How long have we been here now? Let's stay longer! (Don Det (Laos))

Member Name: sun-is-shining

Product:	Don Det (Laos)
Date:	28/05/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: hammocks, riverfront, great people, rice paddies - a paradise

Disadvantages: going there and getting away can be quite hard

Don Det is one of the two biggest Islands of 'the 4000 Islands' in the south of Laos, a stretch of the Mekong river at the Laos/Cambodia border. There some bigger, inhabited island but mostly it consists of tiny small landforms and sandbanks.


If you are coming from Laos you can get a bus from the capital Vientiane to Pakse. From Pakse you can get a Minibus that brings you to the ferry to Don Det. Book it with a travel agent and negotiate the price a bit, that's easier than organising it yourself. Bus Vientiane-Pakse 135000kip Pakse-DonDet - 55000kip

If you come from Cambodia book it in advance with a travel agent. There's no way of organising it yourself as you wont make it to the border on your own. From Phnom Penh to Don Det 20$. Watch out, they tell you that you can do it i one day but that's a lie, you'll have to spend the night in a GH in Stung Treng!

Don Det and Don Khong are the town main tourist spots and linked via a bridge (5000kip fee to use the bridge.)
Most backpackers find themselves on Don Det as accommodation is a lot cheaper. Expect stilled houses lining the waterfront, one next to each other. They are all basically the same, small rooms in most cases without fan), bathroom with cold water and squat toilet attached to the rooms and a big balcony with hammocks overlooking the river. All GH serve drinks and most serve food to very reasonable prices.

Expect to pay:

30000kip per night/double room
10000kip Banana pancake
9000kip bottle of BeerLao
15000 fried noodles

Accommodation on Don Khong is more pricey but therefore you get western toilets and fans.

There's not a lot to do - and that's the main attraction. We totally forgot about time swinging the whole day in a hammock kindly provided by our guesthouse, enjoying banana-pancakes and a drink from time to time. The location is perfect, the mighty Mekong, lots of green and traditional stilled houses.
The scenery is stunning, there's no other word for it. In monsoon season everything is green, rice paddies are everywhere, you get woken up in the morning by crowing chickens and you don't even have the possibility to do something - you are forced to relax! For those who find that hard and are always looking for the next sight - have a 'happy pancake' and enjoy the view :-)

'Nothing to do' is not entirely true, there's a small waterfall and even a beach! The Mekong beach was great, it was a nice,sunny day and of course it was a lot of fun bathing with a water buffalo herd :-)
For both of the attractions you have to go to Don Khong. If you walk it takes roughly 1 hour to the waterfall and 1 1/2 to the beach.
You can rent bikes at most GHs but they are quite useless in rainy season as it's far too muddy.

One of the main attractions is to go dolphin watching. For this you have to go to the Mekong beach and talk to the local fisherman to take you out on their boot. When we were there they wanted 8$ each for 3 hours tour.
We didn't take the tour as the guys that just came back told us that they haven't seen anything. Be prepared for that - dolphins don't turn up just because you pay to see them.

Asides from being a 'happy place' Don Det is also considerable 'lucky'. If you walk the way to the waterfall you'll see to your left and right tons of four-leaf-clovers growing in the rice paddies. They seem to grow only in the water and normally cover the whole surface of the ponds.

There is a Internet Point on Don Det but it's incredibly expensive and the connection is not too good. Don't expect any shopping opportunities there, the highlight is mosquito repellent and shower gel - buy everything you need in Pakse.
Oh, and there's NO ATM on DonDet!

The only downside of this place is the transport to Cambodia. It's really expensive and you certainly don't get your money worth. The transportation is in Minibuses that are full of people - on the inside and on the roof! 19 people in a Minibus without the promised AirCon and the floor full of firewood so you knees where up to your chin wasn't that much fun. As people were also sitting on the roof and there was nothing to cover the luggage, we arrived in Phnom Penh with soaking wet backpacks.
The way to Cambodia is quite long and annoying tbh, first you go by boat to the mainland, there you change in a minibus that brings you to the border - you can get a visa on arrival for Cambodia there (Please always check this info before you go as these visa situations change quite frequently). At the border you have to pay 1 or 2$ stamp fee to both the Laotian and Cambodian officials - it's not an official fee but they wont let you cross if you don't pay it.

Summary: A great stop between Cambodia and Laos