8 Days Laos Classic Tour

Upon arrival, you are picked up and escorted to the hotel for rest.

Wat Xieng Thong (Golden City Temple) is your first surprise in this tour. As one of the most important of Lao monasteries, it remains a significant monument to the spirit of religion, royalty and traditional art. You are impressed by over twenty structures on the grounds and the distinctively exquisite murals.

Then climb up 350 steps to the top of the Phou Sii Hill to visit the Wat Phu Sii and enjoy the spectacular views for many miles in each direction.

If you would like, you can wake up early and participate in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of alms from the faithful residents, which is very unique in Laos.

Visit Royal Palace Museum (Haw Kham), built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family. 

Enjoy the boat tour on Mekong River. Explore the famous and sacred Pak Ou Caves full of hundreds of small and mostly damaged wooden Buddhist figures in different positions.

On return, disembark the boat to visit traditional villages, and drive to Ban Phanom, a village famous for its hand weaving.

Cross the Mekong River by boat to the picturesque Ban Chan Village, a pottery village. Visit the Morning Phousi Market, where you will see such diverse offerings as dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens and hill-tribe weavings. 

Close touch with the local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay, a Hmong village, Ban Ou, a Laoloum village and Ban Thapene, a Khmu village. 

Then appreciate the beautiful Khuang Si Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails.

Take the flight to Vientiane about 40 minutes.

Visit Wat Si Saket, built in the Siamese style of Buddhist architecture, with a surrounding terrace and an ornate five-tiered roof, rather than in the Lao style.

Turn to Pha That Luang, a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa, generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos and a national symbol.

Patuxai, resembling the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, impresses you with its typically Laotian design, decorated with mythological creatures such as the kinnari.

Take the flight to Pakse in the morning.

On arrival, drive to Champassak and visit the fascinating pre-Angkorian ruins of Wat Phu, one of Southeast Asia's most dramatically situated temples. Explore these intriguing Khmer ruins, which are perched at the base of Mount Phu Kao.

Afternoon take the long tail boat to the 4000 Islands area, where you have the rest of the day to relax.

After an early morning breakfast, explore Khone Island. Re-tracethe French colonial-past at Ban Khone, where some old colonial houses still stand and glimpse the first Lao railway with its own locomotive. 

Continue your exploration of the area of the 4000 islands by boat and visit the beautiful Liphi waterfall, also known as the Samphamith, which forms a natural border between Lao and Cambodia. 

Then back to Ban Nakasang and drive to the famous Khone Phapeng Waterfall, the largest waterfall in South East Asia, also known as the "Niagara of the east". 

This morning leave Khone Island and take the boat to Bolevean Plateau, a cool place famous for its many waterfalls, and the most beautiful of these falls - Tad Fan waterfall, which is spectacular with twin waterfalls plummeting into a deep gorge surrounded by flourishing vegetation. 

A trip to the plateau provides a refreshing break from the heat and allows you to observe the cultivation of rich coffee, tea, cardamom, bananas, and other crops that can be seen en route. 

In the afternoon head to Tad Lo, home to another scenic waterfall and numerous ethnic minority groups. Visit the villages of Alak, Nge, and Katu before returning to Pakse.