Laos in 7 days: Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane

Book the three stays as one southbound journey

Use one room in each base: Luang Prabang for nights 1–3, Vang Vieng for nights 4–5, and Vientiane for night 6. Day 4 and day 6 are railway transfer days; day 7 is departure, not another hotel night. The final flight should leave time for the COPE visit that morning. The worked travel dates are 16–22 November 2026: Luang Prabang 16–19 November, Vang Vieng 19–21 November and Vientiane 21–22 November.

In Luang Prabang, Villa Chitdara’s Superior rooms on Khounsua Road in Ban Vat Nong offer a king-size bed or twin beds and a private balcony; the hotel’s own high-season rate (1 October–30 April) is from US$72 a night on 15 October 2026, including 10% tax, 7% service charge and breakfast. In Vang Vieng, Inthira’s Deluxe room is on the Nam Song riverbank, has a double or twin arrangement for a maximum of two, and starts from $93 a night on 15 October 2026, taxes and fees included, with breakfast when booked directly. In Vientiane, Chanthapanya’s Superior King and Twin rooms accommodate two adults in Ban Mixay, from $50 a night on 15 October 2026; taxes and breakfast are not included.

For eligible ordinary-passport holders, the Lao eVisa gives one entry and a stay of up to 30 days. Apply through laoevisa.gov.la at least five days before travel; normal processing is three working days after a complete application and payment, and it can take longer. The approval letter is valid for entry for a maximum of 60 days after you receive it. Print it and travel with the same passport used in the application, with more than 180 days remaining on arrival.

Complete the Lao Digital Immigration Form within three days before arrival and again within three days before departure when using Wattay, Luang Prabang or Pakse international airport, or Friendship Bridge I. This arrival and departure form is separate from your visa.

On 15 October 2026, the UK FCDO advised against all but essential travel to Xaisomboun province. This Luang Prabang–Vang Vieng–Vientiane route stays outside that province; check your own government’s advice before booking.

The World Bank and Asian Development Bank climate profile describes Laos’s rainy season as May to mid-October and the dry season as mid-October to April. These are broad seasonal patterns, so leave room for rain outside those months.

The climate profile identifies April and May as the hottest months nationally. In hot weather, keep town walking early and take a midday break. For Kuang Si, choose viewing rather than swimming if the local conditions or instructions rule water access out. The UK FCDO warns that rainy-season flooding and swollen rivers can affect outdoor activities, with river levels capable of rising within hours.

Days 1–3: Luang Prabang, the temples and Kuang Si

Day 1 — arrive at LPQ. Tourism Luang Prabang places the airport 4 km from the centre and lists a flat-rate taxi of LAK50,000 per group to any hotel or guesthouse, sold at the ticket counter by the exit. Check in, take a short town walk and have Tamarind’s Countryside Farmer’s Set for dinner. Sleep in Luang Prabang, night 1.

Day 2 — former palace, temple and hill. Start at the National Museum, the former royal palace, then have lunch at Manda de Laos. Give the afternoon to Wat Xieng Thong and Phousi. Wat Xieng Thong’s low sweeping roofs, richly decorated halls and glass mosaics make it a temple to look at slowly. Phousi is the sacred hill for a view across the town; keep to its visitor paths and dress for a religious site.

Prices and hours checked on 15 October 2026: Wat Xieng Thong opened daily 06:00–18:00, with foreign admission LAK30,000. The National Museum listed 08:00–11:30 and 13:30–16:00, with ticket sales 08:00–11:00 and 13:30–15:30; it closes for cleaning on the last Thursday of each month. Foreign admission was LAK60,000. Phousi listed LAK30,000 for foreigners and 06:00–18:00, subject to season. Swap days 2 and 3 if the museum closure falls on your town day. Have Tamarind’s Explorer Set for dinner and sleep in Luang Prabang, night 2.

Day 3 — Pak Ou and Kuang Si. Book Tiger Trail’s POKS-1 join-in trip, which operates daily and starts at two people. The operator’s programme goes by minivan to Pak Ou, crosses the Mekong by small boat for the upper and lower caves, then continues to Kuang Si and the bear sanctuary before returning to town late afternoon. Kuang Si’s waterfalls and pools give the day its contrast with the town; follow the designated visitor and swimming areas.

