Ubon Ratchathani is waterside camping, not hilltop camping. Grounds sit along the Mekong, on Sirindhorn reservoir and beside waterfalls on bare rock, and several are freshwater sand beaches where you pitch at the water's edge. Five of the 23 listed here charge nothing to pitch.
The rest is cheap: ฿20–40 per person in the national parks, ฿100–150 per person per night at most private camps. Facilities vary a lot — seven in ten have showers and about four in ten have electricity — and the free reservoir sites often offer nothing but the ground itself.
Counted across the 23 campsites shown on this page, ordered by how many list each one.
Sirindhorn reservoir is the comfortable zone: several waterside camps and sand beaches around Fang Kham sub-district, with kayaking and swimming, about 70 km from the city. Khong Chiam is Pha Taem National Park — a clifftop ground looking across the Mekong to Laos, with Pha Sok and Bok Lakorn waterfall in the same park, plus private camps on the river's sandbars. Upstream at Khemarat is Kaeng Chang Mop. Si Mueang Mai is for those who want quiet: Pha Luang Waterfall Forest Park, Bok Luek waterfall and Huai Tha Taeng reservoir, which charges nothing to pitch.
The two seasons give two different places. The rains, roughly July to October, are waterfall season — the rock-shelf falls here run only then. From December the Mekong drops until sandbars and rapids emerge, which is the season for the riverside camps. Winter suits Pha Taem best: cool air, and the first sunrise in the country. The hot season is fierce, so choose a ground with shade and swimming.
Ubon is more than 600 km from Bangkok; most people fly or take the train and rent a car. The free reservoir and waterfall sites have no shops and some have no toilets — bring water, food and rubbish bags. Dry-season Mekong camps are on open sand, hot by day and shadeless, so pack a tarp. About three grounds in ten rent gear.
Five grounds are free; the national parks cost ฿20–40 per person and most private camps ฿100–150 per person per night.
Several — the sand beaches on Sirindhorn reservoir, the waterfalls of Si Mueang Mai, and Mekong sandbars in the dry season.
Mostly only in the rains, about July to October. In the dry season choose a reservoir or Mekong camp instead.
