SOUTHERN LAOS TO SIEM REAP

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport – Trinity Silom (39.1 km): approx. 44 min – 1 hour

Depart from the hotel to Suvarnabhumi Airport and be transferred to the hotel in Bangkok.

Have a full day in Bangkok to wander through the markets, eating street food and mingle in the local culture.

Overnight in Bangkok.

Trinity Silom - Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (39.1 km): approx. 44 min – 1 hour (Breakfast & Dinner included)

Depart from the hotel to Suvarnabhumi Airport and take a domestic flight to Ubon Ratchathani. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by the tour guide to take you to the hotel.
Recommended Flight: TBA

(Flight departure and arrival time subjects to change)

Dinner and overnight in Ubon Ratchathani.

Ubon Ratchathani – Chong Mek (90 km): 1.50 hour Chong Mek – Champasak: (75 km): 1.40 hour (Breakfast included)

You will be taken to Chong Mek border to cross to Laos where a local guide awaits to accompany you.

Enjoy the scenic view of Champasak province of Southern Laos on the way before a short boat ride to Don Daeng, an island in the middle of the Mekong River. Check into La Folie Lodge. La Folie Lodge has a beautiful swimming pool and its riverfront location offers spectacular views. There are 8 small villages dotting the island’s coast and take a short walk for a taste of local island life.

Your tour guide will be there to show you the local sights and assist you with activities of your interests.

Overnight in Don Daeng

Don Daeng – Wat Phou by boat: 20 min (Lunch included)

After breakfast, explore the local sights and get to see the daily activities of villagers via a short-guided bicycle tour around the island.

Then cross the Mekong by boat to visit Wat Phou. Recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, Wat Phou is a spectacular pre-Angkorian temple that sits among the rice fields and waterways of southern Laos. The temple was built by the rulers of the Khmer empire before the construction of Angkor Wat. This site served as the most important economic and political center of the region and still is one of the Lao people’s most revered temples.

Pass through the small town of Champasak, where French colonial buildings offer a great contrast to Wat Phou.

Return to Don Daeng Island and have the rest of the evening to relax.

Overnight in Don Daeng.

Breakfast & Lunch included

The first stops are at Tad Fane and Tad Yuang waterfalls. Tad Fane is a set of twin 120-metre-high waterfalls formed by the merging waters of the Champy and Pak Koot rivers. (Note: water levels may vary accordingly to the previous rainy season).

Learn all about how coffee beans are grown, harvested and processed with a coffee expert in Paksong, the small capital of coffee.

Enjoy a healthy lunch in Paksong where most of the vegetables supplied to the cuisine comes from the home-grown organic garden. After lunch, you get to try on different types of coffee.

Stop to see the more beautiful waterfalls on the way back to Pakse. The first stop is the visit of Tad Lo Waterfalls, a beautiful formation of three separate falls. From the bridge guests will first see Tad Hang and then Tad Lo in the distance. The most impressive of the three, Tad Suong, is located a further 10km upriver.

The second stop is the small village of Ban Houay Houn, famous for his Katu textiles. You get the chance to observe an interesting stretching fabric technique being done by village women.

Return to Don Daeng in the late afternoon and transfer to the hotel.

Stay the night in Don Daeng.

Dong Daeng – Ban Nakasan (60km): 2 hours (Breakfast & Lunch included)

After breakfast, head to Sipandon (4000 Islands). This 4000 islands area runs 14 kilometres wide along the Mekong River. Home to thousands of small islands dot on the waterway.

Travel by car to the village of Ban Nakasan. From here, you will take a local boat to the peaceful islands of Done Det and Done Khone with tranquil sceneries.

Start with a short boat trip and get the chance to spot the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin
(Please note that sightings are far from guaranteed, but the mornings and late afternoon are best, when the water is cooler.)

