Practical guide
Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai
An hour by air, or two days up the Mekong and a day on the road
Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai is about an hour by air and three days overland. Lao Airlines is the only airline flying it nonstop, leaving Luang Prabang around 13:00 to 13:30 and landing in Chiang Mai about an hour later, and it's the way I'd go if time matters. The overland classic is the slow boat upstream, which leaves Luang Prabang's pier at 08:30, stops overnight in Pakbeng and reaches Huay Xai around 17:30 to 18:00 the next day, for about 390,000 kip in all.
Check live Luang Prabang → Chiang Mai times and seats on 12Go
That's too late to cross into Thailand and catch a bus, so you sleep in Huay Xai, cross Friendship Bridge IV in the morning and take the Green Bus from Chiang Khong to Chiang Mai, about seven hours. The night bus does it in one go, 22 to 25 hours from 15:30 or 17:30.
Arriving in Chiang Mai
Where to stay in Chiang Mai
This route ends in Chiang Mai. Search Chiang Mai hotels with your dates, or narrow it to the area you're heading for. Filter for free cancellation if you want to hold a room and decide later.
See Chiang Mai hotelsOpens Booking.com with your dates · also on Expedia · Trip.com
Key Facts
One nonstop flight, about an hour
Lao Airlines leaves Luang Prabang around 13:00 to 13:30 and lands in Chiang Mai about an hour later. Other airlines on booking sites connect in Bangkok and take most of the day.
The upstream slow boat leaves at 08:30
It takes two days to Huay Xai with a night in Pakbeng, 7 to 8 hours on the water each day. About 190,000 kip to Pakbeng at the pier office and 200,000 kip on to Huay Xai, paid on board.
You'll sleep in Huay Xai
The boat arrives around 17:30 to 18:00, and the buses from Chiang Khong to Chiang Mai leave in the morning, at 07:15, 09:45 and 10:30. So it's three days to Chiang Mai, not two.
File a fresh TDAC before Chiang Khong
Thailand's free Digital Arrival Card is required for every entry, by land too, and the window opens three days before you arrive. Most passports get the 30-day exemption again, but only two land entries a calendar year.
The night bus runs 22 to 25 hours
12Go sells an Express Sleeper at 17:30 and a sleeper-bus combination at 15:30, about ฿1,380–2,000, changing at the border. Reviews describe late departures and missed connections.
The boat pier is out of town
Luang Prabang's slow boat pier is about 8 km north of the center, and guesthouse pickups leave around 07:00 for the 08:30 boat.
Every Way From Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai, Compared
| Option | Leaves | Time | Cost | Arrives at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lao Airlines nonstopSeats on 12Go | Luang Prabang airport, around 13:00–13:30 | About 1 hour | From about ฿5,800 on 12Go | Chiang Mai airport, 3 km from the Old City |
| Upstream slow boat + Green Bus | Slow boat pier at 08:30 | 3 days, 2 nights | About 390,000 kip for the boat, plus about ฿386 for the bus and two rooms | Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3 (Arcade) |
| Night bus via Huay XaiSeats on 12Go | Luang Prabang, 15:30 or 17:30 | 22 to 25 hours | About ฿1,380–2,000 | Chiang Mai, the next afternoon |
| Train + van + bus | Luang Prabang, 09:00 | About 21 hours | From about ฿2,720 on 12Go | Chiang Mai, early the next morning |
| Connecting flight via Bangkok | Luang Prabang airport, from morning | Most of the day | From about ฿6,200 on 12Go | Chiang Mai airport |
Boat fares are in kip as a January 2026 traveler paid them; room prices vary. Flight, bus and combination prices are 12Go's board for 18 November 2026 and include a booking fee. The Green Bus fare is 12Go's Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong price; Chiang Khong departure times are from a local transport map.
Bookable departures · refreshed daily
Luang Prabang → Chiang Mai: departure times you can book now
Every departure currently on sale through 12Go for this route, by class. Fares are the spread across the classes shown; the exact price for a seat and date is on the booking page.
