Along The Mekong River

After completing border formalities, our guide will pick you up and transfer you by tuk-tuk to the boat pier.

Here, you board a ready traditional boat for the trip down the Mekong River. The scenery along this part of the Mekong is arguably the most beautiful.

As you journey downriver you will stop at some tribal minority villages such as the Hmong, Yao, and Khmu.

Upon arrival in Pakbeng, we visit the local market and experience the daily lifestyle of colorful hill tribe traders exchanging goods.

Overnight in Pakbeng.

As you sail downriver, you will pass areas of unspoiled forest with little villages along the riverbanks and perhaps the odd elephant or 2 with his mahout.

You will also visit a fishing village and a rice winemaking village and perhaps even taste some of the infamous beverages known as Lao Rice wine.

Our next stop is at the Pak-Ou caves, where thousands of Buddha statues are stored.

You arrive in Luang Prabang around sunset and transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, we visit the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts.

Our next stop in the city is the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground representing classical Laotian architecture.

We then transfer to the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails.

In the afternoon, we also see up-close Asiatic bears at the Bear Rescue Centre along the jungle walk to the waterfall.

Arriving back in town, we will take a short visit to the Ock Pop Tock Living Craft Center, set serenely close to the Mekong, this beautiful, traditionally styled workshop, where weavers, spinners, and batik makers produce top-quality fabrics, offers free tours every half-hour.

Transfer back to Luang Prabang, we ascend the 329 steps to the top of Phousi Hill for a beautiful sunset view of the city and its glowing reflection on the Mekong River.

The tour ends after a visit to the famous Luang Prabang Night Market.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Begin today's close-up look at daily Laotian life by heading out for a morning at a community-based living rice farm in the idyllic countryside outside Luang Prabang. Surrounded by mountains and rice paddies, you can experience rural life as a Laotian farmer would, trying your hand at various farm activities – or observing them from a traditional Lao rice house balcony, set amidst rice terraces and an organic vegetable farm.

You'll have time to check out nearby workshops where local bamboo weavers, blacksmiths, and sugar cane processors practice their crafts. Then take a tour of the organic garden to learn how natural herbs are used in traditional medicine.

The lunch will be served at the sala overlooking the rice field.

We have ample time to relax before transferring to the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Center, the collection of diverse Lao ethnic groups. We will stroll around to visit the center to understand more about the Lao ethnic culture.

After that, we will join the seminars on “Ethnic Diversity and Cultural Change in Laos”.

This fascinating 60-minute presentation and question-and-answer session gives background on Laos’ ethnic communities, their history, and their cultural practices, including livelihoods and crafts. Guests will learn about lifestyles in ethnic villages and are shown unique artifacts from TAEC’s collection that are not accessible to the general public.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

7:30 AM, our driver will transfer you to the meeting point where we will join the minivan of Elephant Conservation Center for the transfer to Xayabouly (about 90 km).

When you have arrived at the pier at Nam Tien Lake, we will transfer you to the center by boat.

You will have some time to install yourself in your private bungalow before lunch is served. After enjoying a Laotian-style meal, your guide will take you for a visit to the Center’s facilities and present our ongoing projects.

During the hospital visit our veterinarian and biologist will take you into their world and explain about the projects they are undertaking.

Through the visit to the only Elephant Hospital in Laos, you will discover the conservation actions implemented by The Elephant Conservation Center.

You will then observe the elephants’ daily bath and learn more about our giant guests’ playful characters.

After the elephants have washed themselves, you will meet our mahouts, who will show you how they get on and off the elephant and the commands they use. You will then interact with the elephants with the mahouts at your side.

Feel free to take photos standing next to our giants! For those who want to get a feel of being on top of the elephant, mahout style, you can request to do so later on when bringing the elephants to the forest or socialization area.

But this is not central to the experience we propose and is strictly on the neck, not in a chair on the elephant’s back!

While walking the elephants to their nightly resting ground you will witness the unique bond between the mahout and his elephant.

This is the REAL land of elephants! Your guide will give you some interesting information about the biodiversity of our protected forest.

Before dinner, take some time to take in the surroundings from our viewpoint. You can also go for a swim in the lake or visit the museum.

During meal time, feel free to ask your unresolved questions to the staff or share one of the Lao-style cocktails!

On the second day, you will meet up with the elephants in the forest. After spending the night grazing in the jungle it is time for another bath.

