5 days 4 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A five-day private tour from Pakse that loops through southern Laos. It includes coffee farms and waterfalls on the Bolaven Plateau, the Khmer temple of Wat Phou, two island nights in Si Phan Don, Khone Phapheng Falls and a final riverside night in Champasak.
From US$550 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 | Pakse to the Bolaven Plateau: coffee and waterfalls | Paksong (Bolaven Plateau) |
| 2 | Champasak and Wat Phou, on to Don Khong | Don Khong |
| 3 | Boat through the 4,000 Islands to Don Khone | Don Khone |
| 4 | Khone Phapheng Falls and back to Champasak | Champasak |
| 5 | Champasak to Pakse and departure | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 5 days / 4 nights · Pakse – Bolaven Plateau (Paksong) – Champasak – Wat Phou – Don Khong – Don Khone – Khone Phapheng – Champasak – Pakse
This southern Laos tour packs the best of the region into five unhurried days. From Pakse you climb onto the Bolaven Plateau, where French planters once introduced Arabica and Robusta coffee and the air is noticeably cooler. You taste local coffee, visit tea and coffee farms and walk to three of the plateau's finest waterfalls before a night in Paksong.
Next you drop down to the Mekong plain and the old riverside town of Champasak, with its French colonial houses, then explore Wat Phou, a hillside Khmer temple complex whose oldest parts date back to around the 5th century. The road continues south to Si Phan Don, the 4,000 Islands, where life slows to the pace of the river.
Two island nights, first on Don Khong and then on Don Khone, give time to explore by boat and on foot. Before heading back north you see Khone Phapheng, the largest waterfall by volume in Southeast Asia, and spend your last night by the river in Champasak.
Easy. Walking is short and gentle: paths to the waterfall viewpoints, the stone stairs at Wat Phou and village lanes on the islands. Daily drives are mostly one to three hours on paved roads, with boat rides between the islands. Well suited to older travelers and families with children over 10.
Comfortable stays chosen for their setting: Sabaidee Valley Resort (Deluxe) or similar in Paksong, Pon Arena Hotel (Deluxe) or similar on Don Khong, Sengahloune Resort (Deluxe) or similar on Don Khone, and The River Resort (Riverfront Villa) or similar in Champasak, a lovely spot on the Mekong.
November to February is the most comfortable time, with dry, sunny days and cool nights on the Bolaven Plateau. March to May is very hot in the Mekong lowlands. In the rainy season from June to October the waterfalls are at their most powerful and the plateau is green, but island paths can be muddy; at the end of the dry season the Mekong drops and more of the 4,000 Islands appear.
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 Beauties: Old Town, Mekong Villages and Kuang Si in 5 Days · Luang Prabang and Vientiane in 6 Days: Two Capitals by Express Train · Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi: Nam Ou Valley in 7 Days
Photos: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; rubixcuben, CC BY 2.0, 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 on arrival in Pakse and you drive east up onto the Bolaven Plateau, home of the finest Lao coffee. In colonial times the French planted Arabica and Robusta here, and today the cool climate and plentiful rain keep the farms thriving. Visit coffee and tea plantations and taste the local brew. The area is home to several ethnic groups, mainly the Laven. Stop at Tad E-Tu on the road to Paksong, then Tad Fane, the highest waterfall in Champasak province, and nearby Tad Yuang.
Overnight: Paksong (Bolaven Plateau) · Meals: L
After breakfast, drive down from the plateau into the Mekong plain to Champasak, a sleepy riverside town lined with French colonial houses. Continue to Wat Phou, one of the oldest archaeological sites in Laos. Its first temple was built around the 5th century, though most of what you see dates from the 11th to 13th centuries, built of sandstone, laterite and brick. Look for carvings of Indra on his three-headed mount and Vishnu riding the garuda. Then travel south to Don Khong, the largest island of Si Phan Don.
Overnight: Don Khong · Meals: B, L
Spend the day exploring Si Phan Don, the 4,000 Islands, by boat. Here the Mekong spreads up to 12 km wide in the rainy season, and as the water drops, countless small islands appear. Life is slow, with wooden houses on stilts and animals wandering the lanes. Pass Don Det, the liveliest of the islands, and continue to Don Khone, quieter and greener, linked to Don Det by an old bridge built in the French era. In the afternoon, walk its peaceful paths with your guide.
Overnight: Don Khone · Meals: B, L
Return to the mainland and visit Khone Phapheng, a series of cascades where the whole Mekong tumbles over a wide rock shelf near the Cambodian border. It is the largest waterfall by volume in Southeast Asia, and in the rainy season the falls stretch for kilometers across the river. Then drive north again to Champasak for your last night in southern Laos, in a villa on the bank of the Mekong.
Overnight: Champasak · Meals: B, L
Enjoy a free morning by the river in Champasak, perhaps a walk through the village or a quiet coffee on your terrace. Champasak is a lovely place to linger, with old French houses and small temples along a single riverside road. Then transfer to Pakse, about an hour's drive, and on to Pakse airport for your flight home or to your next destination in Laos.
Meals: B
Pakse has an airport with flights from Vientiane and some regional cities. You can also arrive overland from Thailand or Cambodia. We can book flights for you or join this tour onto a longer trip through Laos.
Yes. Walks are short, drives are on paved roads and boats do the work in the islands. The stairs at Wat Phou are steep and uneven, so take them slowly or enjoy the lower terraces.
Yes, and it is worth it if you like slow travel. An extra day allows a cycling loop around Don Det and Don Khone, a visit to Li Phi Falls and time to relax in a hammock by the river.
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.
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