5 days 4 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A five-day private stay in Luang Prabang with three guided days: a heritage walk with temples and Mount Phousi, a Mekong boat to the Pak Ou Caves and the potters of Ban Chan, and a day with the dawn alms round, a rice farm and Kuang Si Falls.
From US$970 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 | Depart from Luang Prabang | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 5 days / 4 nights · Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves – Ban Chan – Kuang Si Falls – Luang Prabang
This Luang Prabang private tour gives you four nights in one of the loveliest towns in Asia, with three full guided days and plenty of time to wander. Your guide starts in the quiet back lanes, explaining how the town's wooden stilt houses, French-era villas and Chinese shophouses fit together, before you reach the famous temples, the Royal Palace Museum and the sunset view from Mount Phousi.
Day three is spent on the Mekong. A boat carries you upstream to the Pak Ou Caves, filled with thousands of Buddha images, with a stop at a rice wine village, and later to Ban Chan, where potters shape clay by hand and fire jars in kilns set into the ground. You return as the sun drops behind the hills.
On the last full day you rise early for the alms round, then head into the countryside for a morning on a community rice farm, where you can try planting or threshing and learn about local herbs. The afternoon is for swimming in the turquoise pools of Kuang Si Falls.
Easy. Expect two to three hours of walking on the town day, mostly on flat lanes, plus the 329 steps up Mount Phousi, which you can skip. Boat trips and short drives fill the other days, and the farm visit can be as hands-on as you like. Well suited to older travelers and families with children over 10.
Four nights at Satri House (Deluxe room) or similar, an elegant 5-star boutique hotel within easy reach of the old town's temples.
November to February brings dry, sunny days and cool mornings, the most comfortable time for walking and the dawn alms round. March to May is hot and often hazy. From June to October the countryside turns bright green, the rice fields are planted and Kuang Si runs at its fullest, with showers most afternoons.
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 · Southern Laos in 5 Days: Bolaven Plateau, Wat Phou and the 4,000 Islands · 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; 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.
Your guide and driver meet you at Luang Prabang airport and take you to your hotel. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage town set where the Nam Khan meets the Mekong, famous for its gilded temples and calm, slow rhythm. Nothing is planned today, so settle in and take a first stroll through the old town, perhaps along the riverbank as the evening light fades.
Overnight: Luang Prabang
Your guide leads an in-depth walk through the lesser-known lanes of the town, pointing out the four types of buildings protected by UNESCO: Lao stilt houses of wood and bamboo, half-wood French-era homes, colonial villas and Chinese shophouses. In the afternoon, visit Wat Sene and Wat Xieng Thong, with roofs sweeping low to the ground. At Heuan Chan, a restored 19th-century noble house, learn about Lao ceremonies and family life over local coffee or tea. Continue to the Royal Palace Museum and Wat Mai, climb Mount Phousi for sunset and end at the night market.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
After breakfast, 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 linked 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 artisans shape bowls by hand and fire hundreds of jars at once in kilns dug into the earth. Try the wheel yourself if you like (extra fee), then cruise back to town at sunset.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Rise before dawn to quietly watch the alms round, as monks walk the streets to receive sticky rice, then browse the morning market near the palace. Head into the countryside to a community rice farm surrounded by hills and paddies. Try your hand at farm tasks or watch from the balcony of a traditional rice house, visit workshops for bamboo weaving, blacksmithing and sugar cane pressing, and tour an organic garden of Lao medicinal herbs. In the afternoon, swim in the turquoise pools of Kuang Si Falls and visit the Bear Rescue Centre, with a stop at Ock Pop Tok on the way back.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B
Enjoy a last breakfast and some free time in town, perhaps a final coffee by the Mekong or a visit to a temple you passed earlier. At the agreed time, your driver takes you to Luang Prabang airport for your flight home or to your next destination. There is no guide today, but your driver handles the timing, and the airport is only a short ride from the old town, so you can enjoy a relaxed final morning without rushing.
Meals: B
Yes, for a relaxed visit. Three guided days cover the old town, the Mekong and the countryside, and the first and last days leave time to explore on your own. If you want to see more of northern Laos, we can add Nong Khiaw or a slow boat on the Mekong.
Very much so. Walking is mostly on flat lanes, boats do the work on day three, and the climb up Mount Phousi is optional. Your guide sets a comfortable pace.
No. Many visitors simply watch quietly from a respectful distance. If you would like to take part, your guide explains the customs and helps you prepare.
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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