By bus or minivan the journey from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai is scheduled to take from 10 to 15 hours depending upon which service you take.
Bus Times from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai
There are currently 6 services a day from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai available to book online.
| Luang Prabang | Huay Xai | Ticket | Company |
| 07:00 | 19:00 | $49 USD | Luang Prabang Holiday Travel |
| 08:00 | 18:00 | $60 USD | Aqua De Bamboo |
| 08:00 | 19:00 | $47 USD | Naluang |
| 16:00 | 07:00 | $49 USD | Luang Prabang Holiday Travel |
| 16:00 | 06:00 | $65 USD | RG Adventure |
| 16:30 | 07:00 | $43 USD | LaoLuang Travel |
Buy Tickets from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai
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For travel to the Northern Region of Thailand you can first take a bus or minivan from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai. Huay Xai is near the border crossing at the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge, and from there it’s 109 km by road to Chiang Rai.
Luang Prabang Bus Station
Naluang services to Huay Xai depart from the Tourist and International Bus Station on the opposite side of the road to Luang Prabang’s Southern Bus Terminal.
Huay Xai Bus Stop
Naluang services from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai terminate at the International Bus Station in Huay Xai.
About Huay Xai
Huay Xai, also written as Houay Xay, is a frontier town on the Mekong River.
Travel to Thailand
Chiang Khong in Thailand is on the other side of Mekong River from Huay Xai and you can cross from Huay Xai to Chiang Khong via the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge. Once you cross over the border take a tuk-tuk to Chiang Khong Bus Station where there are regular local bus services to Chiang Rai and more luxurious bus services operated by the Green Bus Company that travel all the way to Chiang Mai.
River boats in Huay XaiHuay Xai Town
Huay Xai itself is a relatively large town by Laos standards, with a permanent population of about 18,000 people. Huay Xai gets a lot of tourists passing through, particularly those coming from Thailand to take a boat to Luang Prabang. Both slow and fast boats to Luang Prabang depart from Huay Xai. Huay Xai has plenty of hotels, guest houses and restaurants, some of which are pleasantly located on the banks of the Mekong River. English and Thai, as well as Lao, are spoken widely in Huay Xai and organising onward transport and tours is fairly straightforward.
Gibbon Experience
The major local attraction, other than the river trips, is the Gibbon Experience which is located about 50 km to the East of Huay Xai in the Bokeo Nature Reserve. There are various different tours you can take but all involve trekking through the jungle, tree-top zip lines and nights spent in tree houses.