Luang Prabang, Town and Forest

Five nights in and around Luang Prabang: first in the heart of the old town, among its temples and by the Mekong, then in the green hills beyond, for elephants and the waterfalls at Kuang Si.

Length: Five nights
Pace: Two stays
Style: Temples, river, waterfalls, elephants
Route: Luang Prabang to The hills outside Luang Prabang

Luang PrabangThree nights
The hills outside Luang PrabangTwo nights

Days 1 to 4 · three nights

Luang Prabang

You are met at the airport and taken through quickly, then driven into town, where a traditional welcome is followed by a sunset cruise on the Mekong. A morning with a private guide covers the National Museum and Wat Xieng Thong, and the afternoon goes upriver by boat to the Pak Ou Caves and the villages along the bank. On the third day there is the option of rising early to give alms to the monks, then a private farm visit and cooking class, with the afternoon left free.

Where you stay

Amantaka

Amantaka is a garden estate of colonial buildings in the centre of Luang Prabang, at the foot of Mount Phousi and a short walk from the Mekong. Its 24 suites have high wooden ceilings and private verandas or courtyards, some with their own pools. There is a pool on the grounds, a library and a spa with a Laotian bath house.

Boats on the river at Luang Prabang in low sun, with mountains beyond. — Photo: Frank Eiffert / Unsplash

Days 4 to 6 · two nights

The hills outside Luang Prabang

A short private drive takes you out of town to the forest. That afternoon is spent at an elephant sanctuary, walking with the elephants through the trees, and the next morning brings a hike to the Kuang Si Waterfall and the sights around it before a free afternoon. On the last day you are driven to the airport.

Where you stay

Rosewood Luang Prabang

Rosewood Luang Prabang is set along a stream in the forested hills of the Nahm Dong Valley outside town, with waterfalls running through the grounds. Its 23 rooms, suites, villas and hilltop tents sit by the river or up the slope, and it has a spa, an outdoor pool among gardens, and The Great House restaurant and Elephant Bridge Bar.

Ways to make it yours

Cycling, kayaking and jungle excursions
A visit to a private home
Photography outings
Onward journeys to Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.