Travel Guide and Transport Info for Chiang Khong, Thailand and Huay Xai, Laos by Hobo Maps -
Mekong River Transport
- All of the public passenger river transport on the Mekong in the Chiang Khong - Huay Xai area is based on the Laos side of the Mekong and none is available from the Thailand side except the short cross-river ferry between the two immigration checkpoints. These 5 minute cross-river ferry trips leave every few minutes from both sides at the immigration checkpoints and the cost was 40 baht in Sept. 2011 with an arbitrary add-on fee for extra luggage, bicycles, etc.
Slow Boats Downriver
- Large passenger slow boats go from a boat landing about 3 km north of central Huay Xai (at grid code HQ209 on map HERE) downriver to Pak Beng (1 day trip) and Luang Prabang (2 day trip) but none go upriver. These slow boats depart at around 10:30 AM daily and you can buy your ticket at the departure place just before you leave. It takes about 7 hours to get to Pak Beng and there is no longer an option for an uninterrupted trip all the way to L. Prabang by slow boat. There is no need to buy a 2-day ticket all the way to L. Prabang in Huay Xai, we suggest just buying a ticket to Pak Beng in Huay Xai and buying the next ticket to L. Prabang when you get on the boat in Pak Beng. This leaves you the option to stay another day in Pak Beng or to take the speedboat to L. Prabang instead and you don't need to worry about losing your 2nd day ticket or having it questioned. Please see more detailed info about travel on these slow boats on our Pak Beng web page HERE.
Speedboats Downriver
- Speedboats also go downriver to Pak Beng and Luang Prabang but from a different pier about 4 km south of central Huay Xai (at grid code JQ234 on map HERE). It's best to try and arrange for a speedboat trip from central Huay Xai with an agent before going to the departure pier as they need to form groups of 6 passengers before the boats will go and it may be hard to arrange once you arrive at the pier. It takes only 3 hours to get to Pak Beng and if you are going to L. Prabang the same day and about 3 hours more after a long lunch break in Pak Beng where you change to a different speedboat. The cost in Sept. 2011 per passenger when there is a full boat was 160,000 kip to Pak Beng and 340,000 kip to Luang Prabang. Chartering the whole boat costs 960,000 kip to Pak Beng and 2,040,000 kip to Luang Prabang
Speedboats Upriver
- Our research in Sept. 2011 discovered there are no longer speedboats going upriver on the Mekong from Huay Xai or from any place close to Huay Xai. This contradicts info we have seen on other websites and travel books that say there is a speedboat landing about 3 km north of Huay Xai that will take passengers to Ton Pueng, Xieng Kok, etc. There is no real need for boat travel upriver from Huay Xai as there is a fine paved road Hwy. 3 going alongside the Mekong and travel is faster and over a shorter distance (about 50 km) as far as to Ton Phueng where speedboats do start upriver trips to Ban Mom, Xieng Kok, etc. There are blue songtaew buses going toTon Phueng from the main market in Huay Xai (at grid code II223 on map HERE) for 15,000 kip. Not sure about the schedule but they seem to leave when enough passengers arrive to justify the trip and they go in the mornings for sure. Our sources in Huay Xai have advised that arranging a speedboat trip from Ton Phueng to Xieng Kok may be a difficult and expensive adventure as there's not a lot of traffic and you may have to pay extra for them to go without a full load of 6 passengers. We have also been advised that songtaew bus transport is available from Ton Phueng further upriver to Ban Mom where you could arrange for a speedboat trip to Xieng Kok. This area north of Ton Phueng is the Wild West of Laos!
Bus Transport from Huay Xai
The main long distance bus terminal for Huay Xai (or for Bokeo as the area is often referred to) is Keo Champa Bus Station located about 5 km south of central Huay Xai at grid code JP256 on this map HERE. You probably need to charter a tuk-tuk or songtaew bus to get out there which should cost about 20,000 kip as there is no regular public transit service that has routes in Huay Xai. The prices and departure times are shown in the picture below and they usually leave on time and don't cancel. It takes about 3.5 hours to get to Luang Namtha, 7 hours to Oudom Xai and 11 or 12 hours to get to Luang Prabang. If going to Muang Sing you'll have to change buses in Luang Namtha which includes a songtaew trip from the main bus station 11 km south of town to the minivan station in central Luang Namtha.
If going to Luang Prabang please note there is no longer a bus departing in the morning from the main bus station Keo Champa and if you take the afternoon bus at 14:00 you'll arrive in L. Prabang around 02:00 AM with normal travel time. You might take the 17:00 bus instead or try to find another tourist bus leaving in the morning from Huay Xai by asking at travel agents in town to avoid this awkward schedule or you can take the 08:30 local bus from Keo Champa station to Oudom Xai and change buses there to L. Prabang. When I took this 08:30 bus last year the 2nd local bus at Oudom Xai was waiting for our bus to arrive from Huay Xai and it was a nice smooth transfer with no delay. We arrived in L. Prabang about 21:00 that evening and it was a nice trip with the chance to have contact with the local people who use these smaller local buses that stop for passengers anywhere on the route.
