Chiang Rai - Luang Prabang Mekong River Premium Slow Boat 2-Day Cruise - Pak Ou Caves

I want to start with the fact that this is a fantastic and beautiful way to travel from Thailand to Laos. In my experience I found aspects of the transfer across both Thai and then Laos borders confusing. Especially the Thai side. Once with our Laos guide it improved. Toon was welcoming and explained the process faultlessly. Then another 25 mins drive to the banks of the Mekong. Once I saw the boat I felt relieved as it looked of a good standard. However once all the passengers took their allocated seats there was literally no space. I feel that the photos used on the site are misleading about how busy the boat will be. We got lucky our fellow passengers were amazing. I have a shellfish allergy and lunch on day 1 was extremely limited. However on day 2 it was delicious. Thank you to the , crew. The 2 village trips are interesting but leave you feeling sad. Remember to take sweets for the children. The cave trip was okay. I conclude by saying I would definitely do this trip again.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Une expérience vraiment incroyable, tout était au top du début à la fin ! Le bateau était magnifique, très propre, parfaitement entretenu et vraiment confortable. Le petit buffet à volonté était exceptionnel : nourriture de grande qualité, délicieuse, fraîche et toujours bien présentée. Un vrai régal ! Un grand merci à notre guide Tui, qui a été adorable et vraiment aux petits soins avec nous. Très attentionné, disponible et toujours avec le sourire, il a largement contribué à rendre cette expérience encore plus agréable. Toute l’équipe du bateau était également super, accueillante et professionnelle. Honnêtement, difficile de faire mieux : bateau, nourriture, équipe et service, tout était incroyable ! Je recommande cette activité les yeux fermés. Une expérience que je referais sans hésiter ! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great experience!

The “Mekong Lover Cruise” boat was excellent quality. I did not see a better boat on the river. Relaxed and spacious seating with beds, deck chairs and outside space. Lovely food. Good facilities. It’s quite a bit more than the “public boat” but well worth it if the budget will stretch. It transforms a mode of transport with a nice view (the public boat) into a luxury, calm, chilled out form of travel. Be careful of imitations, it was not so easy to find this cruise. Look for a service operated by “Mekong Lover Cruises”.

This was a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. I often have concerns about the reliability and quality of operators in this part of the world, but both Banana Leaf Tours and Nagi of Mekong (the boat operator) were efficient, punctual, well organised and everything went to plan. I was picked up from my hotel in Chiang Rai at 0500. It took around 90 mins to reach the border. The assistance with the border crossing on both the Thai and Laos side was excellent. There were around 25 guests on the boat which was spacious and comfortable. Water, tea, coffee and fruit were available all day free of charge. There were also other drinks and snacks available for purchase at reasonable prices. A healthy and tasty buffet lunch was served on both days. At the overnight stop in Pakbeng, I stayed at The Sanctuary. Recommended for the elevated river views and the excellent breakfast. Drop off at the hotel in Luang Prabang at the end of the trip was straightforward.