Is it possible to travel all the way between Luang Prabang and Vientiane by boat, or must some of the journey be taken by bus? On the map the river appears to detour over a wide area around Pak Loi, so perhaps this could be more effectively shortened with a bus.... if I started the journey from Luang Prabang by boat, where is a good intermediate point to leave the boat and continue by bus?

Thanks for all advice!

In my 2002 Laos LP it says there is are cargo boats (passenger travel is rare)and speedboats (8 hrs!!)making the 430 km journey. River height determines duration of journey. I'd post on TT and ask this question. Route 13 is always an alternative. Flights are cheap at US55 and that's what we did.

Thanks, Lyndie. I have heard about the speedboats also, but, as so often happens with this part of the world, I am reading a lot of conflicting advice. Border openings is another subject where everyone says something different. Should be an interesting holiday, with kids!

Much obliged for your help (again).

There are no longer regular ferry (nor cargo) services running between Luang Prabang and Vientiane -- mainly because the road has improved so much. If you were really determined to do this, you could probably look into chartering a boat but it would be a bit pricey -- particularly if you only wanted to go as far as Pak Lai. When the boats used to run this route, they would overnight at Pak Lai. If you're interested in doing a boat trip, consider Huay Xai south to Luang Prabang which is very popular, or the spectacular Pak Tha to Luang Lam Tha route.

Hope that helps

That clears up a lot, thanks, Travelfish!

I read two different internet sources which gave conflicting information about this -- one said that the boat ride was very popular, others that it was "not possible"; I now realise that one was simply more up-to-date than the other.

Looks like I'll be either getting a bus both ways, or flying from Hanoi to Vientiane, taking the bus north to Luang Prabang, and then heading east to Phonsawan and the Plain of Jars, finally returning to Vietnam via the "new" international border crossing at Khom Koet. One site said that this route was dangerous because of bandits.... hope that's out-of-date information also!

I will look up the Pak Tha - Luang Lam Tha route on my LP map to see if it fits in with this route -- because of time constraints, I don't want to go too far out of Vietnam (we are based in Hanoi).

Thanks again.

When are you going Alan? You will love Laos. It has a good tourist infrastructure and the food, accom, transport is cheap & great value. The people are friendly & helpful. It reminds us of Myanmar. We liked the Saibadee Guesthouse & the Hoxieng Guesthouse, both in Luang Prabang. Hoxieng (Ph 856 71 212703)is right in the thick of it and a block from the river whereas Saibadee (Ph 856 71 253143) is 10 mins walk from the township and a bit quieter. Both were around $10 US for 2 beds in 2003. Maybe too expensive for you????Clean & lovely places to stay with great staff. Have fun!

Lyndie, how great to hear from you right now, when I have just spent about two hours cutting and pasting old comments about Laos from this forum, and, to be honest, nearly all of them were written by you! I thought to myself, "I must really get back onto Lyndie and ask can I talk to her privately by email.... she obviously likes the same things that I like (except hard beds in Panjim!), and she knows what I need to find out".

Lyndie, my email address is [email protected]. Can you get in touch, and are you prepared to have about a dozen questions asked of you between now and when we leave, on September 19? Our first dilemma is whether to "do" Laos at all.... we're based in Hanoi on a two-week "cheapie", and I want to see two quite separate places... Luang Prabang and Siem Reap. I figure we can't really do both and still use up our three nights "package" accommodation in Hanoi, even though I don't think we will bother this time with Hue or Saigon (we saw these in 1997), as the weather will still be pretty wet down south, it seems.

I'd love to hear from you so that we can swap emails, and this thread doesn't get as long as your old 160-plus thread (or my old 105-plus thread)!

Alan

No problemo! Talk soon.