Laos questions

[Cossie]

Hello, we will fly from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang at the end of March, 5 nights there at the sofitel and nothing planned after that until we return to Canberra from Singapore late on the 14th April.

I had thought about flying straight down to Vientianne, a few days there and then flying to Siem Reap. Now I'm thinking that I would like to spend the whole time in Laos, as it's only a week or so and it would be way too rushed if we went to Cambodia as well, even though we can fly directly to Singapore from Siem Reap as well.

Has anyone used a Lao travel company to organise trips within Laos? I'm wanting to go to The Plain of Jars, not overly interested in Vang Vieng.

Quite happy to have a driver and car, although I'd love to do it by myself, I realise that this may not be possible. Also my backpacking days are long gone and I don't mind a bit of comfort now!

Is 2 full days enough in Vientianne? is it possible to drive easily(?) from LP to The plain of Jars, and then down to Vientianne, or is it better to fly in and out of Xieng Khouang? I would to see some countryside!

Thoughts of getting down to Paske and Savannakhet have been shelved for now.

 

[Happy Dude]

There's nice river trips out of LP that might scratch your countryside itch. Easy enough to organise once you're there, as would a driver to the Jars/Vientiane. Two days is enough for Vientiane IMO.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

I only passed through Vientianne before flying out to PNH, but it didn't seem like somewhere you would need to spend a lot of time, particularly if it's at the expense of going to Angkor Wat which is definitely worth it if you're in the region.

I can also recommend a river trip. I did Huay Zai > Luang Prabang and it was great. I didn't go out to the Jars, but one thing to keep in mind is that while it's part of the charm, the roads in Laos are poor and it takes a long time to travel anywhere by car dealing with the potholes and twists and turns. I don't know if you can drive yourself, but it didn't seem like the done thing given the roads and the cost of drivers.

Personally if I had 2 weeks, I would make time for 3 nights in Siem Reap on the way back to SIN. I also enjoyed Phnom Penh but doing both probably would cut your time in Laos too short.

 

[DalyWaters]

What a shame that you are flying from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang. The riverboat trip up or down the Mekong is fantastic. My son and I flew to Vientianne and then took the bus (only $13 and a bit of a torturous trip) to Luang Prabang. We had two nights at the superb Thongbay Guesthouse, with free bicycle hire included. Then we took a Nagi of Mekongland two day riverboat cruise up the Mekong to Houi Xai, on the border. Next day we caught the bus to Chiang Mai. Nagi of Mekong

 

[Cossie]

I guess I'm getting old, before the web I was quite happy to go to places with just a guide book, and I was prepared to sleep anywhere, now I like to know a bit more about where I'm going and I'm not prepared to just turn up somewhere unanounced, unless I'm in Europe with my own car!

 

[Cossie]

Decided that we will fly direct from LP down to Pakse, then have 3 days in Siem Reap. Would like to have gone to Vientiane, my Laotion friend here in Canberra (Song from the bus markets) reckons 2 days in Vientiane is enough, guess we'll save that and the P of J for next time.

Hopefully we can rent a car in Pakse, or at least a car and driver and get up to the Bolaven Plateau as well down south a bit. Vat Phou is a definite. Can't wait!