overland and fly out OR fly to Luang Prabang and boat out

Only have 12 days and have now been given 2 equally good private tours to choose from and I honestly can%26#39;t decide as both have their own advantages. Hoping for some advice from those that may know?

Tour one:

Arrive late pm flight Vientiane

Day 2: city tour

Day 3: Drive to Vang Vieng, visit Vang Xang and boat trip on Nam Ngum lake

Day 4; Full day treking, caving and kayaking tour

Day 5: Drive to Luang Prabang

Day 6: Half day city tour

Day 7: Dawn Alms, Pak Ou Caves, village visits and Ramayana performance

Day 8: Water fall visit

Day 9: Free - planning on doing tiger trails elephants and kayaking day even though have read mixed reviews.

Day 10: fly to Chiang Mai

Day 11: Gibbon tour

Day 12: city tour and home

Accommodation: Lao Plaza and Villa Maydou

Tour 2:

Day 2 City tour

Day 3: Am flight to Luang Prabang, half day waterfall and arts and ethnology visit

Day 4: Full day city tour

Day 5: Elephants/kayak day

Day 6: Free day - open to suggestions

Day 7: Start Luang Say mekong cruise, visit caves and o/night at Kamu Ecolodge

Day 8: Continue cruise o/night pakbeng at Luang Say Lodge

Day 9: Arrive Huay Xai and transfer to Chiang Rai for night

Day 10; karen Hill tribe, elephant trek and transfer to Chiang Mai

Day 11: Gibbon day

Day 12: city tour and home

Due to only having limited time (need to get home to kids) I try to do as much as possible with our days and recover when we get home. I have already paid for flights so number of days is not able to be changed. We will arrive on July 29 - wet season. We went the same time last year to Cambodia and found it wasn%26#39;t a problem just a bit damp some days.

I await with great interest any advice that you might wish to share with me.

thanks

Suz

overland and fly out OR fly to Luang Prabang and boat out

Wow, Suz, asking us to make a choice is really leaving it up to our respective tastes. I would opt for the first tour for these reasons-

1. I like the outdoor activities offered.

2. Laos has some amazing scenery,and you will get to see a lot of it en route to Vang Vieng %26amp; Luang Prabang. (%26amp; Vang Vieng has some stupendous karst scenery!)

3. I don%26#39;t think people should ride elephants (there are numerous agencies that you can book other day-tours, take your pick when you arrive) and going to gawk at hilltribes does not appeal to me.

You will get a rainy day or so, but nothing serious and the rain usually doesn%26#39;t last all day. Bring a folding umbrella. Some roads may be washed out, but your travel agent will check on that and makre adjustments accordingly.

overland and fly out OR fly to Luang Prabang and boat out

I prefer the second tour, but I respect Maneki%26#39;s commenst bout elephants not being ridden. I like the idea of a cruise down the Mekong.

Hi

I greatly appreciate both your comments. Really wished I hadn%26#39;t rushed in and booked the %26#39;non changable%26#39; bargain airfare but I did so now just need to make the best of the days I have available and try to see as much of the beautiful countryside as possible. And of course I can always come back again another time to see what I have missed this time round.

I have been fretting for weeks over getting this right as there is just so much to choose from and honestly most tour operators in Oz are of no help whatsoever, thank goodness for this site.

cheers

Suz

Suz-

They%26#39;re both decent tours, with various options. Don%26#39;t have any regrets for already booking the flights. If you can%26#39;t make up your mind, just throw a dart! Laos will still be there in 5 years, you can always go back! ;-)

Ha, I live here and haven%26#39;t seen all of Lao by a long way yet. Yes, both tours will give you a lot of pleasure.

Thanks, for those encouraging words, I will just enjoy the parts we get to see and plan another trip in the future.

We were fortunate enough to watch a fanastic travel show last night hosted by Anthony Bourdain on Austar. He visited Laos and produced a really sensitive (covered the history of all the bombs that were dropped) and insightful hour of viewing. I have been reading about Laos for months but actually seeing some of the places I will be standing in soon is so exciting. For anyone visiting Laos soon try to catch this show you will enjoy it.

Just one question, does nearly every meal including breakfast come with a side order of chilli?

No. My wife is Lao and has troulbe with spicy food. Just ask for it ';Baw Pet.';

Okay I will, I don%26#39;t like spicy food at all but enjoy food that tastes good. The food looks great and quite similar to what we ate in Cambodia but with a larger range of fresh ingredients perhaps.

Maybe Suz. Sometimes i think its easier not to ask what I am eating.

Hi Suz,

Agree with both Rufus and Maneki - both tours sound great!

Like Maneki, if pushed I would go for option 1. Partly because of the elephant thing and partly because of your comment about trying to get as much in as possible. Cruising the Mekong is fun but 2 days is a long time to spend on this one thing (although I%26#39;ve never done it in the style your tour choice offers!). You can get a taste of the mekong cruise experience simply from your pak ou side trip - which I am guessing will involve about an hour on the Mekong or from a private trip or sunset cruise on your free day. The scenery on the trip from Vang Vieng to LP from the bus can be breathtaking on a good day and you would miss this entirely if you fly.

Just think that you may end up regretting 2 days on a boat followed by a bit of a non-day travelling to CR more than you would regret one day on a (potentially spectacular) bus journey.

In the worst case, if it is rainy then at least option 1 means a day inside a bus while option 2 could mean 2 days of wet and miserable scenery...

Good Luck!