LAOS – OVERLAND LAOS TO VIETNAM BIKE TOUR – 10D9N

Day 1:

Arrival in Luang Prabang (D)

Meet with our team for a short sunset ride around Luang Prabang to ensure we are confident for the journey ahead and to get acclimatized to life in SE Asia.  We will have an informal trip briefing and dinner at a local vocational training restaurant. We overnight at the hotel.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 2:

Luang Prabang– Nong Khiaw (70km) (B-L)

After a one-hour transfer, you’ll start cycling along the Nam Ou River to Pak Mong village, where we’ll stop for lunch. In the afternoon, the landscape around you will become more and more spectacular as you make your way into an area with huge limestone mountains. We overnight at the resort.

Transportation: Boat ride

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Resort

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 3:

Nong Khiaw – Muang Khua Boat Ride On The Nam Ou River (B, L)

Today, you’ll enjoy a spectacular boat ride (4 to 5 hours) through a remote stretch of the Nam Ou River. Along the way, we will stop to visit some remote villages. We overnight at the guesthouse.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Guesthouse

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 4:

Muang Khua – Vietnam Border (60km) & Transfer To Dien Bien Phu (B, L)

Today, a challenging day of cycling will bring us to Vietnam. Most of the journey will be through primary forest, in which we will encounter hill tribe villages. After the border crossing, the Vietnamese agent will pick you up for transfer to Dien Bien Phu. The city is known throughout the world as a battlefield in the first Indochina War, an Asian version of Waterloo.

The city is located in Muong Thanh Valley, an area famous for its tasty rice and Tai ethnic minority traditional dance. We overnight at the resort.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Resort

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 5:

Dien Bien Phu– Tuan Giao (80km) (B, L)

Cycling from Dien Bien Phu to Tuan Giao is an easy 80 km through many Tai ethnicity villages to Tuan Giao (one notable climb is a mountain pass 15 km outside Dien Bien). We overnight at a local guesthouse.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Guesthouse

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 6:

Tuan Giao – Son La (70km) (B, L)

Cycling from Tuan Giao to Son La. After a short transfer to the Pha Din pass (“Heaven and Earth” pass) to the summit of 1450 m, you will start the day with a 15 km down-hill featuring a nice landscape of green rice fields and karst valley along the way. This stretch has light traffic, wandering water buffaloes, and Tai and Hmong children. We overnight at the hotel.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Hotel

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 7:

Son La – Moc Chau (45km) (B, L)

After a short transfer, our day will be less hilly but no less spectacular, as we head off gradually downhill, our passage overshadowed by looming karst cliffs. After lunch, we’ll continue through lush, terraced rice paddies against the jagged cliff backdrop. We overnight at the hotel.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Hotel

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 8:

Moc Chau – Mai Chau (45km) (B, L)

After a hearty breakfast we set off on a testing but spectacular day. Cycling along a narrow, quiet back road we’ll head into a region predominantly populated by Black Tai (Tai Dam) minority cultures. As we near Mai Chau, situated at 1000m, we pass through plum orchards and corn and tea plantations. We overnight at the ecolodge.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Ecolodge

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 9:

Mai Chau – Cuc Phuong (80km) (B, L)

Following the banks of the Ma River, this day will be an easy easy one. The scenery, however, is timeless and photo opportunities abound as you pedal through a working landscape of people and crops. In the late afternoon, you will get a transfer to Cuc Phuong National Park. Cuc Phuong is one of Vietnam’s most important nature reserves and contains the country’s largest area of primary forest. Visit the Primate Rescue Centre and learn about the plight of endangered species such as the Cat Ba Langur. We overnight at the resort.

Transportation: Biking

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation: Resort

Guide: English speaking tour guide

Day 10:

Cuc Phuong – Hanoi (40km) (B)

Today your guide would be needed for another tour in Hanoi. Your van driver will help you ride the final leg to Hanoi. The ride is 40 km through Cuc Phuong forest to the park centre and break for tea before taking a transfer to Hanoi where the trip ends. We overnight at the hotel.

Transportation: Biking and transfer by car

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel

Guide: English speaking tour guide