Don Det to Thakhek

By direct minivan or bus service the journey from Don Det to Thakhek is scheduled to take from 9 to 13 hours. The journey will be considerably longer if you travel on local services changing buses in Savannakhet.

Bus Times from Don Det to Thakhek

There are currently 3 services a day from Don Det to Thakhek available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Don Det to Thakhek

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Don Det Bus Stop

Green Paradise bus services from Don Det to Thakhek depart from the Green Paradise Tour and Travel Office in the north of Don Det.

Thakhek Bus Stop

Green Paradise bus services from Don Det to Thakhek terminate at Thakhek Inter Provincial Bus Station.

About Travel to Thakhek

Thakhek is a fairly large town on the banks of the Mekong River in Southern Laos with a population of around 90,000. Thakhek is the capital city of Khammouane Province, which is a part of Laos with a heavily forested mountainous that offers visitors plenty of opportunities to participate in adventurous outdoor activities. The town is a popular destination for younger visitors en route to or from the 4,000 Island area in the very far south of Laos.

Staying in Thakhek

Thakhek doesn’t have the wide range of amenities you can find in Vientiane, Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang, however, it’s also not an isolated provincial town that foreign visitors will struggle to cope with. Foreign holidaymakers have been coming to Thakhek for long enough now for there to be a fairly well developed tourist infrastructure, albeit one which caters predominantly to visitors with lower budgets.

A favourite place for foreign visitors to Thakhek to stay is the Thakhek Travel Lodge, which is similar to the type of backpackers accommodation which was common 20 to 30 years ago all over Asia. Guests at this hotel often congregate by fires in the back garden, drink beer, and talk.

The disadvantage of staying at the Thakhek Travel Lodge is that it is located 2.7 km walking distance from the banks of the Mekong, which has scenic riverside views and inexpensive food stalls. There are hotels and guesthouses located closer to the river in the centre of town with more restaurants and bars nearby, but which probably offer less opportunity for finding other travellers to talk to.

Travel to Thailand

Thakhek is close to the Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge which crosses over the Mekong River connecting Laos to Nakhon Phanom in Thailand. From Nakhon Phanom you can travel direct to Bangkok by bus (10 to 12 hours) or fly direct (1 hour 10 minutes). You could also travel by bus to Udon Thani to board a train to Bangkok.

It’s much too far to travel on foot from Thakhek to Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, however, inexpensive bus services connecting the two towns depart from Thakhek International Bus Station fairly frequent between 09:00 and 17:00. The journey, including the time it takes to pass through Laos and Thailand immigration control, takes around 2 hours, which is slow considering the relatively short distance travelled.

Thakhek Loop

One of the most popular activities for visitors to this part of Laos is to follow a motorbike route around the edge of the Phoun Hin Boun National Protected Area. The total distance is about 450 km with plenty of caves, shrines, viewpoints and other scenic spots to enjoy along the way. The itinerary which most travellers attempting the loop follow is to travel anti-clockwise around the loop over 4 days, which means going north from Thakhek on the first day.

The road surfaces you will encounter during this trip vary from concrete in a good condition to dirt roads full of potholes and everything in between. The route passes through sparsely populated areas with a small number of guesthouses, catering primarily to those doing the Thakhek Loop, which are grouped together in places where nearly everyone on this adventure will stop for the night. Be sure to make your motorbike is working well and that you take every opportunity to refill your fuel tank.

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