How to get from Chiang Mai to Vientiane
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Dec 9, 2012 12:44 AM Last Post By: Captain_Bob
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How to get from Chiang Mai to Vientiane
I've been researching how to get from Chiang Mai to Vientiane in Laos and I'm wondering if anybody could lend their wisdom on the 'fast boat' down the Mekong from Huay Xai to Vientiane? Is it sketchy, or worth doing vs. just flying there on the cheap.From there we want to go down to Siem Reap (Cambodia) through much of Eastern Thailand and was wondering if anybody had any advice for how best to see Eastern Thailand. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
1
Do you want to just go to Vientiene? Are you doing it for a visa or? It's honestly easier to get to Vientiene by taking a bus from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani, hopping on a local bus to Nong Khai and crossing over the border to Vientiene. If you are not planning on traveling through Lao and don't have visa problems, just take this route and travel through some of eastern Thailand till you get to Cambodia.Good luck.
3
Most people describe the fast boat from Hauy Xai to Luang Prabang as a quite uncomfortable bone shaking full day, and that is just to Luang Prabang. I was not aware that anyone offered that trip all the way to Vientiane, but assuming you hired someone to do it, it would be at least a couple of days on the water with an overnight somewhere. On a speedboat you would not even get much of a chance to enjoy the scenery although I suppose after X kms it will all start to look similar....I would think you would be far better off going by bus as #1 mentioned if your budget is tight, or flying if you can afford it to save a ton of time and discomfort.
4
No public boat from Luang Prabang to Vientiane other thsn a very slow possibility of hopping on some sort of cargo boat. Best to fly direct or take bus from C. Mai to Udon Thani and from there to Nong Khai by local bus and then from border to Vte by tuk-tuk.5
Those speedboats looked really dicey.We saw them from the slow boat.You would be sitting in a very small boat with a helmet on bouncing along at breakneck speed.
It was fun to watch in a kind of''NO WAY'' kind of way.
It would be like going to the amusement park and getting one of those hairy rides for 6 hours
6
The slow boats take two days from Huang Xi to Luang Prabang. They are not comfortable, but it is a very interesting trip. I've never heard anyone recommend the speedboat.7
I once took the speedboat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai, the direction less traveled. Just me and one other passenger. The views were spectacular. The driver bought a dead monkey from some hunters, from another group of hunters he checked out a small deer, he held it in his arms and smelled it a couple of times,he didn't buy. I guess something didn't smell right. We did lunch in Pak Ben.9
I've taken both speeboat and slow and if forced to do it again tomorrow, would take a speedboat. The slowboats usually have some of the worst seating imaginable, wood slat benches. And you get not one but two days of it, what fun. The fast boat gets panned by people who have never taken it - saying that chances are it is a tad more dangerous than taking a thai bus, or renting a cycle in Thailand, but just a tad.Have you checked the Nok Air Chiang Mai to Udorn run? Make it so OP
10
I like PMF have taken both the fast and slow boats, and probably will never take either again. When I took the slow boat there was no seating at all, just the floor. They are worth taking , just for the adventure factor.Tip: Don't be one of the first on the slow boat. Your pack will be at the bottom of the pile; making you the last to get off at Pak Beng, trying to find lodgings.
14
You won't likely get past Luang Prabang that way. Then by road to VT.or worth doing vs. just flying there on the cheap
The only flights from Chiang Mai to Vientiane are on Lao Airlines and not cheap. Anyway then you'd be missing out on all of north Laos. A total waste to fly there then cross right back into NE Thailand. any advice for how best to see Eastern Thailand
Pick a destination and go to the bus station in Nong Khai. Best time is early morning and no need to pre-purchase a ticket. Isaan (NE THailand) moves to a slower clock so hopefully you can give it a couple weeks (and learn some basic Thai language during those long bus rides). From there we want to go down to Siem Reap
Either go to the busy border near Aranya Prathet / Poipet and follow the others, or more remote border checkpoints described on http://www.canbypublications.com/cambodia/overland.htm
