Laos holiday, Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars
Highlights
World Heritage Luang Prabang | Mekong River Boat Trip | Pak Ou Caves | Kuang Si Waterfalls | UNESCO-listed Plain of Jars | Local Markets & Village Life | Vientiane | COPE CentreDescription of Laos holiday, Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars
Our 1 week highlights of Laos tour includes the World Heritage Sites of Luang Prabang, nestled in the mountains aside the Mekong with its well-preserved French colonial architecture and magnificent ancient temples plus the remote and enigmatic Plain of Jars.We’ll begin in Luang Prabang where we explore some of the town’s sites and winding lanes as well as the colourful local markets and picturesque surrounding countryside including the Pak Ou Cave Temples and Kuang Si Waterfall. From here we’ll travel through the mountains, past traditional minority villages, to the far northeast and the mysterious and picturesque Plain of Jars before taking a short domestic flight to the laid-back modern day capital of Vientiane. A tour of some of the city’s famous and more unusual sites completes our tour.
This itinerary is designed either as a short, stand-alone tour or in combination with neighbouring Vietnam or Cambodia. Regional flights from Vientiane International Airport can whisk you to Hanoi or Phnom Penh while you can also fly to Bangkok to round off your tour with a few days quality ‘R and R’ on a tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand.
A great and varied introduction to this remote and little-known country.
Features:
1. Explore the ancient temples, colonial architecture, narrow lanes and bustling markets of World Heritage Luang Prabang
2. Discover the serene landscapes, traditional villages and picturesque Kuang Si Falls near Luang Prabang
3. Travel by boat to the spectacular, ancient cave temples at scenic Pak Ou on the banks of the Mekong River
4. The Plain of Jars; visit the enigmatic and now UNESCO-listed archaeological site in remote Northeastern Laos
5. Tour the modern, riverside capital of Laos, Vientiane, with it's colourful markets, picturesque temples and waterside cafes
6. Last but not least, sample the justifiably renowned local Lao cuisine in restaurants, street stalls and local markets
Optional extensions
1. Fly from Vientiane to Hanoi for our extension to World Heritage Halong Bay
2. Beach extension to jungle-covered Koh Chang, Thailand
3. Stop off for a 2-day guided exploration of Thailand’s vibrant capital, Bangkok
Note groups sizes are 2 to maximum 12 persons with most meals (local-style) included and accommodation in boutique-style 3* hotels.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comCheck dates, prices & availability
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
Whilst on this tour we visit the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita, with more than 270 million cluster submunitions dropped on it during the Vietnam War from 1963 to 1974 and we will learn about the valuable work of this group.In Vientiane we will visit the excellent COPE exhibition centre, highlighting a major problem many of the local people face daily in the form of unexploded ordnance.
Information: Providing suitable, relevant information for our customers; to help them to gain a wider understanding of our style of tourism that focuses on learning, genuine interaction with the local communities, reciprocity and cultural exchange processes. To be aware of the potential impact of tourism on the local society, culture and environment, and to behave and dress appropriately with a respect and appreciation for local customs, mores and traditions and a respect for the ecology of areas visited. Our guides and leaders thus facilitate communication of our values to both travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices
Group sizes: By limiting groups to small sizes we aim to reduce the impact on both local communities and the environment whilst allowing for greater genuine interaction with said communities. It also results in a higher guide/customer ratio thus greater facility for supervision and individual assistance and allows us to use smaller hotels and restaurants and employ the services of more genuinely ‘local’ operators perhaps not otherwise well equipped for larger groups.
Destinations: We combine the well known tourist sites with many off-the-beaten-track, rarely visited destinations thus diverting tourist revenue and contact with responsible tourism into areas not usually benefiting as well as providing a more authentic view of the region visited.
Instruction: By explaining our methods and the reasons behind them local agents, guides and hotels are encouraged by us to adopt further responsible tourism practices themselves and guides and drivers are provided with additional training in this respect.
