ITINERARY
Day 1: Luang Prabang | Arrive in Luang Prabang
International Flight: Excluded
Welcome to Laos! Upon arrival in Luang Prabang, our guide will greet you at the airport welcome area and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.
Feel free to explore the beautiful city of Luang Prabang on your own to discover night markets selling local tapestries and souvenirs.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 2: Luang Prabang | Buddhist Ancient City and Temples
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Morning is at your leisure to relax.
The afternoon begins with a visit to the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts. We then head to the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We’ll also visit the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrines of Wat Aham and Wat Mai.
A visit to Luang Prabang would be incomplete without ascending 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 Night Market, where you can find a lovely collection of handmade textiles made by local and hill-tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.
Evening dinner at Hive Restaurant with “Ethnik Fashion Show” – modern fashion show with a twist – ethnic wedding garments from over 100 ethnic groups in Laos on the show by Hmong underprivileged university students(all donations go to support their families and education).
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 3: Luang Prabang | Kuang Si Waterfalls
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Transfer in the morning to Ban Long Lao village – a Hmong and Khmu ethnic village who live simple lives off the land in a self-sustained community. After exploring the village and mingling with the locals, you’ll begin the hike to Kuang Si Falls. Along the way are lush green forests and clear streams. Visit a cave along the way that once acted as a bomb shelter. Arrive at Kuang Si Waterfall – one of the most turquoise waterfalls in the world. The afternoon can be spent swimming in the waterfall and visiting the Bear Rescue Center where several Sun Bears and Malayan Black Bears are being cared for after being rescued from bile farms and wildlife traffickers. Then you’ll return to Luang Prabang and evening is at your leisure.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 4: Luang Prabang | Befriending the Gentle Giants of Asia
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, transfer to Elephant Village – an elephant sanctuary with a focus on rehabilitation and care of rescued elephants. Here you’ll meet the camp manager and receive a short briefing about the elephants. Enjoy lunch at the outdoor garden restaurant. Then bathe your elephant – Go down to the nearby Nam Khan River to bath your elephant; perhaps the elephant will bathe you as well! Return to your hotel for leisure time.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 5: Luang Prabang | Boat Trip on Mekong River to Pak Ou Cave
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, we embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside. Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make Laos rice wine and rice whiskey. You’ll be able to try some and see the process they use to make it. Then we’ll reach the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims.
Lunch will be served nearby the caves. During lunch, you’ll have the opportunity to try a local dish called “Orlam” which is a soup with vegetables and features a spicy wood that is partially edible. On return, we disembark the boat to visit a traditional weaving village of Ban Phanom, which is famous for its hand weaving.
Accommodation: Belmond La Residence Phou Vao
Day 6: Luang Prabang – Pakse | Leisure | Flight to Pakse
Internal Flight: Included
Meals: Breakfast
Morning is at your leisure to relax.
In the afternoon, take a flight to Pakse. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your resort next to the scenic Mekong River for check-in.
Accommodation: The River Resort
Day 7: Pakse | Kayaking near 4,000 Islands
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, we transfer to Nakasang village. From here we board a local boat that takes us down the mighty Mekong and through some beautiful scenery until arriving at Don Khon Island. From Don Khon Island we walk along the island to see the old French train and the amazing Liphi waterfalls. At the waterfall, we take a short walk to above the falls where we enjoy lunch together amongst some beautiful surroundings! After our lunch and taking some time to relax, we begin kayaking down the Mekong to an area near the Cambodian border where we will have the chance to see Mekong Dolphins. After spending some time to try and spot the dolphins, we will return back to your hotel in Pakse. The evening is at your leisure.
Accommodation: The River Resort
Day 8: Pakse | Explore The Boloven Plateau
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, we’ll go to visit a small village which is famous for knife making. See how knives are produced using traditional techniques before continuing onwards for another 14km to visit some tea plantations, here we see how tea is grown and produced, after which we carry on once again until arriving at the stunning Tad Fan waterfall. Here we take some time to look around and explore the local area which is home to coffee plantations.=
Accommodation: The River Resort
Day 9: Pakse | Wat Phou Ancient Ruins
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Discover the hidden charm of Southern Laos in this half-day tour, which encompasses visits to an ancient temple ruin and quaint colonial town. Wat Phou is a ruined Khmer Hindu temple complex that has been inscribed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Pakse and Champassak are tranquil towns where French colonial buildings are still standing.
After breakfast, a short walking city tour of Pakse will show you some nice remnants of the French period before transferring by road to Wat Phou. The journey takes approximately 1 hour.
Wat PhouTemples – 12 Days Family Getaway Laos Tropical Rain-forests
Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, Wat Phou is a spectacular pre-Angkorian temple that sits amidst the rice fields and waterways of southern Laos. The temple was constructed in three levels: the bottom level is focused on the Baray (water reservoir) and promenade, the second level features quadrangular pavilions and galleries of carvings, and the top level is the sanctuary itself. The temple was built by the rulers of the Khmer empire before the construction of Angkor Wat, and served as the most important economic and political center of the region and still is one of the Lao people’s most revered temples.
Pass through Champassak, driving through streets lined with French colonial buildings, and continue on to Ban Kiet Ngong. Stop en route at the wood carving village of Ban Nong Bune.
When the tour ends, you will be escorted back to your hotel in Pakse.
Accommodation: The River Resort
Day 10: Pakse – Vientiane | Flight to Vientiane
Internal Flight: Included
Meals: Breakfast
Morning is at your leisure to relax.
Board an afternoon flight to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel for check-in.
Accommodation: Settha Palace Hotel
Day 11: Vientiane | Laos Capital Highlights
Meals: Breakfast
In the morning, we start visiting the major sights of the capital; including Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple with thousands of miniature Buddha statues, and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. Enroute to Lao’s national icon, That Luang Stupa, you will have the opportunity to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph. The rest of the day is your leisure to relax.
Accommodation: Settha Palace Hotel
Day 12: Vientiane | Farewell!
Meals: Breakfast
Today our guide will transfer you to the airport before your homeward flight and will bid you a fond farewell. Thank you for traveling with us!
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