Should you do the Slow Boat to Laos with a Tour in 2025?

exterior of slow boat on the banks of the mekong river in Laos

The slow boat to Laos. A two-day journey down the Mekong River, snaking down from the border with Northern Thailand to the old Laotian capital of Luang Prabang.

Many call it a backpacker rite of passage. Others call it a nightmare. Truth is, it’s a bit of both.

Over the past few years, it’s become more complicated to take the slow boat to Laos without booking a tour- but not impossible.

So if you’re looking for a quick answer, a tour is the simpler choice. But it is still possible to do the trip without a tour- it just requires a different strategy than in the past.

Let’s get into it.

Why taking the slow boat without a tour has become difficult

Buffalos bathing on the banks of the Mekong River, as seen from the slow boat to Laos — Make sure to keep an eye out for buffalos, pigs and possibly even elephants on the banks of the Mekong!

The reason I’m writing this article is because most of the information I found online about the topic seems out of date.

The highest ranking articles on the slow boat say that the tours aren’t worth it and that it’s easy and cheaper to book each step individually, starting with a bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong (town by the border) at 6:00 AM.

It’s true that it can be cheaper, but many of these articles leave out details necessary for you guys to know.

The main one being that there’s been a change to the buses leaving from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong. They used to have a 6:00 AM bus, but now the first one leaves at 7:30.

This would probably leave you with enough time to make the boat. But is probably good enough?

Best case scenario, you save yourself $15 USD this way, and there’s a really solid chance you miss the boat. And if you miss it, you don’t wait one hour for the next one. You wait 24.

The right way to take the slow boat on your own

I linked an article earlier from Skye Travels, and to their credit I saw they’ve posted a link on their article to a more recent one with updates from 2024 and mention the issue with the bus times.

The problem is that if you don’t happen to click on that link, you’d be in for a fun surprise at the bus station.

But the new article also changes tune a little too much. Instead of tours not being worth it at all, they’re now pretty damn near impossible, it says.

There actually happens to be a pretty simple alternative that still allows you to do everything on your own.

While it’s certainly not advisable to take the 7:30 AM bus, you can simply take a bus to Chiang Khong the night before and spend the night there.

There are plenty of accommodation options, and another benefit is that you won’t need to wake up at the crack of dawn the following morning.

Now, I will say that you should consider the drawbacks.

Doing it this way is essentially adding an extra day of travel. If it were me, take the night in Chiang Rai where there’s much more to do, and wake up bright and early without a thing to worry about. If Chiang Khong were an interesting place I may have a different opinion. But quite frankly, it isn’t.

And as we’ll get into in the next section with the pricing, you’ll be lucky to save $10-15 USD by doing everything on your own. It’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth it.

view of the mekong river from the slow boat in Laos — Your home for two days in the near future

What the slow boat tours include (& cost)

a narrow road with guesthouses on the side in the town of Pakbeng in Laos — The town of Pakbeng, where you’ll be spending a night

If you’re wondering whether you should do the slow boat to Laos with a tour or not, I would imagine it helps to know what the tours provide.

In terms of transportation, they include almost everything.

Direct early morning pickup at your hostel/hotel and transportation to the border, bus to the boat, and the boat itself. The only part that isn’t included is the tuk-tuk from the dock in Luang Prabang to the town itself.

They also supply you with lunch for the first day and help filling out the forms for the visa.

What is not included is the rest of your food for the trip, as well as your accommodation in Pakbeng, where you’ll be staying after the first day on the slow boat.

There are tours for under $50 USD (1700 baht), so make sure the one you choose is one of them. If the price is good, just book it through your hostel.

I booked a tour through Mercy Hostel, and can personally recommend it. The hostel itself was awesome, but that’s not too relevant here. What is relevant is that the tour cost around 1600 baht ($47 USD), which is one of the better deals you’ll get.

What doing slow boat without a tour would cost

a view of the many people crowded on the interior of the slow boat to Laos — The slow boat can be a very social experience if you want it to be

The cost breaks down into a few parts.

First is the bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong which will cost around $2-3 USD. Assuming you don’t need a taxi to the bus station, of course.

Then you’ll probably need transportation from the Chiang Khong bus station to your accommodation, and from your accommodation to the border.

The full distance between them is a little over an hour’s walk. I would suggest staying at an accommodation closer to the border, so you can walk in the morning and only have to pay for one taxi. Expect the cost to be around $4-5 USD.

Then you’ll pay around $1-2 USD for the bus across the border, and a further $2-3 USD for a tuk-tuk to the pier.

Finally, the slow boat will set you back around $20-25 USD.

In total, expect to pay around $33-35 USD. Only around a $10-15 difference. And you don’t get free lunch.

But still, money saved is money saved!

Now you’ve got all the information. So should you do the slow boat to Laos with a tour? It’s ultimately up to you to decide.

And I’m assuming you’re not just taking the slow boat for the ride… so be sure to check out all my articles which will help you have the best time in the amazing country of Laos!