What to do in Luang Prabang: temples, food and the Mekong
Laos · BookNow guides
Luang Prabang rewards early starts and unhurried afternoons. Leave time to browse textiles, ask your cooking instructor about an unfamiliar herb or watch the light change on the Mekong. Three full days give you room for the city, one river excursion and one countryside day.
Start in the old town
Pair the National Museum in the former Royal Palace with Wat Xieng Thong, where low-sweeping roofs and a coloured-glass Tree of Life mosaic are worth a close look. End the day at the night market or climb Mount Phousi for sunset. If your programme includes the morning alms procession, ask your guide how to observe respectfully and where to stand.
Go to the market before cooking
A guided market visit gives context to what goes into Lao food. Look for herbs, spices and sticky rice, then try preparing dishes such as mok pa, fish steamed in banana leaves, or larb, a minced-meat salad. At a traditional Baci ceremony, a village elder offers blessings and white cotton threads are tied around the wrists. Follow your host’s lead during the ceremony.
Take one day for the Mekong and one for the countryside
The boat journey to Pak Ou is part of the experience, with riverbank villages and quiet stretches of countryside before the caves. Some routes add a stop at Ban Xang Hai or a weaving village. For a different day out, the Laos-only itinerary visits the turquoise pools at Kuang Si. The Vietnam–Laos itinerary goes instead to Tad Sae and includes a rice-farming experience on a separate day.
Tell us what you want more time for
Both BookNow itineraries stay several nights in Luang Prabang. If food, textiles, short walks or river trips are a priority, mention it when asking for the programme. The stops and activities differ between the two routes.
Request the full itinerary
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and what you would like to see in Laos.
See the 10-day Laos itinerary · See the 14-day Vietnam and Laos itinerary · Plan my trip
More Laos travel guides
Comments
No reviews yet — be the first.