Enjoy strolling together with these magnificent creatures in their natural environment. If you wish, you can ask to ride the elephant, bareback on the neck, for a short time on their way through the forest, to get a physical feel for the animal.

When they have had their fill of water they are brought to the Socialization Area, where the elephants can freely interact during a big part of the day, recreating a semi-natural living environment.

Lunch is served at one of the viewing platforms.

Following the forest picnic, you can see the resident mother and baby at the nursery. The mahout of the mother stays close by while she and her baby have a bath and play. 

After visiting the nursery you can take your time to pack your bags and say goodbye to the staff. Then, our guide and driver come to pick you up and transfer you directly to Vang Vieng.

The transfer will take about 3 hours and you will arrive in town just in time to catch the sunset. Overnight in Vang Vieng.

We will transfer to Phatang Resort around 18 km north of Vang Vieng.

After an introduction to the basics of kayaking, we shall set off down the beautiful Nam Song River which offers various small but fun rapids along the way to our first stop at Tham Xang Cave.

Here we will walk up to the massive theater-like cave while hearing about local history of the area!

After emerging from the cave a short kayak will lead us to a picnic spot on the riverside where we shall enjoy lunch.

In the afternoon, we shall continue down the river until the next stop at the Organic Farm where mulberry tea and a variety of different fruit wines are produced.

Continuing downstream we arrive at Tham None Cave which is one of the largest caves in Vang Vieng! It served as a bomb shelter for local villagers during the Second Indochina War. However, today it is home to a bat family and the 'Magic Stone of Vang Vieng'. The final leg of the journey is a gentle paddle downstream to Vang Vieng where we shall arrive just in time to catch the sunset.

Overnight in Vang Vieng.

After breakfast, we will say goodbye to Vang Vieng and transfer directly to the remote district of Muang Feuang, which is getting more and more popular among locals and expats living in Vientiane a weekend nature hideaway.

The transfer will take less than 2 hours with the first part via the highway Vientiane – Vang Vieng and the last part via a bumpy backroad.

Upon arrival, check in your floating bungalow on the Nam Lik River.

The afternoon is free time for your exploration. There is the option for easy kayaking, tubing, or swimming on the refreshing Nam Lik River.

For dinner, we recommend you enjoy a BBQ whilst admiring the sunset and seeing the life slowly passing by on the Nam Lik River. Check with our guide for this option, they will be happy to arrange the BBQ for you (Extra charge).

Overnight in Muang Feuang on a floating bungalow.

This morning, there is a chance for you to join the floating morning almsgiving. The monks from the nearby temple will take the boat along the Nam Lik River, passing the floating bungalow. The boat will stop at every bungalow to collect the alms giving from the guests staying at the bungalow the night before. If you wish to join, just wake up early and buy the food from the boat vendors, they will come 30 minutes before the monk boat arrives.

We then check out and have a simple breakfast (noodles) at a local restaurant before bidding farewell to Muang Feuang and transferring to Vientiane via the road along the Mekong River.

Along the way, we will visit the Sinxayaram Temple, which is considered as “Kingdom of Buddhism”.

We will arrive in Vientiane around mid or late afternoon depending on the road condition and the time you spend at some viewpoints along the way. Overnight in Vientiane.

In the morning, we will first visit Wat Si Muang, which is very famous for its supernatural power.

After that drive to Buddha Park which is around 45 minutes away. Also known as Xieng Khuan, this unusual park is filled with over 200 Buddhist and Hindu statues.

We then visit Lao Disable Women Development Center, where you can support them by buying some small handicrafts at the shop.

Start the afternoon with a visit to That Luang, the holiest site in Laos. Constructed by King Setthathirat in the 16th century, the temple is resplendent as the sun shines upon its towering golden spire.

Then, enjoy a panoramic view over the city as you climb the stairs to the top of Patuxai, Vientiane’s own “Arc de Triomphe”.

Continue down Lane Xang Avenue to the serene Wat Sisaket, the only temple left intact after the Siamese (Thai) invasion in 1828.

Continue to the nearby Wat Phra Keo. Used as a religious museum, Wat Phra Keo displays a collection of both Lao and Khmer works of art.

End your tour of the capital along the banks of the Mekong River as the sun begins to set.

Overnight in Vientiane.

Tips: You can also visit Sinouk Coffee Pavilion to discover the Lao coffee, stroll around the mini coffee gallery, view the in-house coffee roaster, and try a cup of delicious and unique coffee or tea. Discuss with our guide about this. Entrance fees and extra coffee/drinks are payable on the spot.

