Flight: TG2576 Bangkok - Luang Prabang 09.25 - 11.00

Meet & greet: Upon arrival at Luang Prabang airport, you will be welcomed to Laos by your private English-speaking guide, and then transferred to your hotel for a 2 night stay.

Afternoon at leisure: After checking in, the rest of the day will be free at leisure for you to settle in to your hotel and rest after your journey.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Maison Dalabua (Grand Deluxe Room)

Morning Luang Prabang ancient city tour: You can discuss with your guide the option of an early morning start (5.30am) to witness and partake in the daily morning ritual of ‘Tak Bat’, or giving alms to the monks. This is a unique ritual still followed by the locals in Luang Prabang.  Afterwards you can also visit the local fresh market to see how the locals shop, before returning to your hotel for breakfast. Afterwards, your tour starts with a visit to the quaint Royal Palace Museum, which gives a good overview of the local history. Next you will visit the magnificent Wat Xiengthong, with its roof sweeping low to the ground, representing the classical Luang Prabang style. You can also visit the excellent ‘Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre’, which gives a great insight into the ethnic mix and culture of Laos. Your final stop of the morning is a climb to the top of Mount Phousi, which offers a spectacular panoramic view over Luang Prabang and the Mekong River.

Afternoon at leisure: This afternoon is free to explore this picturesque & atmospheric ancient capital independently. A side trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls or Pak Ou caves is recommended and can be arranged either in advance or through your guide. Staying within the city, there are a number of excellent cooking classes, plus great shopping opportunities in local craft centres.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Maison Dalabua (Grand Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Road transfer to Muang La: After breakfast, you will be picked up from the hotel for the drive to Muang La, a journey of approximately 5 hours, depending on road conditions. You will drive through some wonderful scenery, with numerous villages and scenic spots to stop off at along the way, including the village of Ban Xong Ja. Pass through the market town of Oudomxay and arrive in Muang La by late afternoon.

Afternoon at leisure: The rest of the afternoon is free at leisure for you to stroll around the village, or just relax at the riverside retreat enjoying a massage or bathing in the hot springs.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Muang La Lodge (Deluxe Garden View Room)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Morning visit to a minority village: This morning, you will be met by a guide and taken in a 4x4 vehicle to a remote Ikho hill tribe village located near Muang La. At the village, there will be the opportunity to wander in and around the bamboo dwellings and see locals going about their daily lives. The Ikhos are one of the most isolated communities in Laos, and originate from Tibet and China’s Yunnan Province. You will have the chance to learn about their way of life, their belief in the spirit world which affects everything they do, and their unique method of dyeing their clothes using extracts from the plants of the forest. A truly unforgettable experience! You will return to the lodge for lunch.

Afternoon & Evening: The remainder of the day can be spent relaxing in the natural hot springs, taking a traditional massage and enjoying the excellent local French-Lao cuisine in the restaurant.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Muang La Lodge (Deluxe Garden View Room)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Road and boat transfer to Nong Khiaw: After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel for the 2 hour drive to Muang Khua, where you will board a boat for the spectacular journey downstream to Nong Khiaw. After around 2.5 hours, you will disembark and board a minivan for a short trip to pass the new Nam Ou Dam, before boarding a second boat for the downstream part of the boat journey to Nong Khiaw (another 2 hours). This particular stretch allows you glimpses of stunning limestone karst scenery and remote villages, including Ban Sob Jaem, a Khmu and Hmong village that can only be accessed by boat.

Afternoon at leisure, with an optional tour to Tham Pha Thok Caves: This afternoon, you have some time at leisure, with the option of taking a cycling or walking tour to the caves of Tham Pha Thok (time-permitting). These caves are located just over a mile outside Nong Khiaw, where locals took shelter from bombings during the Second Indochina War. Please note that the bicycles will need to be rented locally from your lodge - your guide can assist you with this.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Mandala Ou Resort (Riverview Bungalow)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Road journey from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang: This morning, you will head south by road to Luang Prabang. The morning drive brings you out into rolling countryside, where you can admire the beauty of the Nam Ou River and the surrounding rice paddy fields. Along the way, we stop to visit the mysterious caves of Pak Ou, two caves set in a limestone cliff facing the Mekong River crammed with thousands of Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes. Arrive in Luang Prabang at around lunchtime, where you will have the rest of the day at leisure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Maison Dalabua (Grand Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

At leisure: Today is at leisure to explore Luang Prabang further, or take an optional excursion. These include elephant experiences, mountain biking tours or a cooking class.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Maison Dalabua (Grand Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Private transfer: After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Pakse.

