Luang Prabang is my favorite place in Southeast Asia for short stays. It’s just so soulful and serene, from the bustling but quaint old town to the quiet nature just a few minutes away, on the other side of the Mekong. The unmatched mix of urban, provincial, and naturalistic vibes keeps me going back.
Notice that I’ve not referred to Luang Prabang as a “city”, though. That’s because it has no tall buildings, no franchise convenience stores, and no gridlocked rush hour traffic like most urban cores. Instead, it has the feel of a friendly small town.
That being said, it’s quite difficult to get out of the “tourist bubble” there. The area dedicated to tourism, while amazing, is smaller than any other tourist hotspot I can think of, and points of interest for visitors are extremely sparse outside of that tiny enclave. The arrival of the China-Laos train line has only strengthened the often-inescapable pull of the tourist centre.
In this guide, I’ll help prepare you for exploring the real Luang Prabang by introducing some of those insider tips you won’t find elsewhere, from unique eats (like stews with flavorful wood chunks as ingredients) to scenic wilderness spots untouched by tourism to hidden gems and old favorites scattered around the city.
By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll be ready to make the most of your time in Luang Prabang.
How to get to Luang Prabang
Travel logistics to get to Luang Prabang are a big part of why Laos has not had more tourism in the past; until recently, LP did not even have an airport and had to be reached via a 5-hour speedboat ride.
Nowadays, there are a few options that have made Luang Prabang tourism a lot more accessible and are changing the city’s landscape fast.
Note: I often recommend bus travel in Southeast Asia, but Luang Prabang is very far from any border and the roads in Laos are pretty awful. In short, don’t take the bus there.
By plane – easy yet expensive
Luang Prabang has an international airport, but it’s small. It didn’t even start operating many international flights until a decade ago, and it’s still the size of most small domestic airports. The building is quaint and easy to navigate, but tickets to get there are noticeably more expensive than larger Southeast Asian airports.
The table below shows approximate flight times and distances from several nearby air hubs.
| … To Luang Prabang | Approx. Flight Time | Distance (km/mi) |
|---|---|---|
| Bangkok (BKK) | 1hr45min | 690km/430mi |
| Hanoi (HAN) | 1hr5min | 405km/250mi |
| Singapore (SIN) | 2hr50min | 1520km/945mi |
| Phnom Penh (PNH) | 1hr45min | 730km/455mi |
By train – the most scenic way
The China-Laos rail line is a bad thing for Luang Prabang’s cultural integrity since it makes the place a lot less of a secluded sanctuary than it was before, but it’s also great for the city in terms of tourist accessibility. The line comprises over 1000km and over 30 stations, the most popular ones with passengers being:
- In China, Kunming and Xishuangbanna.
- In Laos, Boten, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane.
Tickets are usually $15-25 within Laos, or $50-100 between China and Laos, depending on the class of ticket.
The train is sleek and modern and, as always, train travel is my favorite way to reach Luang Prabang since it is the most scenic way to see the countryside and get a feel for the country at large.
While I usually recommend 12go for booking train tickets, I’ve heard from many travellers that they have had a lot of problems with it in Laos.
Instead, you can use the LCR Ticket app for Android and iOS to buy directly from the railway. The site is very easy to use, but be aware you can only reserve tickets up to a week in advance and you need a Laos, China, Thailand, or Vietnam phone number to book.
By boat – for slow travel
The two-day slow boat journey from Chiang Rai, a city near Chiang Mai, to Luang Prabang was the main way to reach Luang Prabang before the airport started operating more flights a decade back, and it’s still one of the most iconic examples of slow travel in the world.
Spending two days drifting down the Mekong past villages, mountains, sandbanks, water buffalo, and fishermen is one of those travel memories that brands itself into your brain because it’s so immersive.
Tour agencies in Chiang Mai or online often sell budget boat tickets for $30-80 and offer luxury options for $300-400. Both options generally stop halfway for guests to sleep, usually in the town of Pak Beng.
- The budget option: This 2-day slow boat trip is a well-reviewed option that handles the border crossing and Pak Beng guesthouse for you.
- The luxury option: The Mekong Cruise covers the same route in more comfort, adds guided stops at riverside villages and caves and includes lunch on board.
Where to stay in Luang Prabang
As I alluded to earlier, a lot of Luang Prabang lacks any tourist infrastructure and is very difficult to stay in as a traveller.
