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Hanoi-Sapa-Luang Prabang-Vientiene

  • taylor123

    Hey

    So I'm i'm in vietnam/laos for 17 days in June/July.

    The route I'm thinking of taking is about 5 days in Hanoi (including Ha Long). and then up to Sapa and across to Dien Bien Phu and into Laos, eventually to Luang Prabang where I want to do a 6 day trek into the jungle staying with the tribes there (this is through green discovery laos). then onto Vientiane where i have to fly out. i fly into hanoi midday 27 june and out of Vientiane late arvo 15 July.

    how long should i take to get to LP and how many on the other side? I know it sounds cliched but i want to get off the beaten track and experience the real vietnam/laos, as well as a few of the established bits (eg ha long).

    also a bit worried about the reliability of busses, i have to prebook the trek so should i give an extra day to get there just in case of delays??

    Thanks in advance for any help

    #1 Posted: 17/5/2010 - 07:47


  • taylor123

    okay i have no idea why ther are url's in the middle of the post, i cant seem to edit them out either??

    #2 Posted: 17/5/2010 - 07:49

  • idreamofdur-
    ian

    That's a lot of distance to cover. Are you planning to fly from Hanoi to Laos? The Hanoi to Vientiane overland trip is known as the "bus from hell" and takes 24-30 hours. Then from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is another 10 hours or so by road.

    #3 Posted: 17/5/2010 - 15:33

  • wanderingcat

    The route I'm thinking of taking is about 5 days in Hanoi (including Ha Long). and then up to Sapa and across to Dien Bien Phu and into Laos, eventually to Luang Prabang where I want to do a 6 day trek into the jungle staying with the tribes there (this is through green discovery laos). then onto Vientiane where i have to fly out. i fly into hanoi midday 27 june and out of Vientiane late arvo 15 July.

    easier to read now :P (think the tags work only after a certain minimum no. of posts)

    if read you correctly, you intend to cross from Dien Bien Phu into Laos at the Tay Trang border? & then go from Muang Khua to Luang Prabang?

    DBP > Muang Khua: bus = 1 day, arrives MK near sunset (dry season time)

    possible routes from MK to LPB:
    1. MK > Nong Khiaw (5++h slowboat) > LPB (5++h slowboat, or 3+h road)
    2. MK > Oudomxay (3+h bus) > LPB (5h bus)
    (also possible to go from Oudomxay to Nong Khiaw)

    trekking available at Oudomxay, Muang Khua, Nong Khiaw & LPB (in descending order of 'off the beaten track-ness').

    IMHO, Muang Khua > Nong Khiaw boat ride beautiful, & both Muang Khua & Nong Khiaw are worth a bit more time than just passing through.

    #4 Posted: 17/5/2010 - 16:21

  • wanderingcat

    just realised that the original post included quotation marks in the URLs - have removed them:

    The route I'm thinking of taking is about 5 days in Hanoi (including Ha Long). and then up to Sapa and across to Dien Bien Phu and into Laos, eventually to Luang Prabang where I want to do a 6 day trek into the jungle staying with the tribes there (this is through green discovery laos). then onto Vientiane where i have to fly out. i fly into hanoi midday 27 june and out of Vientiane late arvo 15 July.

    #5 Posted: 17/5/2010 - 16:24

  • somtam2000

    Sorry there is some link craziness going on due to the edit function which I'm still working on. Apologies.

    #6 Posted: 18/5/2010 - 10:26

  • taylor123

    Sounds like it takes a long time to get between everywhere by bus, I'd love to stay for a while everywhere but I don't have the time on this trip. So would it maybe be a better idea to do as follows.

    Stay around Hanoi say 8 days and do Sapa and Ha Long. Then I was going to fly to LP. Then bus it from there to Vientiane? Is that a better idea?
    .

    #7 Posted: 18/5/2010 - 10:38

  • catherine25

    Hi

    We are going the other way from Luang Prabang to Hanoi in July, it looks like the Na Maew/Nam Xoi is the best border crossing?! I was wondering if anyone had done it/knows the best bus routes to take?

    We would like to be able to fly but $200 is a bit too expensive for a one way flight.

    Thanks

    #8 Posted: 5/6/2010 - 19:36

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