Northern Laos Loop – 3. Motorcycle

There are a few motorcycle rental shops in Vientiane. Douang Deuane Hotel, PVO and Lucky Motorcycle Rental (not sure if they are related to Lucky! Lucky! in Cambodia) are listed in the Lonely Planet Laos guide and PVO is recommended as the best place for 250cc bikes hire. A Honda Baja at PVO cost US$20 per day.

Another place that rents out scramblers is Green Discovery, a company that also conduct motorcycle tours. Depending on the number of days of hire, they charge between US$25 to US$28 per day for a Honda Baja. A useful service they provide is that they allow one to pick up or drop off the bike at any of their branch offices. The branch offices are located in Luang Namtha, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Khammouane and Champasak while the head office is in Vientiane. It cost between US$20 to US$40 for the service.

I ended up choosing PVO as they are cheaper than Green Discovery. However, I would seriously consider Green Discovery if I am not traveling in a loop. They would be a good choice for a Southern Laos ride from Vientiane to Pakse (near Champasak).

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Northern Laos Loop – 2. Route

The northern Laos loop takes us through a clockwise route from Vientiane to Xayaboury (also Sayabouli or Sainyabuli), followed by Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw, Xam Neua (also Sam Neua), Phonsavan and Vang Vieng before bringing us back to Vientiane.

For this loop, it is best to plan at least ten days in order to ride at a reasonable pace and have adequate time for sightseeing. Depending on your interests, adding Hongsa (they have an elephant festival every year), Oudom Xai or Phongsali to the trip are possible. After all, this is the flexibility we enjoy by not taking a tour and having our own transport. Personally, I spent eight days for the 1700km loop. I had a pretty rushed trip and except for Vientiane, I did not spend more than a night at any other cities or towns. I wished I had spared more time for Phonsavan.


Map of northern Laos and route taken

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