The table below (and the map below that) shows the four neighbourhoods I’d recommend basing your travels from during your stay in Luang Prabang. They’re all in close proximity, but they offer very different experiences.
| Neighbourhood | Atmosphere | Type of traveller | Approx Price | Top hotel pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town | UNESCO-protected boutique hotel zone with lots of cultural heritage and walkable streets. | First-time visitors, boutique travellers. | $$$ | Ban Samsa, $67 |
| Riverside | Scenic Mekong views, relaxed, upscale. | Couples, luxury travellers. | $$$$ | Pha Nya Residence, $77 |
| Nam Khan | Quiet green riverside with booming nightlife. | Backpackers, longer stays. | $$ | Dawn Boutique, $34 |
| Visoun | Local atmosphere, wet markets, authentic daily life. | Budget travellers, culture hounds. | $ | Museum Inn, $20 |
Luang Prabang’s essential sights
Luang Prabang’s tourism scene is generally not a varied one. It has a dozen activities in a small area that are covered by almost every city guide out there. Most of those activities (although not all) are great, but do we really need another rundown of them?
In this guide, I want to focus more on the hidden gems you never see covered. First, though, let’s do a lightning round touching upon the old favorites.
- The morning alms ceremony in the centre of town is the most heralded attraction in Luang Prabang. It’s definitely cool, but it’s become tragically diluted by overtourism to the point I’d hardly recommend it. Try exploring residential streets around Wat Xieng Thong in the morning (5:30-6:30 am) instead.
- Wat Xieng Thong, the temple in the middle of the UNESCO heritage site Old Town, is the nicest religious site in Luang Prabang. As I alluded to, monks walk nearby streets in the morning and receive rice from locals.
- Luang Prabang night market is a 400 metre-long stretch of street stalls selling clothes, art, and souvenirs that are of higher quality than most Southeast Asian tourist markets. There are lots of alleys leading off it with great street food.
- Mount Phousi is Luang Prabang’s most famous viewpoint. The climb is steep, but it’s also short and the natural beauty of the mountain has been so well preserved that it’s well worth the quick trek.
- Luang Prabang night market is a 400 metre-long stretch of street stalls selling clothes, art, and souvenirs that are of higher quality than most Southeast Asian tourist markets. There are lots of alleys leading off it with great street food.
- Kuang Si Falls is a complex about an hour south of Luang Prabang with hiking trails (some of them paved), a bear sanctuary, a few swimming holes, and some cafes. It’s nice, but it’s horribly overtouristed and I’d only recommend it during low season of May-October.
- The Royal Palace Museum is the best museum to learn about Laos’s history, thanks to its cavernous display space and atmospheric artifacts on exhibit.
- A Mekong Cruise is an easy way to see the banks of the Mekong, which are especially beautiful around Luang Prabang (for now). It’s also a good way to meet other tourists on your trip. The food on the cruises is, in my experience, pretty awful, so I’d recommend a Mekong Sunset Cruise like this one with only light snacks and drinks.
take this Mekong sunset cruise
Luang Prabang’s hidden gems
1. Tat Sae Waterfall (quieter alternative to Khuang Si)
Again, I wouldn’t recommend Kuang Si during high season since it’s overtouristed. Instead, opt for Tat Sae Waterfall. It’s a 30 minute drive from town to the waterfall parking lot, then a short hike to a ferry across the Nam Khan River to the falls, where you’ll pay an admission of $1.50. They’re surrounded by deep forest and swimming holes like Kuang Si, but they’re much less touristy.
2. Buffalo Dairy for ice cream (if you go to Kuang Si)
If you do visit Kuang Si, stop at the Buffalo Dairy on the way. It’s the first and only buffalo dairy in Laos. They make ice cream and cheese from buffalo milk in-house by working with local farmers. If there aren’t too many customers, they’ll even take you to meet the buffaloes. The dairy products are awesome, the experience is educational, and the business is ethical.
They also run a proper farm tour on Viator through which you can interact with the buffaloes, watch and learn milking, and sample homemade dairy afterwards.
3. Luang Prabang’s street food
This is a special section to me, because the two most memorable street food experiences of my life were in Luang Prabang.
One of them was eating Or Lam, a traditional Laotian stew that contains chunks of wood called sakhan. The wood tastes unremarkable the moment it hits your tongue, but it gradually intensifies into a spicy, minty, and slightly acidic taste that leaves your tongue tingling, similar to the feeling caused by sucking on a cinnamon stick, if you’ve ever done that.
The wood alters the way you taste, so the rest of the fish and vegetable stew radiates flavor that burrows into your taste buds. The best bowl of Or Lam I got was at Tamarind.
The second was Sin Dat, traditional Lao barbecue. The raw meats and vegetables don’t include anything too out-of-the-ordinary, but I would bet they’re fresher than anything you can get in most countries since Laos is such a naturalistic paradise.
The real star of Sin Dat, though, is the brilliant tabletop grilling apparatus, which infuses the meal with a fatty flavor and turns the meal into a distinctly “Laos” experience. Plus, Sin Dat is unbelievably cheap; my travel party of four all ate to our hearts’ content and the bill was $15 total. We went to Seendat, a stall near the night market.
