The Best Things to Do in Luang Prabang (2024)

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Luang Prabang: Southeast Asia’s Hidden Gem

This is the ultimate guide for the best things to do in Luang Prabang, Laos! Luang Prabang is an amazing city with a small town feel and no shortage of fun activities. The endless food options, beautiful surrounding nature, convenient location on the famous Mekong River, and rich history makes it a must-do on your Laos itinerary. Laos is a rapidly up-and-coming travel destination, and Luang Prabang exemplifies this perfectly. Let’s get into the best things to do in Luang Prabang!

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The 12 Best Things to Do in Luang Prabang

1. Explore the Kuang Si Waterfalls

Simply put, these are the most beautiful waterfalls we’ve ever seen. There are multiple levels that you can visit and you can swim in most of them. These magical waterfalls are the highlight of most people’s trips to Luang Prabang and even Laos as a whole, and we can see why! There is also a bear sanctuary and a butterfly garden in this area, so it’s sure to be a wonderful day trip.

Tour Option: If you’re interested in a tour that takes you on a boat ride to see the Pak Ou Caves and Laos’ own whiskey village before heading to the Kuang Si Falls, we recommend this tour. It does a great job of packing all of the activities located a bit outside Luang Prabang into one so you don’t have to do multiple tours!

Read our Ultimate Guide to the Kuang Si Waterfalls!

Bear Sanctuary Kuang Si — Bear Sanctuary

Butterfly Garden Kuang Si — Bear Sanctuary

2. Wander the Night Market

Luang Prabang has a really cool night market. Vendors sell anything from jewelry made from bomb shells to delicious, intentionally-undercooked pancakes. You can do all of your souvenir shopping here, and make sure to come hungry and try local foods from the vendors!

3. Visit the Pak Ou Caves

These caves are accessible by car, but going by boat is much more enjoyable! Pilgrims left thousands of Buddha statues in this cave over several hundred years, which makes this attraction super unique and interesting! Check out this tour, which also brings you to the Kuang Si Falls!

4. Climb Mount Phousi

This is extremely popular at sunset, so be prepared for crowds if you go then. You’ll be met with 360-degree views of the Mekong, the mountains in the distance and the Luang Prabang city. You’ll see a bunch of cool statues, shrines, and temples on the way up, and the whole thing only costs 20,000 Kip (about 1 USD).

5. Witness the Alms Giving Ceremony

At sunrise, hundreds of monks line the Main Street and accept food offerings from other Buddhists before the rest of Luang Prabang wakes up. Make sure to be silent, keep a respectful distance from the monks, and don’t participate in the ceremony unless you are Buddhist.

6. Explore Luang Prabang on Foot

Luang Prabang is a super walkable city filled with marvelous temples, beautiful European-style streets, and interesting French Architecture in the Old Quarter. Many people consider this city to be their favorite in Southeast Asia, and we could definitely see why after spending a few hours here.

A great way to get to know a new place is with a walking tour, which we highly recommend here because of Laos’ interesting history. Or, if you prefer the gastronomic side of things, check out this evening food tour!

7. Party at the Bowling Alley

The bowling alley is the thing to do at night. People flock to the bowling alley around 9:30 pm with friends to listen to party music, enjoy the disco lights, play archery, and play a few games of bowling. This has a 1950s vibe to it; you can even purchase full bottles of whiskey and cigarettes!

8. Go on a Multi-Day Trek

If you want to get into the great outdoors and see a different side of Laos, we highly recommend doing a multi-day trek. Though we didn’t do one from Luang Prabang, we did do a multi-day trek from Chiang Mai and it was one of our favorite experiences in South East Asia. These experiences are an amazing way to connect with locals and get to see how people in these countries really live, and we highly recommend fitting one in at some point while you’re in South East Asia.

9. Visit the Tat Sae Waterfalls

The Tat Sae Waterfalls are smaller and less impressive than the Kuang Si Waterfalls, but closer and still worth a visit if you have time! These are best visited during the rainy season as there can be very little water flow during the dry season. For an active way to visit these falls, check out this hiking tour.

10. Play With Cats at the Cat Cafe

Play with cats (and sometimes the owner’s dog) while eating delicious food and supporting numerous great causes!

11. Explore the Luang Prabang Museums

The Royal Palace Museum, UXO Lao Visitors Center, and the Heuan Heritage House are some of the cool museums in Luang Prabang worth visiting.

12. Have an Authentic Farming Experience

If you’re into agritourism, this rice farming experience is a must do. On this tour, you’ll get to learn about all of the stages of rice production and about the daily lives of Laotian farmers. This is a very hands on experience and you will get dirty, but it’s a great way to get off the typical tourist beaten path and really get to connect with the locals and their way of life.

Where to Eat in Luang Prabang

There are tons of great spots to eat in Luang Prabang! However, if you’re more of the hands-on type, we definitely recommend doing a cooking class!

Tamarind: Get a tapas style platter of traditional Lao food. There is also a cooking school here!
Viewpoint Café and Restaurant: This gives a good view of the Mekong River but be sure to go outside of normal meal hours to get good seats!