Tiger Trail’s published price was US$121 per person, with transport, boat fees, entrance fees, lunch, water, an English-speaking guide, taxes and licence included; card transactions add 3%. Arrange the early-morning meeting place when booking. The cave programme involves steep stairs, with a longer climb to the upper cave. Tourism Luang Prabang lists Kuang Si at 08:00–17:30; its admission is already included in this tour. Return for Tamarind’s Set Dinner and Luang Prabang night 3.

If day 3’s outdoor trip is unsafe and cannot be swapped with day 2, stay in Luang Prabang and use the museum within its ticket hours, outside its monthly closure. Keep an indoor meal and rest in the afternoon.

Day 4: railway to Vang Vieng, with rides at both ends

LCR Ticket is the Laos–China Railway company’s official booking app. It provides train searches, reservations, online payment, changes and refunds. Download the app published by Laos-China Railway Company Limited.

The app supports email registration. Search Luang Prabang → Vang Vieng for 19 November (day 4) and Vang Vieng → Vientiane for 21 November (day 6), select the services and pay through the app. The app shows the fare, boarding and baggage rules for the train you pick. No railway fare table is published outside it, so train fares are not included in the cost model. Your hotel or LOCA can arrange the four station rides: two on day 4 and two on day 6.

For today, the first ride is Luang Prabang hotel → Luang Prabang railway station in Phik Village. Tourism Luang Prabang puts this station about 15 km or 30 minutes from town. The second is Vang Vieng railway station → your Vang Vieng hotel. The tourism master plan prepared for the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism places Vang Vieng station around 2–3 km north-east of the township, so this is another road connection rather than a platform in the centre. No operator publishes fares for the station rides, so the four rides are not included in the cost model.

Choose a daytime service and keep the arrival afternoon for check-in, a Nam Song walk and dinner at Inthira’s restaurant. Vang Vieng’s limestone karst and fields are the setting for tomorrow’s outing. Sleep in Vang Vieng, night 4. For day 6, pick a train that reaches Vientiane with part of the afternoon left for the temple.

Day 5: the Nam Song, caves and the operator’s Blue Lagoon

Book Wonderful Tours’ Kayaking–Tubing inside Tham Norn cave & Blue Lagoon programme. Its page lists a 09:00 office start and a 17:00 finish, with a return to the hotel around 16:30. A road transfer takes the group north to Ban Vieng Sa Mai, where the guide gives kayaking instructions before the river journey.

The programme kayaks the Nam Song, visits Tham Ngangfar and tubes inside Tham Norn, then has a picnic lunch and a Blue Lagoon stop. The operator names the lagoon without a number; use the destination on its booking. Transport, lunch, drinking water, equipment, an English-speaking guide and entrance fees are included.

Wonderful Tours’ page for this programme prints US$40 per person in its two-person column, so US$80 for the pair on 15 October 2026. Request the programme for 20 November through the page’s Book Your Tour Now channel.

Follow the guide’s briefing and water-level decisions, check that a lifejacket is provided and use insurance that covers kayaking and cave tubing. If the river or cave programme is cancelled, keep the day in Vang Vieng: breakfast at the hotel, time in its public indoor areas or room, and lunch and dinner in town. Do not enter the cave or river if the guide cancels that section, and do not replace it with another water or cave activity. Have dinner at Riverside Boutique Resort if you want its Lao menu, then sleep in Vang Vieng, night 5.

Day 6: railway to Vientiane and one temple visit

Take the booked Vang Vieng → Vientiane train. The third station ride is Vang Vieng hotel → Vang Vieng railway station; the fourth is Vientiane railway station → your central Vientiane hotel. The Laos–China Railway’s Vientiane station is in Xaythany district, not at the Khamsavath border station. No fare or journey time is published for these rides.

After checking in, make Wat Si Saket the planned temple visit if the train arrives in time. Its sanctuary paintings show scenes from the life of Prince Pookkharabat, an earlier incarnation of the Buddha; KPL describes paintings from different periods on the inner walls. No official page publishes Wat Si Saket’s opening hours or admission price, so its admission is not included in the cost model.

Give the painted interiors your available temple time rather than attempting a second capital temple. If arrival is too late, keep the evening for dinner at Khop Chai Deu near Nam Phou and see COPE the next morning. Sleep in Vientiane for night 6.

Day 7: COPE, then the VTE departure

Visit the COPE Visitor Centre when it opens at 08:30, before the afternoon or evening flight. Entry is free. Its exhibits explain unexploded ordnance and the rehabilitation work that helps people with mobility-related disabilities; the Cave Cinema shows short documentaries. The centre is in the Centre for Medical Rehabilitation grounds on Khouvieng Road: follow the road in, turn right at the indoor stadium and continue to the white COPE building.