Flight
| Class | Departures |
|---|---|
| Economy | 13:05 |
Bus
| Class | Departures |
|---|---|
| Express Sleeper 41 | 17:30 |
| Sleeping bus + Song Taew + Bus | 15:30 |
Times and fares as sold on 12Go, refreshed daily. Services sold only locally — ordinary trains, weekend excursion trains, walk-up pier tickets — are not listed; see the table above for those. Sponsored link: we may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you.
Luang Prabang → Chiang Mai
Check the flight and buses from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai
12Go lists the Lao Airlines nonstop, the night buses and the bus-and-van combinations through Huay Xai, with e-tickets. Its prices include a booking fee, and most of its other flights are Bangkok connections.
Sponsored link — we may earn a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Flying Back to Chiang Mai
Lao Airlines flies the route nonstop in about an hour, leaving Luang Prabang around 13:00 to 13:30. It's daily in the cool season and about four days a week the rest of the year, so check the day you want before you plan around it. The other airlines you'll see, Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways and Vietnam Airlines among them, connect through Bangkok or elsewhere and take the rest of the day. Chiang Mai airport is 3 km from the Old City, and you're in town within the hour.
The Slow Boat Upstream, Day by Day
Luang Prabang, Pakbeng, Huay Xai
Buy the first leg at the pier office or through your guesthouse, which usually adds the tuk-tuk out. The pier is about 8 km north of town, a 20 to 30 minute ride, and pickups come around 07:00 for the 08:30 departure. A January 2026 traveler paid 190,000 kip for Luang Prabang to Pakbeng and 200,000 kip for Pakbeng to Huay Xai, bought on board the second morning, about 390,000 kip in all.
Going upstream is slower than going down, 7 to 8 hours each day against the current, and the boat that was due in Pakbeng at 17:00 arrived close to 19:00 on that trip. The upside is the crowds, because most travelers ride the other way, and travelers say the upstream boats are noticeably emptier. Rooms in Pakbeng cost about 250,000 kip and guesthouses meet the boat. Day two leaves Pakbeng at 08:30 and reaches Huay Xai around 17:30 to 18:00.
Bring food and water for both days, a jacket for the morning cold on the river, and kip for three days, because Pakbeng has few ATMs. The UK government warns that Mekong travel can be dangerous with changing water levels and that boat safety standards vary, so I'd leave the speedboats alone. If you'd rather be looked after, Shompoo runs an upstream cruise on the same route with lunch and stops.
Arriving in Chiang Mai
Top-Ranked Hotels in Chiang Mai
The top of my ranked list of the 10 best hotels in Chiang Mai. Each button opens the hotel on Booking.com with your dates filled in.
#2Anantara Chiang Mai Resort4.7 (2,377 reviews)
A luxury riverside resort in the heart of Chiang Mai, blending colonial elegance with Thai heritage.
Check rates
#4Meliá Chiang Mai4.7 (2,054 reviews)
A premium hotel on Charoen Prathet Rd offering elegant rooms, a spa, and rooftop bar with city views.
Check rates
#5Mad Monkey Chiang Mai4.8 (1,595 reviews)
A social party hostel in central Chiang Mai with a pool, bar, organized events, and a lively backpacker crowd.
Check rates
Crossing at Huay Xai and Chiang Khong
Sleep in Huay Xai, cross in the morning
The boat lands at Huay Xai's pier, a few kilometers north of town, around dusk. The buses to Chiang Mai all leave Chiang Khong in the morning, so book a room in Huay Xai and cross the next day. Take a tuk-tuk to the Friendship Bridge IV checkpoint, get stamped out of Laos, ride the shuttle bus over the bridge for about ฿25–30, and you're at Thai immigration on the Chiang Khong side.
Before you get there, file a new Thailand Digital Arrival Card at tdac.immigration.go.th. It's free, every entry needs a fresh one including by land, and the window opens three days before arrival. If your passport is on Thailand's visa-exempt list, you'll be stamped in for 30 days, but entries by land on the exemption are capped at two a calendar year, and the officer can ask for proof of an onward ticket within those 30 days. Crossing out and back in is not a guaranteed way to reset a stay. Our Thailand visa guide has the current rules, and our TDAC guide walks through the form.
