Pakse (Pakxe) is the capital city of Champasak province of Southern Laos, and the 2nd most populous in the country, serving as a major transport and commerce hub for southern Laos. If you plan to go to the Bolaven Plateau, Wat Phou, Si Phan Don (4,000 Islands), the Xe Pian National Protected Area, or Lao Ngam and Tadlo in neighboring Salavan province. Pakse is an ideal base with its relaxing atmosphere on the Mekong and Sedone Rivers, friendly locals, ubiquitous riverside restaurants and bars, and numerous massage clinics.

Pakse
Get in  Get around See Do Buy Eat  Sleep
Pakse (Pakxe) is the capital city of Champasak province of Southern Laos, and the 2nd most populous in the country, serving as a major transport and commerce hub for southern Laos. If you plan to go to the Bolaven Plateau, Wat Phou, Si Phan Don (4,000 Islands), the Xe Pian National Protected Area, or Lao Ngam and Tadlo in neighboring Salavan province. Pakse is an ideal base with its relaxing atmosphere on the Mekong and Sedone Rivers, friendly locals, ubiquitous riverside restaurants and bars, and numerous massage clinics.

Get in[edit]
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By plane
Pakse International Airport is 8 kilometers north of town and Lao Arlines[1] offers scheduled flights to Vientiane (770,000 Kip one-way), Savannakhet (375,000 Kip one-way), Siem Reap, Bangkok, and Ho chi minh city. Tickets can be booked online, through a travel agent, or directly at the airport.

Visa Extensions
Visa extensions are possible at the police station off Th. 10, literally a smaller street left around the corner from the Salachampa Hotel (if you’re directly on the correct street, across the road on your right will be the Champasak Police Headquarters - don’t confuse the headquarters for the station). Get there early in the morning or risk waiting until 2pm to get your paperwork done as they take a lunch break from around 11:30am.

The cost is now 20,000 kip per day (as of August 1st, 2016). They no longer accept USD, plus you will need to pay a 5,000 kip “form fee.” Good news for older travellers: if you are over 65, a 30 day renewal is free (confirmed on 2 Feb. 2017). The process is not quite as easy as it used to be, but still fine to do by yourself without a need for an agent; just turn up in the morning with your passport, photocopies (see below) and two passport photos, fill in a couple of forms, and your visa will be ready the next afternoon (no longer same day - and no, there is no "express fee" to make it quicker).

It is worth noting that you may be asked for other unexpected fees such as public holiday and out of hours fees.

As of August 1st 2016, you are 100% required to get a photocopy of your passport details and a copy of your Lao Visa page (you can't just turn up without them and pay "fees" for them to do it anymore).

However, there is an inexpensive photocopy place (that also does passport photos) on the corner of the second junction east of the French bridge on Route 13 (the main drag). I also noticed that the southeast entrance to the Police HQ on Th1 has a copyshop. The Belgian owner of "Miss Noys" (tour agency and bike rental place on the main strip towards the bridge) can tell you where to go and what you will need if you get stuck (he is friendly and very helpful).

It is also possible to catch a 2 hour return local bus trip to the Thai border to acquire a new visa.

By boat
The regular slow-boat service to Don Khong is no longer operating, but you can arrange for a private charter from the hotels and travel agents but it's very expensive. Quoted US$250 so ideally shared with others and negotiate hard to lower the individual cost.

There is an ad-hoc boat service opposite the Inthira hotel in Champasak, 30km south of Pakse, price on application and can be arranged from the hotel. It is much more expensive than overland travel, expect to pay US$100+ per boat, seats approximately 6 people with luagage.

Tours to the islands might be the best bargain. They will include the boat trip as well as stops along the way at temples and villages.

