This tour takes you to the best sights of Laos. Explore the beautiful mountainous north with hill tribes, rice paddies and the Mekong running like a snake through thick rainforest jungle. Continue to travel to the southern part of the country which is still mostly unexplored by regular travelers. Laos retains a slow, rather old-fashioned charm and the hospitality and friendliness of the people is undoubtedly one of the highlights of any visit. This trip to Laos will leave every traveler indifferent!

TOUR SUMMARY

Day 1: Vientiane

Day 2: Vientiane - Luang Nahmtha

Day 3: Luang Namtha - Moung Sing

Day 4: Moung Sing - Huay Xai

Day 5: Pakbeng

Day 6: Pakbeng - Luang Prabang

Day 7: Luang Prabang

Day 8: Luang Prabang

Day 9: Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng

Day 10: Vang Vieng - Vientiane

Day 11: Vientiane

Day 12: Vientiane - Sala Hin Boun

Day 13: Sala Hin Boun - Thakhek

Day 14: Thakhek - Tad Lo

Day 15: Tad Lo - Don Khon Islands

Day 16: Don Khon Islands

Day 17: Don Khon Islands - Pakse

Day 18: Pakse

DAY 1: VIENTIANE

On arrival in Vientiane you will be picked up at the airport and brought to your hotel. Please remember that hotel check-in times are after midday – unless the hotel has some rooms already available. If you do arrive early you can leave your luggage at the reception and we would encourage you to get out and explore Vientiane – but please take a hotel business card so that you will be able to find your way back. Before leaving the hotel, please look in the reception area for a notice advising your tour leader’s name, mobile phone number and other helpful local information. There are no activities planned for today. If you are interested, your leader will be happy to escort you to a local restaurant to sample the delights of Vietnamese cuisine and toast the start of what will be an unforgettable journey.

Overnight in VIENTIANE. Hotel Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 2: VIENTIANE - LUANG NAHMTHA

After breakfast at the hotel in the morning, we will check out and proceed to the domestic airport for our flight to Luang Namtha. We will arrive in the afternoon and if time permits we will visit the Ethnic Group Museum. For such a small country, Laos is surprisingly diverse in terms of its people. In higher regions live colourfully dressed hill tribes while in lowland river valleys you find the ethnic Lao. The country also retains some of the French influence from colonial times. In the evening you are free at leisure.

Overnight in LUANG NAHMTHA. Hotel Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 3: LUANG NAMTHA - MOUNG SING

Early this morning, we travel by road to Moung Sing, also home to various hill tribe communities. There is also a significant Chinese population and a lot of trade goes on between here and China. We stop along the way at the Akha hill tribe village. This ethnic group originally lived in China but immigrated into Laos over a century ago. They are very poor, but have a vibrant culture and an interesting history. We depart this village, heading westbound, travelling over bumpy roads to Chinese border, strolling around and visiting hill tribe villages. In the late afternoon, we drive back to Muong Sing with a stopover at the Lantern minority village.

Overnight in MOUNG SING. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 4: MOUNG SING - HUAY XAI

We depart early this morning for our journey to Huay Xai. These back roads are a perfect way to venture off the beaten track and explore the real Laos. We see very few other travelers, mostly rural dwellers who are just as interested in finding out about our lives as we are of theirs. The drive can be challenging on some parts of our journey due to poor road conditions; however the verdant and rugged mountain scenery combined with the colorful local population makes for a memorable experience. On arrival we check in at a very simple hotel and take a walk to explore this picturesque hill town.

Overnight in HUAY XAI. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 5: HUAY XAI - PAKBENG

After breakfast we start for our private slow boat tour. The boat leaves Huay Xai pier at 9 am for a cruise down the Mekong to Pakbeng. The Mekong River is one of the world’s greatest river systems, flowing 4,909 km through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao, Cambodia and Vietnam. En route we make a stop to observe the rural life along the Mekong and visit minority ethnic groups. We will have lunch on board. We arrive in Pakbeng before sunset and check in to our hotel for the night. We highly recommend you to enjoy your dinner on the terrace overlooking the mighty Mekong River.