There may sometimes be a minivan bus going to Luang Namtha in the early evening about 18:00 or 19:00 from the Laos Immigration area in central Huay Xai but this is unscheduled and irregular, just ask around or stand by the road in front of the steps up to the Wat with your bags looking confused.
Bus Travel From Chiang Khong
All of the long distance big buses out of Chiang Khong. Thailand that we know of depart from 3 different spots in the same general area at grid code JE208 on this map HERE.
Big Buses to Chiang Mai - The Green Bus Co. has 3 daily big buses to Chiang Mai departing at 06:00, 09:00 & 11:40 with the cost about 220 baht. The trip takes around 7 hours as the route goes thru Phayo and Phrae and not thru Chiang Rai with the final stop at Arcade Bus Station (Station 2) in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai has a new bus station coming into service in Oct. 2011 called Station 3 and it's just across the street from Arcade Station 2. Maybe buses from Chiang Khong will arrive at this new station in the future.
Sombat Tour has 2 daily big buses to Bangkok departing at 15:00 & 16:00 and we have received good comments about their service and prices.
Minivans to Chiang Mai - Nam Khong Tours has 2 daily minivan buses going to Chiang Mai at 10:30 & 18:30 from their Guest House at grid code IW207 on this map HERE. The cost is about 220 baht and it only takes about 5 hours which is 2 hours faster than the big Green Buses that go a different route. They drop you at their other guest house in Chiang Mai (Nam Khong GH / Thana Hotel) but don't pressure you to stay there and it's a good central location where you can easily walk to other guest houses nearby. We've had excellent trips from this minivan bus service.
Big Buses to Chiang Rai - The red local buses going to Chiang Rai start at the fresh market in Chiang Khong at grid code JE207 on this map HERE and go via two different routes. The short route buses depart every hour from 05:00 to 15:00. There are also long route buses departing about every hour from 04:30 to 15:45. Both routes end with the last stop at the old central bus station in Chiang Rai and the cost was 65 baht in 2011. See the complete schedules below.
Flights - Huay Xai has an airport about 5 km southeast of town with flights to/from Vientiane on a limited basis with Lao Airlines per the schedule below. Chiang Khong, Thailand does not have an airport but travelers can fly into Chiang Rai instead and take a 2 hour bus trip to Chiang Khong.
Hiking and cycling - we can't recommend much in the way of biking or hiking around either Huay Xai or Chiang Khong. There is a nice paved road (Hwy 3) going north out of Huay Xai along the Mekong that is good cycling but unfortunately there are no bike rentals available in Huay Xai. Walking around town is fine but nothing special. Chiang Khong has bike rentals available sometimes but sometimes not and there's not much to see except cruising along the Mekong on the riverside walkway.
Staying Overnight in Huay Xai - there are a few decent guest houses in Huay Xai with moderate rates which might seem to make it a nice place to spend the night but there is one extremely annoying feature that will make me very reluctant to ever stay another night there. In Sept. 2011 I stayed 3 nights in central Huay Xai only to be awakened at around 02:00 AM each morning by crowing roosters and I could hear others in the distance doing the same all over town. They stopped after 5 minutes or so but started again about 30 minutes later for another 5 minutes and this routine kept up until about 04:30 when they started crowing continuously. I lost several hours of sleep each night and it made me vow to avoid another night there if possible.
Staying Overnight in Pak Beng on Boat Trips - in the past we have often seen slick local boys come onto the slow boat in Huay Xai just before departure and try to talk passengers into paying in advance for a room at Pak Beng where all passengers must spend the night. We advise to ignore this and take your chances on arrival in Pak Beng as there is no guarantee the boy will actually make the booking and as one couple found out even if a prepaid booking is made, the guest house in Pak Beng may reserve the worst room for you as you have no choice while they save the best rooms for walk-ins who want to have a look first. I have stayed overnight in Pak Beng at least 20 times and never found all the rooms taken although I've had to stay in upscale places 3 times when a group of Thai tourists has arrived earlier. The worst case scenario would be having to sleep on one of the many slow boats berthed at Pak Beng along with the family that owns and operates the boat, which wouldn't be that bad. Pak Beng is not a primitive village town but more like a modern-day tourist town with 24 hour electricity and all modern conveniences. Some guest houses still haven't learned what western visitors really want but many have learned and the prices are quite reasonable. Many restaurants serve up decent meals and the Beer Lao never runs out. You may even want to stay an extra night in Pak Beng to explore the area as it's still quite wild outside of town and there's some nice hiking but unfortunately there still are no bicycles or motorbikes for rent. See this map of Pak Beng HERE for hiking routes and this Pak Beng Travel Info link HERE for more details. In the future Pak Beng may become a more popular way to go to Thailand as there's a nice paved road all the way to the border and on to Nan, Thailand. This route south requires either a ferry crossing trip over the Mekong or a boat trip from Pak Beng to the road that starts at the south side of the ferry crossing. Unfortunately there is no public transport option for this trip to the border but all we need is for songtaew buses to wait at the ferry crossing for the morning slow boat to stop on it's way upstream to Huay Xai to connect with the border crossing near Muang Ngeun.
