Nong Khiaw is 3-4 hours via the road or 6-7 hours by boat from Luang Prabang along the Mekong and Ou River. Boat travel is by far the most spectacular but more costly.
Local travel informationBoats on the Nam Ou:
To Muang Ngoi the public boats leaves around 11.00 A.M. and around 2.00 P.M.
The price at the moment is 20.000 K. (might change if not enough people in the boat)
Private boats run for about 300.000-400.000 Kip one way, cheaper if the person driving needs to go anyway. Speedboat (30 min. only) cost return 400.000 and is more dangerous but quite fun actually!
To Luang Prabang
Public boats are not so common but normally start at 11-12 A.M. The road offers a much faster way to go but less interesting. A private boat down to Luang Prabang (6-7 hours) would cost about 1 to 1.3 Million Kip. It’s recommended to get a small group together and share the cost as the trip is worth it. You can leave your name at the boat station! If it runs like a public boat you are supposed to pay around 150.000 Kip per person (4 times the price of a public Minivan) In high season there are normally enough people to go.
Speedboat to LPB costs 1 Million Kip and takes 2.5 hrs. (up to 6 persons)
Further on the Nam Ou to Muang Khua
The boats leave around 11.00 AM if there are enough people to fill it. A charter cost about 1.1 Million Kip. and takes about 6 hours. Visit the boat landing and pass by a few times to check if there are some/enough people signed up. Speedboats to Muang Khua costs 1 Million Kip and takes only 2.5 hours. Especially the part north of Muang Ngoi is extremely picturesque and worth visiting/cruising through. You can do that also with a day cruise from Muang Ngoi in a small boat.
Remember: In Laos even the public transportation is mostly privately owned and drivers stand in a queue to grab the next job/drive. So if there is no profit, they won’t go!! If travelling alone you might find yourself waiting for the next boat or busload of people to turn up.
Buses from Nong Khiaw:
The bus/minivan station in Nong Khiaw is on the edge of town on the western side of the river.
To Luang Prabang and Udomxay run daily at around 9 & 11. A.M. price 40.000 K. 4 hrs.+ -
To Luang Prabang by Minivan leaving at changing hours and costs 50.000 K. p.p.
To Luang Namtha you have to take the bus to Udomxay and than change the bus which gives you a quite late arrival in Luang Namtha. It cost 40.000 K. to Udomxay
To Muang Khua or Phongsali you need to go to Udomxay (11. A.M.) as well, change bus
To Vieng Thong and Sam Neua (near Viengxay and Vietnam border) the bus starts originally from Luang Prabang and you have to be on call around 12.30 +!
The buses run hardly ever on time. Buy your ticket in advance and leave your name! Private minivan to Luang Prabang can cost as low as 500.000 K. especially if drivers have empty returns (no stops unless you want it!)
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Nong Khiaw
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Nong Khiaw - updated May 2024
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Nong Khiaw Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
