Travel Kuoni

Heritage Line Anouvong Cruise

This four-day Heritage Line Anouvong cruise takes you downstream along the Upper Mekong, starting at Houay Xay on the Laos–Thailand border near Chiang Khong, and finishing in Luang Prabang in northern Laos.

The boat is small, elegant, and comfortable, with a terrace deck for watching life on the river, a lounge for talks and film screenings, and a relaxed pace that lets you enjoy the remote stretches without sacrificing comfort. Along the way, you'll stop at places that can be tricky to reach independently, including Khmu and Lao villages, a sustainable elephant sanctuary near Pakbeng and the Pak Ou Caves, where thousands of Buddhist figures sit above the river. The wow is the mix of access and ease: jungle-backed waterways, sandbank cocktails, close-up cultural encounters and the memorable experience of arriving in Luang Prabang by river rather than road.

Cruise
3 nights

Itinerary overview

Day 1

Head to Huay Xai Pier to board Heritage Line Anouvong for your three-night Upper Mekong cruise to...

Day 2

Wake early for yoga on the terrace deck, with the Mekong as your backdrop. Near Pakbeng, you’ll v...

Day 3

Start with morning yoga, coffee on deck, or both. After breakfast, visit a Khmu village set among...

Day 4

Cruise towards the Pak Ou Caves, one of the Upper Mekong’s best-known spiritual sites, where thou...

Day 1

Houayxay to Houay Ting

Head to Huay Xai Pier to board Heritage Line Anouvong for your three-night Upper Mekong cruise to Luang Prabang. This journey is seriously scenic: remote northern Laos, forested hills, small riverside communities, and long, slow views you’d never get properly from the road. Once you’re settled in, your guide introduces the ethnic groups who live along the river, before you stop at Huay Phaluang, a Khmu village, for a traditional Baci blessing. Later, an onboard talk brings Laos’ royal history into focus, followed by dinner and the option to watch Chiang, a 1927 film shot in this region.

Day 2

Pakbeng and Khok Aek

Wake early for yoga on the terrace deck, with the Mekong as your backdrop. Near Pakbeng, you’ll visit a sustainable elephant sanctuary, where rescued former logging elephants now live in a protected forest setting. After lunch, join a Lao-Thai cooking class, then continue to Ban Khok Aek to meet the Hmong, Lao Loum, and Khmu communities, each with their own customs, homes, and way of life. In the evening, local villagers come aboard for traditional music or dance before dinner.

Day 3

Khok Luang and Khok Phou

Start with morning yoga, coffee on deck, or both. After breakfast, visit a Khmu village set among rice fields, where stilted bamboo houses and farming life offer a grounded look at rural Laos. Later, cruise to Khok Phou, a 200-year-old Lao village above a wide white sandbank. After a village walk, your final evening brings cocktails on the sandbank and a farewell dinner by the river.

Day 4

Pak Ou Caves and Luang Prabang

Cruise towards the Pak Ou Caves, one of the Upper Mekong’s best-known spiritual sites, where thousands of Buddhist statues sit inside limestone grottoes above the water. Visit the lower cave, then kayak along the Nam Ou River for one last close-up with the landscape before returning to Anouvong for brunch and the final stretch into Luang Prabang.

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