Chiang Khong to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
From central Chiang Khong, the Green Bus to Chiang Mai's Bus Terminal 3 (the Arcade) leaves at 07:15, 09:45 and 10:30, and the 10:30 takes the longer road through Phayao. It's about seven hours and about ฿386 in Express class. From the Thai side of the bridge it's a short tuk-tuk ride into town.
If you're stopping in Chiang Rai first, the red local buses to Chiang Rai's Terminal 1 run about hourly from 08:00 to 15:00 for about ฿90, two to three hours, and from Chiang Rai the Green Bus on to Chiang Mai takes three and a half hours. That's how I'd do it, because it breaks a long day in two and Chiang Rai's temples are worth the night.
The Night Bus
The one-ticket overland option is a Lao sleeper bus from Luang Prabang to the border and a Thai bus or van on to Chiang Mai. 12Go lists an Express Sleeper at 17:30 and a combination at 15:30 for about ฿1,380–2,000, 22 to 25 hours, arriving in Chiang Mai the next afternoon. The mountain road to Huay Xai is slow and bumpy, and one 12Go review describes leaving an hour late, a broken-down bus and a five-hour-late arrival after a missed connection at the border. 12Go also sells a train-and-road combination from 09:00 for about ฿2,720 that reaches Chiang Mai early the next morning. I'd fly, or take the boat and break the trip, before I'd take the bus.
More on the route between northern Thailand and Laos
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai.
Fly. Lao Airlines is the only nonstop, about an hour, leaving Luang Prabang around 13:00 to 13:30. With three days to spare, the upstream slow boat to Huay Xai and the Green Bus from Chiang Khong is the overland way.
Yes. It goes upstream to Huay Xai on the Thai border in two days, leaving Luang Prabang at 08:30 with a night in Pakbeng, for about 190,000 kip plus 200,000 kip. You cross Friendship Bridge IV to Chiang Khong the next morning.
Two days, about 7 to 8 hours on the water each day because it runs against the current, arriving in Huay Xai around 17:30 to 18:00 on the second day.
Yes, Lao Airlines, about an hour, leaving around 13:00 to 13:30, daily in the cool season and about four days a week otherwise. Other airlines connect in Bangkok.
Yes. Every foreign national entering Thailand files the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card, by land as well as by air, at tdac.immigration.go.th. The window opens three days before arrival, and every entry needs a new one.
If your passport is visa-exempt, 30 days. Entries by land on the exemption are capped at two a calendar year, and immigration can ask for an onward ticket within your stay.
Yes, a sleeper bus to the border and a bus on, leaving Luang Prabang at 15:30 or 17:30 on 12Go for about ฿1,380–2,000 and taking 22 to 25 hours.
The Green Bus from central Chiang Khong at 07:15, 09:45 or 10:30, about seven hours to Chiang Mai's Bus Terminal 3, about ฿386. Or the red local bus to Chiang Rai, about hourly, and the Green Bus from there.
Where to stay in Chiang Mai
Compare prices across major booking sites, and filter for free-cancellation rooms if you want to reserve now and decide later.
- Compare prices across sites
- Filter for free cancellation
- Secure checkout on the partner site
Compare rates on Booking.com
Largest selection
Compare rates on Expedia
One Key member prices
Compare rates on Trip.com
Strong across Asia
We may earn a commission from bookings made through these links — at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
You Might Also Like
Best Time to Visit Thailand
November to February for most trips, and the right coast for the rest of the year
Thailand on a Budget
Thailand on less, without missing the best of it
Is Thailand Safe?
What is actually risky, what is only in the news, and what four government advisories say, destination by destination
Thailand Visa & Entry Requirements
Who enters visa-free, what immigration checks, the TDAC, and how to stay longer
Ethical Elephant Sanctuaries in Chiang Mai
No riding, no shows, and the sanctuaries where you watch rather than wash.
Written by
Mac Kiley
I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled the country from there. The guides are my own opinions, written the way I'd explain them to a friend planning a trip.
More about MacReady to build your itinerary?
Use our free itinerary builder to save places, organize days, and share your trip.
Open Itinerary Builder