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Arrival in Hanoi.
Your guide and driver will meet you at the airport.
Transfer to your hotel.
Today is a free day. You can explore Hanoi on your own. The capital of Vietnam is a charming city with its lakes and colonial architecture.
Your hotel is within walking distance of the Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter. A visit to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum is highly recommended.
Early in the morning, you will drive from Hanoi to Hoa Binh before continuing to Mai Chau with a stop at a Muong Village along the way.
Mai Chau is located in a beautiful valley on the edge of the Pu Luong Nature Reserve. The limestone landscapes of Pu Luong make it an area of outstanding beauty, cultural interest and high biodiversity stretching all the way from Mai Chau to Cuc Phuong National Park.
After lunch in Mai Chau, you will be dropped off in Poom Cong village where you will check into your home stay. From here, you will hike through the valley and visit a couple of White Thai villages before returning to Poom Cong.
You will start the day with an early departure from Mai Chau for the drive along the Ma River to the border between Vietnam and Laos. Along the way, you will stop at one of the many Muong villages where you can take pictures of some of the giant waterwheels which are being used for irrigation.
Next, you will arrive at the Na Meo/Nam Xoi checkpoint where you will say goodbye to your Vietnamese guide. A Lao visa-upon-arrival is available at this border crossing (see our visa section for details).
After having completed the immigration and customs formalities, you will meet your Lao guide and driver ready for the trip to Vieng Xai, which was home to the Pathet Lao, the Lao communists, from 1964 until 1975.
At Vieng Xai, you will visit the cave of Kaysone Phomvihane, who became the first prime minister in the government of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic in 1975. The cave served as Kaysone's headquarters during the war.
Later, you will continue to Sam Neua where you will stay overnight at the That Muang Guesthouse.
Today involves a long but spectacular trip from Sam Neua to Phonsavan and the mysterious Plain of Jars. After breakfast you will visit the small market of Sam Neua and then take off for a long drive through spectacular mountainous scenery. Along the way you will have the chance to stop at some villages and walk around some of the fascinating sites.
During this leg of the journey, you will visit the prehistoric landscape at Hin Tang and then pass through Muang Kham, the capital of Xieng Khouang Province, located in a lush, fertile valley. After taking in the sights of the local market, you will visit the Tham Piow Cave where hundreds of Hmong tribal people died when a US fighter pilot made the tragic decision to fire a rocket into the cave where they were hiding.
In the late afternoon, you will arrive in Xieng Khouang where you will
Today you will visit the mysterious Plain of Jars. At several places around the town of Phonsavan, enormous jars are scattered. There is still no conclusive explanation as to how the clay jars found their way onto the plain, nor to what purpose they served. However, the most likely explanation is that the jars are enormous funerary urns carved by a long-vanished Bronze Age people.
Tragically, many of the jars were destroyed or damaged during the Vietnam War, when American planes bombed positions of the communist Pathet Lao. Nevertheless, many jars remain and you will visit two of the most interesting sites: site 2 and site 3.
In the afternoon you will visit a Hmong village in the vicinity of Phonsavan before returning in the late afternoon to the Phoupadeng Hotel where you will spend a second night.
Today will be spent travelling from Phonsawan to Luang Prabang. During the journey, there will be plenty of time to stop and enjoy the spectacular views, visit some of the picturesque villages and enjoy lunch in a local restaurant.
At the end of the afternoon, you will arrive in the historically and culturally fascinating town of Luang Prabang where you will be dropped off at your hotel.
Today is a free day.
Luang Prabang is an enchanting place to wander slowly on foot while absorbing the magic of Laos. The former royal capital, it has a handsome mixture of Buddhist and French colonial architecture, an intriguing multi-ethnic population and a glorious setting with craggy mountains and two meandering rivers.
Today you can explore this UNESCO World Heritage site on your own.
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Price includes:
- English speaking guide during sightseeing
- Entrance fees
- Meals as indicated
- Accommodation as mentioned on the itinerary
- Tour and transfers as indicated on the itinerary
Price DOES NOT include:
- Insurance
- Personal Expenses
- Surcharges during festivals or peak season
- All Drinks
- Visa Fees
- Tips
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