Si Phan Don

The Si Phan Don (Lao: ສີ່ພັນດອນ; meaning The 4000 islands) is a riverine archipelago located in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is characterised by numerous islands, half of which are submerged when the Mekong River is in flood. The principal islands of Si Phan Don are Don Khong (the largest), and Don Det and Don Khon.

Key features of the Si Phan Don archipelago include:

• The remains of the first railway in Laos, the Don Det – Don Khon narrow gauge railway, built by the French to bypass the Khone Phapheng Falls and enable vessels, freight and passengers to travel along the Mekong River.
• Freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (Pakha) that can be viewed by boat off Don Khon island. They are considered highly endangered.
• The Khone Phapheng Falls, a succession of impassable raging rapids that gave rise to the construction of the railway.

Timber was historically logged on the islands but it is now regulated; illegal logging incurs stiff penalties. While the local economies are predominantly based on agriculture, the Si Phan Don archipelago has seen an increasing number of visitors wishing for a 'picture-perfect' experience of Laos. However, tourist’s numbers are concentrated on Don Khong, and Don Det and Don Khon, and many of the smaller islands remain rarely visited.

Get in

Take a bus going down Rte 13 towards the Cambodian Border, for example from Pakse to Ban Nakasang, and take the river ferry at Ban Nakasang that crosses over to Don Khong and Don Det. A "jumbo" from Pakse to Ban Nakasang cost 70,000 kip, and a ferry from Ban Nakasang to Don Det is 15,000 kip per person if there are multiple people going, or 30,000 kip for just a single ticket. In comparison, joint tickets including a minibus ride from Pakse to Ban Nakasang and a ferry ticket to Don Det cost 65,000 kip.

Coming from Cambodia you can take a van from Kratie (USD15) or Stung Treng (USD12) which includes the boat trip to Don Det or Don Khong. Some guesthouses in Kratie may try to sell you the ticket for USD50. The border crossing is in the middle of forest and there is pretty much nothing else there than a few customs officials and a bad road on the Lao side. So you definitely want to get a ride all the way to Four Thousand Islands. You may not find any transportation at the border and if you do it's probably a rip-off.

There is a bus from Phnom Penh that leaves in the morning to Don Det. It takes around 7 hours to get there with minimal stops on the VIP bus (once in Kratie and once to stop for lunch). Near the Lao border, an employee of the bus will ask for passports and the fee for the Laos visa. No need to step out of the bus to immigration, the worker takes care of everything. Don Det is another 30 min away. Most get it for USD30-35, but citizens of a few countries have to pay more. Oddly for Canadians it is USD42.

You can arrive also by boat from Stung Treng. The boats leave in the morning. Many tourists have been made to pay around USD50 after the border for transportation to Four Thousand Islands. So again it's best to book the trip all the way to your destination if possible.

Be Careful: Travel agents will give you cash to pay for the boat ride from Ban Nakasang to Don Det. They might only give you as little as 5,000 kip. The fare is at least 15,000 kip (depending on the number of people going)

Get around

It's mostly people power. The islands are small enough that you can walk, although to get to some of the more far-flung destinations a bike will be nice. They can be rented everywhere. If you're feeling super-lazy, you might convince a local to take you on the back of their bike for a small fee. Bikes and feet are the only ways to see the island. The road in Don Det is very rutted and muddy so one should take caution, either on a bike or motorbike.

See

A beautiful set of islands, set against a lazy and winding section of the Mekong. Be sure to check out the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia, and have conversations with the friendly locals. Outside of the tourist town, one can get a glimpse of local people, rice farms and plenty of farm animals, especially cows. There are also several temples about of average quality; however, it is interesting to get away from the tourists to see the locals and their life. One must take care to take off one's shoes, just as in the rest of Laos.

Do

There isn't much to do in Si Phan Don, but that's the point. The islands are laid back, with small huts mixing in with guest houses along the banks of the Mekong. But, if you get a bit restless, try these:

• Rent a bike for about USD1.50 and pedal around the two main islands, which are connected by a bridge that costs 20,000 kip to cross.
• Li Phi Falls (entrance fee) are easily accessible on Don Khon.
• Khon Phapheng Falls (20,000 kip), the largest waterfalls in Southeast Asia, are accessible by tuk-tuk from Ban Nakasang on the mainland.
• Take a boat tour around the area. These start at around USD5, or just ask a local boatman if you want to go someplace specific.
• Pink Dolphin Tours are very popular day trips on the island. For around USD10, you get taken by bus and boat to a small patch of sand, which is in Cambodia. There you drink beer—Angkor, not Beer Lao—and watch small pink spots bop in the distance. It's not bad, and usually includes a stop at a nearby waterfall to round off the afternoon.

Sleep

Guest houses galore, at prices that are dirt cheap even by SE Asian standards. Most of these guesthouses have bungalows by the river, and include a mosquito net, double bed and porch. Toilets and showers are mostly shared. There's electrical power, but it operates off a generator that runs only from 18:00-22:00. Bring a torch and be ready for a return to nature. Most options cost about USD3-5 per night. In recent years more up-scale bungalows have been constructed some with hot water showers and air-conditioning.

Don Det: Select from dozens of options that are more or less the same - however, there might be some differences with things such as mattresses and condition of mosquito nets.

Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_Phan_Don

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Si_Phan_Don