Enjoy a three-country adventure on this 11-day Laos Mekong river cruise as you travel through Laos, Thailand, and Burma in the once-infamous Golden Triangle. Pandaw is going to be the first river expedition to cross all of Laos since pre-war days, departing from Vientiane, the old French capital so reminiscent of L'Indochine. You spend two nights in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, with its dazzling wood-carved monasteries, before continuing deep into the mountains, through rapids and gorges. Explore tribal villages and the surrounding jungle and countryside.
Highlights
Visits to the golden Pha That Luang Stupa, Sisaket Temple, the President’s Hall, Wat Prakeo Temple and the Phatouxay monument
Morning visit and walking tour to Khamo tribal village, Ban Park Bor Village
Activity options vary depending on destination and operator. Activity level is determined by the range and intensity of activities you choose to participate in. Discuss with your Trip Planner which options are best for you.
PLEASE NOTE: The itinerary for this expedition is indicative only and subject to reconnaissance. As you travel to remote areas, changes to the itinerary are inevitably occur. A flexible approach is required if you book this cruise.
Pick up from your hotel in Vientiane at 08.00am, followed by a local long-tail boat expedition to the ship vessel upstream. Lunch and drinks are provided on the local boat by the ship chef and bar staff. Embark your ship in the afternoon for a welcome briefing and welcome drinks. You moor overnight at Pak Lay.
Cruise upstream on the Mekong, passing lush jungle scenery and tiny riverside villages. Morning presentation on the Lao language. Afternoon cooking demonstration on the upper deck. Arrive in Ban Xanakham to moor overnight.
Morning walk at Ban Pak Bor Khummu village before passing through Xayabouri Hydroelectric Dam, taking an inside look of the workings of this somewhat controversial attraction as you navigate the locks. Afternoon visit to Ban Na San village, a Hmong minority village.
In the morning you moor at the village of Ban Mouang Khai and visit the dramatic Kaung Si waterfall. On the way back to the ship, you stop at the Laos Buffalo Farm, a social enterprise utilizing the abundant buffalo in Laos. Arrive in the heart of the temple city of Luang Prabang mid-afternoon where there is a buzzing night market and many great cafes and local restaurants. Traditional Laos Bacci ceremony and dancing on the upper deck during happy hour. Moor overnight in central Luang Prabang.
Today you explore the various handicrafts of Laos in more detail. You start with Ock Pop Tok, a social enterprise providing sustainable employment and training for the women of local weaving villages. You then head to TAEC (Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre) to understand more about Laos musical instruments. After lunch aboard the ship, you sail toward Ban Chan and take part in a pottery demonstration at the local pottery workshop. You finish the day with a sunset cruise on the Mekong alongside Luang Prabang, returning to moor overnight in the center of town.
Early morning walking tour to observe the alms offerings to the hundreds of monks who walk around the city every morning. You continue after breakfast to the morning market before taking tuktuks for a city tour of this well preserved and unique world heritage site with its many Buddhist temples, libraries and royal palace. The afternoon is free to explore the beauty and unique atmosphere of Luang Prabang.
Morning at leisure in Luang Prabang before setting sail at midday upstream. Afternoon sightseeing by local boat exploring the unique Pak Ou Caves, a Buddhist sanctuary with spectacular limestone cliff faces. See the production of local Laos whisky at the Whisky village and shop for locally produced handicrafts.
Day of sailing upstream along the Mekong with morning walk through Ban Ton village. In the evening, you moor alongside a sandbank for a special riverside barbecue and cocktail party. Light paper lanterns with the crew and enjoy a dance in remote Laos.
Laos is known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ and today you visit a rescue sanctuary that is helping to preserve the elephants of Laos and provide sustainable alternative employment for Mahouts who once trained and rode these beautiful creatures. Afternoon walk at Ban Pak Sith Khummu village.
Today you sail the final leg of your journey upstream toward Huayxay. Cross over into Thailand via the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge before rejoining your ship in Chiang Khong. Enjoy a ship tour of your vessel and fruit carving demonstration from the ship Chef. Farewell cocktails and Thai traditional dance on board for your last evening.
Day 11: Chiang Khong | Disembarkation
1 Breakfast
Disembark by 8.30 in Chiang Khong and group transfer to hotel/airport. En route, explore the Golden Triangle including a visit to the opium museum. Continue to airports or city hotels in Chiang Rai (2 hours) and Chiang Mai (6 hours).
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$5,0362-3 travelers
Rates are dynamic and fluctuate based on capacity. Contact us for a specific quote.
Main Deck Staterooms
10 main deck staterooms
Bedroom: 12' x 10'
Bathroom: 6' x 4'
Showeroom: 2'8" x 3'4"
Single Bed: 6'7" x 3'3"
*Available in Twin and Double Configuration
Our guide and driver were very good with their knowledge and were very helpful with our questions. It was a very pleasant visit that would have been impossible to do on our own. Hotels and restaurants were fantastic. The special places we got to go to, like the kitchens, were great. Enjoyed the entire trip!
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
