Essential Laos Cambodia

9 days 8 nights

Luang Prabang – Pakse – Khong Island – Siem Reap

Day 1: Arrival in Luang Prabang

Day 2: Luang Prabang (B/L)

Day 3: Luang Prabang (B/L)

Day 4: Luang Prabang – Flight to Pakse (B/L)

Day 5: Pakse – Champasak – Don Khong (B/L)

Day 6: Don Khong – Pakse – Siem Reap (B/L)

Day 7: Siem Reap (B/L)

Day 8: Siem Reap

Day 9: Sieam Reap – Departure

Day 1. Arrival in Luang Prabang

Upon arrival at the airport, our guide and driver will be waiting to provide transport to your hotel for check in. Relax and explore Luang Prabang on your own.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Day 2. Luang Prabang (Breakfast/Lunch)

After breakfast, enjoy a guided tour of the enchanting World Heritage Town of Luang Prabang. 

The tour starts at the former Royal Palace, now the National Museum, to learn about the history of Laos, continues on foot to Wat Mai, a temple renowned for its golden bas-relief and then visit Wat Xieng Thong, with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. Continue to the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre (closed on Monday) to explore the rich diversity of Laos’ ethnic minorities.

In the afternoon, board a private longtail boat for the Mekong River cruise to the famous Pak Ou Caves. Locally called Tam Ting, the caves are filled with thousands of gold-lacquered Buddha statues, coming in a wide range of sizes. After visiting the caves, cruise back to Luang Prabang. Along the way back, make a stop at Ban Xang Hay, a village specialising in making rice wine.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Day 3. Luang Prabang (Breakfast/Lunch)

Wake up early in the morning to witness the Tak Bat ceremony, you will have the chance to witness the monks leaving their pagodas to receive offerings of food from Luang Prabang residents. It is a beautiful ceremony that highlights the spiritualism of the Lao people. Continue to visit the morning market before returning to the hotel for breakfast.

After breakfast, visit Wat Visoun, the holiest temple of the city, followed by Wat Aham and Wat That, where the ashes of King Sisavang Vong are interred inside the large central stupa. Continue then with a drive through the Luang Prabang countryside to Kuang Si Waterfalls. Upon reaching Kuang Si Waterfall, enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings on foot. These waterfalls cascade down a multilevel limestone formation creating a series of turquoise blue pools perfect for swimming on a hot day (if swimming, please dress modestly).

On the route back, pay a visit to the Free the Bears sanctuary, housing 23 Asiatic Bears which were rescued from poaching. 

Head back to the city in time to climb the 328 steps leading to the top of Mount Phousi. Upon reaching the peak, enjoy a beautiful sunset and panoramic views of the city below. After sunset, descend the steps and pay a visit to the nearby evening market, filled with beautiful hill tribe souvenirs and handicrafts.

Overnight in Luang Prabang

Day 4. Luang Prabang – Flight to Pakse (Breakfast/Lunch)

Enjoy breakfast and some free time until transport to the airport for your flight to Pakse, the most important city of Southern Laos. 

Upon arrival, our guide and driver will be waiting to provide transport to the hotel for check in.

In the afternoon depart for a short orientation tour of Pakse. Explore its colonial and Chinese-style buildings, in addition to its huge local market. Afterward, depart for the Bolaven Plateau, a mountainous region home to dozens of hill tribes, waterfalls and coffee and tea plantations.

Visit the  impressive waterfalls Tad Fane and Tad Yuang situated on the edge of Dong Hua Sao protected area, 38km from Pakse.

Note: water levels may vary according to the previous rainy season.

Make a short stop in Paksong before continuing east to reach the Sinouk Coffee Resort. An expert in coffee will lead a visit through the coffee plantation, explaining all about the indigenous coffee trees and different processing stages.

On the drive back to Pakse, stop at the small village of Ban Houay Houn, famous for its Katu textiles. Observe the village’s women weaving without a traditional loom, using their legs to stretch the fabric.

