Luang Prabang, Laos

Getting around Luang Prabang

How to travel around Luang Prabang — 5 options, what they cost, and which booking apps fix the fare before you go.

Last updated 2026-08-11

1. Walking and bicycles

The peninsula is compact and flat, and bicycles are the standard way round.

Cost: LAK 20,000–40,000 a day

2. Tuk-tuks

Unmetered and negotiated; shared ones to the falls run on a per-seat basis.

Watch outA per-vehicle price agreed at the start becoming per person on arrival.

3. LOCA

The Lao ride-hailing app, with the fare fixed in advance.

4. Laos–China Railway

The fast line to Vientiane and Vang Vieng, and a transformation on the old road.

Cost: LAK 150,000–400,000

Watch outTickets sell out days ahead and street agents resell at a markup; book direct or through 12Go.

5. Slow boat to Huay Xai

Two days up the Mekong to the Thai border, overnighting at Pakbeng.

Booking apps in Laos

Agreeing the fare in an app before you travel removes the argument at the end of the journey, which is where most transport scams happen. Links go to each app's official page — lookalike apps are themselves a scam.

LOCA

Lao ride-hailing app for cars and tuk-tuks with in-app fares.

Coverage: Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
Why it helps: Fare is agreed in the app before the trip, and the route is recorded — which removes the refused meter, the tampered meter and the fixed 'foreigner price' in one move.

12Go

Books the Laos–China Railway, buses and slow boats, including the Luang Prabang routes.

Coverage: Nationwide and cross-border.
Why it helps: The railway sells out days ahead and street agents resell at a markup; booking direct avoids both.