Chiang Mai to Huay Xai and slow boat
Replies: 17 - Last Post: Dec 21, 2012 6:38 AM Last Post By: freiburger
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Chiang Mai to Huay Xai and slow boat
I've read the Chiang Khong - Huay Xai - slow boat threads but haven't seen an answer to specific questions I have:1) Is it feasible to go from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong on green bus, cross over to Huay Xai, get a room for the night, all in one day - and then leave on slow boat for Luang Prabang the next morning?
2) OK, if it's feasible, is it practical or will it be a frantic, dodgy rush?
3) Can I get a room in Huay Xai on arrival or am I likely to be shut out that late in the day?
4) Can I buy the slow boat ticket that night in Huay Xai or must I wait until the next morning, the day of the boat trip?
Thank you.
2
Westwood - Thank you for your reply. Your answers to 2 & 3 are pretty hard for me to interpret unless I know which side of "or" you are replying to. Also, at the risk of being obtuse, I really don't understand the meaning of "Wont be late because of the time Immigration closes" or how it pertains. I would greatly appreciate clarification from you. Thank you very much.3
2/ Wont be a dodgy dash. Even if you miss the Green Line Bus and have to take a local bus, you'll still get across to Laos Immigration before it closes.3/ Just remembered the Laos Immigration closes at 6pm
5
I personally cant afford to do this, Im going to have to do the old bus/regular slow boat thing but I read about this (sorry I cant give you a first hand account) you take a cruise called "Nagi of the mekong" , it makes your life so much easier because the guy picks you up in chiang mai or chiang rai in a van so you dont even have to worry about the bus part, then he whisks you through the crossing in huay xai and you take a 2 night 3 day slow boat cruise through the mekong where you stop at villages and even a cave and he eventually leaves you in luang prabang. I think it costs $150 USD, so thats out of my budget, but for someone with an average or even below average budget I bet that would be fine.Again , do your own research about this since Im not giving you a first hand account and Im not even doing this myself but If I had the money, this option might make my life alot easier.
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We've just done it the other way round - slow boat from LP - which takes two days and a one night stay in Pak Beng, not two nights as #5 suggested. They stopped at a cave - worth passing on actually and a hill village on the second day. Each day was very relaxing on the boat, with fantastic scenery so we didn't get bored at all.It's probably easier doing it the other way round, as we only just made Thai immigration, having arrived at 5pm, then had to exit Laos (which was easy and quick as it turned out), then boat across then entry and the Thai side closes at 6pm too, and as we had a hotel booked, really didn't want an unenforced stop at the border. Going down stream would at least mean you've done immigration at the beginning and you won't have to worry if the boat is at all delayed.
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Hey westwood , I guess I was thinking of my budget as , well what is below, below average? Whatever the name for it, that is my budget haha. Looks like a nice cruise, maybe for honey mooners lol, or how do they call them on here? flashpackers ?Edited by: thisisplanetearth
Edited by: thisisplanetearth
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CopperDuckThe 830am Green Bus from Chiang Mai gets into Chiang Khong around 3pm and the border is open unril 6pm as mentioned above so it shouldn't be much of a rush to get over to Huay Xai and get a room. Buy the slow boat ticket the next morning at the little booth up the stairs at the slow boat ramp. They only sell them same day but don't worry they never ever sell out and the boats usually don't leave until around 11.
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Definitely not a rush, we left Chiang Mai around 09:30 as the queue at the bus station made us miss the first bus. Had an hour in Chiang Rai and still made it to the border with plenty of time to spare. Should be no problem at all. And you can buy your slow boat ticket the night before but it is usually cheaper to buy it direct from the ticket office in the morning rather than through an agent.12
Thx for the very useful replies, guys. And I will buy my boat ticket in the AM as advised but, one more question. Is there just one boat leaving per day? If more than one is there any opportunity to select or do you just buy ticket at the ticket office and luck of the draw? I ask because I read somewhere that some of them have soft bus-like seats - maybe that is just the pricey Nago one... Anyway, if there is opportunity to select, what does one look for (besides, obviously, maybe soft style seats)? Or is there no appreciable diff and just grab one? Thank you.13
Nope. Some of the ordinary boats have bus like seats. When we bought our tickets in LP, we got them included. but there were some on the boat who had to pay extra to the boatmen. And afaik, theres just one boat a day. But going from HX, its always more crowded so pays to get tickets early. Kind of "first up, best dressed".14
They will run as many boats per day as required by number of paying customers. In Huay Xai and Luang Prabang you will see dozens of boats tied up waiting for their turn. Some hold 50 pax, others hold 150 and it's simply luck of draw if you get one with padded seats or not but they are becoming increasingly common.
