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Odyssey in Southern Laos
Best of Southern Laos in 6 Days: Temples, Islands and Waterfalls
Southern Laos feels like a brilliant little secret: river islands, ancient temples, coffee plantations, waterfalls, village paths, and long, slow views across the Mekong. This six-day journey starts in Pakse, the main gateway to the south, then carries you through Champasak, Don Daeng, the 4,000 Islands, Don Khong, and the cooler highlands around Paksong.
Itinerary overview
Arrive at Pakse Airport, where your guide will meet you before the journey begins with a drive of...
Today is all about finding out more about Don Daeng. Stay close to La Folie Lodge and the pool or...
After checking out, you’ll cross the Mekong by boat and travel south by road for roughly three ho...
Set out by boat at around 9am to explore more of Si Phan Don, the part of southern Laos where the...
Today, there’s a proper change of scene. You’ll head out across the Bolaven Plateau, a highland r...
After breakfast, travel back from Paksong to Pakse Airport for your onward flight. Meals: Breakfa...
Pakse, Champasak, and Don Daeng
Arrive at Pakse Airport, where your guide will meet you before the journey begins with a drive of around one hour to Champasak. Your first stop is Wat Phou, a beautiful, timeworn temple complex set beneath Phou Khao Mountain, with rice fields, canals, and ancient stonework spreading out around it. After lunch at a local restaurant, cross the Mekong River to Don Daeng, an island opposite Champasak, where La Folie Lodge gives you a peaceful first base on the river island and the rest of the day to ease into the slower pace of the south. Overnight at La Folie Lodge (or similar). Meals: Lunch and Dinner.
Don Daeng
Today is all about finding out more about Don Daeng. Stay close to La Folie Lodge and the pool or take one of the hotel’s bicycles and follow mapped routes through fishing villages, rice paddies, and shaded tracks. It’s an easy, lovely way to see island life up close, with children waving and boats moving along the river. There is also the option to join a morning cooking class in a local village to learn about Lao ingredients, sticky rice, and traditional cooking, then sit down to the meal you helped prepare before returning to the lodge for dinner by the river. Overnight at La Folie Lodge (or similar). Meals: Breakfast and Dinner.
Don Daeng to Don Khong
After checking out, you’ll cross the Mekong by boat and travel south by road for roughly three hours towards one of the most dramatic points on the river. Khon Phapheng Falls is often called the “Niagara of Asia”, and you’ll soon see why: huge volumes of water crash through this stretch of the Mekong on the southern edge of Laos. From there, continue to Ban Nakasang and take a small boat into Si Phan Don, the 4,000 Islands, where the river spreads wide and breaks into islands, sandbanks, and channels. Visit Don Khon and Don Det, cross the old French-built bridge between them, see a historic locomotive, ride by local tuk-tuk to Liphi Waterfalls, and have lunch on Khon Island before continuing to Don Khong, where Pon Arena Hotel gives you a simple, well-placed base for the evening. Overnight at Pon Arena (or similar). Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Don Khong to Paksong
Set out by boat at around 9am to explore more of Si Phan Don, the part of southern Laos where the Mekong is at its broadest. You’ll stop at Don Loppadi, known for weaving, then continue to Don Som, where islanders show you how palm leaves are crafted into traditional sun hats. Lunch is with a local family, before you return by boat to Don Khong and stop at Ban Houay Khong, a village known for handmade rice paper and rice noodles. If timings and opening hours allow, there may also be time for the Don Khong History Museum, before the road climbs north-east to Paksong on the Bolaven Plateau, where Sabaidee Valley (or similar) places you in the cooler highlands for the night. Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Bolaven Plateau
Today, there’s a proper change of scene. You’ll head out across the Bolaven Plateau, a highland region of coffee plantations, waterfalls, forest, farmland, and ethnic villages. The day’s vehicle is part of the fun: a vintage jeep, one of the older vehicles left behind after the war and later acquired by local communities. It’s rustic, bumpy, and full of character. Travel along country trails through coffee-growing land, visit a Laven village, and continue to Mystic Mountain, a working coffee farm where lunch is served. In the afternoon, learn how Arabica and Robusta coffee are grown, roasted, and brewed, then roast your own beans with the farm owner before tasting a fresh cup. On the way back, stop at Tad Moun Waterfalls, where a swim may be possible depending on the season and water levels, before returning to Sabaidee Valley (or similar) for a final night in the plateau air. Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Paksong to Pakse
After breakfast, travel back from Paksong to Pakse Airport for your onward flight. Meals: Breakfast.
Other Itineraries
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