For more Luang Prabang street food, this small alley at the end of the night market is a treasure trove of locally made sausage, grilled fish, sticky rice, and more for rock-bottom prices.
If you want to take a more guided approach, this $45 evening food tour is built around street food, night markets, and riverside grills.
4. Try Laotian Coffee
Luang Prabang’s coffee culture isn’t quite as accessible as huge cafe cultures like Saigon or Bangkok, but the country’s coffee has a really interesting flavor because it’s grown in the volcanic soil of the tropical, high altitude Bolaven Plateau.
A few spots that do Laos’ beans justice are:
- Saffron on Khem Kong Rd. Best coffee in Luang Prabang in my opinion. A really beautiful space with a river view, good food, and prices from $1-1.50.
- Coffee Express. A bit pricier at $1.80-$2.20, but an even nicer space overlooking a lotus pond.
5. UXO (Unexploded Ordinance) Visitor Centre
This place reminded me a little of the harrowing Khmer Rouge memorial museums in Phnom Penh, because it focuses on Laos ‘ wartime tragedies.
For instance, I never knew Laos was the most bombed country in history until going to this small museum on the outskirts of the city’s “tourist area”, and now my perception of the country and the resilience of its people is forever changed. It’s an intense experience to be sure, but it’s essential for a well-rounded cultural immersion trip.
Plan to spend 45-60 minutes here. Admission is free but you should probably tip.
6. Luang Prabang bowling alley
The bowling alley is a bit far from the areas most tourists frequent. The surrounding area is pretty undeveloped and I remember my first time taking a taxi over there, being very dubious that there was actually a nice entertainment venue out there.
So I was surprised when we pulled up and I stepped into a nicely decorated, air-conditioned space with pop music playing and several well-maintained alleys. Over the next two hours, my friends and I had one of the best nights of our trip.
Bowling cost $2/person/round, and there’s a menu with soft drinks and whisky for cheap. There’s also an archery range outside we shot at for $1.
Since it’s far from the tourist strip, you should take the opportunity of being in the area to explore on foot a bit and get a different perspective on the city. The next two items on this list are examples of activities nearby.
7. Rice farming
The Living Land Company, a rice farm on the west side of Luang Prabang, offers workshops that bring you out into the rice field and let you see what the harvest entails.
I had a very educational and fun experience plowing the field with the farm’s buffalo, Bentley. The provided rice crackers and sugar cane juice were absolutely delicious, too.
The Rice Experience class costs $36, which includes transport to and from the centre if you need it.
For a similar but lesser-known alternative, try the Guided Rice Field Bike Tour, which pairs a ferry crossing with a cycle through a local guide’s family farm and a pottery village stop.
8. Bamboo experience cooking class
Immersing yourself in a culture’s cuisine and seeing how its most iconic flavors are made is, in my opinion, one of the best forms of cultural education there is.
This $48/person Bamboo Experience Cooking Workshop not only includes all the hallmarks of a fantastic travel cooking class (market visit, nice cooking space, and a take-home recipe booklet), but it’s also in an awesome spot on top of a hill where you can appreciate Luang Prabang’s skyline (or lack thereof).
9. Paper Village via the Old French Bridge
Most tourists never venture across Luang Prabang’s Old French Bridge except to go back to the airport, but the area has so much local character that it’s definitely worth a visit. Renting a bike and exploring there is one of my best memories in Luang Prabang.
The most interesting destination in the area for visitors is the “Paper Village” of Xangkhong, where you can see “Sa” paper being made from mulberry tree fibres.
There’s also a great cafe next door called The Teahouse that serves upscale Laos cuisine for a reasonable price. The American owner, Steven, also gives impromptu tours of the cafe’s incredible gardens and the nearby silk museum.
10. Pak Ou Caves
My pick for the most naturally beautiful spot near Luang Prabang (easily better than Kuang Si Falls), the incredibly ornate altars and pathways built into Pak Ou cave feel rustic, naturalistic, and truly spiritual in a way most cave journeys just can’t match.
There are hundreds of Buddhas made from wood and gold, and lots of alcoves and other awe-inspiring carvings. Words really can’t do this one justice.
The approach to the cave is unforgettable in itself. You have to start at Pak Ou Village and cross the Mekong to get there, and the colourful limestone karst looming over you as you make the passage is one of the coolest natural features I’ve ever experienced.
Cave admission is about $1.
11. Pha An
Turn right down a dirt road just before the Pak Ou Caves ferry crossing to go to Pha An, a riverside limestone outcrop and viewpoint that is the best place I found to luxuriate in the area’s wild natural beauty.
The place is a hidden gem even to most locals, so I was the only one there when I went. The peace and quiet, combined with the amazing views of colourful karst and green rivers, hold a distinctly powerful rustic serenity that, in my opinion, Laos has more of than any other country on Earth.