Return for your luggage and take the pre-booked ride to Wattay International Airport (VTE). LOCA offers airport and city rides with the fare shown in its app, or the hotel can arrange the vehicle. No operator publishes a fare or journey time for this ride, so it is not included in the cost model. Leave the flight day free of another railway connection.

The Lao kip (LAK) is the local currency. Carry kip for everyday purchases; card acceptance is concentrated in larger hotels, restaurants and shops in the main cities. Exchange foreign currency at banks, airports or currency exchange offices. LOCA Pay offers card-funded payments through Lao QR codes.

Germany’s Foreign Office says foreign currency worth USD 10,000 or more must be declared on entry or exit, and Lao kip must not be brought into or taken out of the country.

Meals to fit the three bases

Use Tamarind’s three different sets for the Luang Prabang dinners, each priced for two, and Manda de Laos’s pre-ordered Luang Prabang tasting lunch on the town day. The waterfall trip and Vang Vieng activity include their own lunches. Keep day 4 and day 6 travel lunches flexible around the actual trains.

In Vang Vieng, Inthira’s hotel-linked menu supplies the priced pork laap, chilli dips and sticky rice dinner; Riverside Boutique Resort lists Lao dishes for the second evening without published prices. In Vientiane, Khop Chai Deu’s own menu prices the final dinner. Tell restaurants and tour operators about allergies when booking.

A six-night cost model for two adults

Prices checked on 15 October 2026, for travel 16–22 November 2026 and two adults sharing one room in each base. The US$ total covers the Villa Chitdara rooms, two outings and one lunch; the kip total covers town admissions, the airport taxi and five dinners. Everything else is listed once under not included.

Villa Chitdara rooms, three nights: Superior, 3 × US$72 = US$216 (tax, service charge and breakfast included), the hotel’s own high-season (1 October–30 April) “from” rate on 15 October 2026; its site names US dollars.

• Outings: Tiger Trail, 2 × US$121 × 1.03 for card payment = US$249.26, including lunch and its listed transport and entries. Wonderful Tours, 2 × US$40 = US$80, including transport, lunch, equipment, guide and entrance fees.
• Luang Prabang lunch: Manda de Laos, 2 × US$36 online = US$72. The in-restaurant Luang Prabang tasting price is US$40 per person. US$ total: US$617.26 = Villa Chitdara US$216 + Tiger Trail US$249.26 + Wonderful Tours US$80 + Manda de Laos US$72.
• Shown separately, not part of the US$ total: the hotels price these rooms with a bare “$”, so they are given at each hotel’s own “from” rate on 15 October 2026 and are not added to the US$ total. Inthira Deluxe, 2 × $93 = $186 (taxes and fees included, breakfast with direct booking); Chanthapanya Superior, 1 × $50 = $50 (taxes and breakfast not included). Together $236.
• Town admission for two foreigners: Wat Xieng Thong, museum and Phousi, 2 × (LAK30,000 + LAK60,000 + LAK30,000) = LAK240,000. Kuang Si is included in Tiger Trail’s price; COPE entry is free.
• LPQ airport taxi: flat rate of LAK50,000 per group.
• Three Luang Prabang dinners for two: Tamarind Farmer’s Set LAK450,000 + Explorer Set LAK750,000 + Set Dinner LAK580,000 = LAK1,780,000.
• One Vang Vieng dinner for two: two pork laap portions, 2 × LAK39,000, one chilli dip LAK21,000 and two sticky-rice baskets, 2 × LAK10,000 = LAK119,000.
• Vientiane dinner for two: beef or lam LAK46,000 and banana-leaf fish LAK41,000, plus 10% VAT = LAK95,700. Kip total: LAK2,284,700 = LAK240,000 + LAK50,000 + LAK1,780,000 + LAK119,000 + LAK95,700.
• Not included: train fares for both legs, the four station rides and the Wattay airport ride, Wat Si Saket admission, taxes and breakfast at Chanthapanya, breakfasts missed on early starts, day 4 and day 6 lunches, the second Vang Vieng dinner, extra arrival and departure meals, rice and drinks outside menu or tour inclusions, tax or service at restaurants that do not publish it, tips, flights, visas, insurance and mobile data. No kip-to-dollar rate is applied.