With Laos's road conditions improving at long last, buses have begun displacing river travel, the traditional means of getting around. However, passenger boats still regularly ply the Mekong, Southeast Asia's ancient highway, and many roads are still potholed. Indeed, in some cases, they're downright dangerous because of local bandit activity. You only need to travel for a week or two in Laos before you realize that timetables are irrelevant, and estimated times of arrival pointless - wherever you go, the journey seems to take all day. For a guide to the frequency and duration of journeys between major destinations in Laos
.
Buses
Cramped, overloaded and often extremely uncomfortable, Lao
buses
are profound tests of endurance and patience. Breakdowns are commonplace and in the rainy season, unpaved roads dissolve into rivers of mud, slowing buses to a crawl. On some...
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Sawngthaews
In rural areas, particularly in the north, the bus network is often replaced by
sawngthaews
- converted pick-up trucks - into which drivers stuff as many passengers as they can onto two facing benches in the back. Pick-up trucks also ply...
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Jumbos and tuk-tuks
Transport within Lao towns and cities is by two types of motorized
samlaw
(literally, "three wheels", more commonly known as
jumbos
and
tuk-tuks
, which function as share taxis for four or five passengers....
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Boats
With roughly 4600km of navigable waterways, rivers are the ancient highways of mountainous Laos. The main routes link Houayxai to Louang Phabang and Pakxe with Si Phan Don, all of them along the Mekong River. Smaller
boats
regularly cruise up...
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Planes
Lao Aviation
is the sole carrier servicing the country's internal flight network. With demand for domestic flights soaring in recent years, its tiny fleet of Chinese Yun-12 and Yun-7s and its lone ATR 72 have come under severe strain and, as of...
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Vehicle rental
Self-drive is an option, but it's usually easier and cheaper to hire a
car and driver
. Tour agencies will rent out air-conditioned vans and 4WD pick-up trucks as well as provide drivers. Prices can be as much as $80-100 per day. Always clarify...
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