7 days 6 nights
Specific Tour
14 people
English
Quick answer
A seven-day private tour of northern Laos that combines Luang Prabang's highlights with fast-train rides to Oudomxay and Luang Namtha. It includes a Khamu village trek, the lantern village of Ban Nam Dee, hill villages near Muang Sing and an exit to Thailand at Huay Xay.
From US$1,160 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, palace and Mount Phousi | Luang Prabang |
| 2 | Wat Xieng Thong, Pak Ou Caves and Kuang Si Falls | Luang Prabang |
| 3 | Fast train to Oudomxay and the Namkat waterfall | Oudomxay |
| 4 | Trek to the Khamu village of Ban Phavie | Oudomxay |
| 5 | Train to Luang Namtha and the lantern village | Luang Namtha |
| 6 | Hill villages of Muang Sing | Luang Namtha |
| 7 | To Huay Xay and the Thai border | — |
Private tour with your own English-speaking guide · 7 days / 6 nights · Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves – Kuang Si Falls – Oudomxay (train) – Ban Phavie – Luang Namtha (train) – Muang Sing – Huay Xay
This northern Laos tour by train opens up a region that used to take long days on mountain roads. You start in Luang Prabang with the Royal Palace Museum, Mount Phousi at sunset, a Mekong boat to the Pak Ou Caves and a swim at Kuang Si Falls. Then the fast train carries you north in about an hour to Oudomxay, a province home to more than 20 ethnic groups.
Two nights at a jungle resort near Oudomxay give you time to walk to the Namkat waterfall and to trek through rice fields and forest to Ban Phavie, a Khamu village on a hilltop, where you have lunch with the community. Another short train ride takes you to Luang Namtha for its small museum of ethnic culture and the lantern-making village of Ban Nam Dee.
From Luang Namtha you drive out to Muang Sing, visiting Akha, Tai Dam and Yao villages and an old stupa on the way. On the final day you travel south to Huay Xay on the Mekong, stopping at Lao Huay and Tai Lue villages, and cross into Thailand to continue your journey.
Moderate. The Ban Phavie trek is about one and a half hours each way on a mountain trail with stream crossings, and the Namkat waterfall walk is shorter and easier. Two short train rides replace long mountain drives, but the road days to Muang Sing and Huay Xay are about two to four hours with stops. Best for active couples and families with children over 10.
Le Bel Air Resort (Garnier room) or similar in Luang Prabang, Namkat Yorlapa (Superior room) or similar, a jungle resort near Oudomxay, and Pou Villa (Superior room) or similar in Luang Namtha. Hotels outside Luang Prabang are simple but comfortable, the best available in the region.
November to February is the best time, with dry trails, clear views and cool evenings in the mountains; nights in Luang Namtha can be chilly in December and January. March and April are hot and hazy from field burning. The rainy season from June to October makes forest trails muddy, so the trek may be shortened.
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, Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi: Nam Ou Valley in 7 Days · Luang Prabang and Southern Laos in 8 Days: Temples, Coffee Hills and River Islands · Luang Prabang and Vientiane in 6 Days: Two Capitals by Express Train
Photos: Sainamtha, 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; Dominik Landwehr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Luisah, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Arian Zwegers from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Your guide meets you on arrival and takes you to your centrally located hotel. After a short rest, visit the National Museum in the former Royal Palace, with its collection of royal gifts and Lao art, and Wat Mai next door. Climb the steps of Mount Phousi to the gilded stupa at the top for a sunset view over the town and the Mekong. Finish at the night market, where hill-tribe families sell handmade textiles. Dinner is included.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: D
Begin at Wat Sene, one of the oldest temples in town, and Wat Xieng Thong, with its famous tree of life mosaic in colored glass. Board a boat upstream on the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves, two caverns filled with thousands of Buddha images, with a stop at Ban Xang Hai, known for rice wine. In the afternoon, drive 30 km to Kuang Si Falls, visiting a minority village on the way. Swim in the turquoise pools, walk the forest paths and, if you wish, see the Bear Rescue Centre.
Overnight: Luang Prabang · Meals: B, L
After breakfast, board the express train north to Oudomxay, a province home to more than 20 ethnic groups along the Nam Beng River. On arrival, you are taken to Namkat Yorlapa, a resort set in the forest. After checking in, walk through the jungle to the Namkat waterfall, crossing a scenic sky bridge on the way. Take your time at the falls before walking back to the resort for the evening.
Overnight: Oudomxay · Meals: B, L
Drive in the direction of Pak Khai with views over the Nam Pak River, terraced rice fields and small villages. From here you set off on foot along a mountain trail that follows a stream through lush vegetation, meeting farmers in their fields and learning how they grow rice and fish in the stream. After about an hour and a half you leave the forest and reach Ban Phavie, a Khamu village on a hilltop. Have lunch in the village, then cool off at nearby waterfalls before returning to the resort in the late afternoon.
Overnight: Oudomxay · Meals: B, L
After breakfast, take a short walk to a nearby Khamu village, then catch the train to Luang Namtha on the Nam Tha River. After checking in, visit the Luang Namtha Museum (closed weekends), with its collection of traditional clothing, tools, instruments and crafts from the region's peoples. Continue to Ban Nam Dee, known as the lantern village, where families still make paper and lanterns by hand, and cool down at the Nam Dee waterfall before returning to town.
Overnight: Luang Namtha · Meals: B, L
Drive north to Muang Sing, a valley near the Chinese border. On the way, stop at villages of the Akha and Lanten peoples, whose ancestors came from the mountains of southern China and Tibet. After lunch, learn more about hill-tribe life as you visit the Chieng Tung stupa, Ban Nam Ded and Ban Nam Mai, a village of the Yao people. Return to Luang Namtha with the evening at leisure.
Overnight: Luang Namtha · Meals: B, L
After breakfast, drive south to Huay Xay on the Mekong. On the way, stop at Ban Nam Chang, a village of the Lao Huay people, and Ban Poong, a Tai Lue village where families distill lao-lao spirit from sticky rice. Arrive at Huay Xay, where the tour ends at the border crossing to Chiang Khong in Thailand, ready to continue to Chiang Rai or beyond.
Meals: B
Each leg is short: roughly one hour from Luang Prabang to Oudomxay and well under an hour on to Luang Namtha. Train times can change, so we confirm them close to your travel date.
It is a moderate walk of about one and a half hours each way on a mountain trail, with some uphill sections and stream crossings. Good walking shoes are enough. Your guide sets an easy pace and there are plenty of stops.
The tour ends at the Lao border post. From there you cross the Mekong to Chiang Khong in Thailand. We can arrange a driver on the Thai side to take you on to Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai.
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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