HIGHLIGHTS OF LAOS

After breakfast at the hotel, you'll go on a tour of Vientiane with the guide. The tour starts at one of the most beautiful temples in the city, the peaceful Wat Sisaket. From there, it goes to the nearby Wat Phra Keo. As a religious museum, the place has a unique collection of art from both Laos and Cambodia. The Presidential Palace is also close by. Even though it can only be seen from the outside, the beautiful building is a great way to learn about Vientiane's royal past. Next, make a stop at Wat Simuang. It is the most well-known and revered temple in Vientiane and is thought to protect the city's spirit. After you've seen the temple, go to COPE, an organization that helps people who have been hurt by landmines. When you go to the center, you can learn more about the background of the American-Vietnam War, the long-term effects of unexploded ordinances (UXO) in the area, and what is being done to get rid of them.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Vientiane

After breakfast at the hotel, we leave this great town and head north on Route 13. On the way to the mountainous area, we will pass through beautiful farmland and see some amazing sights. In the afternoon, we reach our final stop, a small, quiet village called Vang Vieng. It is in a bend of the Nam Song River. Even though tourism has grown in recent years, the beautiful scenery of calm water and rocky limestone rocks has not changed. When we get to Vang Vieng, we cross the Nam Song River to get to the Tham Jang caves. We then take a short hike through beautiful mountain scenery to the Tam None Cave and some hill towns. At the end of the day, you can see a beautiful view of the sun setting over the Nam Song River. Overnight in Vang Vieng.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Vang Vieng

After breakfast, the tour will start with a short drive across the Nam Song River to Tham Pou Kham. Descend 100 meters into the ground after going through a small hole. Even though the cave's opening is small, it leads to a large room with a huge Buddha statue lying down. After you've explored the tunnel, you can swim in the Ka River's cold but clean water holes. After spending the day in the caves and the area around them, we head back to the town of Vang Vieng. Along the way, we stop at the Hmong, Souay, and Taidam villages, where we meet the warm and friendly hill tribe people and look at their traditional tribal clothes. When we get to Vang Vieng town, we stay for a night. Continue the adventure with a two-person longtail boat ride on the Nam Song River. Spend the night in Vang Vieng.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Vang Vieng

After breakfast, we get an early start on our trip up Route 13 north to Luang Prabang, which may be the Southeast Asian city with the best-preserved old town. Along the way, the roads are well-paved and make for a smooth ride. We pass some beautiful scenery, including steep terraced fields and hill villages, and we stop at a few small hill tribe towns for photos. Laos's hill tribe villages are all different. Some are better off than others, but they all have a lot of life. The next stop is the village of Muang Xieng Nguen, where we spend a short time watching how people live before getting to Luang Prabang. When you get to Luang Prabang, you'll be taken to your hotel to check in, and the rest of the day is yours to do as you please. Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

After breakfast, you'll start your morning tour of the charming town of Luang Prabang, which is a World Heritage Site. The tour starts at the old Royal Palace, which is now the National Museum. From there, it goes to Wat Mai, which is famous for its golden bas-reliefs. The next temple is Wat Sensoukarahm, which was built in 1718 and has a beautiful metal front. Go to the Center for Traditional Arts and Ethnology. This museum is all about the many different ethnic minorities in Laos. It has traditional clothes, tools, and other artifacts on show.

In the afternoon, a private car took us on an excursion to the Kuang Si waterfall. On the way, we stop at Ban Ouay, a Hmong village, Ban Ou, a Laoloum village, and Ban Thapene, a Khmu village. After that, we drive to the beautiful Khouangsi Waterfall, where you can swim in the blue pools or hike through the forest. By late afternoon, we'll be back in Luang Prabang. Then, we'll climb Mount Phousi, a nearby hill with a temple on top. From there, you'll have a great view of the town and the river. From there, you can go to the Night Market, where you can find beautiful textiles made by people from Luang Prabang and the nearby hill tribes.Overnight in Luang Prabang

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

After breakfast, you will be taken to the boat dock. Then, we take a cruise upstream on the Mekong River. This gives us a great view of the peaceful countryside and a chance to visit the mysterious Pak Ou Caves. These are two caves that are connected and are full of thousands of gold-lacquered Buddha statues in different shapes and sizes that pilgrims have left behind. After about two hours, you'll reach Ban Xang Hay, a village famous for its traditional weaving and "Lao Lao" rice wine. Walk through the town to get a feel for how people live there. Then, get back on your boat and head to the Pak Ou Caves, which are carved into a cliffside where the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers meet. Follow your guide into the lower cave of Tham Ting, then climb the stairs to the top cave of Tham Phun. In Tham Phun, you can see a mind-boggling number of Buddha statues—about 3,000 of them, ranging in size from a few inches to the height of a person.

As you walk through the cave, your guide will tell you more about the Buddhas and how the cave has become an important spiritual site for Buddhists in the area.Back on the boat, head back to Luang Prabang, stopping along the way to see the town of Ban Xang Khong, which is known for making Sa paper and weaving.  When you finally get back to Luang Prabang, the rest of the day is yours to do as you please. Spend the night in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

There is a very special visit at dawn to see the monks gathering alms. This is for people who get up early. As the sun rises, long lines of orange-robed monks leave their pagodas and walk barefoot through the streets of Luang Prabang to collect gifts from the people who live there.Breakfast is at the hotel, so go back there.

At 8:00 AM today, you will leave the hotel for a short ride into the countryside. The Living Land Community Farm is 5 km from Luang Prabang. It is an all-organic farm in a beautiful rural setting, next to rice fields. The wooden farm buildings on stilts hold an interactive museum that shows many different parts of country life in Laos. Enjoy a guided tour of the organic vegetable farm and learn all kinds of skills, like how to make a wooden roof or a basket, make noodles, or get the juice out of sugarcane. Experience what it's like to be a farmer by doing things like plowing the rice fields with one of the local buffaloes (this will get you dirty!). Also, learn about the 13 steps that go into making rice and then try some snacks made from rice. (Please remember that the activities will be shared with other guests.)

After the Living Land adventure, you will be taken back to your hotel or dropped off in the city center so you can explore the city on your own. You will spend the night in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

After breakfast at the hotel, you can do whatever you want until our guide and car come to pick you up and take you to the International LuangPrabang Airport so you can catch a flight to another place. Trip ends

Meals: Breakfast