12. Ethical elephant visits
One of the bucket-list experiences for many Luang Prabang visitors is a hands-on elephant experience.
Unfortunately, many of the elephant “sanctuaries” around Luang Prabang are not very ethical in their treatment of the awesome creatures. I’m an animal-lover, so I’d highly recommend going with one of these two options if you want to hang out with elephants:
- For single-day experiences, try Luang Prabang Elephant New Home, 15 km northwest of town. Here, rescued elephants roam freely through forest and riverside habitat, and visitors can observe and interact with them without riding or performances.
- For elephant experiences that last between two days and two weeks, go with the Elephant Conservation Centre, which has an office in the tourist centre with buses that take visitors into the countryside. The experiences combine ethical elephant encounters with conservation, veterinary care, and educational programs.
13. Hike in Chomphet
Taking the Cross River Ferry from the centre to the other side of the Mekong and hiking or biking from there is a fantastic way to experience the scenic side of Luang Prabang.
This is the route a local friend recommended to me, and it’s the one I’d recommend as well:
- After the ferry, take the pathway running north. Turn right into the alleyway, cross a small bridge, then right again. This puts you on a small road/path that passes through Xieng Mene village.
- Keep going and reach Wat Chomphet, a white temple on a hill. Pay the $1.25 to enter and climb the hill to Wat Chomphet for one of the best bird’s eye views of the city.
- Return to the road and continue north.
- On this stretch, you’ll pass a few really cool temples (Wat Tham Sakalin, Wat Long Khoun, and Wat Had Siew). Check them out at your leisure, or just enjoy the walk.
- For a final destination point, I’d recommend the Jungle Shrine. It’s a forest shrine that feels truly sacred. Not as grand as the temples earlier on the walk, but I loved the natural vibe of the place.
The friend who recommended this walk, Peter Simms, runs a very thorough cultural archive called Luang Prabang Culture that documents, among other things, all of the temples mentioned on the walk. I urge you to check it out to supplement your excursion.
14. Ban Chan Pottery Village
3 kilometres south of the Cross River Ferry landing is Ban Chan Pottery Village, a complex with a few buildings: a workshop where you can see locals at work shaping clay into ceramics, an exhibition hall for finished products, and a classroom where you can usually do walk-in pottery workshops for $5-10.
15. Hit the bars
After spending the day absorbing the quaint character of Luang Prabang, lots of travellers will appreciate cutting loose at a bar. Some of the top options recommended to me are:
- Maison Sam – The only rooftop bar in town, this spot on the main street is upstairs from a little shop selling some really nice local products.
- Jungala – Surprisingly good food and drinks, plus a good view of the Nam Khan river with some cultural dancing shows in the evening.
- Tangor – The oldest tourist and expat bar in Luang Prabang, the menu is solid and it’s the best place to meet fellow travellers without spending too much.
- Redbul Bar – It has two for one beers each evening from 5-7. Unsurprisingly, it can get very crowded later at night.
When to visit Luang Prabang
As is the case in most of Southeast Asia, the month you visit Luang Prabang can really make or break your trip. Let’s do a quick rundown of the area’s “tourism seasons”, along with the pros and cons of each.
November-February: peak season
Upsides are ideal temperatures (24-28°C/75-82°F), dry weather, and clear skies.
Downsides are higher prices, larger crowds, and some hotels or tours being fully booked.
March-April: hot season
Upsides include lighter crowds, clear visibility great for panoramic vistas, and the super-fun Lao New Year (Pi Mai Lao) on April 14-16 if you can time your trip just right. Pi Mai Lao is a country-wide water fight like the famous Songkran in Thailand, which negates a lot of the effects of the heat.
The one downside is temperature frequently exceeding 35°C (95°F), making midday sightseeing and long walks uncomfortable.
May-August: green season
My favorite season to visit Luang Prabang. Regular light showers make the countryside even lusher than usual and waterfalls flow strongly. Hotels often offer significant discounts, too, because there are far fewer tourists than during peak season.
On the other hand, rain showers can easily throw a wrench in your outdoor activity plans.
September-October: rainy season
I’d recommend avoiding this season if you can. You get the same upsides as visiting during green season, but the rainfall is significantly more intense.
More in Laos…
- For the full country picture, our Laos travel guide covers routes, budgets, and highlights from two north-to-south trips.
- Heading south? The Bolaven Plateau road trip is is a motorbike loop through coffee country and some of Laos’ best waterfalls, including the 120-metre Tad Fane.
- For the other big backpacker stop between Luang Prabang and Vientiane, the Vang Vieng guide covers all the rice-field hikes for early risers, karsts, caves adventures, and a lot more.
