9 days 8 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A nine-day private tour that combines four nights in Luang Prabang, Laos, with four nights around Siem Reap and Angkor in Cambodia. It includes the Pak Ou Caves, Kuang Si Falls, Angkor Wat at sunrise, a night at Koh Ker, Beng Mealea and a boat trip on Tonle Sap.
From US$1,560 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 | Luang Prabang |
| 2 | Old town lanes, temples and Mount Phousi | Luang Prabang |
| 3 | Mekong boat to Pak Ou and the potters of Ban Chan | Luang Prabang |
| 4 | Dawn alms, a rice farm and Kuang Si Falls | Luang Prabang |
| 5 | Fly to Siem Reap, crafts and Apsara dinner | Siem Reap |
| 6 | Angkor Wat sunrise, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm | Siem Reap |
| 7 | Phnom Bok and the forest capital of Koh Ker | Koh Ker |
| 8 | Beng Mealea, a village monastery and a massage | Siem Reap |
| 9 | Tonle Sap floating village and departure | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 9 days / 8 nights · Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves – Ban Chan – Kuang Si Falls – Siem Reap – Angkor – Phnom Bok – Koh Ker – Beng Mealea – Tonle Sap
This Laos and Cambodia tour joins two of the most rewarding places in Southeast Asia without rushing either. You start in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO-listed town of gilded monasteries, French-era villas and quiet lanes where the Nam Khan meets the Mekong. Four nights give you time for the dawn alms round, a boat trip to the Pak Ou Caves, a potters' village and a swim at Kuang Si Falls.
A short flight then takes you to Siem Reap for Angkor. You watch sunrise at Angkor Wat, walk among the faces of the Bayon and the roots of Ta Prohm, and go further than most visitors, with a night near the forest capital of Koh Ker and a morning at Beng Mealea. The trip ends on Tonle Sap Lake.
It is a private trip from start to finish, so the pace follows you. It suits couples, older travelers and families with children over 10 who want culture and scenery with time to breathe.
Easy to moderate. Luang Prabang is gentle, with flat lanes, boat trips and the optional 329 steps of Mount Phousi. In Cambodia, temple days mean two to three hours of walking on uneven stone and steep steps, and the drives to Koh Ker take two to three hours each way. Good for couples, active older travelers and families with children over 10.
Four nights at Satri House (Deluxe room) or similar in Luang Prabang, an elegant boutique hotel near the old town. In Cambodia, three nights at Saem Siem Reap (Deluxe room) or similar and one night at Koh Ker Temples Garden (Deluxe room) or similar, the best option near the Koh Ker temples.
November to February is ideal for both countries: dry, sunny days and cool mornings for the alms round and Angkor sunrise. March to May is hot, so temple visits are planned early and late. From June to October the landscapes turn green and Kuang Si runs at its fullest, with showers most afternoons; boat trips on Tonle Sap run all year, though the lake is low from March to May.
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 (subject to availability).
More ideas: All multi-country private tours · Luang Prabang Beauties in 5 Days · Angkor in Depth in 5 Days · Journey Through the Heart of Indochina in 16 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; Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 pl, via Wikimedia Commons; Reinhard Onasch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Arian Zwegers, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; PsamatheM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; David Sim, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Your guide and driver meet you at Luang Prabang airport and take you to your hotel. Luang Prabang sits on a peninsula where the Nam Khan flows into the Mekong, and its old town is small enough to explore on foot. Nothing is planned today, so settle in and take a first stroll along the riverbank as the evening light fades and the temple drums sound for evening prayers.
Overnight: Luang Prabang
Your guide leads a walk through the lesser-known lanes, pointing out the Lao stilt houses, French-era homes, colonial villas and Chinese shophouses that UNESCO protects. Visit Wat Sene and Wat Xieng Thong, whose roofs sweep almost to the ground, and stop at Heuan Chan, a restored 19th-century noble house, for local coffee or tea. Continue to the Royal Palace Museum and Wat Mai, climb Mount Phousi for sunset if you wish, and end at the night market.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Board a boat upstream on the Mekong, with green hills and riverside villages sliding past. Stop at Ban Xang Hai, known for its rice wine, then reach the Pak Ou Caves, two caverns in the cliffs filled with thousands of gold-lacquered Buddha images. In the afternoon the boat takes you to Ban Chan, a pottery village where jars are shaped by hand and fired in kilns dug into the earth. Try the wheel if you like (extra fee), then cruise back at sunset.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Rise before dawn to watch the alms round quietly as monks collect sticky rice, then browse the morning market. Head into the countryside to a community rice farm, where you can try farm tasks or watch from a traditional rice house, and see bamboo weaving and sugar-cane pressing. In the afternoon, swim in the turquoise pools of Kuang Si Falls and visit the Bear Rescue Centre, with a stop at the Ock Pop Tok weaving center on the way back.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Enjoy a last breakfast by the Mekong before your transfer to the airport and the flight to Siem Reap, direct or via Vientiane or Bangkok depending on the day. Your Cambodian guide meets you on arrival. Visit the Artisans d'Angkor workshops, where young Cambodians train in silk weaving, stone and wood carving, then stroll through the Old Market. In the evening, enjoy dinner with a performance of Apsara dance, the classical art you will soon see carved on temple walls.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, D
Rise early to watch dawn break over Angkor Wat, then return for breakfast. Explore Angkor Wat itself, built in the early 12th century, with its long galleries of carved reliefs. Enter Angkor Thom through the South Gate to see the smiling stone faces of the Bayon, the royal terraces and Preah Khan. After lunch, wander through Ta Prohm, where fig and silk-cotton trees grow straight through the towers, and end the day with sunset from Pre Rup.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L
Drive out to Phnom Bok, a hilltop temple from the late 9th century, and climb to the summit for a wide view over the plain. Stop at a village school and enjoy a picnic lunch in the countryside. Continue north to Koh Ker, briefly the capital of the Khmer empire in the 10th century, where a seven-tiered pyramid and quiet shrines stand among the trees. Dinner is a home-style meal cooked by a local family or at your hotel.
Overnight: Koh Ker · Meals: B, L, D
Leave Koh Ker for Beng Mealea, an early 12th-century temple still half claimed by the forest, where wooden walkways lead through collapsed galleries and mossy courtyards. After lunch, visit the monastery of Pouk on the way back to Siem Reap. Later your guide takes you for a one-hour foot or body massage, a welcome treat after the temples, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L, D
Spend your last morning on Tonle Sap Lake. A boat takes you through a floating village where houses, schools and shops rise and fall with the water, and your guide explains how families fish, trade and move their homes with the seasons. Return to Siem Reap and transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Meals: B
By air. Luang Prabang and Siem Reap are linked by direct flights on some days of the week; on other days you connect through Vientiane or Bangkok. We choose the most convenient connection for your dates and add it to your quote.
Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival or an e-visa for both countries. Requirements depend on your passport, so we send up-to-date guidance with your quote and remind you before departure.
Yes. Luang Prabang is gentle and the days there are short. At Angkor your guide plans the hottest hours around lunch and rest, and you can skip the steepest temple stairs and the climb at Phnom Bok.
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 (subject to availability): 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
