakbeng where you will stay overnight.
The countryside views from the boat are gorgeous and you will see many water buffalos on the shoreline, local children playing in the river, people fishing and some beautiful scenery. It is the perfect time to connect with some fellow travellers and slow down for a couple of days.
You will arrive in Pakbeng at around 17:00, just before sunset.
My Experience: Day 1 on the slow boat was definitely quite chaotic for us but I did enjoy the beautiful views. The vibe on the boat was not the best due to the overcrowdedness but as I had a seat I was still able to have a good experience. The boat had two toilets, one a normal toilet and one squat toilet. I spent most of my time listening to music taking in the views and reading my current book: The Power of Now (highly recommend).
Step 6: Overnight Stay in Pakbeng
Most people arriving in Pakbeng will book their accommodation on the spot at the pier. You will be greeted by many locals trying to sell their guesthouse to you.
Pakbeng is a tiny little town, which seems to exist only to serve those on the overnight slow boat journey. I really would not expect anything from your time here apart from somewhere to stay and some dinner/snacks.
My Experience: I have to be honest, our stay in Pakbeng has been the worst room I have ever stayed in (so far!). The brochure that we were shown upon arrival looked very decent and included drop off so we hopped on the tuk tuk. Unfortunately, we found our room to be in poor condition with mouldy pillows and a damp smell. The toilet barely flushed! I ended up sleeping in a sleeping bag liner that I had luckily brought and no pillow. We paid 108,430 Kip (£4.11) each for a double room which was massively overpriced but it seemed to be the average price in Pakbeng. We found ourselves a baguette for dinner, the cheapest option available. Luckily, yhe guesthouse was at least quiet so we did manage to have a decent sleep before the second part of the journey.
Step 4: Slow Boat Day 2
Prepare yourself for another long day on the Mekong River. Again, arrive early at the pier to secure your seats and make sure you have some food for the journey.
The misty morning on day 2 was one of my favourite parts of the trip. It was so magical cruising slowly past the beautiful surroundings encompassed with mist.
For the majority of the journey, the views are very similar to those on day 1 but the final few hours provided some of the best scenery of the trip. The surroundings become much more picturesque with limestone cliffs and mountainous terrain as you approach Luang Prabang.
There is an elephant sactuary located on the other side of the river in Pakbeng and I was lucky enough to spot an elephant drinking from the river bank.
You can spot the elephant through the window of the slow boat in the above photo.
After another long day of travelling, you will arrive in Luang Prabang at approximately 17:00.
My Experience: I thoroughly enjoyed day 2 of the slow boat. We woke up early again to secure ourselves the best seats on the boat. This time, it was a free for all but luckily there were two boats. Everyone seemed to pile onto the other boat as the driver was rushing everyone onto his boat whereas our driver just sat back and waited for people to board. By the time of departure, there were still many seats available so we had a lot of room to ourselves. Everyone was in a much more pleasant mood and I met a lot of lovely travellers on this journey. Time seemed to fly by after hours of conversation with new people, a little bit of reading and a lot of spectacular views.
Step 8: Arriving in Luang Prabang
Conveniently, transportation into the centre of Luang Prabang is very organised when arriving at the slow boat pier.
Once you arrive in Luang Prabang, everyone will form a line and pass down each other’s luggage. You will then walk up the river bank to find an organised tuk tuk stand at the top. Tickets cost 40,000 Kip (£1.53) per person, this is a non-negotiable rate. You will be dropped in the centre of Luang Prabang and that is your journey complete!
Summary
Overall, in my opinion, the slow boat is the best mode of transport that you can take from Northern Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos.
It is incredibly cheap considering that it is two full days of travelling and the picturesque views, that you witness along the way, make it worth the long journey.
I had read many articles where people say they wouldn’t choose to do it again but I would happily do the whole process again and think that it is worth the time and money. As long as you are prepared for the journey beforehand and know what to expect, the slow boat experience should be pleasant and give you more of an insight into local Laos.
Slow Boat Travel Tips
- Wake up early to secure yourself a good seat at the front of the boat. It is no lie that the seats at the back of the boat are deafening and this will ruin the peaceful experience.
- At Huay Xai and Pakbeng before boarding, buy some lunch and snacks to take onboard. You can only purchase crisps and pot noodles onboard so be sure to grab yourself a baguette or takeaway lunch for the journey.
- Do not book accommodation in advance for Pakbeng. Online prices are higher than what you will pay upon arrival. Unless you want a more luxury stay, then you will save money by paying upon arrival.
- Wear trousers and bring a long sleeved top for the mornings. The mornings get surprisingly cold, I was pretty comfortable in cargo pants and a vest top and I also had a hoodie for the mornings.
- Bring some toilet paper. As you can expect, the toilets are not the best and the toilet paper was used up at the start of the journey.
- Have some sun cream available in your hand luggage as if you have a window seat you will be in the sun for part of the journey.
- Bring some earplugs or noise cancellation headphones incase you have a seat near the engine.
There is 1 comment
This is a wonderfully detailed, realistic and very helpful account of your journey.
Thank you for sharing.