Classic package tour in Laos for 10 days

You will be welcomed and taken to your hotel after you arrive at the airport. Luang Prabang is possibly Southeast Asia’s best-preserved traditional city. This town’s tranquillity and beauty, along with its beautiful natural environment and cultural attractions, make it one of Laos’ most enjoyable destinations to visit.

We visit Wat Visoun’s spectacular stupa and Wat Aham’s shrine, Wat Mai, after a little break. We next climb Mount Phousi for a fascinating exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a stunning sunset vista of the city and the Mekong River.

Then we go to the Night Market, where you can discover a great collection of handmade textiles manufactured by the locals and hill tribes in the Luang Prabang area.

Stay in Luang Prabang for the night.

Beautiful view of Wat Visoun

After breakfast, we have a brief guided tour of the city, stopping at Wat Sene, the city’s oldest temple, and the beautiful Wat Xiengthong, whose roofs sweep low to the ground, reflecting typical Laotian architecture.

We then embark on a Mekong River cruise upstream, which includes a beautiful view of the peaceful countryside as well as a fascinating visit to the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, which are two linked caves  with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims.

Pak Ou Caves

We stop in the village of Ban Xanghai along the way to taste the local specialty of rice wine. We take a short journey from Luang Prabang city to Ban Phanom, a town noted for its hand weaving. We also have time to visit Ban Xang Khong and Ban Xienglek, two small villages famous for silk weaving and Saa (jute) Papermaking.

You’ll spend the night in Luang Prabang.

An optional early start allows you to join in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting Alms (ubiquitous sticky rice) from the devoted villagers. Laos is the only Buddhist country that still practices the procession, making it a particularly unique ritual.

From there, you’ll go to the Phosi Market in the morning, where you’ll find dried buffalo skin, local tea, and saltpeter among the chickens, veggies, and hill-tribe weavings. Laos is particularly recognized for its traditional handicrafts, and today you will visit Ban Ouay and Ban Thapene, two local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups.

If time permits, travel to the picturesque Khouangsi Waterfall, where you may swim in the blue pools or walk through the forest paths. We return to Luang Prabang in the late afternoon, then go to Ban Phanom, a well-known weaving village, before returning to the city in the late evening to watch the sunset at Wat Phabath.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

The monks collecting alms

After breakfast, we visit the National Museum (closed on Tuesday) at the old Royal Palace, which displays a wonderful collection of items illustrating the richness of Lao culture from the early rulers to the current monarch.

On this tour, the National Museum and the Central Market are must-see attractions. After that, we travel 306 kilometers upward through beautiful natural landscape to Xiengkhouang, which was bombed by the Americans between 1964 and 1973.

On arrival, we will be transferred to the Plain of Jars, a spectacular archaeological site with hundreds of enormous stone jars strewn across the plains. If time allows, we will visit Muang Khoun’s historic capital and neighboring villages, which are home to the Hmong hill tribe. They have a vibrant past and a fascinating local culture.

In Xiengkhuang, spend the night.

Plain of Jars

We go to the Central Market after breakfast.

Before taking our trip back to Vientiane, you will have more time to tour the town.

We continue our sightseeing trip of Vientiane’s neighboring locations if time is allowed, after checking into our hotel in Vientiane.

Visit the spectacular Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge and Buddha Park, a stunning collection of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures on the Mekong Riverside meadow.

200 religious pictures dating back over 500 years were created by a mystery monk who communicated his philosophy on life and revealed his beliefs about the cosmos. A breathtaking sunset vista of the Mekong River is the ideal way to end the day.

In Vientiane, spend the night.

Buddha Park

AM: After breakfast, we begin our exploration of Vientiane by seeing the city’s key attractions, including the oldest Wat Sisaket, which holds hundreds of small Buddha statues, and Wat Prakeo, the ancient royal temple that held once the famed Emerald Buddha Image.

Wat Prakeo

You will get the opportunity to photograph the majestic Patuxay Monument, which is regarded as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph, on your way to Laos’ national treasure, the famed and sacred edifice of That Luang Stupa.

PM: We continue to walk around Vientiane, stopping at Wat Ong Tue, Wat Inpeng, and Wat Haisok. We continue beyond the main shopping area to the Talad Sao and Talad Kouadin Central Markets in Vientiane, where a variety of things are displayed for sale, including fresh food, household goods, souvenirs, textiles, gold, silver, and antiques. In the late afternoon, we return to the Mekong River to enjoy the sunset.

Spend the night in Vientiane.

We take an early flight to Pakse after breakfast.

We go south on National Road No. 13th to Champasak, stopping to see the remarkable pre-Angkorian remains of Wat Phu, one of Southeast Asia’s most spectacular temples. We have time to visit these fascinating Khmer monuments located at the foot of Mount Phu Kao.

Wat Phu at sunset

Wat Phu is a remarkable archeological relic of Khmer civilization that goes back to the 10th century, predating the famed Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. We continue our journey to Don Khong, the largest island in the South Mekong river region known as the 4000 islands, which is one of Laos’ most picturesque regions.

Stay in Don Khone Island for the night.

After an early breakfast, we go on a tour of the villages around Ban Khone. There, you can see a lot of old French colonial buildings and the remains of the first Lao railway with its locomotive, as well as learn about the colonial past.

We continue to explore the area of the 4000 islands by boat at our own pace. Our next stop is the Liphi waterfall, one of the most beautiful waterfalls that marks the end of the Laos-Cambodia border and is also called the Samphamith. At Ban Hang Khone, if we’re lucky, we might even see the rare freshwater Irrawaddy Mekong dolphin. We go back to Ban Nakasang and take a car to the famous waterfalls of Khone Phapeng, which is the largest waterfall in South East Asia and is sometimes called the “Niagara of the East.”

Don Khone Island for the night.

Khone Phapheng Falls

When we leave Done Khone Island, we go through Bolaven plateau on our way to Tadlo.

Since it is high above the Mekong Valley, the Bolaven Plateau is known for having cooler weather. From this high plateau, rivers flow in all directions and drop in a series of spectacular waterfalls into lush forests.

Bolaven Plateau Waterfalls

A trip to the plateau gives you a break from the heat and lets you see how rich coffee, tea, cardamom, bananas, and other crops are grown along the way. This trip gives people a chance to go off the beaten path and see some of the less-known parts of Laos. We can explore the wild beauty of the south of the country. When we get to the Tad Lo waterfall, we go to the villages of Alak, Nge, and Katu, which are home to people from different ethnic groups.

By late evening, we get back to Pakse. Overnight in Pakse.

After breakfast, you’ll have time to explore Pakse Town on your own before taking a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia, or leaving Laos from the Chongmek International checkpoint to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.

Pakse Town