Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang

The slow boat leaves Huay Xai, on the Lao side, around 10:30 to 11:00, and before you board you have to clear Thai exit, ride the shuttle bus across Friendship Bridge IV for about ฿25–30, get your Lao visa and take a tuk-tuk to the pier, about 3 km north of central Huay Xai. That needs you at the bridge by about 08:30.

The red local buses from Chiang Rai's Terminal 1, in the middle of town, cost about ฿90 and take about two hours, but in 2025 the first was at 07:30, which is too late to clear both border posts for the morning boat. There are two ways round it. A package van picks you up at your hotel around 05:00 and drives straight to the border, which is what most people do. Or take an afternoon bus to Chiang Khong, sleep there or cross and sleep in Huay Xai, and walk onto the boat the next morning. The second costs a night's room and gives you a calmer start.

The public boat is a long wooden boat with car seats or benches and a snack counter, and the ticket is about 400,000 kip, or 200,000 kip a leg, at the pier office or through a guesthouse. The first day runs 6 to 8 hours to Pakbeng, where guesthouses meet the boat and rooms cost about 120,000 to 250,000 kip. The second day leaves around 08:30 to 09:30 and reaches Luang Prabang's slow boat pier, about 8 km north of town, in the late afternoon, and tuk-tuks into the center charge a set 40,000 kip a person.

Bring food, water and a jacket for the cold mornings, and enough cash for both days. The boats fill in peak season, and the UK government warns that Mekong travel can be dangerous and boat safety standards vary, so I'd skip the speedboats. For more comfort on the same river, Nagi of Mekong runs on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays from US$160 a person with a Pakbeng hotel, picking up in Chiang Khong or Huay Xai, and Shompoo charges about US$207–230. Our Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang guide has more on the boat, packages and the luxury options.

Since the Laos–China railway opened, there's a way to reach Luang Prabang from Chiang Rai in one day. A van picks you up around 05:00, crosses the border at Chiang Khong and Huay Xai, and drives on to Na Teuy station in Luang Namtha province, where you board the train south. On 12Go these tickets arrive at Luang Prabang's railway station at 16:20 to 16:30 for about ฿2,210–2,250. The road from the border to Na Teuy is the weak part, and a 12Go reviewer called it horrible, so take something for motion sickness. The station isn't in the center, so add a minibus or tuk-tuk into town.

There's no nonstop flight from Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang. Booking sites show Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, Thai Airways and others, but they all connect in Bangkok. The one nonstop is Lao Airlines from Chiang Mai, leaving around 15:00 and taking about 50 minutes, so a morning Green Bus from Chiang Rai's Terminal 1 to Chiang Mai, three hours 20 to three hours 45, and a short ride to the airport gets you there the same day. Our Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai guide has the Green Bus times.

The sleeper bus combinations leave Chiang Rai between 11:00 and 13:30, cross the border in the afternoon and arrive in Luang Prabang between 06:00 and 08:00 the next morning, about ฿1,350–1,500 on 12Go. It's the cheapest one-ticket option, and the road through northern Laos is slow and rough, so I'd take the train combination instead if the budget allows.

Most nationalities need a visa for Laos, and the tourist visa gives 30 days. At Friendship Bridge IV you can get it on arrival, about US$40 in cash for most passports or ฿1,600, with a passport photo and a passport valid for six months with two blank pages. Bring clean US dollar notes. The official Lao e-visa at laoevisa.gov.la, single entry for 30 days and processed in about three working days, is accepted at the bridge and at Luang Prabang airport. When you come back into Thailand you'll need a fresh TDAC, and the 30-day visa exemption counts land entries, two a calendar year. Our Thailand visa guide has the current rules.

The quickest way back overland is the reverse train-and-van, which on 12Go leaves Luang Prabang's station at 11:14 and reaches Chiang Rai's Night Bazaar at 23:44, about ฿2,125. The sleeper buses leave between 15:00 and 18:00 for about ฿1,170–2,125 and arrive in Chiang Rai between 10:00 and 12:00 the next morning, some at Terminal 1 in town.

The slow boat upstream leaves Luang Prabang's pier at 08:30, about 190,000 kip to Pakbeng and 200,000 kip on to Huay Xai, 7 to 8 hours a day, arriving around 17:30 to 18:00 on the second day. Sleep in Huay Xai, then either take the 07:30 bus from Huay Xai to Chiang Rai, about 300,000 kip, or cross the bridge and take a red bus from Chiang Khong, which run about hourly from 08:00 to 15:00 for about ฿90. File a new TDAC before you cross. Our Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai guide has the upstream boat and the border in full.