Down the Mekong through Laos

On arrival in Vientiane, you're met by your local guide and transferred to your accommodation for check-in.

Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is a peaceful city on the banks of the Mekong River, on the border with Thailand. Unlike many fast-paced Southeast Asian capitals, Vientiane has a relaxed atmosphere, shady boulevards, golden temples and a rich mix of Lao, Thai, French and Chinese influences.

The rest of the day is free, with the option of a sunset stroll along the Mekong and a visit to the night market. This evening, dinner is at Kualao restaurant, with a dinner show featuring traditional Laotian dance and music.

After breakfast, your driver and guide pick you up from the accommodation lobby. You'll discover Wat Sisaket, the only temple in Vientiane spared the Siamese invasion of 1828, making it the city's oldest. The inner walls of its cloister hold niches lined with over 2,000 silver and ceramic Buddha images.

Across the street, visit Ho Phrakeo, one of Vientiane's most important temples, a former royal chapel now converted into a museum. From here, you continue to That Luang, the most famous monument in Laos. Local legend holds that it houses relics of the Buddha - a strand of hair, a bone fragment, or, by some accounts, other bodily remains. The reliquary sits on a perfect square base, topped by three tiers and a monumental golden stupa. Nearby, stop at Patuxay, one of Vientiane's most remarkable sites: a triumphal arch built in the style of Paris's Arc de Triomphe, at the end of Lane Xang Avenue leading to the Presidential Palace, and known locally as the 'Champs Elysees of Vientiane'.

Lunch is at a local restaurant, before you leave the capital in the afternoon for Vang Vieng, 130 km north (a 2.5-hour drive). Vang Vieng sits at the centre of a basin cut through by the Nam Song River, surrounded by mountains rising to 2,000 metres to the north and 1,000 metres to the south. Its dramatic limestone peaks and cave-riddled karst mountains have earned it the nickname the 'Guilin of Laos'.

On arrival, visit Tham Chang Cave, a sacred cave that once sheltered locals during wartime; climb its 147 steps for a view over the valley. You check in to your accommodation in the late afternoon, with time to enjoy its scenery and facilities, or take a stroll along the Nam Song River as night falls.

This morning, after breakfast, visit the turquoise-blue lagoons of Vang Vieng (Lagoon 3 and/or 6), among the town's best-loved sights. The excursion takes in local landscapes surrounded by karst cliffs and a stop at a local village for a glimpse of everyday Lao life, followed by a pirogue ride along the Nam Song River to take in the surrounding scenery.

Lunch is at a local restaurant on the Nam Song River, with panoramic mountain views (pirogues carry a maximum of two people per boat).

From here, you're transferred to Vang Vieng train station (25 km) for the train to Luang Prabang, your next destination. Once the royal capital, Luang Prabang takes its name from the Pra Bang, a revered golden Buddha image housed in the former royal palace. Built at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, the city is known for its green hills, grand former palaces, gleaming temples and pastel French-colonial houses, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 for its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.

The train departs at 2:29 pm and arrives at 3:40 pm, where your driver meets you for the transfer into Luang Prabang (20 km) and check-in at your accommodation. The evening is free to explore the UNESCO city at your own pace; a stroll through the night market is recommended, where vendors sell everything from woven silk and embroidered textiles to silver jewellery, daily from 5 pm to 10 pm.

Baci Ceremony and Dinner at a Local House
You have the option to join one of Laos's most significant rituals, in which white cotton cords are tied around the wrists while prayers and good wishes are recited for the person the ceremony honours. Dinner with the family follows. This can be arranged for this evening or for your last evening in Luang Prabang, at an additional cost.

After breakfast, visit the morning market, where locals do their daily shopping - effectively the city's own supermarket. Transfers today are by local tuk-tuk.

From here, board a traditional boat for a cruise along the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves, at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers. Their impressive cliffside entrance opens onto two caves set deep in the jungle, home to hundreds of Buddha statues left by generations of Laotians.

Lunch follows after the cave visit, before the return to Luang Prabang by boat. Along the way, stop at Ban Xang Hai, a village known for producing Lao Lao rice alcohol and handicrafts, both available to taste and buy on site, and Ban Xang Khong, a craft village that has specialised for years in papermaking from mulberry bark.

After breakfast, begin the day with a visit to the National Museum, formerly the Royal Palace. The museum houses a significant collection of weapons, jewellery, crockery, furniture and clothing that belonged to Sisavang Vong, the last king of Luang Prabang.

