Mekong River Cruises from Thailand to Laos — Here’s How to Do Them

Mekong River cruises from Thailand to Laos are considered a must-do experience if you’re travelling South East Asia. The question is how should you do it — by slow boat or fast boat? And if you choose the slow boat, do you do a budget or luxury cruise? Here’s the lowdown.

Slow boats cruise and speedboats bounce along the Mekong River for the 300 kilometre-long journey from the Thailand-Laos border at Chiang Khong-Houei Say (Huay Xai) to Luang Prabang in Laos. But which one should you do? For the first of what we decided would be many Mekong River cruises, we opted for the slow boat and some comfort on the Luang Say cruise.

If you’re on a tight budget then your two options are the fast boat or the budget-priced slow boat. The 6-7 hour fast boat ride, pictured above, is butt bruising, noisy, and dangerous. If you are eager to get down the river in a hurry, only board a fast boat that provides life vests and helmets.

If you’re a slow traveller, you won’t need to think twice about the pace of travel, but which boat you choose will depend upon how much you want to spend, your style of travel, and how concerned you are about safety. Some of the budget-priced slow boats have been known to accept more than twice the number of authorised passengers and people have had to sit for two days on the floor.

If you like a certain level of comfort, then a Mekong River cruise on the luxury slow boat that does this route, the Luang Say, is probably the best option for you, with comfort and space, guided village visits, meals served on board, wine and beer available, and good service, leaving you to worry about little more than where you’re going to sprawl out, what book to read, and when to take a nap.

Here are the nuts and bolts of doing one of the Mekong River cruises from Thailand to Laos, all of which depart from the Thai-Laos border, a short drive from Chiang Rai in Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos.

Mekong River Cruises from Thailand to Laos — The Options

The Budget Slow Boat

Slow boats depart daily when full between 8-11am in order to reach the halfway point of Pakbeng by sunset. They were costing as little as US$25 per person in 2011 for the two-day trip with seating on either reasonably comfortable old airline seats or wooden benches. There’s a meal stop along the way, and once at Pakbeng you’ll need to find your own accommodation, though travellers don’t usually find this too hard.

The Luxury Slow Boat

The Luang Say Cruise

You need to book the Luang Say Cruise in advance — you can’t just rock up and expect to get on a boat. The all-inclusive package we booked covered the 3-day cruise, two nights accommodation at Luang Say Lodge and Kamu Lodge, three generous and mostly very delicious meals a day, coffee/tea and water, service, guides, and group insurance. A 2-day cruise is also available. Extras included the transfer from Chiang Rai (organized through Mekong Cruises), visas, our cold beers/wine, and tips. We also took cash to spend at the villages — I bought beautiful textiles from local women along the way (see below). Per person prices varied from US$432 for 2 days in low season to $650 for 3 days in high season — but prices change, so check on the link at the end of this post.

The Luang Say Cruise Boat

While the trip is marketed as a ‘luxury’ cruise, this is not luxury at the level of a five-star hotel. Rather, the boat is very comfortable, service is attentive, and the food is very good. There were only a dozen people in our group and we had plenty of space once we each figured out where we were going to sit for the duration of the journey, but it wouldn’t have been very comfortable if the boat was full. The boat can carry as many as 40 people, so check numbers when you make your booking. Service was very attentive, with nice touches such as snacks and cold bottles of water continually replenished.

When to Do Mekong River Cruises from Thailand to Laos

The Luang Say cruise operates four days a week from November to April, and just a couple of days a week from May to September; in June, it stops for maintenance. From November to February the weather is cooler, but the days are shorter and some mornings are foggy, meaning late starts and the occasional cancellation of village visits. March to May is warmer, April is sweltering, and water levels are lower (meaning that trips can occasionally get cancelled), but on the plus side it’s lighter for longer. June to November is the rainy season, when the weather is unpredictable — on some days it can rain for a few hours, although most of the rain falls at night apparently.

Vaccinations for Mekong River Cruises

You’re not in Bangkok anymore! You’re going to be on the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos, and many people continue travelling throughout Laos and onto Cambodia or Vietnam. You will need to top up your vaccinations if you haven’t in a while (these are the recommended vaccinations) and you may also need antimalarial medication. It’s best to visit a traveller’s medical clinic (not an ordinary GP) and take your itinerary so the doctor can check the latest requirements for those locations. 

Getting to the Thai-Laos Border for the Mekong River Cruises

As we’d been based out of Bangkok, it made sense for us to fly to Chiang Rai, stay overnight, and get an early morning transfer to be at the Mekong Cruises office by 8.30am. The boat departs at 9am. We were told the transfer would take two hours, however, it only took 90 minutes, leaving us with more than enough time. There are also public buses from Chiang Rai to the border at Houei Say (Huay Xai) that take 2-3 hours.

Crossing the Border from Thailand to Laos

We had heard that there can be a crush at the Immigration office and long lines, however, there were very few people and things went smoothly when we went through just after the office opened around 8am. After you get an exit stamp in your passport at the Thai immigration office, you hop on a longtail shuttle boat (20 baht when we travelled) to get to the other side. It’s all very easy.

Obtaining Visas at the Thai-Laos border

At the time we travelled, it was possible for most nationalities to obtain a 30-day visa to Laos at the Houei Say/Huay Xai Immigration office. As Australians we paid US$30, however, fees vary remarkably — from US$10-45 — depending on which country you’re from. For instance, in 2010, the fees were: US$30 New Zealanders, US$35 British, US$35 Americans, and US$42 Canadians.

As things change, always check the situation well in advance of your travel date at your nearest Laos embassy or consulate office. When we travelled, US$ was the preferred currency for payment, two passport photos were required, along with a full black page in your passport, which had to be valid for at least six months.

Currency Used on the Mekong River

The Laos currency is the kip, although Thai baht, US dollars and Euros are also accepted. You can change money at Laos Immigration.

Village Visits from the Mekong River Cruises from Thailand to Laos

Some Mekong River cruises stop at villages along the river. While these visits were fascinating on our Luang Say cruise and our boat guide was very good, we would have liked to have had a local guide take over from him at each stop for the walk around the villages. Unfortunately our village visits were in the middle of the day — the hottest and brightest part of the day, which was uncomfortable and wasn’t great for photos. While we still got out of the boat — these were highlights of the trip as far as we were concerned — some of the passengers didn’t, which was a shame.

Shopping the Mekong River

There were textiles and a few handicrafts for sale at the villages we visited, many made on site, so take some currency to buy souvenirs from the source. At one village, children also tried to sell us colourful embroidered wristbands, for as little as 30 cents a piece. They weren’t aggressive, although they were persistent — at one point I felt like the Pied Piper, with a dozen children following me. The wristbands make pretty gifts for children. The textiles I bought directly from the weaver cost less than they did in Luang Prabang.

Buying locally seemed an obvious thing to do to me and yet curiously not a single person in our group bought anything. Had they shopped enough elsewhere? Had they spent so much on the cruise, they didn’t have money left for souvenirs? Or had they forgotten to bring change? Don’t make the same mistake. The textiles I saw were lovely and your money is going directly to the weaver producing them. What better souvenir could you take home from cruising the Mekong River?

Book The LuangSay Lodge & Cruise Mekong Cruise with our booking partner Booking.com.

Have you done any Mekong River cruises from Thailand to Laos or any other cruises in the region? We’d love to hear about your experience.

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