The Impacts of this Trip
This trip benefits and strengthens the local communities through capacity and confidence building so that they have total control over tourism development in their area. We provide community information to tourists, to help them to gain a wider understanding of this type of tourism that focuses on learning and a cultural exchange process and we inform our travelers how to behave appropriately with an appreciation for local customs and regulations. We also buy and use local products and services in order to support and stimulate the local economy.
We use local public transport where possible to minimise demand for special tourist vehicles and fuel. We choose small-scale locally owned accommodation and homestays where available and local restaurants and markets for dining, retaining revenue in local communities. Our tour leaders facilitate communication of our values to travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices. We employ local guides to aid travellers' understanding of local culture and etiquette. Our small group size allows travellers to experience cultures at first hand, offering greater opportunity for cross- cultural understanding.
Local products: As much as possible we aim to employ local personnel, (guides, drivers, agents etc), use local restaurants and smaller privately owned accommodation. Customers are also encouraged to buy and use local products and services as much as possible in order to support and stimulate the local economy.
Whilst on this tour we visit the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita, with more than 270 million cluster submunitions dropped on it during the Vietnam War from 1963 to 1974 and we will learn about the valuable work of this group.In Vientiane we will visit the excellent COPE exhibition centre, highlighting a major problem many of the local people face daily in the form of unexploded ordnance.
Information: Providing suitable, relevant information for our customers; to help them to gain a wider understanding of our style of tourism that focuses on learning, genuine interaction with the local communities, reciprocity and cultural exchange processes. To be aware of the potential impact of tourism on the local society, culture and environment, and to behave and dress appropriately with a respect and appreciation for local customs, mores and traditions and a respect for the ecology of areas visited. Our guides and leaders thus facilitate communication of our values to both travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices
Group sizes: By limiting groups to small sizes we aim to reduce the impact on both local communities and the environment whilst allowing for greater genuine interaction with said communities. It also results in a higher guide/customer ratio thus greater facility for supervision and individual assistance and allows us to use smaller hotels and restaurants and employ the services of more genuinely ‘local’ operators perhaps not otherwise well equipped for larger groups.
Destinations: We combine the well known tourist sites with many off-the-beaten-track, rarely visited destinations thus diverting tourist revenue and contact with responsible tourism into areas not usually benefiting as well as providing a more authentic view of the region visited.
Instruction: By explaining our methods and the reasons behind them local agents, guides and hotels are encouraged by us to adopt further responsible tourism practices themselves and guides and drivers are provided with additional training in this respect.
The Impacts of this Trip
This trip benefits and strengthens the local communities through capacity and confidence building so that they have total control over tourism development in their area. We provide community information to tourists, to help them to gain a wider understanding of this type of tourism that focuses on learning and a cultural exchange process and we inform our travelers how to behave appropriately with an appreciation for local customs and regulations. We also buy and use local products and services in order to support and stimulate the local economy.
We use local public transport where possible to minimise demand for special tourist vehicles and fuel. We choose small-scale locally owned accommodation and homestays where available and local restaurants and markets for dining, retaining revenue in local communities. Our tour leaders facilitate communication of our values to travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices. We employ local guides to aid travellers' understanding of local culture and etiquette. Our small group size allows travellers to experience cultures at first hand, offering greater opportunity for cross- cultural understanding.
Local products: As much as possible we aim to employ local personnel, (guides, drivers, agents etc), use local restaurants and smaller privately owned accommodation. Customers are also encouraged to buy and use local products and services as much as possible in order to support and stimulate the local economy.
3 Reviews of Laos holiday, Luang Prabang and the Plain of Jars
Reviewed on 18 Feb 2020 by Susan Gatis
A wonderful holiday. Luang Prabang was relaxing ,the activities offered allowed free time when you could do as little or as much as you wanted. Read full reviewReviewed on 23 Feb 2019 by Sheryl Padjen
The Plain of Jars was fascinating and beautiful - it was one of the main reasons that I wanted to go to Laos... Overall this trip was very good and went well. Read full reviewReviewed on 25 Sep 2018 by Jan Hoole
All of it !!! Amazing place. Think though that the LUANG PRABANG part was really special. Read full review
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