Southern Vietnam into the quiet end of Laos

Day 1

Arrive in Saigon

Airport pick-up by our driver. The evening is yours.

Day 2

Saigon’s centre and Cho Lon

The palace and the war museum, then across to the Chinese quarter for Binh Tay market and the temples of District 5.

Day 3

The delta for the day

My Tho and Ben Tre: the river crossing, coconut-lined canals by rowing boat and a bicycle stretch through the orchards. Back by four.

Day 4

To Hoi An

Fly to Da Nang, about an hour and twenty minutes, then forty-five minutes to Hoi An.

Day 5

The old town and the river

A guided morning in the old town before the heat and the crowds, and a boat on the Thu Bon in the late afternoon.

Day 6

The countryside by bicycle

Flat lanes to the vegetable gardens at Tra Que and the fishing hamlets on the river islands. Afternoon at An Bang beach.

Day 7

A free day

Tailors, the beach, or My Son if you did not see enough Cham ruins; we can add it on request.

Day 8

Da Nang to Vientiane

There is no reliable direct flight, so this is a connection — usually through Hanoi or Bangkok — and it takes most of the day. Our Lao partner meets you at Wattay airport, fifteen minutes from the river.

Day 9

Vientiane

That Luang, Wat Si Saket and its thousands of small Buddha images, and the visitor centre that explains the bombing of Laos and the unexploded ordnance that still affects the countryside. Sunset on the Mekong promenade.

Day 10

Fly to Pakse, up onto the plateau

About an hour and ten minutes south to Pakse, then roughly an hour and a half up onto the Bolaven plateau, where the air is noticeably cooler. First waterfall in the late afternoon.

Day 11

Coffee and waterfalls

Tasting coffee on the farm that grew it

A morning on a smallholder coffee farm near Paksong, from the bushes to the roasting pan, then the big falls at Tad Fane and Tad Yuang. Short, steep paths to the viewpoints.

Day 12

Wat Phou, then south to the islands

Down off the plateau and across the river to Champasak for Wat Phou, a Khmer temple climbing a hillside, older than Angkor Wat. Then south along Route 13 to the river and a short boat to your island. About four hours of driving in all, broken in the middle.

Day 13

The islands by bicycle

Across the old French railway bridge between Don Det and Don Khon, to the Li Phi falls, where the Mekong squeezes through black rock. The dolphin pool on the border is a boat ride away; sightings have become rare and we do not promise one.

Day 14

Khone Phapheng, and a hammock

In the morning, Khone Phapheng, the largest falls by volume in Southeast Asia, a short drive from the mainland pier. The afternoon has nothing in it.

Day 15

Back to Pakse

Boat to the mainland, then two and a half to three hours north to Pakse. A last evening in a quiet riverside town.

Day 16

Leave from Pakse

Transfer to Pakse airport for your connection home — usually through Vientiane or Bangkok, and we match the timing to your onward ticket.