Most travelers will combine only Luang Prabang & Vientiane with other destinations like Vietnam or Cambodia. But if you are looking to venture beyond these cities, the beautiful Laos has much more to offer.
To start, many will fly into Luang Prabang, spending three or four days exploring its incredible temples and enjoying the wonderfully relaxed pace of life as well as visiting the sacred Pak Ou Caves, two riverside grottoes brimming with thousands of Buddha images, and the beautiful Kuang Si waterfall, the perfect spot for a refreshing dip on a hot day.
A few hours north up the emerald Nam Ou River from Luang Prabang is the quiet town of Nong Khiaw, picturesquely surrounded by towering limestone peaks and a great base for trekking and kayaking in the region. Far north is home tot he majority of Laos‘ ethnic minorities. Luang Namtha and the easy-going village of Muang Sing are both centres for treks to nearby hill-tribe villages, while the former also offers kayaking opportunities. Downriver from here is Huayxai, on the Thai border, from where you can join a slow boat down the Mekong for the picturesque journey south to Luang Prabang.
 
For those are willing to make long drives from Luang Prabang, the mystical Plain of Jars in Phonsavan town, Xieng Khuang province is really worth to visit. To the south of Luang Prabang is Vang Vieng, a great spot for caving, kayaking, rock climbing and long walks in the countryside, the town is best known for its wild tubing scene, and is undoubtedly the country’s party capital for young backpackers. Far south, Pakse (can also fly directly from Luang Prabang or Vientiane) has very impressive highlights, including Si Phan Done, or the 4000 Islands to Wat Phou, the greatest of Khmer temples, pearch on a forested hilltop nearby and Champasak and lying further east Tad Lo and the Bolaven Plateau, where most of Laos’s coffee is grown.
 
Many visitors skip Vientiane because of lacking time. But we recommend you to spend a night or two, and not to miss a half-day journey to Xieng Khuan, its riverside meadow filled with mammoth religious statues, one of Laos’s most arresting and bizarre sights.

Things not to miss

• Relax on a slow boat down the Mekong
• Visiting the mysterious Plain of Jars
• Enjoy the spectacular waterfalls of the Bolaven Plateau
• Visit museums, temples and palaces in Luang Prabang
• Appreciate the limestone karst landscape of Vang Vieng
• Witness monks receiving alms in the streets of Luang Prabang
• Experience the ethnic diversity of laid-back Luang Nam Tha
• Reveal in the French-colonial charm of Vientiane
• Relax on the picturesque collection of Mekong Islands, Si Phan Don
• Explore the most evocative Khmer ruin outside of Cambodia in Wat Phou
• Rejuvenate a traditional Laos massage after a long trek