Meals: None

Welcome to Laos. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by our representative who will assist you in the process of a VIP fast track visa. Afterwards, meet your private guide and driver and transfer to your hotel.

(NOTE: The cost of your Laos visa and any service fees are included in this service. Please prepared your passports, plus one passport-sized photo per person and hand them to our representative. This process will save you around 45 minutes compared to obtaining the Lao visas on arrival yourselves).

Overnight at Satri House, Junior Suite Room

Meals: B L

Luang Prabang, Pearl of the Mekong.

8:30am. After breakfast, you will explore this historic and charming heritage town.

Transfer to begin your journey at the most popular of temples – Wat Xieng Thong. This 500-year-old temple is exquisite and is the best example of the classic Luang Prabang style. You will also visit nearby Wat Mai and Wat Sene.

From here, explore some local and interesting small side streets, along back alleys and through temples – a city that could have been designed with slow travel in mind, this tour allows you to soak up the ambiance and appreciate the hidden charms of Luang Prabang.

Through your guide, feel free to ask the locals questions as they go about their daily lives. Continue wandering up the peninsula, stopping at temples and other sites as you wish. Visit the National Museum, which is the former Royal Palace. Relics from Laos’ royalist past remain here. Overlooking the palace is Phousi Mountain. It is said that those who do not climb the 328 steps up have not really made it to the city.

Venture up the hill and be rewarded with remarkable views of the area.

Pak Ou Caves.

In this afternoon, you will depart through Lao‘s scenic countryside to the Pak Ou Caves, a mystical pilgrimage site perched high above the Mekong River 27 miles outside of Luang Prabang.

On the way to Pak Ou Caves, you will stop at some local villages. One of the villages is a wonderful silk weaving village called Ban Sang Khong. The weaving techniques employed in Ban San Khong date back many centuries and are used to create some of Asia‘s most highly prized textiles. Some villagers are also engaged in Sa Paper production.

After a brief stop, continue your tour to Ban Pak Ou, where you will board a boat to reach the Pak Ou caves. Peering into dark corners, your eyes gradually adjust to reveal the serene faces and figures of more than 3,000 Buddha images, some inlaid with semiprecious stones. That these images remain undisturbed in this remote site in one of the world‘s poorest countries is a testament to the devotion of the people. Return by boat to Luang Prabang, cruising along the Mekong and enjoy the lush river life along its banks while sipping a drink and tasting some Lao snacks.

Overnight at Satri House, Junior Suite Room

Meals: B L

Ethnic Minorities & Kuang Si Falls.

At 09:00am. After breakfast meet your guide and driver start the day with a visit to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, a museum dedicated to the ethnic minorities of Laos.  Then drive into the peaceful countryside, stopping to explore several villages along the way. We will see a Hmong, a Khmu, and a Lowland Lao village and can compare their different life styles, traditions and religions.

The Lowland Lao of Ban Sa-aat live on the banks of the Mekong and its tributaries and in the cities. They speak Lao, which is closely related to the Thai spoken in Thailand. Ban Pano is home to Khmu people, who were the original inhabitants of Northern Laos. They are animists and speak a language belonging to the Austro-Asiatic group of languages. In Ban Long Lao, you will see Hmong and Khmu people live peaceful side by side. The Hmong settlers were the most recent to come to Laos. They built their villages on the mountain tops and practice shifting cultivation of corn and other crops. In Ban Pano and Ban Long Lao, local guides from these villages will show you around. You will have the chance to get to see houses from inside, traditional dresses and explanations about different craft productions or other common work routines. The villagers are grateful for this additional income and they are proud to welcome visitors from far away! Continue on to the Kuang Si Waterfall. At the falls, crystal water cascades into idyllic turquoise pools. Bring a bathing suit if you would like to swim! Also take time to visit the nearby Sun bear Refuge to learn more about the poaching of these endangered creatures.

After this you will visit the Buffalo Diary Farm, known for their sustainable approach on local farming. This includes: A guided tour of the farm & information on how they work with the local community, Buffalo feeding & bathing, milking demonstration, feeding chickens, pigs and rabbits, Bottle feeding calves. Relax in the café and enjoy the ‘cake of the day’ served with ice cream and tea or coffee before heading back to your hotel.

 Overnight at Satri House, Junior Suite Room

Manda Lao Therapeutic Trek (Join in excursion).

8:30am. After picking you up from town or your hotel, we will leave Luang Prabang for the nearby village of Xieng Lom. Upon arrival you are invited to have coffee or tea as your guide for the day provides an in-depth introduction to elephant behavior and the ways we should interact with them.

A quick boat ride across the Nam Khan River will deliver you to the waiting elephants. You will be introduced to your new friends and feed them some special treats—a sure way to begin an instant friendship. Just following, you will begin walking with your new gigantic companions through the jungles of Laos.

The 2-hour Trek will take you through beautiful Lao jungle, past traditional Lao farms, and past the cool Huay Nok stream, where you may experience elephants playing joyfully in the water. As you walk alongside the elephants on a small dirt path listening to their gentle footsteps and the sounds of the jungle around you, you will experience a profound sense of understanding, respect, and caring for these amazing animals.

As you prepare to start your walk back to MandaLao, you will bid farewell to your new friends with a few more treats, hugs, and moments to say goodbye.

Following lunch, you will take the short ride back into Luang Prabang and have one more chance to ask your guides any lingering questions.

