Travel Luang Prabang

Travel and Transport Info for Luang Prabang, Laos by Hobo Maps - - - Home

Luang Prabang is pronounced like "Loong pa bong".

Click to see our Luang Prabang Town Map our Luang Prabang Area Map and our Chomphet Hike Map

picture below taken Oct. 2014 from Lao Airlines flight - Luang Prabang where Nam Khan flows into the Mekong - Chomphet District in the background

The ordinary train travels slower at 120 km per hour and can carry 732 passengers in air conditioned carriages - 590 chair seats, 106 wide chair seats and 36 seater/sleeper beds. For this service tickets may be sold for same-day travel and immediate departure so passengers may be pretty sure to a get a ticket and a seat if they arrive early and won't need to purchase tickets the day before. Fares are lower than fares for the high-speed trains and passengers can carry more baggage than the 20 kilogram limit per passenger on the fast trains.

There are not yet any facilities outside of the station such as waiting area with seats or toilets. Some small food and drink places have opened on the road leading into the station parking lot. Snacks and drinks are sold on the trains but travelers are advised to bring their own food. Parking is free for vehicles that stay less than 10 minutes at the station area.

Official informtion regarding schedules and ticket sales is not available on the web and local people in town don't seem to be able to help with accurate info. The station is about 12 km outside of central town area and it takes about 30 minutes of travel time. See our LP Area map HERE for the station location - just follow the tracks.

Chart below shows railway ticket fares for trains departing from Luang Prabang from November 1, 2023 and onward after a 20% fare increase. Excludes agency fees and extra 20,000 kip charge for tickets bought with App or not at railway station.

When trains arrive at LP Train Station there are minivans waiting to take people into town and drop them at their destination of choice. But when going out to the station from town you may have to make their own arrangements and take a taxi or tuk-tuk or get help from their hotel.

Luang Prabang railway station ticket office sales hours are 07:30 to 19:00 in November 2023.

E-cigarettes and vaping are illegal in Laos and these items may be confiscated by train station security staff. Separate police action is possible with fines or prosecution.

New railway ticket sales office now open in central Luang Prabang - see location image below: You can buy a maximum of two tickets per person and you can pay with cash. The ticket office also accepts payments with POS (UnionPay) card swipe machine and QR code (OnePay). No VISA or Mastercard is accepted (yet). The office is open from 08:00 to 12:00 & 13:00 to 17:30.

See our railway web page for ticket prices and other train info - Lao-China Railway Info

Luang Prabang Railway Station images below:

Minivan transport from Luang Prabang Railway Station to central town signs below in August 2024. Very reasonable prices for drop-off at destination that passenger chooses.

The Provincial Tourism info office is located at grid code FL120 on this map HERE and has some transport info and staff that can help with questions.

The big slow boats to Pak Beng and Houay Xay are now operating and going every day. On arrival at the harbor outside of town there are small buses waiting to take travelers into central town for a standard fee. But these buses only go to central town and drop off all passengers in one place. If you want to get to a specific hotel or place you will need to charter a tuk tuk or other bus from there. The slow boat fee to Pak Beng in March 2023 was 200,000 kip per person and an extra 50,000 kip if you have a bicycle but prices will be higher now.

Speed Boats to Pak Beng and Houay Xay depart from the new boat landing about 10 km upriver on the Mekong, northeast of central Luang Prabang. They depart whenever they have a full load of 7 passengers - if you don't want to charter the whole boat, go to the landing around 08:00 - 09:00 daily for best chance to join a group. For those going all the way to Houay Xay the same day there is usually a change of speedboats at Pak Beng after a long lunch break.

Cross River Ferry Service - there are frequent boats crossing the Mekong back and forth between Luang Prabang central area and Chomphet District. Small passenger boats go every few minutes but these small boats are hard to get in and out of so we recommend foreigners take the larger vehicle ferries instead as the price is the same, access is much easier and there are chairs to sit on. The vehicle ferries also take bicycles and motorbikes.

Bus Transport Info Below

There apparently is International sleeper bus service from L. Prabang to Chiang Rai, Thailand and the trip takes about 16 hours. The International bus to Loei, Thailand also goes every day at 08:00 from Naluang minibus station (big sitting bus).

Sokpaseuth Bus Satation, has buses for destinations in northern Laos. It is located in the northern part of Luang Prabang. The schedule as of March 2023 is shown below.

Northern Bus Station schedule at Tourism Dept. office March 2023 shown below for local area destinations and Nong Kiew.

Southern Bus Station schedule at Tourism Dept. office March 2023 shown below. See hand-written notes at bottom for Phonesavanh/Xieng Khouang and Hanoi, Vietnam

Schedule below is from Southern Bus Station March 2023 but is outdated and unreliable. We show it as an example of what places the buses go to.

Naluang Minivan Bus Stationis across the highway from Southern Bus Station has minivans going to regional destinations but they only go when there are enough passengers.

International bus to Loei, Thaland is going daily at 08:00 from Naluang Minivan Bus Station and costs 350,000 kip as of March 2023.

Lao Immigration offices have moved to a new location in the new government complex under construction next to the Sports Complex (former Asean Games) in southeast Luang Prabang. Visa extensions office is on the ground floor of the big green building.

The Monday-Friday office hours are 08:00 to 11:30 and 14:00 to 16:00. For visa extension apply in the morning and pick up passport next day at 15:00. Need 2 passport photos 3 x 4 cm or 16,000 kip instead for scan fee.

In Dec. 2023 the fees for visa extension are 50, 000 kip processing fee and 20,000 kip per day for as many as you want to extend. For seniors the fee is 150,000 kip for a 30 day extension.

One-hour flights from L. Prabang to Chiang Mai Thailand go 3 times per week on fun propellar planes below for about $155 one way