Colour is the first of Luang Prabang’s virtues to greet travellers. Pearly frangipanis with their heady perfume, banks of overgrown trees peppered with scarlet flowers, the burnt sienna robes of hundreds of monks and their novices, and resplendent gold and claret wats. The scent of fresh coffee, river activity, produce markets and spicy food soon follows. And then the broader aesthetics begin to unfold. Encircled by mountains, and set 700m above sea level at the confluence of the Nam Khan (Khan River) and the Mekong River, Luang Prabang is now Laos’ foremost tourist showpiece. The brew of gleaming temple roofs, crumbling French provincial architecture and multiethnic inhabitants captivates even the most jaded travellers, and the quiet benevolence of the city’s residents lulls them into a somnambulant bliss.

Full Itinerary

Day 1:  Luang Prabang – Nong Khiew ( L )

Today meet your guide and begin your journey out of town 3 hours north to Nong Khiew. Pass lush countryside and traditional villages. On arrival, enjoy lunch and check into your bungalow overlooking the incredibly scenic Ou River. Enjoy your day at leisure exploring the area or relaxing on your balcony. Dinner is on your own at local restaurant.

Meals: Lunch
Accom: Nong Kiau Riverside

Day 2: Nong Khiew – Sam Neua ( B, L, D )

Eat breakfast and get an early start on the road to Sam Neua. Stop along the way to admire virgin forests and for lunch. The 340 km journey will take a good deal of time as the road twists and turns along a paved mountain road. Arrive in the evening and check in to your guesthouse. Enjoy dinner in a local restaurant. Notice the distinctly cooler air here as we are almost 1 km above sea level. Bring a light jacket as the mornings and evenings can be chilly!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accom: Lao Hung Hotel

Day 3: Sam Neua – Viengsay – Cave Tour ( B, L )

Today after a leisurely breakfast, take a walk through the morning market along the Xam River. See the interesting produce available. Then check out and transfer with your guide to Viengsay. Marvel at the amazing karst landscape in the middle of town! Visit the Information Center near the guesthouse to learn more about the interesting historical significance of the area during the Indochina War. With the help of a local guide, travel to some of the nearby caves to see how the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party lived during the war. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. Relax in this charming town on your own.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accom: Naxai 2 Guesthouse

Day 4: Viengsay – Hospital Cave ( B, )

Today after breakfast, travel to the nearby Hospital Cave. This extensive cave was used as a hospital during the war. Inside you can see intact medicine bottles still strewn about the rubble. After the bombing raids ended, a new hospital building was built in front of the cave. Now the site is a local school. Return to your guesthouse and enjoy your afternoon and evening at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast
Accom: Naxai 2 Guesthouse

Day 5: Sam Neua – Hintang Menhirs – Thampiu Cave – Xieng Khouang ( B, L )

After breakfast, travel with your guide on the road to Xieng Khouang (about 8 hours total). Visit the mysterious menhirs (standing stones) at Hintang. No one is quite sure who built them or why, perhaps burial sites or markers of some sort. The stones were first inconclusively studied by the archaeologist Madame Colani and her expedition in the 1930s. Enjoy a local lunch in Nam Neun. Continue on to Thampiu Cave, the scene of a tragic loss of a huge number of lives during the Indochina War. In the early evening, arrive in Xieng Khouang, check in to your hotel and relax.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accom: Vansana Plain of Jars 

Day 6 : Xieng Khouang – Plain of Jars ( B, L )

The Plain of Jars is an extensive area around Phonsavan, surrounded by mountains, where massive stone urns of mysterious origin are scattered about in a least a dozen major groupings. Site 1, or Thoung Hai Hin (Stone Jar Plain), is 15 km southwest of Phonsavan, and the largest of the sites, featuring 250 jars, mostly weighing from 600kg to one ton each; the biggest of them weighing as much as six tons!

This morning after breakfast, travel to the Plain of Jars, an impressive archeological site where hundreds of large stone jars are littered all over the plateau. Have lunch at a local restaurant, and then continue to visit the old capital of Muang Khoun Province, whose temple suffered near total destruction by bombs over 30 years ago. Depending on timing, also visit a nearby hill tribe village. They have a fascinating culture and a colorful history your guide can help explain to you. Return in the late afternoon to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accom: Vansana Plain of Jars

Day 7 : Xieng Khouang – Onward ( B )

This morning after breakfast, relax on your own until time to transfer to the airport for your flight onward.

Meals: Breakfast

• We are one of a small number of companies that are licensed by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
• Our prices are competitive while you are offerred services worth every money of yours.
• Our clients ever had wonderful experiences in Vietnam. Most of them have applauded and highly appreciated the services we provided.
• At our pleasure, we do a refund to you in any case the services does not satisfy you.
• Book shortly and then we will be able to make arrangements perfect.

Class	Number of Person in Group/Pax Tour cost per Person (in $US) from 1 Jan 2010 to 30 Apr 2011
	2	4 - 6	7 - 9	10 - 12
	880	560	480	430

Trip Included:

• All domestic land and water transportation as listed in the itinerary
• All meals as listed in the itinerary ( B = Breakfast, L = Lunch )
• All accommodation as listed in the itinerary
• All entrance fees
• Government Taxes and VAT

Trip Excluded :

• International or domestic air tickets
• Visa Fee (30-42$) depending on nationality + 1 passport size picture
• Meals not listed in the itinerary
• Tips and gratuities
• Items not listed in the itinerary
• Insurance