Laos for the Ladies: Luang Prabang Tour
Traveling with your girlfriends can be a great escape and no where is better for a girlfriend escape than Luang Prabang, Laos. A mecca for shopping, spas, culture and adventure, Luang Prabang offers something for everyone and is a great place for the girls to “fit it all in” and still leave feeling rested. Enjoy a massage at the lovely Phou Vao Spa, stroll the famous Night Market, and learn how to weave side-by-side with the locals. So get your girlfriends, mothers, and sisters together and have an adventure!
Day 1 Luang Prabang - Arrive and Unwind
Arrive on your flight.
Upon arrival in Luang Prabang you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Your guide will meet you at the airport and drive into town. Once you're checked into your hotel you have a free afternoon to relax or explore town. We recommend a ladies night out with a French-inspired dinner at Arisai and after-dinner drinks at Pack Luck Wine Bar, both located within walking distance of each other on the main road.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 2 Luang Prabang - Sunrise to Sunset
Wake-up at sunrise to participate in giving the local monks morning alms. You’ll be accompanied by your guide who can demonstrate the proper method of alms giving and explain this daily Buddhist ceremony. Return to your hotel for breakfast, after which your guide will take you on a tour of the city, including visits to The National Museum, Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Visun and Wat Sen.
Enjoy lunch in town at a restaurant of your choice. After lunch your guide will meet you and you’ll continue your tour, finishing with a hike up Mt. Phou Si in the late afternoon to see a sweeping view of Luang Prabang and watch the sunset.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 3 Luang Prabang - Ock Pop Tok Weaving Course
You will be met at your hotel and transferred to the Ock Pop Tok Weaving Center on the bank of the Mekong River. After an introduction to silk making, your guide will take you on a tour of the center and its garden, pointing out the trees and plants used as natural dyes. Spend your morning preparing natural dyes of your choice and practice dying your own bundles of silk. Take a break with a home-cooked lunch on the patio and enjoy the riverside view.
After lunch, you will be paired with a local Lao weaver who will demonstrate the stages of the weaving process. Try your hand at the loom for the remainder of the afternoon, where you’ll weave a small, placemat-sized section to take home as a souvenir. Return to your hotel in the late afternoon with your handiwork.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 4 Luang Prabang - Tamarind Cooking Course
Spend your day learning about the secrets of Lao cuisine, including how to make the local staple - Lao sticky rice. You will be instructed by the owners of Tamarind Restaurant in the lush surroundings of their new cooking center just outside of town. After you learn about local ingredients and preparation methods, you'll cook your own version of these local dishes that you'll all enjoy as your well-deserved lunch.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 5 Laung Prabang - Volunteering in a JWOC Classroom - Laos
This afternoon you will visit a Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) school to help one of the teachers with their English class. JWOC offers a wide variety of free classes to students who have the desire to learn, but lack the financial means to attend private lessons. Our English program for children and adults welcomes the participation of native English speaking volunteers who play an extremely useful role assisting the teachers with speaking activities, providing a model for students who often have limited opportunity to hear and speak English in their everyday lives. No experience is necessary – your ability to speak English is the only qualification you need to help. You will arrive at least 10 minutes before the class starts to meet the teacher and find out what you will be doing. This will ensure that you help the class rather than disrupt it!
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 6 Luang Prabang - Life on the Mekong
Today you’ll escape the tourist hubs in town and see Luang Prabang through local eyes. First, you will drive up the Mekong to the village of Pak Ou. From here board a small boat and take a tour of the local fishing area, checking traps with the fishermen along the way and collecting any fish you might find. You will then cross the Mekong by longtail boat to visit the small village of Ban Mueng Keo, known for its production of local whiskey. Here you will be able to watch a demonstration of the whiskey-making process by a local Lao Lao Whiskey producer and, if you’re up for it, sample the finished product for an early morning punch! Continue on travelling downstream to visit the Pak Ou Caves, famous for the thousands of Buddha statues left inside by pilgrims. Return to Ban Pak Ou, where the former village chief and his family will cook you a Lao-style lunch and you’ll learn about dining customs and etiquette. After lunch, board a long tail boat and travel along the Mekong for a scenic ride until you reach the small weaving village of Ban Phone Xay, where you’ll enjoy a weaving demonstration and have a chance to purchase handmade items directly from the source. Learn the story behind who really makes the beautiful textiles sold at the night market! At the end of the day you’ll be the only tourist in town who knows the real story behind the bottles of Lao Lao, the grilled Mekong fish and the night market.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel - Garden Wing Room
Day 7 Luang Prabang - Departure
Transfer to Luang Prabang airport from your hotel in time for your flight.
Meals included: Breakfast
Tour Rate: $1,290 per person double with $1,105 single supplement
Price includes:
- Boat tickets as specified above
- Accommodation as specified above
- Air-conditioned car/van with driver
- Licensed English speaking guides
- Tours and admission fees as mentioned above
- Meals as specified in itinerary, including water
Price excludes:
- Personal expenses
- Visa fees
- Airport tax
- Drinks (except water) and meals not mentioned in itinerary
- Tips