Day 1: Luang Prabang Arrival (D)

We are greeted by our guide and driver at the airport for our transfer to the hotel.

Late afternoon, we can go for a stroll around this quaint town or even join some locals for a game

of petanque.

We explore the Luang Prabang Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by local villagers and the hill tribes surrounding Luang Prabang.

We enjoy a dinner around the lively night market. There are plenty of street food options to choose from and also some more traditional Western dishes to try. Remember, the French have had a big influence here on the local cuisine.

Overnight at Luang Prabang hotel.

Day 2: Luang Prabang - Mahout Eco Elephant Tour (B,L)

Mahout means Elephant keeper or Elephant rider. This is a fantastic chance to get to know the real profession of Mahouts, find out their everyday routine and learn more about the way of becoming a Mahout.  We start by learning about elephants, their healthcare, the verbal and body language to communicate with elephants followed by some "Hands on Practice".

After breakfast we are picked up from the hotel and transfer to All Lao Elephant Camp. We learn more about elephants and how the mahouts communicate with these fascinating animals.

We enjoy our elephant safari (1 hour 30 min) into the jungle and along the Nam Khan River bank.

We are back at the Elephant Lodge for a typical Lao lunch.

After lunch we meet our elephant's mahout. He teaches us how to communicate with our elephants and we have a little mahout practice session with baby elephants. Later we visit some local villages and Henry Mohout's grave site. He was the first European to rediscover Angkor Wat. We also have some time to relax, go for a swim or do some tubing on the river.

Late afternoon we join our mahouts take the elephants down to the Nam Khan river for their

daily bath and help them return the elephants to their sleeping place in the jungle. We then make our way back to camp and transfer back via minivan to our hotel in Luang Prabang

Day 3: Luang Prabang - Ancient Town & Arts (B,L)

Optional early wake-up call possible to participate with local people giving food to hundreds of Buddhist monks returning from morning prayers. Take a stroll through the morning market and take part in this everyday ritual.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today we explore Luang Prabang by electrical bikes, a fun and eco-friendly way of exploring the town. We visit Wat Visun, Wat Aham and the beautiful Wat Xieng Thong.

We then head out to Phone Say village, a hidden village specializing in beautiful textile weavings just a few kilometres from Luang Prabang. Phone Say still appears to be one of the most intact  traditional Lao villages in the area, the charming village cannot be reached by vehicles but is only a 20-minute walk away from the main road. We meet Ms. Ting who has inherited her hand-weaving skills from her mom almost 30 years ago, and who now teaches young Laotian  women a valuable skill. After a visit to her workshop we enjoy a home-hosted lunch cooked by her younger sister Mrs. Bounkhong. She also teaches cooking at a college in Luang Prabang. We have lunch on a hand-made bamboo terrace by the Mekong River, another memorable experience and a taste of real Lao traditions.

After lunch, we're off to Ban Xai village where we join a traditional Laotian Stencil Class and learn more about Saa paper.

On our way back to town we go up Phousi mountain and enjoy the fantastic view of Luang  Prabang, and the Nam Kan river joining the Mekong.

We cycle back to town and are treated to a well-deserved and relaxing Traditional Lao Massage and Sauna at the Lao Red Cross.

Overnight at hotel in Luang Prabang.

Day 4: Luang Prabang Cooking & Flight to Vientiane (B,L)

After breakfast at the hotel we go to Tamarind Cafe where our chef Joy Ngeuamboupha joins us  for an introduction to real Lao cuisine. We tuk-tuk to Phousy market weher we'll buy our ingredients for the cooking class. Joy shares his knowledge with us on this market tour and then  takes us to his riverside classroom where we will learn to prepare some local favourites such as  khao niauw (sticky rice), oh paedek (soup with ground pork) and laarb (spicy Laotian salad).

Afterwards, we have lunch with Joy and evaluate our creations.

Early afternoon we make our way to the famous Kuang Si waterfall. A short walk brings us down the steep waterfall where we have time for a relaxing swim or some relaxing by the water's edge.

We then return to Luang Prabang and make our way to the airport for our flight to Vientiane (Suggested flight: QV104/ 1740-1820).

Overnight in Vientiane.