Return to Pakse in the late afternoon and transfer to the hotel.

Overnight at Pakse.

Day 5. Pakse – Champasak – Don Khong (Breakfast/Lunch)

After breakfast, transfer to Wat Phou. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, Wat Phou is a spectacular pre-Angkorian temple that sits amidst the rice fields and waterways of southern Laos. The temple served as the most important economic and political centre of the region and still is one of the Lao people’s most revered temples.

Stop for lunch in a local restaurant in Champasak before continuing to Khong Island, the biggest island in Southern Laos and the start of the 4,000 Islands Region. Called “Siphandon” in Lao language, this area is where the Mekong stretches over 14 km wide and houses thousands of islands between its cascades and rapids.

Overnight in Khong Island.

Day 6. Don Khong – Pakse – Siem Reap (Breakfast/Lunch)

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Siem Reap, the gateway to the majestic temples of Angkor! On arrival in Siem Reap airport, your tour guide will meet and bring you to the hotel in the city center. If time permits, visit Les Artisans d’Angkor, the latter established in 1992 in order to support Cambodian arts and crafts, and to help young people find work in their local villages by continuing the practice of traditional arts. 

Check-in and explore the town on your own. 

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Day 7. Siem Reap (Breakfast/Lunch)

Wake up early in the morning and enjoy a pre-dawn drive to Angkor Archaeological Park. Select a good viewpoint at Angkor Wat, sit back and watch the sunrise over the back of the temple. Seeing the temple emerge from darkness to being bathed in early morning light is an unforgettable experience. Once the sun is up, go inside to explore Angkor Wat temple, a World Heritage Site since 1992, famous for its beauty and splendor. Angkor Wat features the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, which runs along the outer gallery walls and narrates stories from Hindu mythology. 

In the afternoon, visit the unique temple of Banteay Srei. The so-called “Citadel of the Women” was constructed in rose-colored sandstone and displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art. The unique charm of this temple lies in its compact size, remarkable state of preservation, and the excellence of its decorative carving. 

Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Day 8. Siem Reap (Breakfast)

Today you will explore some of Angkor’s most beautiful temples starting at the West Gate of Angkor Thom, undiscovered by mass tourists then continue to the ancient South Gate and Bayon temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avalokitesvara. The nearby Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King are also must-visits as they are both known for their intricate relief carvings. 

Continue to visit the fabulous Ta Prohm embraced by the roots of enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers. Built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, Ta Prohm is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of King.

Return to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

This evening enjoy a performance of ‘Phare Circus’. The hour long show mixes traditional and modern theater, music, dance, acrobatics, juggling and contortion performed in a story about Cambodian lives and society.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Day 9. Siem Reap – Departure (Breakfast)

Today visit Beng Mealea, known as the ‘Pond of Lotus’ temple. The temple was hidden in a maze of the jungle for hundreds of years before being found and opened for visitors. After that, drive to the abandoned Koh Ker to explore the pyramid temple of Prasat Thom and some other beautiful temples covered by jungles.

Return to town and free time until transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

End of all services.

Inclusions services: 

• Hotel accommodation with daily breakfast
• Land transportation by private air-conditioned vehicles
• Experienced and skilled English-Speaking Guide
• All admission fee at attractions as mentioned in the itinerary.
• All meals as mentioned in the itinerary.

Exclusions services: 

• Visa handling fee,visa stamping fee.
• Internal airfares in the tour (please refer to the airfare supplement)
• International airfare from/to Vietnam
• Any other meals not mentioned above.
• Any kind of drinks in meals
• All other services which are not mentioned in INCLUSIONS
• Early check-in and late check-out at all hotels
• Travel insurance in all kinds
• Personal expenses such as Bar, telephone, Laundry bills …
• Tipping/ Gratuities Guideline
• Any additional expenses caused by reasons beyond our control such as natural calamities (Typhoon, floods), flight delays, rescheduling or cancellations, any accidents, medical evacuations, riots, strikes etc.
• Surcharge for peak season/public holidays if any.