Getting to and around southern Laos
Photo above: a footbridge in the 4,000 Islands that I crossed. Twice.
Coming from far away:
Fly to Bangkok, then get a dirt-cheap domestic flight to Ubon Ratchathani, an uninteresting town in eastern Thailand (there are several flights per day). Get a cheap hotel in Ubon and catch the 3-hour bus to Pakse (the main city in southern Laos) at around 08:30 in the morning (arrive at the station by 08:00). Visa on Arrival is available at this border crossing.
Warning: Bangkok has two airports, BKK (the main intercontinental airport) and DMK (short haul only). If changing planes in Bangkok, be careful not to accidentally schedule a change of airports unless you’re staying in Bangkok overnight.
Coming from Bangkok:
Direct buses from Bangkok to Pakse take 10-11 hours. Or fly from Bangkok DMK airport (smaller, faster and more efficient than BKK airport by far) to Ubon Ratchathani, overnight in Ubon and then get the 3-hour morning bus to Pakse. (You can also take the train from Bangkok to Ubon.)
Coming from Northern Laos:
First get to Vientiane, either by plane or by some combination of bus and high-speed train. Then follow the directions from Vientiane below.
The only exception to that is if you are coming from Phonsavan / Plain of Jars. In that case, there is a direct bus from Phonsavan to Lak Sao that stops in Pak Kading on the main riverside Vientiane-Pakse highway. From Pak Kading, either catch a day bus to Thakhek or the night bus to Pakse. Note that the sleeper seats on the night bus are very narrow, so you’ll be more comfortable if you buy two seats (it’s cheap).
Coming from Luang Prabang:
Take the train from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, and then follow the directions from Vientiane below.
Coming from Vientiane or Vang Vieng:
Night buses depart these cities in the afternoon or evening, stop in Thakhek around 2 AM, and arrive in Pakse around 8 AM. These are more comfortable than the badly overcrowded day buses, but the sleeper eats are very narrow. Tickets are dirt cheap, so I recommend buying two seats.
From Vientiane to Pakse, flying is also an option, though more expensive.
If you’re going from Vientiane to Thakhek, then you can take the night bus which arrives at 2 AM — in that case book your hostel or guesthouse in Thakhek in advance, and arrange for them to pick you up at the bus when it arrives. They are used to this. Or, you may prefer one of the smaller buses that run all day long — they’re less comfortable but they arrive at a reasonable hour.
If you want to break up this long journey, you can also stop for a day or so in Paksan between Vientiane and Thakhek on the Mekong. Chris Perkins (snikrep65@gmail.com) is an expat who resides there and will be happy to provide you with info.
It’s best to book buses through your hostel or guesthouse. They’ll get you on the bus that you actually want. At the bus station where no one speaks any English at all, you’ll rarely be 100% sure of what you are buying.
Whenever you buy ANY bus ticket, always check whether it’s an Express Bus or a Local Bus. Local buses are cheaper, but they stop everywhere, and they’ll make a 30-km detour to take one passenger on a 10-minute drive between two villages. Life is too short.
Coming from Cambodia:
Several minivan services run between Siem Reap and the Lao border, continuing on to the 4,000 Islands and/or Pakse. Avoid any buses that route you through Kampong Cham or Phnom Penh, which is a very big detour. If you’re headed to the 4,000 Islands, then immediately after crossing the border you’ll take a short bus to Nakasong (less than 30 minutes), and then a 15- or 20-minute boat ride to either Don Det or Don Khong. If going to Pakse, that’s another 3 hours’ drive after you cross the border. When you buy your ticket in Cambodia, be very clear on what it covers — only to the border, or to your final destination? If it includes the transport in Laos, what type of vehicle will that be (slow local bus? fast express bus? minivan?) and how will you find it? If going to the 4,000 Islands, does it include the boat ride? You’ll want to get Lao kip (currency). The best source of Lao kip is BCEL Bank ATM machines. There are several in Pakse, and one in Nakasong where you get the boat to the 4,000 Islands. You’ll see them on Google Maps. There are no ATMs on the Islands!!!
