A scenic boat journey from Thailand to Laos
An overview of a 2-day trip
Do you want to add natural scenic views to your trip while having a great time with your friends? If your answer is yes, then the two-day slow boat from Chaing Rai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos is the adventure for you.
Two-day slow boat overview
The first day of the boat ride felt more like a party cruise than transportation. Although seats were assigned there was no enforcing of the seat numbers so families and friends were all able to sit together.
Big groups of travellers in their 20s formed and spent the ride laughing, drinking, playing card games, and socialising. Families with children and older adults spent their time enjoying the scenery and snapping photos of the beautiful views.
If you are travelling from Thailand to Laos, extroverted and looking to make friends, this boat is the ride for you. Even for those who are more introverted like me, the ride can be peaceful and pleasant and a great 2 days of travel (my tip would be to pack some headphones and activities for yourself to do).
Note that the boat is usually filled with people so if you are looking for a lot of personal space this is probably not the best trip for you. With about 250-300 seats on the boat and tons of travellers, it was a tight fit in terms of seating so I would recommend sitting with people you feel comfortable with. If you’re a solo traveller then no problem, making friends on board was as simple as a quick conversation.
General Timeline
The boat departs from the port at approximately 9am in the morning from Huay Xai Pier and arrives at the destination each day around 4pm. The first night we spent at Pak Beng.
Pak Beng accommodation
If you’d like to plan ahead to go from Thailand to Laos, booking online ahead of time can save you money. Prices for accommodation for the night start at around 280 Thai baht and range depending on the day of the week and the type of accommodation you are looking for. Guesthouses are the most popular since Pak Beng is quite small and rural.
Don’t be concerned if you didn’t book accommodation in advance for the night in between as there are many local room availabilities shared with you as you get off the boat. Most guesthouses provide a ride from the pier and back in the morning but it is important to confirm this with them.
Day two is similar to day one, though I noticed that the party vibe died down a bit with people being more tired. This made it a lot more relaxing which was nice and provided a great break from the first day. We arrived at Baan Don Pier Luang Prabang before sunset and there were a variety of tuk-tuks happy to take travellers to their hostels or the local night market for a fee. Check-in for the boat on day 2 was 8.30am but make sure to check with the workers to ensure you are there on time.
Food or drinks
There are also no meals provided on board, although you can buy snacks while afloat. It is a safe choice to bring your own food from the store before boarding to ensure you have enough to keep you satisfied as it is a long trip.
There is a small convenience store at the loading bay before boarding the ship both at Huay Xai Pier on day 1 and at Pak Bang Pier on day 2.
What to pack
On board, they stored bigger bags in a separate compartment from where the seats were. Pack a day bag to bring to your seat with you before boarding. Here are my tips about what to bring.
Helpful things to pack in your day bag:
- Neck pillow
- Water
- Snacks
- A meal or two
- Journal
- Book
- Camera
- Headphones
- Cards, crosswords, board games
- Downloaded phone games like Charades
- Comfy clothes that can be layered and taken off (the morning is a bit chilly but it gets very hot during the day).
Cell reception + WiFi
In some areas there was cell reception on board and personal data could be used although soon into the journey. For example, a Laos sim card was needed as the Thai sim cards stopped working. There is no wi-fi on board the ship, though there is wifi at many of the accommodations.
Booking the slow boat experience
There are different ways to book the slow boat experience from Thailand to Laos, whether it be directly through your accommodation in Chiang Rai or through platforms like 12Go.
Most options include a shuttle transfer from your accommodation in Chaing Rai (approximately at 5 am) that will take you to Chiang Khong to undergo both the immigration process and border crossing specifics.
After this, you are brought to the Huay Xai border and then transferred to the Huay Xai Pier. I would highly recommend booking it all together with a site like 12Go because the route is confusing, and I found it highly helpful to have direction and transport secured from location to location.
Including all of the bus and boat transfers to the borders and piers, it is about 1,490 baht per person. There are also fees when it comes to getting a visa for Laos (price dependent on your nationality) and a few service fees at the border which were in total under 200 baht.
Important note
Last but not least, DO NOT lose your ticket. Keep the original paper copy ticket with you for the entire two-day trip otherwise, you will pay for your journey twice. No, a photo of your ticket or a receipt does not work to prove the purchase.
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