Visit the impressive Lippi Falls on the west of Don Khone, nearby the Cambodian border. The original name of Lippi Falls is Tad Somphamit, which means ‘trapped spirit’. Local people of Don Khone have deep respect for these falls as they believe the falls act as a trap for bad spirits

The islands played an important role during the French Colonial rule as they linked Laos to Cambodia and Southern Vietnam

Continue to observe peaceful daily life of locals. Have lunch at a local restaurant.

Enjoy the rest of the day at your own pace.

Overnight in Don Khone.

BDong Khone – Khone Papheng (30km): 30 mins Laos border – Stung Treng (60 km): 1 h30 mins (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included)

Visit the village of Ban Nakasan in the morning by boat from Don Khone Island. Drive toward the southern border and stop to stroll through palm-fringed villages and explore the imposing Khone Papheng waterfalls.

Go through the border entrance to enter Cambodia. A tour guide and driver will wait to greet you at the entrance to take you to the small Community based Ecotourism village of O’Svay, only 25km from the Laos border.

Upon arrival, you will get a first glance of an ordinary Cambodian village and meet with the friendly Cambodian locals. Embark on a breathtaking journey through the islands and flooded forests of the Mekong by boat. Lunch will be served with scenic views on an island, you will be surrounded by nature that will make you forget about the stressful city life. Continue towards Stung Treng and arrive in the afternoon.

Stay the night in Stung Treng.

Stung Treng – Kratie (79 km): 2h30mins (Breakfast included)

Enjoy your breakfast at a local restaurant near the market in Stung Treng.

Visit Mekong Blue, a local silk weaving centre that offers the opportunity for job and income to disadvantaged young women in this remote area. Tour the workshops and if preferred, shop for beautiful silk items that carry the ‘UNESCO Seal of Excellence’.
(Note: Mekong Blue closed Sundays).

Afterwards, head to Kratie by car. On the way, stop to visit Wat Sorsor Mouy Roy in the village Sambo. The vihara (temple sanctuary) of the so-called ‘100 Pillars Pagoda’ is an important historical and cultural building and quite famous for its legend involving a princess and a crocodile.

Continue along the banks of the Mekong, a very scenic route with great views. In the village Kampi, the best spot to view the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins along the Mekong. (duration 1 to 1.5 hours).

Upon arrival at Kratie, discover the small town on your own pace. For lunch, enjoy Le Tonlé Tourism Training Center, where young locals are taught and learned the principles of hospitality to ensure a better future in Stung Treng. Meet with the students and eat delicious Khmer food.
Note: The Center is closed on weekends – if the visit coincides with a Sat/Sun then dinner will be at the hotel or a local restaurant instead).

In the afternoon, hop on the lodge boat (may be shared with other passengers) to Koh Trong Island, only a short 10 minutes boat ride away from Kratie. This Mekong island displays an ordinary life of Cambodian villagers, where people’s livelihoods largely depends on rice farming and fruits cultivation (Koh Trong is famous for its pomelo!).

Upon arrival, check-in to the hotel and enjoy sightseeing at your own pace.

Overnight on Koh Trong Island.

Breakfast & Lunch included

Get ready for the visit of the island after your breakfast at hotel. You can choose to explore by a local horse cart or pedal around the island on a bicycle.

The first destination is Wat island, here you will be given a special project to do in order to learn about the surrounding environment of the island as well as living a positive trace after your visit.

Afterwards, relax with a beautiful Khmer lunch under pomelo trees at a typical local house right by the river.

Continue on a horse cart or cycling around the island to taste of local fruit and visit a Vietnamese floating village on the southern tip of the island. Return to Kratie by boat in the afternoon and have some time to relax.

In evening (if the weather permits), see the spectacular sunset over the Mekong that Kratie is famous for.

Stay the night on Koh Trong Island.

Kratie - Chhlong (20km): 45 mins Chhlong – Kampong Cham (100km): 2.30 hours
Kampong Cham - Kampong Thom (114 km): 2 hrs (Breakfast & Lunch included)

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel the depart to the South, towards Kampong Thom. Stop on the way to visit Chlong, a small town with many French colonial houses that are amongst the most beautiful in Cambodia.

