I did the overnight hike to a Khmu village. Guys, if you were wondering whether to go or not - absolutely do it. It was everything I hoped it to be and more. I will remember the experience for the rest of my life
This tour will serve different activities based on 2 different seasons: high water season and low water season. It will be a lot of fun during the high water season when the waterfall is flowing, but dirty roads can be more challenging. So it depends on your preferences to choose the one that best suits you.
Here is the detail program for each season:
High water season (August to January):
At the departure time around 8 am, you will be welcome at the bike shop by a local tour guide. You will be given a well-maintained mountain bike as your main transportation of your bike tour.
You will start the tour by cycling from the city center to Wat Pa PhonPhao temple, the first destination of the tour. You will not only visit and enjoy the fantastic beauty of this golden temple but also get a great view over Luang Prabang city.
Then, you continue riding your bike along a paved road through the teakwood forests and rice paddy fields. After enjoying the beautiful landscape with fresh atmosphere, you cycle along the Nam Khan River to visit the resting place of Henry Mouhot, an Anglophile French naturalist widely known as the “discoverer” of Angkor Wat.
After visiting the tomb, you continue biking through villages and past jungle-covered mountains until you reach the pier located on the banks of the Nam Khan River. Here, you will embark on a boat to cruise up the river to Tad Sae waterfall where you’ll have lunch in a beautiful landscape. After lunch, you can swim in the jungle. In addition, you can see and take photos of elephants there. It’s advisable that you buy some bananas and feed the elephants.
You then get on boat to head back to the camping site. You cycle back to Luang Prabang city following a route with beautiful scenery.
The tour ends about 5 pm.
Low water season (February to July):
In the low water season, Tad Sae waterfall is dry. You will then take a boat ride and walk into the jungle to see baby elephants instead of the waterfall. However, it still depends on the location and availability of the elephants.
If you spend a few days in Luang Prabang I really recommend you organize tours with them. They promote a truly beautiful idea of sustainable tourism, supporting the local population, and the activities are very well organized. They are a big family always ready to help.
This full day biking tour will take you to some great destinations where you will cycle about 50km over mixed trail - paved road and unpaved off-road. The riding level is medium. The time in each destination can be flexible as per your request as long as it doesn’t affect the whole plan.
At the departure time around 8am, you will be greeted and picked up by a local tour guide at your hotel. You are then transferred to a bike shop to pick a mountain bike for your tour.
You start the biking adventure by riding out of town along the Mekong River. After crossing the old communist bridge, you stop by a traditional village, Xieng Lek which is widely well-known for making mulberry paper and weaving. You leave the village and continue riding along Nam Xuang River through villages and scenic countryside landscape. Don’t forget to take photos of these beautiful and peaceful sceneries.
Then, you finish riding on nice road to start the next session of off-road route. You will cycle up and down the hills into countryside. You will cycle along beautiful vast rice fields and local villages such as Lao Leum, Hmong, and Khmu. You will also have a chance to talk to local people there, take photos with them and observe their daily activities.
Leaving these villages behind, you keep on riding along the Nam Khan River to the last destination of the tour, the beautiful WatPhonPhao or the “Peacefulness Temple”. This Buddhist temple is located on a hill towards the southeast of Luang Prabang and is well-known for its huge golden stupa and an incredible view overlooking all of Luang Prabang.
After exploring this temple, you ride back to the bike shop and return the bike.
End the tour around 5pm.
This full day bike tour takes you to several destinations and the time spent in each destination can be flexible as per your request. You will be greeted at your hotel at around 8 AM and provided with a well-maintained mountain bike for the tour.
You start the tour by riding from the city center along the Mekong River and through local villages. On the way, you will stop at two traditional guild villages. First one is the village of Ban XiengLek – a village famous for weaving and making mulberry paper. After exploring this tiny village, we move on to the next village of Ban Xiang Hai, also known as Whiskey Village because it is well-known for producing Lao Lao rice whiskey.
Continuing on, you will stop at Pak Ou where the Nam Ou and Mekong River meet. Here, you can enjoy the fantastic views of incredible limestone cliffs rising from the rivers and the caves formed in the limestone landscape. You will then stop for a delicious lunch at a restaurant with an incredible view of both rivers and Pak Ou cave.
After lunch and a short rest, you will embark on a private longtail boat to cruise across the river to the holy Pak Ou Caves. You can see thousands of Buddha relics in both the lower and upper caves.
At the end of the day you get back on the boat to cruise to Luang Prabang. It’s time for you to relax and enjoy the scenic view of Mekong River. The boat ride takes about 1.5 hours to travel 25 km of the river. Upon your arrival in Luang Prabang, you cycle back to the bike shop and return your bike.
End of tour around 5 PM.
From the remarkably relaxed capital of Vientiane, to enchanting, beautifully preserved former capital of Luang Prabang. Discover the spellbinding magic of Laos. Timeless temples, saffron clad monks and spectacular scenery abound!
Discover classic Laos on this 10-day guided tour. Start in the UNESCO heritage ancient royal capital Luang Prabang and travel through Phonsavanh to Vang Vieng to the final destination of Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
In Luang Prabang, visit famous temples that are still used in daily Lao life, experience a boat trip on the mighty Mekong River to the mysterious Pak Ou cave and see other highlights such as stunning waterfalls and a living farm.
Xieng Khouang, the next stop, is best-known for having been heavily bombed during the Indochina War and also for the historic Plain of Jars. In Vang Vieng, visit nearby villages, populated by the Hmong hill tribe and Tai Dam people, who live a simple life but possess a vibrant local culture and an interesting history.
Continue to Vientiane and stop to visit an archaeological site of Vang Xang, where you can admire one of the country’s oldest Buddha statues, dating back to the 11th century.
All accommodation, transport and activities are included on this tour, as well as several meals. Check out the what’s included sections and the detailed itinerary for more information.
Travel from Bangkok to Vientiane and experience the delights of northern Thailand and the laidback river lifestyle of Laos. Over 13 days, you’ll balance relaxation with exploration, taking in the bright lights of Bangkok in Thailand, the age-old charms of Luang Prabang in Laos and the temples of Vientiane. Travel down the mighty Mekong River and become immersed in the tranquillity of remote villages as you meet friendly faces along the way. Not to mention the delicious local food, the amazing natural landscapes, the UNESCO World Heritage sites and the handy local leader by your side.
My wife and I truly enjoyed this incredible tour. The 3-star hotels exceeded our expectations, not only in comfort, but also in location, allowing us to easily explore local life. Every pickup was seamless. The tours themselves were well-organized and each experience was memorable. Honestly, our only regret is not having more time in each of these amazing places!
A special thanks to our dedicated rep, Evelyn, who supported us throughout the trip. This was a 5/5 experience, and we’ll absolutely be recommending it to family, friends, and colleagues!
The Spirit of Laox trip was excellent, great value for what was included. We especially liked the trip on the Mekong River, it was a lovely restful day inbetween alll the other full on days. We liked the amount of activities and trips provided by Explore and all were interesting and enjoyable . The tour leader, Silk, was great and he had a huge knowledge of the history of Laos and Cambodia which added to the interest The local guides, Tae and Pheng, in Laos were also very knowledgeable and helpful. We generally had a fantastic and are looking forward to our next trip with Explore
