Laos may not have an access to the ocean but it still has a perfectly relaxed place called 4000 islands. The 4000 islands lie on the Mekong River in southern Laos, near the border with Cambodia. Here’s everything you need to know about travelling to the 4000 islands!

The area is called Si Phan Don in Lao which literally means 4000 islands. While there might not be exactly 4000 islands in this river archipelago, there are certainly many of them!

So how do you know which Si Phan Don islands to visit?

Actually, it’s quite easy. Majority of the islands are uninhabited or too small and there are only three tourist islands where you can stay: Don Khong, Don Det and Don Khon. I have been to all three of them and will give you information about each island below. (Be careful not to confuse Don Khong and Don Khon islands 😉 )

Tip: The 4000 islands are the perfect place to stop if you are travelling from Laos to Cambodia by land or the other way round!

General Information About the 4000 Islands

• How to get there: Si Phan Don is on the opposite side of Laos to all the other popular tourist destinations such as Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng, which is also why many travellers skip it. You must take a bus across the country to Pakse and from Pakse there are tourist buses or vans leaving every morning. You can book a bus at any tourist office or hostel in Pakse for around 60,000 kip which also includes a boat to your chosen island.
  NOTE: It is also possible to book the entire bus journey from Vientiane – in this case you will take the overnight bus from Vientiane to Pakse, arrive in Pakse around 7am, then take another three-hour van leaving at 8am for the 4000 islands. Personally I am glad I stayed in Pakse for one night before continuing south. Be prepared for a very long ride if you don’t since the overnight bus journey is super uncomfortable (like all journeys in Laos are).

• Accommodation: You have plenty of accommodation options on each of the three islands. You can find many of them on Booking.com.
• ATMs: I saw two ATMs on Don Khong which may just be the only ones in the 4000 islands. I would still recommend having enough cash for your entire stay in Si Phan Don! In case you run out of cash, there are some places you can exchange money on the islands but don’t expect favourable rates. Another option is to pay for a boat to take you to Nakasong, which is the closest place on mainland with ATMs.
• Wi-Fi: Times are changing and you can find plenty of Wi-Fi in the 4000 islands these days. Most accommodations and restaurants will have it, just don’t expect a super fast or reliable connection.
• Things to Do: Boat tours, waterfalls, cycling around, but mainly relax! 4000 islands is a very chilled place that will definitely make you slow down.

As you can see from the map, Don Khong is the biggest island in the north, while Don Det and Don Khon are smaller, more south and next to each other, only connected by a bridge.

DON KHONG

Don Khong is the largest island in the 4000 islands, but not the most visited one. When coming from Pakse, the bus will drop you off first and you’ll just take the boat across the river to the Muang Khong town on Don Khong island.

Don Khong is a peaceful island where you won’t find many tourists – and even if you do, the size of this island makes it easy to escape them. In fact, I recommend renting a bicycle and riding across to the other side of the island. You can enjoy countryside views and beautiful sceneries of rice fields with water buffalos and cows. Plus you can catch a glimpse of Cambodia once you make it to the other side!

Travelling from Don Khong to Don Det

If you are planning to explore more of the islands and would like to continue your journey from Don Khong down to Don Det for example, you can take a boat that leaves every morning from outside of the Don Khong Guesthouse. The boat ride takes approximately 1,5 hours and is a great way to see more of the islands.

Good to know! The price of the boat ride is 200,000 kip which is shared among passengers so the cost usually works out at 40,000 or 50,000 kip per person. BUT that might not be the case if you are visiting during rainy season.

I was there in the rainy season myself and there were only about three other tourists on the island (no kidding!) and only one of them wanted to travel to Don Det on the same day as me. We would have to pay 100,000 kip each simply because there were no other passengers to share the boat with us. However, the owner of the Sabaidee Donkhong Homestay offered to take us on his boat for 50,000 kip each. Try to find him if you are travelling in the rainy season!

Alternatively, you can take a boat back to mainland, travel south by bus or songthaew to Nakasong and just take a boat to Don Det from there. (check the map above)

DON DET

Don Det is the most popular island for backpackers and also the busiest out of the three. At the same time it means you have the widest choice of accommodation, shops, restaurants and even tourist offices. You will find many riverside bungalows for a reasonable price everywhere on Don Det (choose your side of the island carefully if you want to watch the sunset from your hammock), just be prepared to be woken up by noisy boats on the river early in the morning.

Don Det seems to be the party island of Si Phan Don and literally every restaurant offers happy shakes, happy pizzas or simply just weed. However, it was still very quiet in the rainy season (but less than Don Khong).

Whether you are here for the party or not, Don Det is still perfect for watching the world go by from a hammock or sipping on your shake (happy shake if you like 😀 ) in a café that’s playing Friends on loop.

The island is fairly small so there isn’t much else to do apart from going on a kayaking tour, a boat tour to see the Khone Phapheng Falls, the largest waterfalls in Southeast Asia, or cycling across to Don Khon.

To get to Don Det, you can either take the boat from Don Khong as described above or take the short boat ride from Nakasong if you are coming by bus from Pakse (or from the Cambodian border).

DON KHON

Don Khon is the most beautiful and interesting island out of the three in my opinion. You should be able to catch a boat from Nakasong to Don Khon and find a few accommodation options here, but most people just go explore Don Khon for a day while staying on Don Det. That’s because Don Det and Don Khon are connected by a bridge.

To get to Don Khon from Don Det you have to cross the whole island of Don Det (about 4 km from the main port in the north of Don Det). You may be asked to pay a fee of 20,000 kip upon entering Don Khon, although there was no fee in the rainy season. I highly recommend renting a bicycle as it allows you to move freely around both islands.

Once you are in Don Khon, don’t miss the Tat Somphamit waterfalls! They might not be as big as the Khone Phapheng Falls but I still found them very impressive. There are also several beaches in the area but they don’t seem to be maintained in rainy season. Additionally, you can go on a boat tour in the south of Don Khon and try to spot some freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins. Personally I didn’t make it to the south because the main “road” was just too muddy.

Hmm… in hindsight, the rainy season probably wasn’t the best time to go to Si Phan Don…

I can very much recommend stopping in the 4000 islands if you have the time. It must be the most relaxed place you can find in Laos!

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