Mekong River Cruise

2-day boat journey down the Mekong from Thailand to Laos

Mekong River Cruise

Arrive in Laos in style with this 3-day Mekong River Cruise extension taking you by road and river from Thailand’s historic northern capital Chiang Mai to Lao’s World Heritage Luang Prabang.

From Chiang Mai, we’ll travel overland through the mountains of the Golden Triangle to the quaint riverside town of Chiang Khong for a night’s accommodation prior to a morning border crossing and embarkation for a 2-day boat journey down the mighty Mekong. You’ll travel in a comfortable and lovingly-restored old wooden barge. (The craft are 40 metres long with a maximum of 40 passengers – so plenty of room – with bar and inclusive local-style lunches served onboard.)

A stop on the first day of the cruise allows you to stretch your legs with a visit to a village of the Khmu minority while our overnight stay will be in a riverbank lodge in the small, halfway town of Pak Beng. Day 2 sees us continuing eastwards down the picturesque mountain-lined river to the spectacular cave temples and their thousand ancient Buddha images at Pak Ou. Estimated arrival time in Luang Prabang town is between 4 and 5.00 p.m.

Tip; This Mekong River Cruise is well worth considering as an add-on for any of our Laos tours beginning in Luang Prabang for anyone with a few extra days to spare. Due to very limited competition among airlines, Luang Prabang is, unfortunately, one of the most expensive regional destinations to fly into in Southeast Asia so the cost of this 3-day tour is largely offset by the saving made in starting any Lao tour in Chiang Mai instead.

A great way to arrive in Laos and you’ll see a bit more of the country too.

(Our price is per person based on twin or double sharing, while for a single person the price is c. £645.)