Laos Encompassed

Depart your home country on your flight to Chiang Rai in Thailand.

Relax after your flight with two nights immersed in nature near Chiang Rai at the Thai/Laos border. Stay at a delightful, sustainable property in the hills, offering privacy and opportunities for adventure and exploration. You can participate in several activities, such as trekking, bird watching, cooking classes, horse-riding and yoga.

Today you’ll be driven to the border crossing at Chiang Khong, where you will take a short boat ride across the river to Laos. Once you’ve completed immigration formalities you’ll depart on your boat cruise down the Mekong towards Pakbeng. The journey allows you to enjoy the passing scenery and observe rural life along the Mekong. Stop off en route to visit riverside villages and arrive in Pakbeng before sunset for an overnight stay at a simple hillside lodge overlooking the river.

Today, you’ll travel by car towards Oudomxay, making scenic stops along the way. You’ll arrive in time for lunch and check in at your off-the-beaten-track resort, set amongst a protected forest. This is a wonderful base for exploring the area, surrounded by mountains and jungles.

This area sees few visitors which makes for a very serene environment and the opportunity to experience day-to-day village life without feeling that you are just one of many tourists passing through.  For adventurous types, there is some great trekking in the jungle-clad hills, and for those who prefer to take it a bit easier, there are some nice easy walks that could wind up with a picnic at a waterfall or a trip to the local hot springs.

Today you will drive along the backroads of Laos towards Hin Boun. Stop along the way for lunch and to see the 15th-century stupa of Prabat Phonsan and the interesting Ban Ton Na Mae Markets. Arrive in Hin Boun in the evening and check in to your hotel.

After breakfast, take a private cruise to the stunning Kong Long Caves. With over 7km of subterranean rivers passing through jungle-clad caves, this is a wonderful must-see destination. There is a spectacular cavern that is over 100 metres high and is full of beautiful stalagmites.

Today you’ll continue your guided journey south making the first stop at the Phou Pha Marn viewpoint where you can enjoy some impressive vistas of the ancient Karstic forests. Daredevils can opt to climb the Via Ferrata and cross the exhilarating suspended bridges You’ll reach Thakek early afternoon in time to explore this riverside town and enjoy the sunset over the Mekong. Thakek was once a French trading post and as such the streets feature an evocative combination of faded colonial villas and Chinese shophouses.

Today is a full day’s road journey through the countryside. You’ll reach the small city of Savannakhet around lunchtime, where you can stop for noodle soup. Continue into the Bolaven Plateau, known for its cooler temperature being located high above the Mekong Valley. At the village of Ban Beng, you’ll be met by a Coffee expert, and you’ll switch to a vintage jeep, an ideal vehicle for the next bit of terrain, which is on a route rarely visited by foreigners. By early evening, you’ll arrive at the coffee plantation in time for a delicious home-cooked meal.

Wake up early if you’d like to see how pretty the sunrise is above the surrounding fields. Your host will roast some fresh coffee while explaining the coffee-growing process from seed to cup. After breakfast, begin your 1-2 hour trek. Along the way, you’ll pass farms of lettuce, peppers, ginger, cucumber, cabbage and more. Later you’ll take a jeep to Tad Moan waterfall where there is time to relax and go for a swim. In the afternoon, head out by jeep and visit some of the interesting villages and trek up to a mountain peak where you will be rewarded with beautiful views of the Plateau. There is even time to visit a cave used as a shelter by villagers during wartime.