Laos forum
Getting from Vientiane to Chiang Mai
Have questions? Jump to our menu of forum quicklinks
Add your reply
You need to be logged in to add a reply.
Not a member? you can join here.
Welcome to Travelfish, original Asia travel intelligence you can trust
Menu
prokenic
Joined Travelfish
24th March, 2006
Posts 3
Member profile
Profile private
Messaging not enabled.
Hi, there.
how can we cross the border from Vientiane to Chiang Mai? what is the faster way?
We'll travelling Loas in mid of april, after Vientiane, our plan is go to Chiang Mai and rent a car from Chiang mai to bangkok and look around the north of thailand.
we will get the flight from bangkok to udon thani and cross the border to Loas, so don't want to repeat it again.
regards.
#1 Posted: 24/3/2006 - 09:54
somtam2000
admin
Joined Travelfish
21st January, 2004
Location Indonesia
Posts 6413
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Hi prokenic,
Welcome to Travelfish,
The only border crossing between Laos and Thailand north of Vientiane is the crossing at Huay Xai which takes you into Thailand at Chiang Khong. From there it is a straight-forward bus trip to Chiang Mai.
#2 Posted: 24/3/2006 - 10:26
somtam2000's social networks[Twitter] [Facebook] [Flickr] [Google+] [Instagram] [Pinterest]
------------------------------
Travel films for Southeast Asia
Advertisement
prokenic
Joined Travelfish
24th March, 2006
Posts 3
Member profile
Profile private
Messaging not enabled.
thank you so much, one more question,
Do you know the travelling time for Vientiane to Huay Xai ?
#3 Posted: 24/3/2006 - 10:54
herberzh
Joined Travelfish
24th March, 2006
Posts 1
Member profile
Profile private
Messaging not enabled.
Hi,
I am interested in this too. My wife is from Laos. We plan to visit Laos in September (plus x2 kids).
Is it possible to get-in/out Laos from Malaysia? Or it has to be Thailand. If Thai, is there a fly link from Chiang-Mai to Vientian? Otherwise is it saft to travel from Chiang-Mai to Laos with children (6 & 7 yo). Thanks.
-- Herbert
#4 Posted: 24/3/2006 - 12:22
exacto
Joined Travelfish
12th February, 2006
Location United States
Posts 2049
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Nok Air in Thailand is advertising a Chiang Mai to Udorn flight. I've never taken this flight, so I can't comment beyond that. But perhaps it is worth a look, as a flight from Udorn to Chiang Mai would be a lot easier and faster than hauling your cookies all the way up to Huay Xai and then over to Chiang Mai (unless you were planning to stop in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang anyway). If you went by road, it is about 9 hours from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, and then at least a day from there to Huay Xai.
You can also fly from Vientiane to Chiang Mai (via Luang Prabang) and reverse on Lao Airlines 3 times a week (Tues, Fri, Sun). Lots of folks who post here seem concerned about Lao Airlines, but from what I can tell from a little research and from my own experience, the Vientiane to Luang Prabang domestic flights and the flights to/from Chiang Mai are all on ATR-72's, and are operated at a pretty high standard (with a little help from Air France and China Yunnan Airlines). Comments on websites like "airlinequality" and "aviation-safety.net" all seem fairly positive too, for what that is worth, and even the US State Department doesn't discourage taking Lao Airlines on the international routes. Nothing is ever 100% safe, but we definitely plan to fly Lao Airlines from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang in June, so at least we are putting our money where our mouths are. Hope that helps. Regards
#5 Posted: 25/3/2006 - 03:59
stueyp123
Joined Travelfish
9th January, 2011
Posts 1
Member profile
Profile private
Messaging not enabled.
Hi I know this is an old thread but figure it may help anyone who's looking through. Hauy Xai is the only border crossing and from Vientiene I wouldnt advise you try and reach it in a day. Take some time to explore Laos, from Vientiene its 6 hours north to Vang Vieng, a popular backpacker destination. A further 4 hours north depending on your driver takes you to luang prabang, Laos' cultural capital. From here its a boat trip down the mekong river to Hauy Xai. You can either take the fast boat which is an 8 hour trip and extremely cramped/a little dangerous or the slow river cruise which takes up to two days depending on time of year. Hope this helps!
#6 Posted: 9/1/2011 - 21:47
Captain_Bob
Joined Travelfish
27th May, 2006
Location Thailand
Posts 1286
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Do you know the travelling time for Vientiane to Huay Xai ?
At least 20 hours. It's far and going is usually slow in Laos. Lots of twisty mountain road in between. You're probably better off backtracking to Udon Thani then get an overnight VIP sleeper bus to CM in about 12 hours.
#7 Posted: 9/1/2011 - 23:03