Day 5: Vientiane Morning Market & Tuk-Tuk City Tour (B)

We skip breakfast at the hotel and visit the Morning Market, full of bright colours and exotic aromas. Amid baskets piled with rice, eggs, and tea, ducks, pigs and fish both alive and dead, food stalls selling noodles, soup, and 'food to go' wrapped in banana leaves. We have breakfast here, only problem what to choose from this abundant display. We further explore the flower  section of the market with sellers of jasmine, orchids, and marigolds - the latter being woven into garlands for temple offerings.

In the afternoon, we tuk-tuk to Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple with thousands of miniature Buddha statues, and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous  Emerald Buddha Image. En route to Lao's national icon, That Luang Stupa, we will stop at the Patuxay Monument, known as Vientiane's own Arc de Triumph.

We then head to the riverside for a sundowner drink overlooking the Mekong River.

Overnight in Vientiane

Day 6: Buddhism Explored in Vientiane (B)

After breakfast we travel by bike to a temple known for over 450 years as a centre for Buddhist education. Here we meet our tour guide, an English-speaking monk who will host an educational session on Lao culture and traditions. You will learn about the relationship between Buddhism and Lao history, society, meditation, and any other topic that may interest you.

After your educational workshop you will travel to one of the last remaining forest temples

in Vientiane. There, you will take a private yoga lesson in the shade of the temple's trees,

learn about the temple's herbal gardens, try the traditional sauna, practice meditation and

then indulge in a traditional Lao massage.

Overnight in Vientiane.

Day 7: Flight to Pakse & Khong Island (B)

After an early breakfast, we depart hotel to Wattay airport for departure to Pakse, the provincial

capital of Champasack where the Mekong and Sedon rivers meet.

Upon arrival in Pakse we drive a few hours to Boloven Plateau. The plateau is a fertile farmland for coffee, tea and cardamom plantations. It is also the home to number of ethnic minorities. Lunch is at Tadlo restaurant in the forest overlooking the Saset stream.

We then continue our drive to Champasack and visit Wat Phou, a site of ancient religious significance in one of the most spectacular regions of Laos.

After our visit we continue by car about to get to Khong Island, the 4,000 Islands region, where the Mekong can get up to 14km wide during the rainy season. Don Khong is the largest of the Mekong Islands at 16km long and 8km wide and its capital is Muang Khong, a small former French settlement.

We take a small ferryboat to cross to Khong Island and check-in at the hotel.

Overnight on Khong Island.

Day 8: 4000 Islands Boat Trip (B,L)

After an early breakfast we make our way to visit a local school (closed June - Aug and starts again on the 1 st of September) to donate study and sport materials like books, pens, pencils,balls etc¼ Afterwards we can join with the students and their teachers for some fun and games. o    We then go for lunch, hosted by a local family at the house of the village elder. Afterwards we visit the famous waterfalls of Khone Phapeng, the largest waterfalls in South East Asia, also known as the Niagara of the east.

We make our way back to our lodge and discover the 4000 islands area by boat at our leisure.

There is time to relax, do some swimming or tubing on the river and take in the amazing sights.

If we are lucky, we may even see the rare freshwater Irrawaddy Mekong dolphin at Ban Hang

Khone. Transfer back to our hotel.

Overnight on Khong Island.

Day 9: From Khong Island To Pakse Via Boloven Plateau (B,L)

Breakfast at hotel.

We leave Khong Island in the morning and head to the highlands of the Boloven Plateau.

Passing the Plateau's capital Paksong, we drive to the village Katouat. Many families of the village are coffee farmers who work with the AGPC. We join the farmers for their work on the plantations where we learn how to pick the coffee cherries. The harvesting is done by hand, and only the ripe cherries are picked. With a full basket of cherries we return to the village's    coffee factory where the coffee is pulped, fermented and washed.

We will enjoy lunch with the villagers before we will take the beans to be dried by the sun, which takes up to 25 days depending on the weather. We will see how the dried beans are hulled to    become the green beans, which are then sold to France, Germany and Japan. As the last step in the production chain, we roast and grind the green beans - to finally enjoy a delicious cup of the freshest coffee!

Early afternoon, we will head back towards Pakse and stop by the beautiful waterfall Tat     Nyeaung, where we can relax and enjoy a refreshing swim, there is also a small tea factory   where we can sample some delicious tea before arriving back at the hotel in Pakse.

At night we are free to discover Pakse at our own pace.

Day 10: Pakse Departure (B)

After breakfast there's free time for your own exploration of Pakse Town.