Rest afternoon at leisure.

Mekong Sunset Cruise (Private).

At 16:30pm. Later this afternoon, you will transfer to the Tha Heua Mai pier, where your boat will be waiting.

Leave Luang Prabang and follow the Mekong River upstream towards the confluence of Nam Khan. Along the way you will observe the different villages and communities of Luang Prabang. Cross the Mekong River to the other side where you will visit Wat Long Khoun and walk to Wat Chomphet. Return to your boat and float down the Mekong River into the sunset. If you haven‘t tasted your drink yet, well this is the right time to do so!

Additional drinks: red wine, ice cooled Beer Lao and some soft drinks (soda & snack for the children) are available at your charge.

Tonight, you will enjoy with your guide to street food at the night market before back to your accommodation (Foods & Drinks on your own account).

Overnight at Satri House, Junior Suite Room

Meals: B L D

After breakfast and checking out of your hotel, you will be transferred to the Luang Prabang Train Station, take the high-speed train around 1,5 hours to Oudomxay, and into the heart of Laos.

Arriving at the Oudomxay train station, meet your local guide and driver and transfer about 40 minutes to your lodge, beautifully situated in the protected forestry area along the Nam Kat River. En route, stop at the village of Ban Longya, one of Oudomay's oldest Tai Lue villages. Explore the village and meet the locals before walking the short distance to Paradise Mountain, considered sacred to the local communities.

It is said to contain three sacred footprints of the Buddha. Continuing toward your resort, pass several other ethnic villages, such as Khmu, Tai Dam and Tai Lue. Arrive at Ban Kat to experience the Tai Dam lifestyle, along with the opportunity to try Lao alcohol. In this village, the locals produce this rice alcohol every morning. Continue to Ban Poung Hieng, a Khmu village before proceeding to your accommodations.  

Settle into your rooms before dinner and a relaxing evening.

Dinner at the Resort.

Overnight at Nam Kat Yorla Pa Resort, Deluxe Room

Meals: B L D

Today, embark with your guide on a full-day exploration of the countryside and villages north near Muang La. By vehicle, drive in the direction of Pak Khai. This pleasant journey gives you wonderful views across the river Nam Pak, terraced rice fields and the small villages along the banks of the river. Once in Pak Kai, walk along a mountain trail following a stream meandering through the lush vegetation.

During your morning walk, meet the local farmers working in their rice fields and learn how they cultivate their lands, hunt for small game and fish in the mountain streams.

Enjoy a lovely hike of about two hours through the forest to the village of Ban Phavie—a beautiful Khamu village which sits on the top of a hill, where you'll enjoy a picnic lunch prepared by the lodge.

Spend the afternoon exploring the village and meeting the villagers or enjoy a short walk to a waterfall where you can relax in the cooling clear waters (weather and interest permitting).

This afternoon depart Ban Phavie by car back to the resort arriving late this afternoon for dinner and a leisurely evening.

Dinner at the Resort.

Overnight at Nam Kat Yorla Pa Resort, Deluxe Room

Meals: B L

Today begin the journey to Luang Prabang with a two-night stay in Nong Khiaw en route. After breakfast, depart on the approximately three-hour drive to the village of Muang Khua, on a road that ultimately leads to the Vietnamese border and to Dien Bien Phu. At Muang Khua, board your privately chartered riverboat for the five-hour cruise down the Nam Ou River to the town of Nong Khiaw. The boat is covered with comfortable seats. The cruise will take you through some of the most spectacular river scenery in Northern Laos. Have a picnic lunch along the way.

Due to the construction of a new dam half way down the Nam Ou, you will transfer the short distance around the dam by local truck and reboard an identical boat on the other side of the dam.

Your cruise ends this afternoon in the town of Nong Khiaw. Once there, you will transfer by tuk tuk to your accommodation for check in, rest afternoon at leisure.

Overnight at Mandala Ou, Riverside Bungalow

Meals: B L

Trek to rural village, learn about three local cultures.

We’ll pick you up from your hotel at 8.30am and take a tuk tuk for 20 minutes to a neighboring village to start this easy and very scenic trek surrounded by imposing limestone mountains.

For the next 1.5 to 2 hours, we trek along a dirt road leading to Ngaluang Village where 3 ethnic groups live harmoniously side by side. Along the way, you will see village people going about their work on their farms. Be sure to charge your camera as you will see many mist-covered mountains making for a beautiful rural landscape.

We arrive at the village and have the chance to see how these three ethnic groups live together. Your guide will explain about the very different cultures and style of living. You will visit the mud brick school built by Tiger Trail and after a village tour, we will enjoy a picnic lunch at the village homestay.

We depart the same way for 30 minutes before turning off onto a smaller road, known as a tractor trail, weaving its way through forest and farm land. Parts of the trail are elevated giving incredible views of simply stunning rice paddy fields. We will stop at a local fish pond for a break and snack before meeting our tuk tuk to return us to Nong Khiaw arriving approx. 2.30pm.

Overnight at Mandala Ou, Riverside Bungalow

Meals: B

Rest morning leisure, you can explorer Nong Khiaw with your guide by walking or bicycle, visit the local village.

In this afternoon, you will be transfer around 3,5 hours back to Luang Pabang for overnight.

Overnight at Satri House, Junior Suite Room

Meals: B

Rest morning at leisure until the time and you will transfer with your guide to the airport for your flight onward.