Travel from Luang Prabang to Nan in Thailand

If you are planning to travel overland from Luang Prabang to Bangkok then your quickest route is to take a direct bus to Nan and then travel onward to Bangkok via the Thai transport network.

Bus Times to Nan

There is a single daily bus service from Luang Prabang to Nan which you can book online.

Buy Tickets to Nan

Use the Search Box below to buy your bus tickets from Luang Prabang to Nan.

Luang Prabang Bus Station

Bus services to Nan depart from the Tourist and International Bus Station which is on the opposite side of the road to the Southern Bus Terminal in Luang Prabang.

Nan Bus Station

Bus Services from Luang Prabang terminate at Nan Bus Terminal.

About Nan

Nan is one of Thailand’s smaller and more remote provincial capitals with an urban population of just over 20,000 people. Nan has a long and interesting history. Nan first emerged as an urban centre in the 14th Century when several villages in the area decided to unite together. At that time the Lane Xan kingdom was being formed with Luang Prabang as its capital. The town then prospered as part of the Lanna Kingdom until it was taken over by invaders from Burma in the middle of the 16th Century. Nan regained its independence about 200 years later and the local people hung onto it for a long time thereafter. Nan only formally became part of Thailand in 1931 and was one of the centres of the anti-establishment movement of communist insurgents who fought the Thai government up until a broad settlement was achieved between Thai communist and the Thai government in the 1980s. Until fairly recently the province had a large population of ethnic groups living in the forests and hills pretty much as they had down for hundreds of years. Nan has changed in the last two decades. It is now connected by proper roads to the rest of Thailand and the opium smoking hill tribe people have been moved to the lowlands and their ancestral forest lands degraded by logging and other commercial activities.

Nan town itself is a very pleasant place to visit with some good guesthouses, hotels and restaurants. The city also some point of interest to visit:

• Nan National Museum: Former palace of the local lord turned into one of Thailand’s best local history museums. 30 THB to get in.
• King of Nan’s Teak House: Large teak house built in 1866 and full of antiques.
• Wat Phumin: Temple built in 1596 and decorated in a style unique to the local Thai Lue ethnic group.
• Wat Phra That Chae Haeng: Hill top temple built in 1355, located a few kilometres outside the city centre.

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