Muang Khua Travel

Best time to visit

People all want to enjoy their vacation on sunny days, due to this reason, the best time to visit Muang Khua is during the dry season from November to May.

In particular, from November to March is winter, the weather turns really cool and temperature in daylight is about 15°C. It is great weather to be outdoors to enjoy hiking, boating and swimming.

The wet season runs from May to October, which time you shouldn’t choose. During the rainy season the Nam Ou River becomes much more powerful, and it is much more difficult to visit the village.

Check the below table for the general idea of Muang Khua weather throughout the year.

Muang Khua's current weather and 7-day forecast

MUANG KHUA WEATHER

Almost be a town in the middle of nowhere, so it has really fewer activities available, but little doesn’t mean there is nothing to do, here are some destination advice that can make your time in Muang Khua becomes memorable.

Take a Walk in the Suspension Bridge

Among the fantastic mountains, rivers, the old half wooden - iron bridges were built across the river to lead to the small village on the other side. Every day, every hour, you can see locals people moving and carry substances. It absolutely the best spot to take a picture of you, town and nature. When standing in the wobbly construction, you will face with the height challenge and be balance yourself. Don’t worry, it is a safe experience.

Visit the Wat (Temple)

In this little town, a small temple would highlight its color. Wat is still a worth visit temple when you come here, though space is not much provided its design makes it unique. Pay a visit for mediation and for your soul refreshment would be a nice moment to have.

Trekking to the Villages

A rustic village in the faraway region would be the perfect place for ancient life expression. When reaching to Muang Khua, you will be able to sightsee numerous of old fashion houses in the middle town and also local doing. The further you go out from the center of town, the more remote villages you see, they have those style of leave stilt houses, some don’t even have electricity.

People live in completely simple condition, despite the fact, they are still happy and friendly to all tourist. Spend your time trekking around and hatch some splendid images then.

Taste the Exotic Dishes

Special Laotian cuisine won’t be served many in the region, you probably know the reason why, but instead, they have some unique dishes that only the mountainous region has, such as bug dishes: stir-fried worm, fried halva, bamboo mice grilled and so on. If you are not fancy on those “creepy” dishes, then have noodle soup, rice, and food from the town food stores instead. The flavor they add in is unforgettable.

Join in the Locals' Activities

People here mostly live by agriculture, you will realize right at the moment you land feet in here. Small gardens and cattle barns are everywhere on the mountain’s side and alongside the river bank. You can observe local people harvesting, plowing by simple rough tools and hands. You can join them catching fish or make some fun help. All you need is to ask these friendly people for a moody experience.
 

All of the accommodations in Muang Khua are budget. The town is so small that any location is walking distance to the boat landing or main road 2E. Most guesthouses are located on the main drag and are an easy walk from one another.

You can consult Phongpadith Guesthouse. It's just a very basic guesthouse, but fine for the night.

The restaurants in Muang Khua are also very basic. Here are some of our suggestions:

Sabaidee Restaurant

This small eatery doubles as the only bar in town with a selection of more than just the ubiquitous Beerlao. The French-Lao owners offer cocktails to boat-weary travellers as well as wine by the glass and carafe. The fare is mainly Lao with some comforting home touches like homemade crêpes and fresh coffee.

Sayfon

Set high above the river with views through the palm trees, this basic joint offers a fan-cooled interior and a wide English-language menu with Western-friendly staples like omelettes and pancakes, tasty láhp, noodle dishes and plenty of cool Beerlao.

Laosamai Restaurant

The first restaurant on the hill as you walk up from the boat dock, this traveller-friendly restaurant has views over the Nam Ou and serves tasty, if wafer-thin, 'steak' and chips, plus a selection of stir-fries. Duck features prominently on the menu, too.
 

Bus

Muang Khua’s bus station is roughly 2km from town on route 2E heading towards Udomxai.

Sample destinations include:

Luang Prabang

Take the bus first to Udomxai, which will deliver you to the “old bus station” in town, from where you can then grab a tuk tuk to Udomxai’s new bus station and a bus onwards to Luang Prabang. If you miss the last Luang Prabang bus, you can take any Vientiane bound bus as that will pass through Luang Prabang.

Luang Nam Tha

The bus departs at 07:30, costs 115,000 kip and takes eight hours.

Phongsali

Take a bus departing at 07:30 to Pak Nam Noy, then catch the Phongsali bus passing through there. The trip costs 100,000 kip and takes around nine hours.

Oudomxai

The bus for Udomxai departs at 07:30, costs 50,000 kip and takes three hours. There are also possible departures at 11:00 and 15:00 but these depend on demand and are not guaranteed departures.
If you are heading to Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam, do not go to the bus station.

Dien Bien Phu

The bus departs daily at 07:00 from opposite the BCEL bank, costs 60,000 kip and takes four hrs. Buses from other cities enroute to Dien Bien Phu will also pass through Muang Khua from 11:00 until around 14:00. Wait in the same spot opposite the bank to flag these down.

We recommend you check the latest bus schedule and price via rome2rio.com

Boat

A popular mode of travel to/from Muang Khua is by boat on the Nam Ou river. From Muang Khua, public boats only depart downriver, towards Muang Ngoi and Nong Kiaow.

To avoid the noise from the motor at the back of the boat, sit closer to the front and/or bring ear plugs. Having something to use as a cushion for the hard wooden bench is also a good idea. In the winter months (around November to February), layer up as it can be extremely cold with the wind rushing through.

Heading south to Muang Ngoi or Nong Khiaw

A public boat departs every morning, but the time depends on the season so check with the Tourism Office or your guesthouse when in Muang Khua. Arrive to the boat station for when it opens. If it opens at 09:00, expect a departure about an hour later after everyone has bought a ticket and boats have been loaded up. The price is inclusive of all transport to the final destination: boat to the dam (3 hours), ground transport around the dam (a short songthaew ride) and the second boat after the dam (1 hour to Muang Ngoi, 2 hours to Nong Kiaow). If there are less than nine passengers, a surcharge per person applies.

Muang Ngoi: costs 110,000 kip and takes 4.5 hours.
Nong Khiaw: costs 130,000 kip and takes 5.5 hours.

North to Hat Sa, Phongsali

Because of a dam upriver from Muang Khua, to head north to Hat Sa, travellers must first take a local bus in the form of a songthaew, which departs around 10:30 from the junction (spot opposite the bank) to Ban Samphan. This costs 50,000 kip per person and takes 2.5 hours.

Once in Ban Samphan, it is a short shared tuk tuk to the boat landing above Dam 5 and this costs 10,000 kip per person.
The boat to Hat Sa costs 85,000 kip and takes 3 hours. If there are not enough passengers, a surcharge applies per person. In Hat Sa the local bus usually waits for the boat arrival. Finally, it’s a bumpy journey to Phongsali’s smaller bus station, known as “Hat Sa bus station”, located in the outskirts of town—this costs 15,000 kip and takes 1.5 hours.

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