You’ll enter Laos at the Nong Nok Khiene border crossing. Visa on Arrival is available here – cost is $40 plus a $1 surcharge on weekends. CASH ONLY and they must be new (2009 or newer), crisp banknotes with no marks or handwriting on them. US dollars or Thai Baht are best, but Lao kip are usually accepted (at bad exchange rates). Any number of other “surcharges” might be added, but I’ve never heard of those totalling more than $10.
Lao border guards on the Thai border tend to be like Thai border guards -- professional and by-the-book. But Lao border guards here on the Cambodian border are sometimes like their Cambodian counterparts, out to make some extra money. If you are told you need to pay an unexpected “fine” or “surcharge” for some reason on either side of the border, ask for more information in a friendly and patient way. They may give up, or you may have to negotiate. Getting angry won’t help.
When you arrive in southern Laos:
Pakse and Thakhek each have precisely one tourist attraction, best seen at sunset. In Pakse it is a huge Buddha statue on a hill across the river. In Thakhek it is the Mekong riverfront itself at sunset. Both cities have good bus connections and a good selection of lodging, hostels, and motorbike rental. If you need a “down day” to do laundry, upload some photos, and just rest up, Thakhek is prettier and more pleasant than Pakse. But the only reason you stop in either city is as a “jumping off” point to go somewhere else.
Travel within the region of southern Laos:
The best way to travel between Nakasong / 4,000 Islands, Pakse and Thakhek is by bus. In some cases you’ll have to change buses in Savannakhet – usually the connecting bus will be waiting for you at Savannakhet bus station. If you’re in Laos for a long time then you might like to stop in Savannakhet for a day, rent a bicycle and explore the the city’s architecture and its murals (more info on Savannakhet here). But if you’re on a tight schedule, and particularly if you prefer action and adventure rather than sleepy towns, you’ll probably just change buses here and head on.
The very popular Sanga Hostel in Pakse has an excellent travel desk that can help you get tickets to anywhere you want to go, on the right bus (i.e. the faster, more comfortable buses, not the ones that stop in every village). To go south to the 4,000 Islands and Cambodia you will almost certainly take the 3-hour express bus, although I’m told that Green Paradise Travel can take you there by river — you’d need to get a group together to make that cost-effective.
A night bus leaves Pakse heading north in the early evening, stops in Thakhek at 02:00 AM, and arrives in Vientiane around 08:00 AM. As previously described, the southbound night bus arrives Thakhek from Vientiane at about 02:00 AM and in Pakse around 08:00 AM. Your hostel or guesthouse will have the info. Or alternatively, throughout the day there are many buses going between these cities. Buses are cramped and uncomfortable. But by the end of the ride, you’ll likely have made new friends, probably including people with whom you can do the motorcycle loops together.
Travelling onward to Cambodia
Most people departing from the 4,000 Islands to cross the border to Cambodia leave Don Det or Nakasong at around 9 AM. If you don’t already have a ticket, show up then for a good chance of getting both a bus to the border, and an onward bus on the Cambodian side.
At that border, petty corruption is common. You might well pay 10-20% more to cross the border into Cambodia than you were expecting to for various “surcharges” and “fees”, but it shouldn’t be more than that. Corruption in this part of the world is enough to be occasionally annoying, but almost never enough to really hurt you.
From the border, All buses make a bumpy one-hour drive on an unpaved road to the town of Stung Treng. There you change buses to go anywhere else in Cambodia. There are restuarants both at the border and in Stung Treng.
NPAs (National Protected Areas) in Laos
Some guidebooks that were written pre-Covid will tell you about NPAs (National Protected Areas) in southern Laos where you can supposedly see wonderful jungle and wildlife. Local people told me that most of these NPAs are largely gone, the animals all eaten – one NPA has apparently been completely wiped out and replaced with a manioc plantation. However I still hear good things about two areas near Sepon: Dong Phou Vieng National Biodiversity Area and Phou Xang He National Biodiversity Area. If you did find any NPAs worth visiting in southern Laos, please contact me!