Enjoy a three-country adventure on this 11-day Laos Mekong river cruise as you travel through Laos and Thailand. Pandaw is the first river expedition to cross all of Laos since pre-war days, departing from Chiang Khong. 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.
Transfers from airports or any city hotel in Chiang Rai (2 hours) and Chiang Mai (6 hours) including Lunch at Ban Rai Sabaidee Farm plus guided visit to the Golden Triangle and the now infamous opium museum. Embark your ship by 16.00 and enjoy welcome drinks on the sundeck with traditional Thai dancing.
Pass through immigration formalities at the Thai/Laos border and re-join the ship. Set sail downstream on the beautiful Upper Mekong River, Morning presentation on the Lao language. After lunch, if time allows, sightseeing on foot in Pak Sith.
Morning walk at Ban Luang Tong Lao Lowland village. Laos is known as ‘The land of a million elephants’ and after Lunch 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. In the evening you moor at a sandbank for a special riverside barbecue and cocktail party. Light paper lanterns with the crew and enjoy a dance in remote Laos.
Today you discover the Khmu minority group and learn about their remote way of life. In the morning you visit Ban Bor village, home to the Lao & Khummu people. You have the opportunity to support locally produced handicrafts and walk through the Khummu village of Yoi Haoi in the afternoon.
Continue cruising downstream to Pak Ou, 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 before sailing into the World Heritage City of Luang Prabang. Moor overnight in central Luang Prabang.
Today you explore the various handicrafts of Laos in more detail. You start with a morning walk up the 228 steps to Phousi temple where the best views of Luang Prabang can be found. After lunch aboard the ship, you visit 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. Cocktail hour is accompanied by a traditional Bacci ceremony onboard highlighting some of the instruments seen in the afternoon.
Early morning walking tour to observe the morning alms offering by local people 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.
After breakfast sail downstream to Ban Chan where you take part in a pottery demonstration at the local pottery workshop. After Lunch you moor at Ban Mouang Khai and take a short drive to see the deep jungle pools at the Khaung Si Waterfall where you can swim in the crystal-clear waters. You then stop at the Laos Buffalo Farm, a social enterprise utilizing the abundant buffalo in Laos before rejoining the ship. You sail downstream for a sunset cruise and moor overnight at Ban Na San.
Morning walk through Ban Na San Hmong Village. In the afternoon you pass through Xayabouri Hydroelectric Dam and take an inside look of the workings of this somewhat controversial attraction as you pass through the locks. Afternoon walk at Ban Khok Fark and moor overnight.
Explore Ban Pak Yun Mixed minorities tribe in the morning, a rural local village before setting sail to Pak Lay, your final destination. Enjoy a tour of the ship and fruit carving demonstration on the sundeck in the afternoon before farewell cocktails and dinner in the evening.
Day 11: Vientiane | Disembark
1 Breakfast
Disembark at 08:30am followed by a local long-tail boat expedition downstream to Vientiane. Lunch and drinks are provided on the local boat by the ship chef and bar staff. Arrival to Vientiane around 17:30 with drop off at your hotel or Vientiane airport.
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.
$4,7962-3 travelers
Rates are dynamic and fluctuate based on capacity. Contact us for a specific quote.
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Pandaw Stateroom
Bedroom: 12' x 10'
Bathroom: 6' x 4'
Showeroom: 2'8" x 3'4"
Single Bed: 6'7" x 3'3"
The trip might have been the absolute best of our lifetime (thus far). We particularly want to commend our guide Peter in the Guilin area-he was so incredibly attentive, energetic, enthusiastic-and absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our meals were 100% vegetarian.
Jack Charney
TrustScore 4.8 | 254 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 254 reviews on
1 day ago
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
1 day ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
1 day ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
6 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.