Northern Laos Adventure Multi City Vacation

Meet your guide at your Luang Prabang hotel to begin your private journey north to Nong Khiaw (approx. 140km, 3 hours), passing through lush countryside and traditional villages. Upon arrival, check-in to your bungalow overlooking the incredibly scenic Ou River. After check-in, you will embark on an amazing private boat ride up the Nam Ou River. This is one the most spectacular stretches of the 450 km river. The banks are dotted with small villages and this is a great way to get acquainted with local, rural life and the dramatic limestone formations make for great photographic opportunities. Following your cruise, stop for lunch at a local restaurant. Later, visit Muang Ngoi and Ban Sopjam Traditional Handicraft Village for a glimpse of daily life. Return by private boat to Nong Khiaw and enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure, exploring the area or relaxing on your balcony. This evening, dinner is included at a local restaurant where you are welcomed to the village with a special, traditional Laotian Baci ceremony. ‘Baci’ plays an important role, even today, in welcoming or sending off visitors, bringing good luck and warding off bad spirits. (L,D)

After breakfast, take a drive to Ban Son Khoua, also known as Ban Son Koua (approx. 220km, 5.5 hours). Stop for lunch en route at a local restaurant and head up river deep into the jungle to The Nam Nern Night Safari and Ecolodge for check-in. After a short rest, long-tail boats will take you adrift downriver, without engines, to allow for the best chances of spotting wild animals who make the river their home. Tonight, enjoy a campfire and traditional dinner, prepared by the local people. (B,L,D) Note: Nature activities during the trip include bird watching, wildlife tracking, nighttime wildlife spotting, discovery of medicinal plants and an early morning hike.

Following breakfast, get an early morning start as you return to Ban Son Koua, an ethnic Khmu Village, and continue on the road to Sam Neua (approx. 100km, 3 hours). Stop along the way to admire virgin forests and for lunch at a local restaurant. The journey will take a good deal of time as the road twists and turns along a paved mountain road. Arrive in the evening and check-in to your hotel. Enjoy dinner in a local restaurant. (B,L,D) Note: Notice the distinctly cooler air here as you are almost 1km above sea level. Bring a light jacket as the mornings and evenings can be chilly.

After breakfast, take a walk through the morning market along the Xam River, perusing the interesting and exotic produce available in the region. Check out of your hotel and transfer with your guide by private vehicle to Vieng Xai (approx. 30km, 1 hour). Visit the Information Center to learn more about the interesting historical significance of the area during the Indochina War. With the help of a local guide, travel to some of the nearby caves to see how the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party lived during the war. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant and then enjoy some free time to relax in this charming town on your own. Tonight, enjoy dinner at y our hotel. (B,L,D) Note: Touring in Vieng Xai and Information Centre: 2 hours by walk

After breakfast, travel to the nearby Hospital Cave, formerly used as a hospital during the war. Inside you can see intact medicine bottles still strewn about the rubble. After the bombing raids ended, a new hospital was built in front of the cave, allowing the historical site to become a local school. Return to your hotel and enjoy your afternoon and evening at leisure, including lunch at a local restaurant. (B,L) Note: Touring Phathet Lao Caves: 3 hours by walk

After breakfast, travel with your guide by private vehicle on the road to Xieng Khouang (approx. 300km, 7.5 hours). During your journey south, visit the mysterious menhirs, or standing stones, at Hintang. No one is quite sure who built them or why, perhaps burial sites or markers of some sort. Enjoy a local lunch in Nam Neun and then continue on to Thampiu Cave, the scene of the tragic loss of hundreds of lives during the Indochina War. In the early evening, arrive in Xieng Khouang, where you will check-in to your hotel to watch the sun fade behind the surrounding hills. (B,L)

After breakfast, you will be picked up for a full day private exploration of the mysterious Plain of Jars. Start the morning with a drive out of town to visit the Plain of Jars Site 1, the largest and best preserved of all three Jars sites. Continue to visit Plain of Jars Sites 2 and 3, which will begin to spark your imagination as to the possible purpose of these intriguing artefacts. It is possible for you to walk from site 2 to site 3, taking in some excellent surrounding views of the countryside. The walk is about 6km and passes through some amazing hilltop scenery. Site 3 is possibly the most beautiful jars site and is set atop a small rise, surrounded by scenic, yet bomb-scarred rice paddies. Lunch is included at a local restaurant before visiting Muang Khun, the former Xieng Khouang city that was destroyed by the war. Visit the ruins of the old city including the Wats and then take a short walk to a Tai Dam tribe village. Tai Dam are well accustomed to Lao life, but still keep their distinctive cultural customs such as woven headdresses. Also visit Ban Na Pia, known as the War Spoon Village. Return to Xieng Khouang and, if time permits, you have the option to visit to the MAG visitors’ center. The displays and information at the MAG center will give you an excellent introduction into the war-torn history of this region and showcase the unprecedented volume of munitions left in this area. Following your tour, you will return to your hotel for the remainder of the evening and dinner at your leisure. (B,L)

After breakfast at the hotel, meet your driver for a private transfer to the Vientane to continue on to your next destination. (B)