By bus
Pakse has 4 bus stations:

Chitpasong Bus Terminal (aka VIP bus terminal; 15.118067, 105.796653) is the most likely bus station you'll arrive at or depart from if you are traveling between Pakse and Vientiane, which is next to the Sedone River and close to the old French Bridge, near the Champasak Shopping Center (supermarket is at 2nd floor), and in the town center. Tickets to Vientiane cost 170,000 Kip (October 2014), but keep in mind this is for half of a bunk that is shared with another person. If you want a bunk for yourself you will need to purchase two tickets (in the low season 300,000 Kip). You can buy the bus ticket from the 3 ticket counters in the bus station, please choose the middle ticket counter for bigger & more modern sleeper bus (October 2014).

Kriang Kai Bus Terminal (aka 2km bus terminal; 15.117385, 105.820559) has older sleeper buses to and from Vientiane (170,000 Kip for shared bunk), and is the arrival point and departure point for the international bus from/to Ubon Ratchathani (3 hours 200 Baht) or Bangkok in Thailand. Samlors and tuk tuks will transport you to the town center for about 15,000 Kip.

The Northern Bus Terminal (serving locations north of Pakse) is located about 10 kilometres northwest of the city centre (15.1700 105.7600). Transportation via songthaew to the northern bus terminal is sometimes available at the northeastern side of the market opposite the shopping center (please find out what days/times).

The Southern Bus Terminal (aka 8km Bus Terminal) is mostly used by locals, with slower local buses, and is located 8 km to the east of the city center (15.113957, 105.875482) (30,000 kip by moto to the centre, or 10,000 kip in shared tuk-tuk). Songthaews to Si Phan Don 40,000 kip per person.

Transportation via songthaew to destinations outside of Pakse is available at Dao Huang market and the 8km market.

Get around
Most of the services you will use as a tourist are in walking distance from the city center, including the restaurants along the river front, pool halls and the (currently closed) bowling alley. Further destinations within town will require a tuk-tuk ride or renting a motorbike. Tuk tuk rides charge per person and are about 3,000-20,000 kip for short rides and 10,000 to the further bus terminals (although due to language barriers, 20,000 kip can be confused with 70,000 kip). Songthaews can be hired throughout the city, particularly around Road Number 13.
There is now a Lao app for rideshare called LOCA (iOS and Android). As of November 2024, availability of drivers in Pakse is spotty. Can be faster to flag a tuk-tuk.

Wat Luang. , the biggest and most beautiful temple of Pakxe, and home of Buddhist Monk School. It is the best place to see a monk alm giving ceremony as you may be one of a handful of watching tourists as opposed to the multitudes at a similar ceremony in Luang Prabang.
Wat Phabad, On Road 13 just past the northern bridge roundabout. is the oldest and largest temple of Pakxe. It is believed to have a Buddha Footprint, from which its name is derived.
Ban Keosamphanh. , a former French army camp, has the most beautiful green rice field of Pakxe and is home to the oldest market of Pakse.
Mekong Bank. was the most popular place and night centre point of Pakxe, however due to proposed development of a riverside esplanade many of the restaurants and night spots have been displaced to Road 42, just back from the river. Despite this, food stalls, some restaurants on the opposite side of the road and the boat restaurants remain
Big Buddha - Phou Salao. In Aug 2011 a 'Big Buddha' temple complex was built across the river, adjacent to the Japanese bridge. More than a few steps to the top, a great view of the river and city. there is now a concrete road to the top easily driven in a car.
Mouth of the Xedong river meeting the Mekong. The meeting of these two rivers is where Pakse gets its name, A nice place to see the sunset, with nearby restaurants and cafes
Mai Savanh Lao farm in Thateng/Silk & Tea farm, (When coming from Pakse, take the first exit at the only roundabout in Thateng and follow the street for 10km, there's a Mai Savanh Lao sign on the left.), [x]. NGO which supports the families in the poor villages around with employment and education on agricultural methods. It's approx. 120km from Pakse, approx.10km from Thateng, 39km from Sekong & 34km from Tad Lo. There are beautiful plants for tea, lemon grass, pineapple, pepper, sacha inchi, mulberry, etc. An excellent stop during a trip to the Bolaven Plateau (motorbike loop). You can have the guided tours in different languages.