Overnight in PAKBENG. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 6: PAKBENG - LUANG PRABANG

We will have a full breakfast at lodge. Optionally you can walk to the Pakbeng market early in the morning, where people from the surrounding minority villages exchange their local goods. At 8:30 am we board the boat for the second leg of the cruise. On the way we will halt for a short stop to discover a traditional Hmong village before having a lunch on board. We continue to Pak-Ou village at the mouth of the Nam Ou River, and then visit the Pak Ou Caves or “Caves of a thousand Buddhas”. On the way to Luang Prabang a brief stop is made to observe the traditional process of manufacturing local rice alcohol. Before sunset we will reach Luang Prabang.

Overnight in LUANG PRABANG. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 7: LUANG PRABANG

Your full day city tour begins after breakfast with a visit to the Royal Palace Museum (closed on Tuesdays), which hosts a range of interesting artifacts. Then we enjoy a short-guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temple of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. Today, we also visit the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrine of Wat Aham. Following lunch, we visit the Arts and Ethnology Centre to learn about Laos’ many ethnic cultures before we head out of town to see the weaving villages of Ban Xiengkhong and Ban Xienglek. We then return to the city for a visit to Wat Mai. Then we climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a panoramic view of the city at sunset and the Mekong River. The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by locals and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.

Overnight in LUANG PRABANG. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 8: LUANG PRABANG

In the morning we get up early to visit the Phousi Market, where you will see such diverse offerings as dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens, vegetables and hill-tribe weavings. Laos is also known for its traditional crafts, and today you will visit local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay, a Hmong village, Ban Ou a Laoloum village and Ban Thapene, a Khmu village. This takes us to the beautiful Khuang Si Waterfalls where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails. The waterfalls are a real highlight of Luang Prabang. Afterwards we will return back to Luang Prabang.

Overnight in LUANG PRABANG. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 9: LUANG PRABANG - VANG VIENG

After breakfast, we leave this charming city in the early morning for our journey to Vang Vieng. Our journey will be strenuous as we drive along one of the most scenic but also one of the roughest routes in Asia. In the afternoon we arrive in Vang Vieng, a small and tranquil town, which is nestled on a bend of the Nam Song River. Its stunning scenery with a mixture of quiet water and limestone outcrops remains unspoiled, despite recent developments with the advent of tourism. We embark on our boat for a relaxing trip on the Nam Song River, exploring the breathtaking mountain landscape and the famous cave of Tham Jang, which was used in the early 19th century in defense against the Chinese invaders.

Overnight in VANG VIENG. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 10: VANG VIENG - VIENTIANE

After breakfast, we spend half our day driving to the capital city Vientiane, which is located on the banks of the Mekong River. Vientiane is a charming and fascinating capital, with an interesting mix of Lao, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, Soviet and American influences. A city tour acquaints us with the capital. The next stop of our trip is Vang Xang, famous for its archeological site dating back to the 11th century. We reach Vientiane in the late afternoon and stay overnight.

Overnight in VIENTIANE. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 11: VIENTIANE

After breakfast at the hotel, we make a city tour and visit the major temples of Vientiane including the oldest, Wat Sisaket, the temple of thousands of miniature Buddha statues, and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. We also visit Lao national icon, That Luang Stupa, and we stop to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph. If time permits we will also visit the morning market. In the afternoon we will go to see the Buddha Park, an enchanting collection of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures on the Mekong Riverside meadow, near the Friendship Bridge. There are approximately 200 religious images dating back over 500 years, which were created by a mysterious monk spreading his philosophy on life and revealing his ideas about the universe. In the evening we suggest you the spectacular view over the Mekong River at sunset from one of the riverside bars as a perfect way to finish the day.

Overnight in VIENTIANE. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 12: VIENTIANE - SALA HIN BOUN

You will be picked up from your Vientiane Hotel this morning, and travel south along Route 13. On our way we stop at Prabaht Ponsan, an ancient stupa dating back to the 15th Century. It is also home to the ancient Buddha footprint, discovered in 1933, and now an important religious site in Laos.

Following lunch we continue onwards into Khammoune province and into the mountainous area, where a stop at a view point near Khoun Kham which offers a breathtaking view over the surrounding area. We eventually reach Ban Naphouak, where we board a local boat on the Hin Boun River. The journey upstream takes us past some stunning limestone karst scenery, as well as a number of villages with smiling waving children. We reach your accommodation for the night in Sala Hin Boun in the late afternoon. You have the rest of the day free at leisure.

