What you Need to Know About the Slow Boat
Before we start, we thought it might be handy to lay down a few of the town names which we will mention throughout the blog, as this might be a bit confusing at first. The boat leaves from the town Huay Xai in Laos. This town is very close to the Thailand border, which makes it a popular mode of transport from north Thailand to Luang Prabang. You can get to this town from north Thailand (Chiang Rai in particular). Read more about that here!
After day one on the slow boat, you’ll stop in a town called Pakbeng, which is where you’ll spend the night. The slow boat continues the day after and the journey ends in Luang Prabang, Laos’ old capital.
Why Take the Slow Boat?
There are a few reasons you should take the slow boat in Laos. One, because it is a once in a lifetime experience. Laos is more than likely a country you’re not going to visit again so taking the slow boat will enable you to see more of the country while you’ve got the opportunity.
Two, its cheaper than other options to get to Luang Prabang, which we will touch on next.
Three, its a great way to meet other people. You’re stuck on a boat for 2 days so, especially if you’re a solo traveller, you’ll get to meet lots of like minded people doing the same thing. And chances are that you’ll see those people in other towns in Laos again, because many people follow a similar route throughout Laos.
Is There Another Way to Get to Luang Prabang?
There are other ways to get to Luang Prabang, namely by bus, train or plane. Luang Prabang has an international airport so you can fly in from other countries. However, flying in and out of Luang Prabang (or Laos in general really) is quite expensive. But besides that, there are mini busses throughout Laos and even a bus route from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. Additionally, there is a new train connection between Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang which makes it easy to get to Luang Prabang if you’re already in Laos.
Where to Take the Slow Boat From?
The slow boat to Luang Prabang leaves from the town Huay Xai, which is the town right next to the Thailand-Laos border. As we mentioned, to take the slow boat you need to get to this town first. The best way to do so is when coming from north Thailand (Chiang Rai) by crossing the border at the friendship bridge. Read all about how to cross the border here!
It used to be the case that you could take the very first bus from Chiang Rai bus terminal to Huay Xai and get on the slow boat the same day. However, we have been told by multiple locals that this is no longer possible as the slow boat leaves earlier. It now leaves at 9am (as of June 2023) instead of 11:30am, which it used to be. Therefore, you should get to Huay Xai at least a day before taking the slow boat.
Should I Book the Slow Boat Through an Agency or Do it Myself?
You can book the slow boat through an agency in Chiang Mai, Pai or Chiang Rai in Thailand. We looked into this option from Chiang Rai and here is what we learnt. They will pick you up in Chiang Rai around 5am (if not earlier) so you can cross the border and catch the boat before 9am. This option will mean you don’t have to stay in Huay Xai the night before but it is more rushed and more expensive.
It costs 1,700 baht just for the travel, and takes away the thrill of the adventure. This could be an option if you’re on a tight schedule but we’d recommend doing it yourself. Both crossing the Thailand-Laos border and embarking on the slow boat are very doable on your own. Continue reading to know all about this!
What Are the Types of Slow Boats?
As far as we know, there are 2 types of slow boat journeys: the public boat and the luxurious boat. The public slow boat is the most popular option as it is much cheaper. This is the one we took. The luxurious boat is, as the name implies, fancier and more comfortable. But because of that also more expensive.
How to Buy Your Ticket For the Slow Boat to Luang Prabang?
There are two options to get your public slow boat ticket, you can get your ticket at the ticket office near the departure harbour or you can buy them at your hostel/hotel in Huay Xai. If you buy your tickets through your accommodation this will most likely also include the tuk-tuk from the accommodation to the harbour. Moreover, booking through you accommodation has the advantage that they will ‘reserve’ the seats for you beforehand. But either option is sufficient.
Wanting to book?
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What is the Price of the Slow Boat?
Buying a ticket at the ticket office should be 400,000 LAK, as of June 2023. The ticket desk is near the harbour and easy to find. Well you cannot really call it a harbour. The strip of dirt where the boats leave from is probably more fitting. If you choose to buy it here get there early to get a good seat, keep reading to find out why! Like we said, most hostels and homestays will offer to get the tickets for you and will also include transport to the “harbour”. This will increase the price to around 430,000 LAK. We chose to do this option because it seemed like a good deal.
What You Need to Know About the Slow Boat Tickets
Tickets for the slow boat are sold per seat, going from the front to the back. It does pay off to get your tickets early as this means you get to sit more towards the front of the boat. This is nicer as the engine is in the back, and the engine makes A LOT of noise. If you buy the ticket through your accommodation, they will reserve a seat for you. So you (technically) wouldn’t need to worry about your seat anymore (but that actually turned out to not be fully true in our case, keep on reading).