From here, visit Wat Xieng Thong, the city's most beautiful temple, built in the finest Lao style in the 18th century and once the site of royal coronations. You then leave the peninsula for Kuang Si Waterfalls, a spectacular sight reached via a scenic 45 km road passing through Hmong and Lao Loum villages.

Lunch is near the falls at a local restaurant, followed by a 15 to 20-minute walk through the forest, passing numerous natural pools of turquoise water - bring your bathing suit and water shoes if you'd like to swim.

The day also takes in the Conservation Center for Asiatic bears, known as the Free the Bears foundation, which rescues black bears from poachers across Southeast Asia and India, supporting a range of projects through partnerships tailored to each country and situation. You then return to Luang Prabang by road (45 km). Dinner this evening is at your own arrangement.Elephant Sanctuary Visit
You can opt to visit an elephant sanctuary in Luang Prabang, home to rescued elephants and their mahouts, offering a safe, sustainable future for the animals while supporting local livelihoods. The visit includes a jungle trek alongside an elephant and its mahout across the river (without riding on its back), lasting around 4 hours in the afternoon, with transfers and a local guide included. Group size is limited to 7 people out of respect for the elephants' comfort, at an additional cost.

An early breakfast or packed lunch box is provided before the transfer to Luang Prabang airport for the flight south to Pakse. No guide accompanies you during this transfer and flight.

On arrival in Pakse, you're welcomed by a new local guide for the onward journey by road to the Bolaven Plateau (40 km, around 50 minutes), a region at an altitude of 1,200 metres known for its waterfalls and lush vegetation. You visit the twin waterfalls of Tad Fane and Tad Yeuang, among the highest in the country at over 120 metres, followed by the Tad Pha Souam waterfalls at an eco-tourism and cultural park in Bachiang Chaleunsouk.

The plateau is also known across Laos for its coffee, and you'll explore the coffee plantations of the Laven ethnic group, from whom the Bolaven Plateau takes its name, with a stop in one of the local coffee-producing villages. Lunch is at a local restaurant.

From here, it's a 60 km (1 hour 45 minute) transfer to Champassak, crossing the Mekong by local ferry to your riverside accommodation. After checking in, an introductory yoga class with the resident teacher runs from 5 to 6:30 pm, with the rest of the evening free to relax. Dinner this evening is a four-course Lao set menu at the accommodation.

Please note: The flight from Luang Prabang to Pakse only operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, so this affects which day your tour can begin.

After breakfast, explore Champasak, a small town of around 40,000 people stretching 7 km along the banks of the Mekong, where old colonial mansions sit alongside traditional Lao houses. The town's main draw is Wat Phou, a pre-Angkorian temple 8 km from the centre and one of the most significant archaeological sites in Laos, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visit the temple and its museum, set at the foothills of a 1,416-metre mountain with forest-covered slopes and a flattened summit. On the ridge just north of the complex stands a 15-metre natural monolith resembling a linga, a symbol of the Hindu god Shiva. The visit takes around 3 hours; wear sports shoes, long sleeves and a hat, as it can get hot.

Lunch is at a local restaurant in Champassak, before returning to the accommodation to relax by the pool, with spa treatments available. This evening brings a BBQ beach buffet on the sandy riverbank at the accommodation.

Optional Yoga Sessions
You can join an early-morning yoga practice from 7:30 to 9 am, and a further session in the afternoon from 5 to 6:30 pm, both led by the resident yoga teacher.

After breakfast, check out and take the roughly three-hour drive to the 4000 Islands. From here, a small traditional boat carries you through the Si Phan Don region, also known as the 4000 Islands, to the neighbouring islands of Don Det and Don Khon, both of which played an important role in Mekong river navigation during the French protectorate.

Visit Don Det, still marked by its French colonial presence, then Don Khon, known for its coconut, bamboo and kapok crops. Continue by bike or tuk-tuk to the island's southwest to reach Li Phi Falls, which form a natural border between Laos and Cambodia in a dramatic, wild setting. A recently built suspension bridge gives a striking view over the falls, which are a popular spot for fishermen using large bamboo nets, sometimes catching up to half a tonne of fish in a day.

Return to the accommodation for the rest of the day at leisure. Lunch and dinner are both at the accommodation.

After an early breakfast, check out and depart by road, stopping along the way at Khone Phapheng Falls, known as the 'Niagara of the Mekong' and the highest waterfall in Southeast Asia, set in the only stretch of the Mekong that remains unnavigable. The river thunders over a kilometre-long, 30-metre drop in its lower basin, with a flow said to be twice that of Niagara Falls, among the largest in the world.

You continue back towards Pakse, stopping if time allows at the Big Buddha overlooking the city, before the border crossing at Chongmek into Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand for your onward flight.