8 days 7 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
An 8-day private family vacation in and around Luang Prabang, with a Baci dinner, Pak Ou Caves, Kuang Si Falls, pottery, a cooking class, zipline and two nights at a hillside ecolodge. There are no long drives and no domestic flights.
From US$1,190 per person for the whole tour, based on 4 travellers sharing double rooms in 4★ hotels as listed (couples travelling alone pay a little more). It changes with hotel level, season and group size, and is confirmed in your tailor-made quote.
| Day | Route and highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive in Luang Prabang, Baci dinner with a local family | Luang Prabang |
| 2 | Royal Palace, Pak Ou Caves and old town temples | Luang Prabang |
| 3 | Morning alms, a dairy farm and Kuang Si Falls | Luang Prabang |
| 4 | Ethnology museum, Ban Phanom weavers and the Nam Khan | Luang Prabang |
| 5 | Ban Chan pottery and an organic farm | Luang Prabang |
| 6 | Lao cooking class and Green Jungle Park zipline | Hillside Ecolodge |
| 7 | A free day at Hillside Ecolodge | Hillside Ecolodge |
| 8 | Return to Luang Prabang and depart | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 8 days / 7 nights · Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves – Kuang Si – Ban Phanom – Ban Chan – Namkhan farm – Green Jungle Park – Hillside Ecolodge
This Luang Prabang family vacation keeps everyone in one beautiful corner of Laos, so you spend your time doing things rather than traveling. It opens with a Baci blessing and dinner in the home of a local family, followed by a Mekong boat trip to the Pak Ou Caves, a morning with the monks and a swim at Kuang Si Falls.
The middle of the week is hands-on. Meet the craftspeople of Luang Prabang at the ethnology museum and a weaving village, glide down the Mekong to Ban Chan to shape your own clay pot, and tour an organic farm by the Nam Khan. A Lao cooking class is followed by an afternoon on the zipline at Green Jungle Park.
The trip ends slowly, with two nights at Hillside Ecolodge in the green hills outside town: a pool, village walks and time to simply be together before you fly home.
Easy and relaxed. Expect two to three hours of activity most days, plus the 329 steps of Phousi Hill and an optional zipline with a short forest walk. Transfers are all under an hour. Very well suited to families with children over 10 and to grandparents traveling with them.
Five nights at Le Bel Air Resort in Luang Prabang (4-star level, Garnier room) or similar, then two nights in a bungalow at Hillside Ecolodge in the hills outside Luang Prabang or similar.
November to February is the most comfortable time, dry and sunny with cool mornings. March to May is hot and the hills can be hazy, so the pools at Kuang Si and Hillside are especially welcome. The green season from June to October brings showers and lush scenery; Kuang Si may turn milky after heavy rain and forest trails can get muddy.
Your guide and driver are yours alone for the whole trip, so the pace, the stops and the start time each morning follow you. The standard version has an English-speaking guide; guides who speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese or Vietnamese can be arranged on request.
More ideas: All private tours in Laos · Luang Prabang and Southern Laos in 8 Days: Temples, Coffee Hills and River Islands · Vientiane to Dien Bien Phu: Laos by Train Overland to Vietnam in 8 Days · Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi: Nam Ou Valley in 7 Days
Photos: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Your guide meets you at Luang Prabang airport and takes you to your hotel. Rest a while, then take a first stroll through the old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of temples, teak houses and French-era villas. In the late afternoon, visit a local family for a private Baci ceremony, where elders tie white cotton threads around your wrists and wish you well. Afterwards, stay for dinner with your hosts, a warm start that children remember long after the trip.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: D
Begin at the Royal Palace Museum, built in 1904 for King Sisavang Vong. Then cruise up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves, two caves in a limestone cliff filled with thousands of Buddha images, stopping at Ban Xang Hai, a village known for rice wine. Back in town, visit Wat Sene and Wat Xieng Thong, then the Heuan Chan heritage house for a look at old Lao family life and a cup of Lao coffee or tea. See sunset at Wat Phabath and finish at the night market.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Rise early to watch monks walk the streets collecting alms, then visit the morning market. After breakfast, climb Phousi Hill for a view over the rivers and, on weekdays, stop at the UXO Visitor Center. Head into the countryside to the Buffalo Dairy Farm, a fun stop for children to meet the water buffalo, then continue to Kuang Si Falls to swim in the blue pools or walk to the quieter falls near Ban Thapene. On the way back, visit Ock Pop Tock to see weavers at work by the Mekong.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Start at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC), a small, well-curated museum on the slopes of Phousi Hill that introduces the costumes, crafts and beliefs of the many ethnic groups of northern Laos. Then drive a short way out of town to Ban Phanom, a Tai Lue weaving village where families work at wooden looms beneath their houses. Lunch is free in town. Late in the afternoon, take a gentle boat ride on the Nam Khan River as the light softens over the hills.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Ride a tuk tuk to the pier and take a boat down the Mekong to Ban Chan, a village of potters. Walk through the village to see the pottery center, a traditional kiln and the brick works, then sit down to shape your own clay souvenir with local potters; it is fired and delivered to your hotel within a few days. Enjoy lunch on a terrace overlooking the river before boating back. In the afternoon, tour an organic farm at Namkhan Ecolodge to learn how plants, trees and animals work together in natural farming.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B, L
Start the day with a Lao cooking class in Luang Prabang: shop for herbs and vegetables with the chef, then prepare traditional dishes and keep the recipes. Lunch is what you have made. In the afternoon, drive to Green Jungle Park, a forest park on the road towards Kuang Si, for its zipline and forest trails (walking only is fine too). Late in the day, continue to Hillside Ecolodge in the hills outside town for the night.
Overnight: Hillside Ecolodge · Meals: B, L
Today has no fixed plans. Swim in the lodge pool, read in the shade, or take a short walk to a nearby village to see daily life in the hills. Children can try a pony ride, and the lodge staff can suggest easy walks in the surrounding forest. It is a welcome pause at the end of an active week, with fresh air and quiet evenings.
Overnight: Hillside Ecolodge · Meals: B
Enjoy a slow breakfast in the hills. If time allows, stop in Luang Prabang for a last stroll or a coffee by the Mekong, then your driver takes you to the airport for your onward flight. Children often want one more look at the night market or the river, so we keep the morning flexible and time the transfer around your flight.
Meals: B
It suits families with children from about 10 years old. The zipline, cooking class and pottery workshop are the highlights for most kids, and every activity is gentle enough for grandparents to join or watch.
No. The zipline is optional, and anyone who prefers can walk the jungle trail or relax at the park while the others fly.
No. Everything is within about an hour of Luang Prabang, and you fly in and out of the same airport. It is a good choice for families who want one base and little time on the road.
Yes. This is a private tour with your own English-speaking guide. We also arrange private guides who speak French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese or Vietnamese: tell us when you enquire and we confirm your guide in the quote. Book early for the December to April high season.
Nothing is payable until you approve your written quote. We then ask for a 30% deposit to confirm, and the balance 45 days before arrival, by bank transfer or card. Bank details come with your booking confirmation; always confirm them with us by phone or WhatsApp (+84 812 247 572) before any transfer.
Save the itinerary to share with your travel companions
Save the itinerary to share with your travel companions