If you buy the tickets yourself at the office, be on time to reserve a seat in the front half of the boat. Try to be there like 30-45 minutes before the boat will take off. Once you bought you ticket and reserved your seat, you can get some food or drinks here too.
Our Slow Boat Tickets and Seats
We bought our tickets from our homestay, and got told we had seat 14-15 (whooh in the front!). We arrived at the harbour around 8:40 am and this was when it got interesting. Apparently, for our specific boat, the first 15 seats were indeed at the front of the boat, but they were facing each other, instead of the normal bus-like layout.
We weren’t very happy seeing this as it meant we couldn’t see the surroundings. The other people who received seat 1 to 13 felt the same. Since we were relatively early and it was not busy, the boat staff told us to just go and sit anywhere. So we picked a window spot and sat down. Many others did the same.
As the time passed, more people arrived (quite late, even far after 9am departure time) but the whole seat distribution was now a mess. So, in the end everyone just ended up sitting anywhere. Because we were early we got lucky with a nice spot: still in the front of the boat. People who rocked up too late had to sit either facing each other in the very front or all the way in the back, where the engine is extremely loud.
Therefore we recommend to get your tickets early but also to show up early (like 30 minutes before the boat is supposed to leave). To ensure you have a nice seat for this (very very) long boat ride.
Slow Boat Facilities
The facilities on the slow boat depend on which boat you get. But they will all have at least one toilet on board, some way better than others. Besides that, there’s not much more to them. They are very basic, just many rows of seats. There are quite some big differences between the boats you could get though. Our first boat was very narrow and had a very dirty toilet. We got a way bigger and nicer boat on the second day. This one had more space to walk around, tables between the seats, and three toilets in good condition. Unfortunately, you cannot pick or predict the boat you’ll be on so prepare for the worst.
Is There Food and Drink on the Boat?
There are drinks and snacks available on the boat that can be bought. There’s just basic stuff, like beer, soft drink, water, cup noodles, chips, etc. However, these are limited in choice and they are much more expensive than those on land. This is why we highly recommend bringing your own drinks, snacks, and lunch before coming on the boat.
What to Bring on the Slow Boat?
- Portable charger. There’s no power on most boats. Even if they have sockets (like on our day 2 boat) they won’t work.
- Enough water. Stay hydrated!
- Lunch. Get some sandwiches from either your homestay or one of the many cafes in town. Almost all restaurants sell sandwiches with veggies or chicken for about 25,000 LAK. These are wrapped for take away and much better (and cheaper) than some instant noodles on the boat.
- Snacks. The trip is long so you will probably get bored and hungry after a while. Bring some simple snacks like chips or oreos.
- Jacket/sweater. If it starts raining and gets more windy it can get a bit chilly so having a sweater or jacket could be nice.
- Toilet paper. The toilet might either have no toilet paper or will run out of toilet paper towards the end of the ride so it’s handy to bring some tissues yourself.
- Ear plugs. For if you rock up to the harbour too late and need to sit near the engine.
- Entertainment. Fight the boredom with a good book, some cards, a journal, or game on your phone.
What to Expect
We came from north Thailand into Laos by crossing the friendship bridge. We stayed one night in Huay Xai and took the slow boat t he next morning. Below you’ll read about our experience on the slow boat.
First Day on the Slow Boat From Huay Xai to Pakbeng
We had booked our ticket through our accommodation in Huay Xai and were brought to the harbour by a tuktuk. We had already ordered some sandwiches for lunch from our accommodation, but this would’ve also been possible at the shop next to the harbour.
After we found ourselves a nice seat in the front of the boat (we explained the whole seat distribution and change-up above) we waited and waited. The boat was supposed to leave at 9am. But still at 9:50am people were rocking up late to find a seat in the very back. Eventually we left around 10am.
The boat was almost full but not crowded. It was just a very narrow boat which made it feel quite packed.
For the first part of the journey you’ll be amused by the scenery along the Mekong. We saw many cows, goats, and waterbuffalos. You’ll drive between green mountains and pass by several small villages and wooden houses. Kids playing in the water, fisherman checking their nets or a local cleaning his boat, there is much to see.
Like all local transport in Asia, the drivers tend to know everyone. So every now and then the boat will stop to drop off a friend, or pick up a parcel for their cousins brother. It’s quite random, but funny to watch. Suddenly the boat will slow down, locals on board will start running around, grabbing all sorts of bags and boxes, and villagers will appear on the shore for collection. This caused some confusion when we stopped the first time to pick up some chickens, but the next 8 times this happened we didn’t even look twice. It makes the trip a bit longer but don’t worry, you’ll get there.
