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Too often, when travelling Southeast Asia, the journey from one destination to the next is either boring, uncomfortable, or unremarkable. But that’s certainly not a problem when taking a Mekong River slow boat to travel through northwest Laos.
On board a Laos slow boat, you can leisurely experience the country’s beautiful natural scenery while going between the popular destination of Luang Prabang and the border with Thailand. This turns what could be a monotonous day of travel into a memorable and relaxing 2-day journey along Southeast Asia’s most iconic river. Although you can do this experience in several ways, this is what it was like for me.
Why take a Mekong River slow boat in Laos?
Because it’s a highlight of visiting Laos and also just a convenient way to get from the Thai border to Luang Prabang.
Taking a Laos slow boat on the Mekong River is an incredibly memorable way to start or end a trip in Laos. How often do you get to take an incredibly gentle boat ride through remote areas? Plus, how often is it also one of the most convenient ways to get where you’re going?
Yes, the slow boat isn’t the only way to get from Huay-Xai on the Thai border to Luang Prabang. But it’s a much more pleasant and gentle means of travel compared to a full day sitting in a van on Laos roads.
I know I’d be much more relaxed spending two days looking at beautiful Laos mountain and river scenery slowly drifting past. Plus, it’s an experience, allowing you to say that you’ve taken a river cruise on the Mekong River.
The idea of missing all of this to spend a day in a van is a little tragic, honestly.
Plus, I have past experience with the Mekong River in Cambodia and know how magical it can be, and it didn’t disappoint.
Does the direction matter?
While planning my trip to Laos, I worried that the direction of the slow boat on the Mekong River would be a big deal. It wasn’t.
You see, traveling from Huay-Xai to Luang Prabang, you head downstream. But go the other way, and your slow boat needs to run an engine to travel upstream.
Having travelled in Southeast Asia a bit by this point, I know that engines can mean loud noise and strong fumes. So I wasn’t sure how it could be a peaceful boat ride going upstream from Luang Prabang to Huay-Xai.
In the end, the engine wasn’t loud; it was more of a constant putter that blended into the background. As for the fumes, you only vaguely noticed the smell of fuel when you went to the bathrooms back near the engine.
Travelling downstream may be the more appealing option, but don’t rule out going from Luang Prabang to Huay-Xai, especially if that’s the only option, as it was for my G Adventures tour.
Things to know about taking a slow boat
People often describe the Mekong slow boats as going from Thailand to Laos. Technically, that’s not true.
The “Thai” end of the route is at Huay-Xai in Laos, across from Chiang Khong at the northernmost Thailand-Laos border. This means you still need to organize getting between Chiang Khong and Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai.
It’s much easier at the other end as the slow boats come right in and out of Luang Prabang, a popular Laos destination.
For the slow boats, you can either book online or organize it when you’re in Laos or northern Thailand. It will be much cheaper if you book it there, but I know that people often like the peace of mind of having it all booked in advance. Don’t book online and expect to get the same price as you would in Luang Prabang or Huay Xai.
3-day/2-night tours generally do one night in Chiang Khong at the border and one night in Pak Beng, otherwise expect a long day between Chiang Rai and Pak Beng with a 1-night tour.
Other than these transport arrangements, I don’t think there’s too much you need to know about planning this experience. Having snacks and water is obviously important, plus being comfortable using the basic toilets on the boats.
What do you see on a Laos slow boat cruise on the Mekong River?
While it’s obvious that you’ll be seeing the Mekong River on these slow boat trips, you might wonder what else there is to see.
The scenery along the Mekong River in Laos varies quite a bit, from forest and scrubland on hills to even some low mountains. Shores along the river are often rocky and sandy, with only occasionally signs of life a little above the waterline.
One of the most famous sights you see on the Mekong is the Pak Ou Caves, which are just outside of Luang Prabang. We didn’t stop here, but some tours do. I was disappointed I missed it during the trip.
A moment that made up for that a little was watching the sunrise from the boat on the second day. Tell me that the photo above isn’t neat!
It’s not all sunrises and nature, though.
People live in small, separate communities along the Mekong, and we often saw locals down by the river. Many were panning for gold in shallow and sheltered areas.
Unfortunately, while local communities rely on the Mekong River, it’s important to remember that it’s really the lifeblood of Laos. As such, the government is trying to harness the Mekong for hydroelectricity (heavily backed by China). The clear downside to these large-scale projects was the many large earthwork projects taking place along the river.
Huge cranes moving sand and rock were a common sight on the slow boat, spoiling the wild, untouched feel of the landscape. I understand the need and the benefit, but it’s clearly coming at a cost.
What to do on the slow boat
With two days on the boat, you’ll find you have a lot of time to fill.
Unless you’re the kind of person who boards a flight with no entertainment or plans of sleeping, admiring the scenery won’t cut it for this long of a journey.
For many people, especially backpackers, the slow boat is a great place to catch up on sleep. On a (cheaper) full boat, this is a little harder if you’re stuck in seats with limited room.
A benefit of the more expensive options is more space and fewer people, making it easier for people to lie down. Our tour’s private boat had several day beds near the front, so you could lie down and catch some z’s.
Other things to do to pass the time:
- Read – I got so much reading done on our slow boat
- Journal – The downtime is great for processing your travels so far
- Games – The private boat’s tables made it easy to play/learn card games
The overnight stay
As already mentioned, the slow boats in Laos are typically a 2-day activity with an overnight stop along the river.
Regular Laos slow boats stop at Pak Beng, a village on the river partway, along with lots of experience catering to overnight visitors.
Tourists on the slow boats normally get dropped at Pak Beng and left to find their own accommodation before returning to the boat the next day. Some tours do include accommodation if that eases your stress levels.
However, G Adventures does something different.
G Adventures has arrangements with small Mekong villages so that the tour groups can experience village life and do a homestay. In return, tourism helps the community earn income without sending residents away to earn in larger towns/cities.
Our group stayed at Heu Tom village above a huge sand dune on the river. Staying with families is always an interesting experience, but for me, it was the welcoming ceremony that stood out. It felt less staged than others I’ve experienced. The local kids also seemed to enjoy having strangers around to interact with.
This likely won’t change your plans, but I thought it was interesting that there are alternatives to Pak Beng.
Benefits of a nicer boat
Most backpackers, when choosing a Mekong River slow boat, will go for the cheapest option.
That’s a perfectly normal approach for getting about on a budget. But there are some real perks to spending money on a nicer boat or even taking a private boat if you’re on a tour.
From the outside, the slows boats don’t look any different. But when you’re on them, it’s quite clear.
Rather than row after row of seats and the likelihood of people filling aisles and any free space on deck, the nicer boats offer space. However, they also have different seating layouts, with chairs facing each other around tables.
There’s also a good chance there’ll be free seats, letting you spread out even more. Our tour’s private boat even had sunbeds at the front so that you could snooze or lie down and watch the world go by.
Taking a nicer boat also means you don’t need to worry about high demand during the peak season — the dry season from November to February (which was when I went).
We even had an onboard cook who prepared our meals so that we weren’t reliant on packing snacks/supplies.
Now, does a nicer, slow boat take away from the feeling of adventure? Yes. You won’t have the chance to travel with locals. And I would have liked to have seen what Pak Beng was like from the land.
But you still get the essential experience, just with comforts thrown in. In my eyes, it’s well worth it.