Flight: QV513 Luang Prabang - Pakse 10.40 - 12.20

Road journey through the Bolaven Plateau: On arrival in Pakse, you will be met by your guide and driven out of the city towards the cool plains of the Bolaven Plateau. En route, you will stop at the picturesque twin chute waterfall at Tad Fan, as well as a local tea & coffee plantations, where you can sample some of the local products. Continue to Paksong, where you will visit the Jhai Coffee House, a philanthropic coffee roaster & café which buys directly from the source and reinvests all profits back into the region. After your coffee break, continue driving north, making further stops at some fascinating minority villages en route. Arrive at the beautiful Tadlo Waterfall in the late afternoon, where you have the rest of the day at leisure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Tadlo Lodge (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Road journey from Tadlo to Champasak:  This morning, drive south towards Champasak, stopping en route at the attractive Paxuam Waterfall. You will arrive in Champasak in the early afternoon and the rest of the day will be free at leisure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at The River Resort (Riverside Villa)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Morning tour of Wat Phou: After breakfast, there will be a guided tour of the fascinating pre-Angkorian ruins of Wat Phou, one of Southeast Asia's most dramatically situated temples. Founded in the first decades of the 9th century by Jayavarman II, the first king of an independent Khmer nation, Wat Phou served for some time as the Khmer capital. Wat Phou is often compared to Angkor, not only because it was built in the same style but because it too was lost to the jungle for centuries. Whilst the structures themselves are thrilling, it is the jungle overgrowth that creates the atmosphere. The Wat stood unused for centuries because it is a Hindu temple in what became a devoutly Buddhist land.

Afternoon at leisure: This afternoon is at leisure to relax at your hotel or explore the local countryside. You have time to relax in the placid surrounds of Southern Laos. The more active may wish to hire a bike and explore the local countryside, but really there's not much else to do apart from relax with a cold drink or two in some of South-East Asia's most idyllic backwaters.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at The River Resort (Riverside Villa)

Meals: Breakfast

Full day tour of the Four Thousand Islands: After breakfast this morning, travel south by road for around an hour until reaching the village of Ban Hatsaikhone, to board a small local boat that will weave the channels of the 4000 Islands before arriving at Khone Island. Take a tour of the islands by bicycle, starting by re-tracing the French colonial-past, where some old colonial houses still stand and glimpse the first Lao railway with its own locomotive. Continue exploring with a visit to the beautiful Liphi waterfall, also known as the Samphamith, which forms a natural border between Lao and Cambodia. Return to your boat to head back to the mainland and drive to the famous waterfall of Khone Phapeng - the largest waterfall in South East Asia, also known as the 'Niagara of the East'. Drive back to Champasak in the late afternoon.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at The River Resort (Riverside Villa)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Private transfer: After a morning at leisure, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Vientiane.

Flight: QV304 Pakse - Vientiane 12.40 - 13.55

Private transfer: Your guide and driver will transfer you to your hotel. The remainder of the day will be at leisure in Vientiane.

Time at leisure in Vientiane: This afternoon you have some time to explore the Laotian capital independently. As the smallest capital in the world, the centre is small and easily traversed on foot. There are a number of excellent cafes and boutiques, with cultural attractions, including the National Museum or Wat Si Saket.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Ansara Hotel (Savvy Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Morning tour of Vientiane: This morning, visit the enchanting Haw Phra Kaew, built in the 16th century by the royal family to hold the emerald Buddha and with an exquisite collection of religious art. Continue to the Siamese style Wat Si Saket and the That Luang Stupa, the bright golden monument which represents a lotus bud and is used as a symbol of the Lao nation. End the tour at the imposing Patuxay Monument, Vientiane's very own Arc de Triumph.

Private transfer: This evening your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport.

Flight: TG575 Vientiane - Bangkok 21.30 - 22.35

Meals: Breakfast