Laos Tours and Trips

The general guides in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos were very good. They were knowledgeable, energetic and spoke understandable English. The local guides were unacceptable. We could understand only about 50% of their English.

Laos was lovely, still not touristy and quite laid back. Luang Prabang is quite charming. There was a good range of places to see and enjoyable boat trips, especially the day on the Mekong, many waterfalls and lush scenery in the North. Very friendly people although not much English spoken and you have to be prepared for some slow and haphazard service in restaurants. Food was generally tasty. The accomodation was very good at times especially compared to many Explore tours although sometimes you didn't have enough time to enjoy the facilities on offer. The roads are generally in a basic state so there were some long days of travel. The tour leader, Tra and our first local guide, AK were excellent. I had been to Cambodia before and would recommend it. The various temples on the Angkor Wat site are excellent. This time I had a tummy bug so wasn't able to enjoy it as much. It would be great if Explore return to offering a two week trip to Cambodia, which is what I did before and started to offer a two week trip to Laos. It can be nice to have the option to see places in a bit more depth.

This was a great summary trip for Laos and Cambodia. It was made infinitely better by our trip manager, Harry, who was so organised and sent out great summaries for every place we stopped in. All the accommodation was decent and internal transfers by coach were comfortable. We had a relatively small group which worked nicely being able to get around easier and we all got on. I think with trips that are relatively quick there is always more to discover but for what we paid and the inclusions it was pretty good! You certainly had the flexibility to go off and do your own thing if you didn't want to do specific included experiences or the paid add-ons.

The itinerary was well-paced and we especially loved the Angkor temples and the overnight on Halong Bay cruise. Our guide was super helpful, and Realistic Asia handled everything smoothly. Highly recommend for first-timers in Southeast Asia!

This was a lovely and varied trip through very beautiful and rural Laos to the amazing temples of the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia. It was a mix of beautiful hilly countryside and jungle, amazing waterfalls, cultural sights, incredible temples, and monasteries and cruises on the Mekong. We visited small remote villages, and cycled around sleepy and picturesque island of Don Khon in the 4000 islands area. Our guide was excellent and accomodation was good and often very well or beautifully located (but not always quite up to Western standards as Laos and Cambodia are developing countries.) It is a full on trip with some very early starts and long bumpy driving days. Also if you have dodgy knees, please be aware that many of the temples and waterfalls require climbing up and down sometimes a couple of hundred and more rough and uneven steps. But the guides do help you and you can take your time, and you can always opt out but still be in beautiful countryside and view from the bottom. Also take roll- on deodorant and insect repellant as you will not be allowed aerosol sprays on the train journey to Vientaine. I would thoroughly recommend this trip.

I enjoyed every moment of the trip. The daily itinerary was very varied and well lead by our guide Tra and his assistant guides in Laos. The hotel's were well chosen and conveniently situated for independent sightseeing. I thoroughly enjoyed the included farewell meal, the best vegetarian food all trip!