Highlight Cambodia e Laos 9 days

Welcome to Siem Reap, the provincial capital and gateway to the ancient Angkor Temples. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins including Bayon, Banteay Srei and the legendary Angkor Wat. Our tour guide and a driver will welcome you at the airport and take you to the hotel in the city central for check-in.  In the late afternoon, we will drive to the Archeological Park to visit the magnificent Angkor Wat—the largest Khmer temple and finest example of Angkorian art and architecture.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Enjoy an entire day dedicated to discovering the mysterious Angkor temples. Wake before dawn and take a “tuk-tuk” ride to visit the jungle-entwined temple, Ta Prohm. Sunrise is one of the most beautiful and haunting times to visit the temples, whose ancient sandstone blocks are painted gold by the early morning rays.  Return to the hotel for breakfast then set back again on a full day temple tour. Begin with Angkor Thom’s imposing South Gate, topped with the four serenely smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara. Next, visit Bayon temple, the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Enjoy a lunch of traditional Khmer cuisine served at the home of a local villager. After lunch we drive to Banteay Srei, home to Angkor’s finest stone carvings, followed by Preah Khan (Sacred Sword): one of Angkor’s largest temples, constructed in the 12th century by Jayavarman VII.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: hotel in Siem Riep  

Learn about local Cambodian culture as we spend the morning in a Khmer Village. Have breakfast at the hotel and then drive to the village, where you will help a local family do their daily tasks. You may be planting rice, harvesting, roof making or picking bananas – life here revolves around the seasons, so your tasks will depend upon the time of year you visit. A boxed lunch will be provided at a local house. After lunch then continue on to visit the incredible jungle-covered temple: Beng Mealea. This distant temple is a gem in the midst of the jungle; half strangled with vines and decorated by lichen, Beng Mealea is the true adventure experience.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Today we visit Cambodia’s largest fresh-water reservoir, Tonle Sap Lake. Start with a breakfast at the hotel then we drive outside of town to the dock, where we will take a traditional wooden boat on a tour along the lake to visit the local floating village. Return to Siem Reap in the afternoon and explore the Psar Chass, also known as the “Old Market.”  Enjoy your time for shopping before driving to the airport to catch your flight to Luang Prabang. Our driver and guide will meet you at the airport there and take you to your hotel. Enjoy a short city tour to acquaint you with the sites of this small, enchanting town. Visit the impressive Wat Xieng Stupa, the National Museum, Wat Visoun and the shrine of Wat Mai. In the evening, we climb to the top of Phousi Mountain to explore the sacred, gilded stupa and watch the sunset over the city and winding Mekong River. Return to town and explore the Night Market, where you can find an expansive collection of textiles, hand-woven by the local hill tribe people. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

Optional: rising early at around 05.30AM to witness and participate in offering alms to hundreds of saffron-robed monks (the Buddhist monks) receive alms from local people – an awe-inspiring sight for many travelers. 

Please tell your guide if you wish to make an offer so he/she can prepare some food for you. This early morning ritual dates back generations in Laos. Watch the town come to life in the morning and then return to hotel for breakfast

After breakfast, take a rural drive (30 km South) to visit Kuangsi Waterfall, though not very high but spectacular and really beautiful with its green surroundings as the preserved National park. We stop en-route to visit a fresh produced market namely Talad Phosy, and also visit Ban Na Oune, a small village of a hill-tribe group “Hmong”, probably the best-known minority group in Laos. Just before arriving at Kuangsi waterfall, there is another village of Khmu minority group, namely Ban Tha Pane that we will visit. Our picnic lunch is served at the shady park nearby Kuangsi waterfall. There is plenty of time for relaxing and a swim in cool water, before heading back to Luang Prabang in the late afternoon.

Afternoon, enjoy a sightseeing tour of the sacred city of temples; of which nearly fifty still remain in the town and surrounding areas. Visit National Museum, the former Royal Palace which houses the collection of valuables including the famous Prabang Buddha statue, gifts received from foreign dignitaries…etc, Wat Visoun, the 16th century temple served as a small museum for religious artifacts; Wat Aham, the early 19th century temple, whose two guardian figures at the foot of the steps which represent two characters from the Ramayana – Hanuman, the Monkey God and a fierce Yaksa; Wat Xiengthong, the 16th century temple, which more than any temples in Luang Prabang, epitomizes all the elegance and grace of Luang Prabang architecture.

The rest of the day at your leisure, relaxing in one of the city’s many quirky cafés or strolling along the beautiful riverbank.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

Board a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a beautiful view of the tranquil countryside as well as an interesting visit to the mysterious of Pak Ou Caves (mouth of the Ou river) comprising of the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave) which are two caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues in various shapes and sizes offer by the pilgrimers over the centuries. 

Along the way back to Luang Prabang, we stop at the village of Ban Xang Hai, where they make the distillation of local rice wine Lau Hai and Lau Lao (Lao whisky). On return, we take a short drive to Ban Phanom, well known for its hand weaving. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

Today we fly from Luang Prabang to Laos’s capital, Vientiane.  Enjoy a free day to relax and explore the city at your leisure. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accomodation: Hotel in Vientiane

Enjoy a full day touring Laos’s capital city. With its wide boulevards unclogged by traffic and many golden temples, this sleepy city hardly feels like modern capital. After breakfast, we begin the tour with the city’s oldest temple, Wat Sisaket—filled with thousands of miniature Buddha statues. Then explore the former royal temple, Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. En route to the famous That Luang Stupa, we will stop to visit the imposing Patuxay Monument, known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph. We finish our tour with a trip to Bna Nong Bua Thong textile village.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Vientiane