Overnight in SALA HIN BOUN. Boat Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 13: SALA HIN BOUN - THAKHEK

After breakfast in the morning we continue by boat upriver to Kong Lor village, where you have the chance to explore a bit, before boarding a smaller boat into the famous Kong Lor Cave. We will navigate through the cave, which is over 7 km long and includes a spectacular cavern over 100 m high. Then we have lunch together in a remote village on the other side of the cave. Afterwards we drive back to Naphouak. Along the way we make a stop for lunch and the picturesque Lao Loum village, and then we are picked up by car and transferred to Thakek by late afternoon.

Overnight in THAKHEK. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 14: THAKHEK - TAD LO

We depart Thakhek by road heading south to Tad Lo. En route we stop to visit the Bolevean Plateau. The Bolevean Plateau is known for its cooler temperature being located high above the Mekong Valley. The area is famous for its many waterfalls, and the most beautiful of these falls is Tad Fan. Tad Fan waterfall is spectacular with twin waterfalls plummeting into a deep gorge surrounded by flourishing vegetation. A trip to the plateau provides a refreshing break from the heat and allows you to observe the cultivation of rich coffee, tea, cardamom, bananas, and other crops that can be seen en route. In the afternoon we arrive at Tad Lo, home to another scenic waterfall and numerous ethnic minority groups. We visit the villages of Alak, Nge, and Katu before overnighting in Tad Lo.

Overnight in TAD LO. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 15: TAD LO - DON KHON ISLANDS

After an early breakfast, we leave Tad Lo. On the way we make a short detour to visit Pha Suam waterfall and to explore the ethnic minority villages of Lao Teung. We continue to travel by road via Pakse town crossing the Mekong by ferry to visit the fascinating pre-Angkorian ruins of Wat Phu, one of Southeast Asia’s most dramatically situated temples. Following lunch we continue our journey by long tail boat to the 4,000 islands, where you have the rest of the day to relax.

Overnight on the DON KHON ISLANDS. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 16: DON KHON ISLANDS

After an early morning breakfast, we head south by car and boat to Don Khon. Here we begin by re-tracing the French colonial-past at Ban Khone, where some old colonial houses still stand and glimpse the first Lao railway with its own locomotive. We continue our exploration of the area of the 4,000 islands by boat and visit the beautiful Liphi waterfall, also known as the Samphamith, which forms a natural border between Lao and Cambodia. We return to Ban Nakasang and drive to the famous waterfall of Khone Phapeng – the largest waterfall in South East Asia, also known as the ‘Niagara of the East’.

Overnight on the DON KHON ISLANDS. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 17: DON KHON ISLANDS - PAKSE

Today you will have a free day at leisure before your flight back home tomorrow. Make the most of the day by enjoying the serene surroundings of the Don Khon Islands, mingle with the locals and explore the region by your own. In the afternoon we will drive back to Pakse where we will stay overnight.

Overnight in PAKSE. Accommodation is included in this package.

DAY 18: PAKSE

Today is the last day of your tour. Depending on your future travel plans, we will bring you either to the international airport in Siem Reap in Cambodia or you may exit Laos from the Chongmek international checkpoint Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand. We wish you a comfortable journey home and we are sure you will take some wonderful memories of Laos with you.

When booking your tour, please check to see whether you need any post-tour nights, bearing in mind that accommodation for the night of the final day of the tour (Day 18) is not included.

* Hotel check-out times are midday. Late check-out is not included.*Please note that you have to be at the Airport 02 – 03 hours prior to the departure Flight.

PRIVATE TOUR

*Accommodation & Transportation is subject to availability at booking moment & Tour price is subject to seasonal fluctuations

Included:

• Transportation in private A/V Vehicles as per tour program
• Accommodation in twin shared room basic
• Private Boat trip as stated in above sights as per tour program
• English speaking guide
• Admission fee to indicated sights
• Daily Breakfast at hotel
• Mineral water serve during sight seeing

Excluded:

• Visa fees
• International flights
• Any other meals not mentioned above
• Travel insurance
• Other foreign language guides
• Gratitude for guide and driver
• All other services which are not mentioned in INCLUSIONS
• Personal expenses are such as laundry, telephone, drinks, camera and video fees, etc.