­Arriving in Huay Xai on the Slow Boat from Luang Prabang, en route to northern Thailand: The slow boat arrives in Huay Xai at 18:00 and the border post is open until 20:00. Tuk-tuks will be waiting at the boat dock to take you straight there, so you don’t need to stay overnight in Huay Xai if you don’t want to. Note: When you pay the tuk-tuk driver (using Lao kip) to take you to the border, the price will seem high, but then he’ll give you a partial refund in Thai baht. This is to pay for the bus across the Mekong in between the Lao and Thai border posts, because that border bus does not accept Lao kip. You may think ”oh, but I already have Thai baht, I don’t need that. Just sell me a cheaper ticket and don’t give me any baht”. Don’t try to argue – the tuk-tuk driver doesn’t speak English and this is how it works.

The Gibbon Experience

If you were lucky enough to get a place on the 3-day Gibbon Experience (www.gibbonexperience.org), you’re in for a treat — ziplining through old-growth jungle surrounded by the wonderful sound of jungle animals. If it’s sold out, you may well find availability on the 2-day Gibbon Express, but that’s not in the National Protected Area and you have very little chance of seeing Gibbons or other jungle wildlife. You’ll still have two days of awesome ziplining in the treetops with great food and fun guides, though. So if your priority is ziplining and you’re not interested in wildlife, the Gibbon Express may be the right choice. For me personally, the wildlife was a huge part of it, and I wouldn’t trade the 3-day Experience for the 2-day Express under any circumstances.

• On the 3-day Gibbon Experience, you will hear the sounds of the jungle as you fall asleep in the treehouse each night, and you have a good chance of spotting Gibbons or Langur Monkeys.

• On either the Gibbon Experience or the Gibbon Express, you’ll leave your big backpack in the agency’s office in town and carry just your small daypack. Food, water and bedding are provided. The only electricity you’ll have is from any batteries you bring with you. You will need to zipline to your treehouse carrying all of your gear, so pack carefully. Wear sturdy hiking boots – even in the dry season, some trails are muddy. And bring DEET!!

The Two-Day Mekong Slow Boat between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang

Another option from Huay Xai is the 2-day Mekong slow boat to Luang Prabang. You can do this on the cheaper, regular boat, or on the more expensive but considerably more comfortable Shompoo Cruise. This isn’t bad, in fact most people enjoy it. But it’s not nearly as fun as the Gibbon Experience or trekking from Luang Namtha.

It’s usually a relaxing experience, passing by a lot of villages and some really stunning rock formations. But almost all of the old-growth jungle along the river is destroyed, and 2 days of barren hillsides and leafless rubber plantations can get depressing. Travelling this route by bus is long and less comfortable than the boat, but I would take the bus if you have time to stop en route for 3 days in Luang Namtha (the best trekking in all of Laos) and/or a few days in Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi (for stunning karst cliffs and riverside scenery).

All information and tickets for the Shompoo Cruise can be found here.

Is the extra comfort and convenience of Shompoo worth the extra cost compared to the Slow Boat? That depends on two things:

1. Going downstream (Huay Xay to Luang Prabang) is the much more popular way, and the regular Slow Boats are often badly overcrowded going downstream. But the boats going upstream are usually comfortably empty even in peak season. So the extra comfort of Shompoo is a bigger selling point when travelling downstream.

2. Your budget. If you’re staying in hostel dorm rooms, you’ll probably book the cheaper, regular slow boat. If you’re staying in 3-star hotels, you’ll probably book Shompoo. If you’re staying in budget guesthouses, you might go either way.

Tickets for the less expensive, less comfortable, regular Slow Boat can be bought at almost any hotel, guesthouse or travel agent in Huay Xai, Pakbeng or Luang Prabang, or right at the boat dock (an easy walk from the town centre in Huay Xai, but a 25-minute drive in Luang Prabang). If you buy at the boat dock, where no one speaks English, be careful: is your ticket just for one day as far as Pakbeng, or for the whole 2-day trip? (You’ll be on a different boat on day 2 vs day 1). I paid 400,000 kip ($23) in January 2023 at my youth hostel — that included both days’ travel plus the long tuk-tuk trip from Luang Prabang to the boat dock. I may have overpaid by 50,000 kip, but the peace of mind from confirming in English that I had bought a complete ticket was worth it.

On the boat you can buy water, coca-cola, Beer Lao and pot noodle. If you want anything else to eat or drink, bring it with you.

Some of the boats are quite comfortable, with beautiful wood panelling. On others, the seats are old car seats ripped out of junked minivans, and the seats are not bolted to the floor, they’re just thrown in all together with very little leg room.

In both directions, the Slow Boat stops overnight at Pakbeng. On arrival, you’ll have to haul your luggage from the boat landing up a steep concrete staircase to the parking lot. One staircase (on the left-hand side as you look uphill) goes all the way up – try to use that one if you can. The staircase on the right is too short, it ends in a sand dune several feet below the top of the hill. You then have to crawl uphill through the sand, taking care not to fall backward down the slope. I saw people doing this with wheelie suitcases, which is nuts – bring backpacks.

Once up in the parking lot, everything is very efficient. Vans will be waiting to take you for free up the steep mountain roads to your guesthouse — either to the one that you pre-booked on the web, or guesthouse owners will be fighting for your business when you get there. Within 30 minutes you’ll be checked in, you’ll have chosen your breakfast and bag lunch for the next day, and you’ll be on your way to find dinner at one of several restaurants. In the morning, your innkeeper will wake you up, feed you, and put you and your backpack in a van to the boat dock in plenty of time to board the boat.

How to travel between Huay Xay and Luang Prabang in a single day:

FROM Luang Prabang TO Huay Xay is really easy — first take the train to Na Toey (sometimes spelled “Natuey” — buy your train ticket 2-3 days in advance, either at the station or via your guesthouse). In Na Toey you’ll find express shuttle buses waiting at the train station to take you to Huay Xay in four hours, which is very fast by Lao standards. No need to book the bus in advance. For more info on booking the train, see here.

Going the other direction is more complicated. Most buses departing Huay Xay towards Na Toey are slow, local buses. The drivers want your business, and they’ll all tell you that theirs is the right bus. Make SURE your guesthouse gets you on the express shuttle, or you will certainly miss your train connection. Book the train 2-3 days in advance: more info here.

Another option is the very fast, very loud, small Mekong speedboats, which go between Luang Namtha and Huay Xay in about 8 hours. This is not an option for photographers, because you have to sit completely still for safety. And if your pilot hits a rock or sandbar (unlikely, but possible), you’ll likely be badly hurt with no access to health care. But many people with a need for speed absolutely love these boats.

Information on how to book all of the above activities is found here.