Vietnam Laos Adventure

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival - Hanoi
1 stop
1
Hanoi
One arrives either in the morning or the afternoon at Hanoi airport, depending on the airline. It’s a half-hour drive to the hotel in the center of the old town.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 2
Hanoi - Mai Chau
1 stop
2
The trip to the west starts with the bustle of the morning rush hour in the capital. Jam-packed mopeds force their way through the city; we form a small part of this crowd. From Xuan Mai onwards we follow a part of the Ho Chi Minh trail. What is now a beautiful route used to be nothing more than a trail through the jungle used by the North Vietnamese to supply the South during the war. Thereafter we ride on narrow quiet country lanes to lunch near Cam Thuy from where we take the main road to the Pu Luong National Park and on to Mai Chau. We stayed overnight in a Thai home. It is not a luxurious experience but it is a special one. Copious amounts of rice wine will be poured by the village elders in the evening.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 3
Mai Chau - Sam Neua
1 stop
3
It is an early rise today as we will cross borders that always take some time. Just outside Mai Chai, we briefly visit one of the chopstick factories along the way, Next we wend our way along narrow inland roads to the border checkpoint with Laos (Na Meo). After the border formalities, we enter the world of Laos, where time has long stood still. The leisurely pace in this sparsely populated country brings you into a different rhythm immediately. After the border, it is just over 50 km through beautiful karst mountains to the impressive caves of Vieng Xay. Depending on the time, we can stop for a visit. After the caves, it is another 40 kilometers from the place where we will spend the night.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 4
Sam Neua - Phonsevan
1 stop
4
We take a tarmac but beautiful and quiet road through a lush green terrain eastwards. It is a very remote area, we can drive for 90 kilometers by ourselves at our speed until we meet again at the first cross-section. From there we scroll further southwards to have lunch near Muang Kham. It is only another 50 kilometers to Ponsevan, where we will visit one or more plains of the Plain of Jars. The jars are sometimes more than five meters high. How the jars came to be here and what their purpose was remains unknown. It is worth the effort to visit one of the plains. The area around Phonsavan suffered a lot of bombing during the Vietnam War. During this period, Laos was a free bombing zone. This was because the Ho Chi Minh trail, the supply route from the north of Vietnam to the Vietcong fighters in the south, ran through Laos. One can find much bomb debris still in this area. Old bomb casings serve as feeding troughs or as poles on which houses are built.
8 hours • Admission ticket not included
Day 5
Phonesaven – Luang Prabang
1 stop
5
Luang Prabang
This is a long route but completely surfaced and perhaps the most beautiful part of Laos. The road starts a bit straight and flat but soon becomes curvier, windy, and hilly. The rice paddies climb in giant steps up green, green hillsides. The terracing, created by hand over many centuries, is a remarkable feat. Bullocks are used to pull ploughs but the back-breaking work of planting, tending and harvesting is still done by hand. We slalom through small villages and clusters of houses, passing open markets, and so often friendly and welcoming people. At the end of the afternoon we arrive at Luang Prabang –literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image"
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 6
Luang Prabang - stay
1 stop
6
Kuang Si Falls
We spend the day in this beautiful city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city slows your pulse and awakens your imagination: Sitting at the sacred confluence of the Mekong River and the Nam Khan (Khan River), nowhere else can lay claim to this Unesco-protected gem's romance of 33 gilded wats, saffron-clad monks, faded Indochinese villas and exquisite fusion cuisine We can also possibly make a trip in the morning to the UNESCO-protected Khuang Xi Waterfall, about 15 km outside of Luang Prabang. There are many temples to see in the surroundings of Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is also a perfect city to sit in a cafe on the banks of the river.
2 hours • Admission ticket not included
Day 7
Luang Prabang – Oudomsay (Muang Xai)
1 stop
7
We have multiple options to drive to Nong Kiaow, and the exact journey depends on the group experience, the latest road status, and the weather. In general, we start the morning along winding dirt roads northwards. This is mostly unsurfaced and sometimes in a very bad condition. It is a very isolated area, we will pack some snacks for a light lunch. We follow rivers, drive along some magnificent mountain ridges, and combine dirt with asphalt, which makes for an exciting journey. Oudomsay is an easy town, but the largest in North Laos. It is situated at the Nam Ko River, and it is encircled by dramatic mountain ranges made up of craggy limestone cliffs. There are several restaurants around to explore.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 8
Oudomsay - Nong Khiaw
1 stop
8
A relaxing drive through lush green mountains area along curvy roads. Whilst it is a relatively short distance, on surfaced grounds, the 1000 curves will take us time. We will arrive around lunchtime in our hotel. The afternoon we will use for chilling, or optional boat ride on the Nam Ou river.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 9
Nong Khiaw - Muang Khua
1 stop
9
Today will be one of the most adventurous days, only 100km, but 90% unsurfaced. The support car will not join us, as we will follow a mix of wide and small paths and unsteady bridges. difficulty of this is entirely dependent on rainfall. The rain may have changed the surface layer of clay into a smooth mirror. The Muang Khua is a small stop over town; its river setting is surprisingly picturesque and it has a small local market worth visiting early mornings.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 10
Muang Khua – Dien Bien Phu
1 stop
10
Dien Bien Phu Military Cemetery
A short ride to the border with Vietnam, where we will need to take our time for paperwork. We hope to arrive Dien Bien Phu by lunchtime. Dien Bien Phu developed itself in recent years from small village to a big city. The city is famous for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the decisive engagement in the First Indochina War (1946–54). It consisted of a struggle between French and Viet Minh (Vietnamese Communist and nationalist) forces for control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. The Viet Minh victory in this battle effectively ended the eight-year-old war. In the afternoon we have time to visit a bunker and the museum of the legendary battle.
2 hours • Admission ticket not included
Day 11
Dien Bien Phu – Ta Xua
1 stop
11
An early start for a beautiful ride through the Vietnamese countryside. We will keep on the asphalt, but we take narrow and remote routes, driving up and down between 100 meters altitude and 1600 meters. We make our way to Ta Xua Nature Reserve, a mountain reserve hardly visited by foreign tourists, but popular by the Vietnamese who are “hunting for clouds”. There are spectacular cloud views.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 12
Ta Xua - Hanoi
1 stop
12
Hanoi
This is a long day’s ride back to the capital, swindling through the countryside, avoiding the highways. In the morning the roads are quiet but to closer we get to Hanoi the busier. It is the last stage of the trip but not least: For many participants, riding into the city in the massive traffic is a fantastic end to the trip.
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 13
Hanoi - Departure
1 stop
13
Hanoi
Transfer to the airport for your flight. You can extend your stay with a visit to Halong Bay or another day in Hanoi.
8 hours • Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

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