Saibaidee! Welcome to Luang Prabang, Laos.
Your flight lands at Phnom Penh International Airport, where your private transfer meets you upon arrival.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: None.

You get up as the sun rises to join the daily morning almsgiving, the most sacred tradition in Laos. In the early morning, more than 200 Buddhist monks depart from temples for the old quarter of Luang Prabang to receive alms from devotees. The monks meditate while moving lightly on their bare feet. The Buddhists prepared offerings such as sticky rice, fruit (mainly bananas), sweets, and some other food and put them in the monk’s bowl. Next, you will visit the temporary morning market, where the locals exchange their daily catch for rice, vegetables, fish, or chicken. It is the best chance to experience the flavor of local life.

After breakfast, your city tour begins with a visit to the magnificent Wat Xiengthong, a superb piece of Laos architectural temple, which presents a sweeping two-tiered roof and ornate mosaics, including a beautiful tree of life glass montage on the rear temple wall. Next, you will visit the Royal Palace Museum, which was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family.

Enjoy lunch at Tamarind, offering some of the best local food in Luang Prabang. Drive along the Mekong to the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre to explore the rich diversity of Laos’ ethnic minorities with many traditional costumes, tools, and artifacts on display. In the late afternoon, you ascend to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of a gilded stupa and a panoramic sunset view of the city and the Mekong River.

The dinner will be at the local restaurant with traditional dance & folk songs, the best way to experience Lao culture. The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by local and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

In the morning, You head out to a community-based living rice farm in the idyllic countryside of Luang Prabang. Surrounded by mountains and rice paddies, you’ll have an opportunity to experience rural life as a Laotian farmer. You will try your hand at various farm activities – or observe them from a traditional Lao rice house balcony, set amidst rice terraces and an organic vegetable farm. You’ll have time to check out nearby workshops where local bamboo weavers, blacksmiths, and sugar cane processors practice their crafts. Then take a tour of the organic garden to learn how natural herbs are used in traditional medicine.

Lunch will be on the terrace overlooking the rice field.

You then drive to the beautiful three tiers of Kuang Si waterfalls, which lead a 50-meter waterfall to drop into spectacular azure pools before flowing downstream. You take a short visit to the Bear Rescue Center, which houses a couple of dozen animals rescued from the hands of poachers and traffickers. On the way back to the hotel, you visit the Ock Pop Tock Living Craft Center, where weavers, spinners, and batik makers produce top-quality fabrics and offer free tours every half hour. This place is also the perfect spot to admire the sunset.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

It includes all our most wanted activities packed into a single-day trip; You will learn to become a professional Mahout, get ready to get wet as plunging into the Nam Khan river, and give your elephant a refreshing bath!

8:30 – 9:00:  Pick up by our English-speaking guide from your hotel and transfer to the Elephant Village camp.

1. Arrival: Meet and greet, and then participate in a short briefing about elephants.
2. Be a Mahout: Enjoy the impressive experience of being a Mahout, Laos style (Two people per elephant).
3. Mahout Training: Receive your basic mahout training on how to move with your elephant just like a mahout!
4. Lunch: Dine at the Elephant Camp restaurant. A buffet lunch is with coffee/tea and drinking water (vegetarian options are available).
5. Bathe Your Elephant: Take your elephant down to the Nam Khan river for an exhilarating and once-in-a-lifetime bathing experience!
6. Boat trip to the Tad Sae Waterfall: Take a traditional Lao longboat to the Tad Sae Waterfall and relax, dip your feet or take a swim in the clear, cool water (water levels vary with seasonal conditions).

Depart: Finish the tour and transfer back to your hotel in Luang Prabang between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

Notes: Schedules and itineraries are approximate and subject to change due to seasonal conditions in the jungle and at the camp. The Elephant Village reserves the right to break larger groups into smaller groups and/or operate tour activities in a different order than published above.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Your private transfer greets you at the hotel and escorts you to Luang Prabang train station, where you will travel on to more adventures. Train C81 dep: ODY12.49, Arr VTE 15.19. Welcome to Vientiane, the quiet capital city of Laos. You check into a hotel and take time to stroll around.

Spend an evening tasting the best Vientiane has to offer! Start with a cold beer and join the locals as they wind down from a day of work. Then weave through vibrant street markets to sample a range of local fare, from noodles to fried insects, barbecued meat to fruity ice cream. Get ready to get a true taste of Laos with an evening exploring the best food in Vientiane.

Start the evening by heading to a beer shop for a sundowner. Sip on cold beer in Laos as the sun sets over the Mekong River. Beer shops are post-work watering holes, and the atmosphere is always enjoyable. After dark, the street stalls fire up their grills and start cooking. Take a walk through Sihom, an area of small stalls selling cheap but tasty snacks. This crowded street market is popular with locals, especially on the weekends. Wander from stall to stall, stopping to taste items such as Lao-style donuts, bowls of steaming noodles, and pork meatball wraps.

Continue to the nearby Ban Anou night market, the city’s culinary hub. The market is a hive of activity in the evening with Vientiane’s residents who come to dine with friends or family. Walk through the ends of rows of food stalls and rub elbows with the locals. The market is a great place to sample exotic snacks such as fried insects or classic Laos favorites like grilled pork skewers. Having filled up on savory treats, venture to a hidden sweets shop for dessert. The specialty here is ice cream and sticky rice, an oddly delicious combination. With a full belly, it is time to return to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Overnight in Vientiane.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Begin your private tour at the serene Wat Si Saket, the only temple left intact after the Thai invasion of 1828. It is one of the most beautiful temples in the capital, and its breezy teak-covered hallways are filled with thousands of miniature Buddha statues. Continue to the nearby Wat Ho Phra Keo and the nearby Presidential Palace to appreciate the buildings from the outside. Visit Wat Si Muang, one of the most popular and venerated temples in Vientiane. Then move on to the Patuxai monument, Laos’ version of the Arc de Triomphe, where you can climb the stairs to the roof for sweeping panoramic views of the city.

Next, your tour takes you to That Luang, the holiest site in Laos. Constructed by King Setthethirat in the 16th century, the temple is resplendent as the sun shines upon its towering golden spire.

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then take a 45-minute drive to Buddha Park. En route makes a brief stop and takes photos of the Friendship Bridge, built by the Australian government in 1994, which links Laos and Thailand. On arrival, take a stroll around the Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan), filled with more than 200 Buddhist and Hindu statues, including a huge 40-meter Reclining Buddha image.

Overnight in Vientiane.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

After breakfast, your private transfer meets you at your hotel and escorts you to the airport. You board the plane filled with mixed emotions. You’re ready to journey home, but you know that you will miss Laos. Luckily, the memories will last a lifetime.

Meals: Breakfast.