Tamarind Platter Luang Prabang — ^{The Explorer Platter (for 2 people) at Tamarind}

Best Time to Visit Luang Prabang

The best time to visit Luang Prabang is from October to February. Though the dry season runs from October to April, the later months can be extremely hot and uncomfortable for exploring, so we definitely recommend avoiding those months (it’s hot enough from October to February as it is!).

Where to Stay in Luang Prabang

We recommend staying close to the historic district, as that’s the best part of the city to explore and where most of the restaurants and temples are!

Luang Prabang Accommodations

How to Get to Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is extremely accessible as it has its own international airport (with beautiful views as you approach) and a high speed rail station. This makes it a great place to fly into and start your trip in Laos as well as a convenient stop from destinations within Laos.

How to Get to Luang Prabang from Vientiane

To get to Luang Prabang from Vientiane, the best options are flying, which takes about 40 minutes, or taking the train, which takes about 2 hours.

Lao Skyway offers super cheap flights (from around 31 USD) from Vientiane to Luang Prabang on Fridays and Sundays, but you can also grab a flight for around 77 USD from Lao Airlines any day of the week. Check out cheap flight options on Skyscanner!

Though flights are cheap and quick, we highly recommend taking the train instead to experience some of Laos’ beautiful scenery (and maybe to make a stop in Vang Vieng on the way!).

Be advised that you need to buy your train ticket at least 3-4 days in advance, even more if possible. Train tickets sell out quickly!! You also need to arrive at the train station around an hour in advance; you have to go through security to get into the station and you never know how long that will take! Tickets are cheaper if you buy in person, but if you cannot, book your tickets in advance on 12Go – expect to pay around 30 USD per ticket for a one way journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.

How to Get to Luang Prabang from Vang Vieng

To travel from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, your best option is the train. Though there are bus/minivan options available, going by road ends up taking around 5 hours and costs just as much as buying a train ticket in advance online. Therefore, we really recommend the train, not to mention the journey by train between these two spots is incredibly scenic!

From Vang Vieng, the train takes about one hour to reach Luang Prabang. There are a few options on 12Go to book a transfer to and from the train stations, which I definitely recommend doing as the train stations in these cities are further outside of the city and you’ll need to take either a pre-determined transfer or a tuk tuk to get to and from the stations. When you get off the train at your destination, there will be tons of tuk tuks waiting; however, be aware that they will pack these with as many people as possible, and they tend to charge inflated prices because they know you need a ride.

Once again, tickets need to be bought a few days in advance and are cheaper if you buy in person, but if you cannot, book your tickets on 12Go – expect to pay around 20 USD per ticket for a one way journey from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang.

How to Get to Luang Prabang from Other Domestic Locations

From destinations not mentioned above, you’ll likely be able to travel to Luang Prabang by bus. If you can’t find the route you want on 12Go, just head to the bus station in whichever town you’re coming from and talk to the people there to figure out a route!

How to Get to Luang Prabang from International Destinations

The easiest way to get to Luang Prabang from most international destinations is to fly into its international airport (LPQ).

However, if you’re coming from Vietnam or Thailand, sleeper buses may be the cheapest option. You can check prices and purchase tickets on 12Go.

Get your Cheap Flights on Skyscanner

How to Get to Luang Prabang from Chiang Rai, Thailand

If you’re traveling to Luang Prabang from Chiang Rai, you have another exciting transportation alternative! From here, you can take the slow boat down the Mekong River all the way to Luang Prabang. This trip usually takes two days, so it only really makes sense if you have a bit of extra time. If you decide to go this route, we recommend going with Nagi Of Mekong Cruise – there are a lot of companies that don’t have great reviews for this experience but this one has all 5 star reviews!

If you don’t decide to do this journey by boat, the other options are a long 16.5 hour bus ride or heading to Chiang Mai to catch a flight to Luang Prabang.

Getting around Luang Prabang

We highly recommend renting your own motor bike or getting a driver for the day if you are doing a day trip. There is a “monopoly” on the tuk tuks where the drivers came together and agreed to charge tourists 5-10 times what a fair price would be, so we would avoid them as best as you can here, but they’re a good last resort.

Sunset-Mount-Phousi-Luang-Prabang-Things-to-Do

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Our Favorite Travel Resources

Accommodations: We use Booking.com for hotels and HostelWorld for hostels. We also use VRBO or TrustedHousesitters for longer stays.

Flights: We recommend using Skyscanner to find the cheapest and best flights.

Ground Transport: We use 12Go and Omio for buses and private transfers, and rentalcars.com and Discover Cars for rental cars.

Activities: GetYourGuide and Viator are the best websites for booking organized tours.

International Medical Insurance: We highly recommend SafetyWing for Digital Nomads and HeyMondo for those not traveling full-time, or who frequently engage in higher-risk adventure activities.

eSIM: We recommend Airalo or Holafly for getting data internationally.

Check out our Travel Resources Page for more of our favorite travel-related products and services!

The Best Things to Do in Luang Prabang