Laos Itinerary help please!

Hi there! My husband and I plan on travelling to Laos in January 09. We would love some help with planning our itinerary, and hotels etc. We have travelled a lot of SE Asia before but never been to Laos.

We have up to 2 weeks to spend in Laos.

This is what we are currently thinking - if anyone has suggestions on how long we should spend in each place, accommodation help, etc - that would be much appreciated!

Rough Itinerary:

Days 1,2: Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang

Days 3,4: Full days in Luang Prabang

Day 5: Travel to Area near Plain of Jars

Day 6: Visit Plain of Jars, Travel to Vientiane

Days 7-9: Vientiane

Days 10-12: Somewhere southern Laos?????

Now for the questions!

1) Travel from Chiang Rai to Laos border (is this easy to do by public bus or is there a mini bus type service you can book?) Is customs/visa easy at this border?

2) Boat to Luang Prabang. Would not like the cheapest option, is there something between that and the Luang Say which looks great (but very pricey)? 2 day/1 night with good accommodation for the 1 night

3) How long to spend in Luang Prabang? Recommendations for a good standard 3-4 star hotel in good location would be great. Not more than $70USD per night.

4) Suggested day trips from Luang Prabang?

5) Best way to travel from Luang Prabang to Vientiane? In terms of price and travel time.

6) Recommendations for hotels in Vientiane (3-4 star, $70USD / night max). Suggested trips from Vientiane? How long to spend there?

7) We would like to visit the Plain of Jars, is it best to do this as a day trip from Luang Prabang or Vientiane or do we travel to the area and stay there overnight? If so, what hotels are good in the area?

8) Also want to visit the Pak Ou Caves, where is it best to visit them from?

9) Is it worth going down South at all? Seems Northern Laos gets more coverage on the net! If so, to what island, what is the best way of getting there? Suggestions would be great!

Thanks, know this is lots of questions but look forward to help! K %26amp; M

Laos Itinerary help please!

Also, have we missed any place we should definitely see?

Laos Itinerary help please!

Hello Bunny,

For most of your questions have been discussed in previous posts. You can type in a key word in the search function.

Travelfish site has lots of info on your questions as well.

I cut %26amp; pasted to get you started.

http://www.travelfish.org/country/laos.

Happy reading

1.) public bus is easy and cheap to catch. Visa is easy at the border, need USD. If you arrive in the weekend you may get charged extra.

2.) Recommend asking around when you arrive. We ended up sharing a boat with an American family.

3.) Not sure

4.) Waterfalls, Pak Ou Caves (may visit on way to LP)

5.) Flying is much faster %26amp; less painful but more expensive

6.) Not much to do here not more than a day

7.) Didn%26#39;t go here as was too long travelling

8.) See if you can get them included on your way to LP

9.) 4000 islands was awsome - Don Det, Don Khong etc.

Hope that helps

Robyn

We were in Laos recently and really wished we had stayed in the North.

We had a bit of a weird itinerary...Vientienne which is a great city. Then onto Vang Vieng for Christmas 2008, despite the bad press it gets, it is truly stunning especially if you don%26#39;t stay in town. We explored the area by motorbike and it was a truly memorable Christmas.

We then travelled down to Tha Khaek to do some trekking and more motorbiking, and did a homestay in one of the hill villages.

We then travelled down to Pakse, then onto the 4,000 islands to celebrate new year. It really depends what you%26#39;re looking for but after arriving at Don Det and realising it was very small with nothing to see/do and packed with loads of miserable 18-25 year olds looking for a good time..which wasn%26#39;t happening and had therefore opted to get obliterated by the local weed, we opted to travel onto Don Khon(15 mins by boat) which was very quiet but very charming, if you%26#39;d enjoy staying amongst the local people and watch everyday life unfold from a hammock, hire a rickety pushbike to go exploring, and look forward to the generator sparking to life between 5.30p.m and 9p.m, then you%26#39;ll love it here! 3 days is more than enough though!

From here we went onto Don Khong, the largest of the islands which was a big mistake...boring, boring, boring!! Theres a handful of hotels/guesthouses along the riverfront and it is only these which do food, which was the most bland/westernised food We had the misfortune to come across. There was absolutely nothing occuring here that hinted at the merest suggestion we were in Laos. It appeared to be a package destination with the handful of people we did encounter appearing to be middle class and very bored!! We did hire a motorbike for two days but really if you have to visit, just do a day trip from Don Khon.

Post your suggested itinerary on Travelfish and Thorn Tree and you ill get better advice from people who actually live here or have been many times, rather than occasional visitors.

I would fly from Vientiane to The Plain of Jars. It is an easy 35 minute flight and is definitely worth seeing.

To anyone who says Vientiane is not worth at least 2 days i say you haven%26#39;t looked properly nor done your homework. We occasionally hear this sort of misinformation. There is heaps to see and do. I would spend at least 2 days.

Lao Orchid is a nice hotel - about 45$, but why not stay in a restored French coloniail Villa - villa Manoly? The rooms are lovely and large and there is a small pool. The gardens are very attractive. It is only $30.00 a night or so.

Best way to get to Vientiane from LP? Fly! The bus trip is 10 hours and the road is very windy.