Upon arrival in Kampong Cham, a delicious lunch will be served at a local restaurant. Explore the provincial capital of Kampong Cham and the bustle local market. Then continue to Kampong Thom and have the rest of the day at your own pace to relax by the hotel’s beautiful pool or to discover the provincial capital independently.

Stay the night in Kampong Thom.

Kampong Thom – Sambor Prei Kuk (30 km): 1 hour Sambor Prei Kuk – Siem Reap (169 km): 2 hour & 30 Minutes (Breakfast & Lunch included)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Start the day with visit to Sambor Prei Kuk, one of the most important pre-Angkorian sites in the country that has become Cambodia’s most recent UNESCO World Heritage site. Sambor Prei Kuk was built in the Chenla period between the 6th and 7th centuries and there are over 100 well preserved temples scattered in the forest. Enjoy a beautiful walk through the jungle with breathtaking views.

Stop at one village to observe the local production of craft making using bamboo and rattan. The community runs the Isanborei Craft Hut next to the temples and sells their products there as part of a community-based tourism project. Have the chance to visit and contribute to the sustainability of the people’s livelihood as the local community will prepare a simple but very tasty lunch near the temple.

Continue to Siem Reap.

In the afternoon, hop on the local transport called ‘remork’ (similar to the Thai tuk tuk) to visit one of South East Asia phenomena - the magnificent Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is well known for the more than 2,000 Apsara dancers decorating the temple. Construction is thought to have taken more than thirty years of intensive labour. Today, Angkor Wat is figured on Cambodia's national flag as the temple symbolises the soul of the Khmer people.

Explore and wander the compound during sunset time, when Angkor Wat is less visited and the Apsaras will shine in the most beautiful light. Return to the hotel after sunset.

Stay the night in Siem Reap.

Siem Reap – Tonle Sap (20 km): 30 mins (Breakfast & Lunch included)

After an early breakfast, begin your temple exploration journey from the East entrance of Angkor Wat. Comfortable sport shoes should be worn so you can walk through the dense jungle of the magnificent temples of Angkor on a 6km trekking route. Being on foot is the best way to wander from temple to temple and see all the magnificent views.

Continue walking to Bayon Temple in the exact center of the city. This 12th century masterpiece is a study in grandeur and is well-known for its dozens of towers with enigmatic faces representing the Buddha.

After the Bayon Temple, you will be taken to Ta Prohm – a temple built between the mid 12th to early 13th centuries by car. Ta Prohm is unique in that it has been left largely overgrown by jungle trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground. This makes the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’ one of the most picturesque and memorable of the Angkor temples.
*Alternatively, depending on the weather and visiting season, visit Preah Khan temple. Built by the same king in a similar style, this larger temple complex is also largely left in ruins and its labyrinthian layout and fewer visitors.

Have a rest and enjoy lunch at Marum, a newly opened dining experience, which is a sister to the Romdeng & Friends training restaurants in Phnom Penh with staff are currently employed by an NGO that has been working with street children and other marginalized young people since 2005 in Siem Reap. The food is mostly tapas style though main courses are also available. (closed Sundays).

Later in the afternoon, embark on an interesting boat trip on the Tonlé Sap Lake and have the opportunity to learn about life on the lake. Tonlé Sap is Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake with its size varying greatly depending on the season, as it is swelling to about four times its size during the wet season. Board a local boat and visit Kampong Phluck, a village with houses on stilts that are submerged when the Tonlé Sap Lake extends. Pass by floating houses of local people on the way to how they learn to survive the flooded forests and live their lives on the water.
(Note: Due to low water levels during the dry season, the boat trip is only possible from July to February. However, an alternative floating village at Chong Kneas can be arranged during dry season).

Stay the night in Siem Reap.

Enjoy the break at hotel and have the morning time on your own for some last minute souvenir shopping (if needed) at Siem Reap’s colourful markets. Transport to Siem Reap International Airport for the individual flight home.