Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai

By bus or minivan the journey from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai is scheduled to take 12 hours.

Bus Times from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai

There are currently 2 bus services a day with Nong Khiaw Nature Tour from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai

Use the Search Box below to buy your tickets from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai.

Nong Khiaw Bus Stop

Nong Khiaw Nature Tour services from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai commence with a pick up from any hotel in Nong Khiaw.

Huay Xai Bus Stop

Nong Khiaw Nature Tour services from Nong Khiaw to Huay Xai terminate at Huay Xai Bus Station.

About Travel to Huay Xai

Huay Xai is a small border town with a population of around 18,000, which is scenically located on the Mekong River. Huay Xai is not a tourist destination in its own right, and there is only one well known tourist attraction in the area. Huay Xai is, however, an important transit point for travel between Laos and Thailand, as well as the departure point for the infamous ‘slow boat’ to Luang Prabang.

Accommodation in Huay Xai

Hotel booking websites list less than 10 hotels and guesthouses in Huay Xai, all of which offer very basic accommodation. The more expensive places to stay in the town, such as the Little Hostel and Over the Moon Hostel, offer dormitory style accommodation for around the equivalent of $15 USD a night per person. Better value are the Lao style hotels and guesthouses in the town centre, such as the Thaveesinh Hotel or Oudomphone Guesthouse 2, which offer private double rooms for around $18 USD a night.

For better quality accommodation we recommend crossing the border to Chiang Khong in Thailand. For example, a river view room in the excellent Namkhong Riverside in Chiang Khong costs around $50 USD a night. For friendly budget accommodation in Chiang Khong try Chiangkhong Green Inn Resident in the town centre which charges the equivalent of $17 USD a night.

Travel to Chiang Khong

The journey by public transport from Huay Xai to Chiang Khong in Thailand has three stages:

• Private or shared taxi from Huay Xai to the Laos immigration centre at the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge.
• Shuttle bus across the bridge to the Thailand immigration centre.
• Private or shared taxi from the western side of the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge to Chiang Khong Town.

The only fixed price journey is the shuttle bus across the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge, which costs 25 THB.

The cost of the journey from Huay Xai to the Laos immigration centre at the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge depends partly on how many people are sharing the vehicle, and partly on what you can negotiate. A private tuk-tuk should cost around 60,000 LAK.

The journey from the western side of the Chiang Khong-Huay Xai Friendship Bridge to Chiang Khong Town in a Thai shared taxi should cost around 50 to 60 THB per person.

Travel to Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Bangkok

Some travellers prefer to avoid the hard work involved in travelling by public transport from  Huay Xai to Chiang Khong in order to then board a long distance bus service to one of the more popular destinations in Thailand, such as Chiang Mai. An easier option for travel from Huay Xai into Thailand is take a direct tour bus service from Huay Xai, many of which include a hotel pick up.

From Huay Xai, the three most popular destinations in Thailand are Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Follow the links below for more information about direct bus services from Huay Xai to Thailand:

• Huay Xai to Chiang Rai (2 to 4 hours)
• Huay Xai to Chiang Mai (5 to 8 hours)
• Huay Xai to Bangkok (14 to 15 hours)

Slow Boat to Luang Prabang

From Huay Xai it takes 2 days to travel by local boat to Luang Prabang. The first day involves spending 6 to 7 hours travelling by boat as far as Pakbeng Village, where travellers leave the boat to spend 1 night in a hotel in Pakbeng. Pakbeng is a lot more developed than you might expect for a small remote village in Laos, however, much of the accommodation is still very basic. On day 2 it takes another 7 hours travelling by boat to a river pier about 10 minutes by road away from Luang Prabang city centre.

Gibbon Experience

There is one destination near Huay Xai which attracts significant numbers of foreign tourists, and that is the Nam Kan National Park. The Nam Kan National Park is a 1,360 square kilometre forest reserve, which is mountainous and has very few small settlements. The park is located about 50 km to the north east of Huay Xai.

The main tour operator to the Nam Kan National Park is the Gibbon Experience. The Gibbon Experience has installed 15 km of zip-lines, and a series of tree-houses where guests stay overnight in the tree-tops. Their tours depart from Huay Xai Town and last 2 to 3 days.

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