From its efficient little capital to towns rich in culture to bohemian river villages surrounded by mountains, Laos and its food-focused, friendly locals is the bullseye of continental SE Asia. Here’s how to see some of the very best of it.
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Girt by Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and China, Laos is the missing central piece of the puzzle that makes up the Southeast Asian peninsula.
Often overlooked by travellers in favour of its many neighbours, Laos is still quite new to tourism. This makes it such an attractive option for those of us in search for something different in the region.
Book your Laos by Train journey with InsideAsia Tours here.
Until recently, backpackers made up the majority of visitors to Laos. But since new roads and — even better — a high-speed rail line has come to the country, the travel demographic has expanded.
Taking advantage of the train means you can easily, quickly and comfortably travel between three of the most popular destinations in Laos: Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
Check out our video that takes you through all three of these unique and beautiful destinations in Laos:
Here’s a brief rundown of the full itinerary. For more detail, we’ve got separate stories on each of the three destinations — Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang — here.
To skip to each town in this itinerary, click on the links below and you’ll jump down to the destination:
Vientiane to Luang Prabang – Laos by Rail with InsideAsia Tours
We travelled with InsideAsia Tours, a global tour operator that creates fully tailored cultural adventures around Asia and that takes the tricky/boring bits out of visiting new places and turns your holiday into an experience you’ll always remember.
InsideAsia Tours is part of Inside Travel Group and sister brand of InsideJapan Tours. This award-winning tour operator specialises in ‘cultural adventure’ tourism across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
Focus is always on getting travellers beneath the surface of their destination and giving them a taste of local life wherever their adventure takes them. That’s certainly what we’ve found travelling in Laos with InsideAsia.
For the most part, you have a personal guide and driver taking you round the attractions during the day, then in the evening you’re free to do as you wish.
Day 1: Flight to Vientiane
Regular flights from major Australian cities fly via Bangkok to Vientiane. The connection is usually with a local carrier into Laos.
Day 2: Day to explore
We booked an extra day in Vientiane so we could acclimatise and explore on our own. We wander the city, check out a few nearby temples, discover strange little bars like The Office and Laodi Bar, and settle in to our hotel – the Lao Poet Hotel in Ban Haysoke District.
Day 3: Touring Vientiane
Our guide Sakhoe and his driver take us around a range of Buddhist temples and the national monument, the grand Patuxay. We also visit the COPE Visitor Centre, telling the story of how Laos is the world’s most bombed country.
We then drive to Lao Disabled Women’s Centre that helps disabled, disadvantaged and vulnerable Lao women learn crafts and other skills.
Finally, we head to Buddha Park, a sculpture park with over 200 Buddhist and Hindu statues.
Back in the city and left to our own devices, we check out the Lao Night Market for some dinner.
Day 4: Train to Vang Vieng
Sakhoe takes us to the train station from our hotel. Built in 2021, this slick high-speed rail service has improved travel through Laos hugely.
It takes just over an hour to reach Vang Vieng.
Day 5: Ballooning and hiking in Vang Vieng
At dawn, we’re picked up from our accommodation — the Riverside Boutique Hotel — for a hot-air balloon ride with Above Laos. The views from our basket of the karst mountains and rice fields are magnificent.
Next we meet Toh, our local Kmhmu guide, who takes us on a cultural hike. We walk through rice fields, learn about his people and their way of life, meet a blacksmith and have lunch with two Kmhmu women.
Day 6: Train to Luang Prabang for a city tour & an ancient Baci ceremony
Our morning train ride to Luang Prabang is under an hour — a journey that can take around eight hours by bus.
Our guide, AK, takes us around the city to visit temples, to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre and to look at the two rivers that converge here.
After lunch, he drops us off at our hotel, Maison Dalabua.
In the afternoon, AK takes us to meet Tiao Nith — Nithakhong Somsanith — a Lao artist and member of the former royal court.
Here, we also have a Baci (‘bah-chi’) ceremony, an ancient Sanskrit celebration that pre-dates Buddhism.
Day 7: Waterfalls, rice farms and buffalo
We travel into the countryside to the Living Land Farm to learn about growing Laos’ food staple: sticky rice.
This is a hands-on experience where we get into the mud to plant seeds, plough the paddy and harvest the crop with rice sickles. All up, there are 14 fascinating steps involved.
Next we travel to the stunning Huang Si Waterfalls where we have lunch and then a dip in the cascades. This is a busy area, especially at weekends, but our guide AK whisks us through masses.
Finally, we visit the Water Buffalo Dairy Farm. This ingenious endeavour ‘rents’ buffalo from locals in a form of agistment. We learn about the processes involved and get to interact with these friendly beasts.
Day 8: Elephants and a sunset river cruise
Our last day of the itinerary takes us to MandaLao Elephant Conservation sanctuary. This is the only ethical elephant sanctuary in Luang Prabang — perhaps in all Laos. If you want to see Asian elephants, this is the place to come.
We get to feed the elephants and hike with them, but there’s no riding or washing them here. This is an incredible experience in a centre is focused on the mental and physical well-being of the animals.
After lunch, we journey back to town for a sunset cruise on the Mekong River. We spend the next hour and a half floating down one of Asia’s great rivers in our own private longboat with a bottle of good wine and delicious snacks.
The golden sun setting across the water is a wonderful end to our itinerary.
Day 9: Day to ourselves
As in Vientiane, we have booked an extra day in Luang Prabang so we can explore the town by ourselves and get to know the place a little better.
We roam the little laneways and laid-back streets until it’s time to eat (or cool down with a beer). Little cafes and markets are all over the place, and in the evening, the night market runs through most of the town until late.
Day 10: Flight home
Our flight home leaves at a very civilised 2.45pm. As we soar south over the Mekong where it splits into its famous 4,000 Islands, it’s as if the shimmer of the water is waving us goodbye.
We hope it won’t be long before we’re back. Laos, you have our hearts.