In the morning, we take the flight to Pakse, the biggest city in southern Laos.

Upon arrival, we head east to Pakse and onto Tadlo Waterfalls in the Bolaven Plateau, upon arrival, we will be trekking to visit the waterfall and another minority village nearby Tadlo area of Ban Kiengtanglae and Ban Nanong. We then continue driving over the plateau to Paksong.

After that, transfer to Fandee Island on Bolaven Plateau, where we will check in a treehouse to take some rest.

If you wish, there are plenty of activities on the spot at the Fandee Waterpark or Fandee Adventure Park.

The activities range from ziplining, swimming, or flying bridge.

Overnight at Fandee Island.

09:00 AM, we will transfer you to Ban Lao Ngam, where we will meet the Jeep tour specialist.

After a short briefing, we will drive to Suay village, where we can find many traditional long houses made of bamboo, which is shared by some generations of 1 family.

We then continue driving to Laven village to see their daily life and their paddy field. This is the first minority group found in Bolaven Plateau.

11:00 AM, we continue driving to the Coffee Farm of Mr. Khamsone via the 10KM bumpy and muddy road, which will take you 01 hour with your special Jeep car.

Upon arrival, Mr. Khamsone, the Coffee farm’s owner will take 1 hour to demonstrate about coffee roasting step and finish with a coffee cupping to Savor the different kinds of coffee (Robusta, Arabica, and Typica).

After that, we will hop on the Jeep and drive 30 minutes to Tad Moun waterfalls, where we can enjoy the fresh cool water, and visit the nearby vegetable farm.

Finally, we will drive to Paksong, where our van will pick us up and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Paksong

After breakfast, we depart for Champasak.

Along the way, we can enjoy the scenery around Tad Fan waterfall, which is spectacular with twin waterfalls plummeting into a deep gorge surrounded by flourishing vegetation.

We will also see the cultivation of rich coffee, tea, cardamom, bananas, and other crops that are grown in the area.

Arriving in Champasak, visit Wat Phou, an ancient Khmer religious complex dating back to the 5th Century.

The temple served as the most important economic and political center of the region and still is one of the Lao people’s most revered temples.

After your visit, we continue to Champasak to see samples of French colonial architecture before transferring directly to Khong Island, which is the biggest island in the 4000 islands area.

Upon arrival, check-in at your hotel.

Overnight in Khong Island.

After breakfast, take on a 1.5-hour-long tail boat to venture into the widest reach of the Mekong River, where during the dry season the waters recede and leave behind thousands of islets, Si Phan Done.

Upon arrival, explore the local peaceful villages of Ban Khone, where you will see an array of relics from the French colonial era and retrace the old colonial past, including old French colonial buildings and the remnants of the first Lao railway with its locomotive.

We continue to discover the 4000 islands area by tuk-tuk and visit the marvelous Liphi waterfall, also called the "Corridor of the Devil" one of the most beautiful waterfalls marking the Lao border with Cambodia.

Free for the rest of the day for your exploration of the island. We recommend you take a bike for a ride around the island to see the local life and admire the sunset along the Mekong riverbank.

Overnight in Khone Island.

After breakfast, return to the mainland at the fishing village of Ban Nakasang and drive further south to visit Khone Phapheng, which is considered the largest waterfall by volume in Southeast Asia.

Afterwards, we drive back to Pakse. Founded by the French in 1905 as an administrative post, the capital of Champasak Province is a relatively new town at the confluence of the Mekong and Se Don rivers.

Arriving in Pakse, we will check in at NKM Homestay, which is owned by a French specialist, Mr. Nicholas, and his family.

The rest of the day is your own free time to talk with Mr. Nicholas to learn more about Laos, which will give you plenty of inside information about Laos.

There is a library that you can refer to with plenty of documents made by Mr. Nicholas himself.

You can also spend time preparing the dinner with Mr. Nicholas’ wife before sharing the dinner.

Overnight at NKM Homestay.

You are free today to stroll around the town for your own exploration. One of the best ways is to join a tour of inside the hidden Pakse guided by Mr. Nicholas.

He will bring you to the hidden routes and spots of Pakse that are rarely visited by other tourists but guarantee an unforgettable memory for your trip to southern Laos.

Overnight at NKM Homestay.

After breakfast, we will transfer directly to Ubon Ratchathani (Thailand) via Chongmek Border to take the flight to Bangkok and connect to your departure flight back home.