The first day you’ll drive for about 6.5 hours along the Mekong. Around 4/5 pm the boat docks in the little town of Pakbeng where you’ll stay the night.
Staying the Night in Pakbeng
Pakbeng is a little town that mainly consists of guesthouses and cafes. Some people on our boat had booked their accommodation beforehand and were picked up from the harbour. But this is not necessary at all. Like most others, we hadn’t booked anything and decided to just see which places would be available.
Right after you step ashore there will be locals from every corner of the village coming up to you trying to sell you a room. Don’t stress too much about this. You’ll only sleep here for one short night so any basic accommodation is alright. We followed one of these ladies to Phoy Lathda Guesthouse and got a room with bathroom for 100,000 LAK. It was super simple and had a nice view over the Mekong.
Second Day on the Boat to Luang Prabang
We woke up early the next day to get some breakfast and to make sure we arrived at the slow boat on time. We had some food and ordered sandwiches for take away from a little cafe with great view called Alisa (on google maps).
Afterwards, we walked down to the harbour. The boat would leave at 9am so we arrived here at 8:30 to get a good spot. On this second day the seat distribution was based on a first come first serve basis. We had to take our shoes off before entering and were pleasantly surprised by the look of this new boat. It was much more spacious and had seats with tables and 3 alright looking toilets.
Slowly but surely the boat started to fill up and we left around 9:15am. The scenery along the Mekong was again stunning. Because we now had tables sat more comfortably and used the table to play cards, chess and do some writing. The time passed by quite quickly. After about 6 hours of driving along the Mekong, we arrived in Luang Prabang.
Arriving in Luang Prabang
We write arriving in Luang Prabang, but actually the boat drops you off about 7 km away from there. We thought this was weird as it could easily stop closer to the city, but this forces you to get a tuktuk into the city as it is too far to walk. Once you get on shore you need to walk up some steep stairs to find a ticket booth selling tuktuk tickets.
We paid 70,000 LAK for 2 people and were brought to the centre of Luang Prabang. The tuktuks all drop you off at the location next to the night market, from here you can either walk or get another tuktuk. We decided to walk 10 minutes to our accommodation.
Tips for the Slow Boat
A summary of our slow boat journey take-aways and tips for if you are planning to take the slow boat:
- Arrive early. At least 30 minutes before departure time to claim a nice seat for this long drive.
- Have enough water with you. 6 hours on a boat is a long time, make sure to stay hydrated.
- Buy some take-away sandwiches for lunch. These can be bought in many different places in Huay Xai and Pakbeng, should be around 25,000 LAK and are a much better lunch than expensive instant noodles on the boat.
- Be prepared to have little/no data. For the majority of the boat drive you’ll have no data, even with a local sim. So make sure you bring some other things to keep you amused (a book, cards, downloaded movie)
So, Should You Take the Slow Boat?
We think you should definitely take the slow boat if you have the time. It is a unique way to travel from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang while experiencing life along the Mekong. Besides saving cost on transport, you’ll also meet many new people. Even though taking the slow boat meant spending two long days on the water, we enjoyed the experience and would definitely recommend it.
Overview of Total Cost from Thailand to Luang Prabang
Before we undertook the slow boat journey, we weren’t very sure what the total price would look like. We came from north Thailand (Chiang Rai) and decided to just cross the border to Laos and take the slow boat from there, seeing how it would go. For those planning on doing the same thing, we’ve created an overview of the total cost to get from Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang by taking the slow boat in Huay Xai. These are the prices for 2 people:
- Bus to Chong Khlong – 140 THB
- Tuktuk – 100 THB
- Bus across friendship bridge – 60 THB
- Visa – 880,000 LAK (better to pay in USD, then the price is $40)
- Taxi to Huay xai – 100 THB
- Accommodation Huay Xai – 150,000 LAK
- Boat ticket – 860,000 LAK
- Accommodation Pakbeng – 100,000 LAK
Total for 2 people = 2,207,000 LAK (4075 THB / 105 EURO / 175 AUD)
Where to Stay in Luang Prabang?
Luang Prabang is a popular destination in Laos and has a lot of different places to stay. It would be best to stay west on the Nam Khan river as this is where most of the highlights are. We stayed in a nice little guesthouse called Sakura wood, which was very comfortable, clean and cheap. Plus had delicious breakfasts included. Would definitely recommend.
We always book through booking.com as they generally have the most options to choose from and they give the best price. So if you’re interested in this stay or any others in the area, check it out by following this link!
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