Getting there and away

Air

Two flights a week are made in each direction between Phongsali and Vientiane. The one from Phongsali to Vientiane flies on Wednesdays and Sundays at 11.00am. Tickets can be booked in Phongsali at the Phongsali Lao Airlines office. Vientiane to Phongsali flights leave at 9.00am on the same days and tickets can be bought at Lao Airlines or any travel agent. The flights take an hour and 40 minutes and cost around $89 one-way. The airport is by the town of Boun Neua. There is a songthaew to Boun Neua and the airport which leaves at about 07:30, takes about 2 hours and costs 40,000kip.

Bus

You can't really head further north than Phongsali, and all roads generally lead back south departing from two points. One is from the bus station at the small open square next to the Ministry for Transport and Communications, from where at about 07:30 a songthaew leaves for Hat Sa, (1 hour, 8,000 kip) which is where the boat leaves for Muang Khua and Muang Ngoi. Tickets are bought at the small booth on the side of the square. If many, many passengers are waiting a second truck will possibly depart, but generally people are just crammed into the first.

The other departure point is the bus station proper, 3km out of town. It's not that far if you're inclined to walk (and it's pretty much all downhill), but if you have heavy backpacks, the songthaew there is only 2,000 kip per person, leaving at about 6.30am. From here three departures are made daily, all passing along the same road to Boun Neua, a small local town, and on to Udomxai, Luang Prabang and Vientiane.

There is also a single bus departure daily to Udomxai at 08:00 that costs 60,000 kip and takes about nine hours. Note the timing is extremely tentative, as the road is bad from Udomxai to Phongsali and in the wet the trip could take many hours longer.

Boat

The trip up or down the Nam Ou River is beautiful, as the river is lined with mountains and punctuated with picturesque villages. To get to and from the river and Phongsali you have to go via Hat Sa, which is where the river port is. One songthaew a day heads in each direction - from Phongsali to Hat Sa at 7.30am (1 hour, 8,000 kip) and from Hat Sa to Phongsali at 3.00pm.

Two kinds of boats plough between Hat Sa and Muang Khua: fast and slow. Generally they will wait until the songthaew from Phongsali arrives before departing, but otherwise leaves when full without following any scheduled departure times. The slow boat takes 5-6 hours (depending on the number of stops -- particularly to pick up catfish fished by the local villages on the river) and costs 90,000 kip. The fast boat takes about 2-3 hours and costs 120,000 kip. While it seems that the speedboat is the obvious choice - much faster for only 30,000 kip more - in fact it is not. Particularly when heavily loaded, the boats are extremely uncomfortable. When the water is anything less than smooth as glass the contents (including human) bounce in a bone-jarring manner and you're so busy hanging on you'll have no energy left for looking at the stunning scenery. The slow boat may not be luxurious, but at least a roof protects you from the elements, giving you time to appreciate the scenery with less noise and in more comfy seats.

If there are no imminent departures, it is possible to rent a whole boat, which will cost around 600,000 kip (about $70) for either fast or slow. This is because a slow boat holds around 10 people, whereas a fast boat supposedly only six.