This is your sign to visit the "most happening city" in Laos! Introducing: Vang Vieng!
Laos is truly a hidden gem within Asia! Recently, our volunteers in Thailand have been making trips throughout their semesters abroad to Laos and have a lot of recommendations for future travelers. Specifically, they can't stop talking about the city of Vang Vieng.
Looking for more nearby places to see while in Laos?
Check out these waterfalls in Luang Prabang!
This stunning city is full of outdoor activities, and good thing! Because you will not be able to get over the the unreal outdoor views of towering bright green mountains scattered with gorgeous cliffsides while you hike, ziplinine, spelunk, and dive into blue lagoons.
Vang Vieng is a small, remote town located in northern Laos. Our volunteers have loved tagging it onto their vacation itineraries because of all of the fun things they knew there were to do here, but were pleasantly surprised by how unbelievably gorgeous the scenery is.
This place has become a "backpackers" dream spot because of how much there is to do, its affordability, and how the best part (the views) are free! Vang Vieng is built alongside the Nam Song River and is tucked between some of the most lush mountains you'll ever see. Our volunteers described them as "huge misty mountains that you would see in the movie Avatar!" You'll definitely want to carve out some time to explore these mountains and their photogenic cliffsides.
There are plenty of places you can go to take advantage of these views, so we recommend travelers plan to stay 3-4 days here, just so you are sure to have plenty of time to do everything and to take in the breathtaking scenery, of course.
Just a small reminder that you’ll need a visa to visit Laos. At the time this post was written, they offer visas on arrival, which allow a 30-day visit for US passport holders. When crossing the border into Laos, you’ll need to pay your visa fee in US cash. This was the current info at the time this post was written, but please check out the Travel State Department’s website (in the travel section) for the most up-to-date requirements and prices for a visa. This blog post walks you through exactly how to find what’s required for a visa to the country you’re traveling to (in this case, you’ll look at requirements for Laos).
When traveling from Thailand, past ILP volunteers have used private drivers to get to Vientiane and then either had a private driver take them to places like Vang Vieng, or booked the train to travel between the different cities within Laos. Once you are in Vang Vieng, there are a few different ways you can get around:
InDrive is similar to Grab or Uber. It's an easy way to request a driver where you can easily specify the pickup and drop-off location. What's unique about InDrive is that you choose the price of the drive before anybody decides to "pick up" your request. So take note that if you set the price too low, then you likely won't have anybody wanting to drive you. The app does offer a recommended price.
Past volunteers did have some experiences where drivers would try to upcharge or cancel the request, so just be aware.
Taxis are pretty easy to come by if you are in more populated parts of the city. They also will be much cheaper than booking a private driver for the whole day. Just remember that you will need to communicate through Google Translate, since it's pretty typical for your driver not to speak English here.
Hiring a private driver for the day while in Vieng Vang is not unheard of, but this will also be your most expensive option. Many of our ILP alumni found out that they really only needed a private driver to get between cities and once they arrived to a place like Vang Vieng, there were other options that were cheaper.
A private driver is a great option if you don't want to worry about booking different forms of transportation for the day, especially if you plan on hopping around to multiple places throughout the town and care more about the convenience of that than you do about the price.
One of the easiest ways to get transportation to and from places is through tours or the hotel you will be staying at. This is most of our ILP volunteers favorite option because it kills two birds with one stone. Once you arrive in Vang Vieng, you will be able to find places around town that offer tours and most of them will include transportation to and from wherever you are wanting to go. Don't forget to bargain the price when you can.
There are plenty of hotels and hostels to stay at while in Vang Vieng with a wide range of prices that you can decide between. Make sure to consider how close the hotel is compared to what you are planning on doing on the trip, if it offers transportation and tours, breakfast, wifi, and if things are within walking distance. A good view and a pool are also always a plus!
This is going to be one of your cheapest options (about $15 a night) and has some really special aspects, like the hotel cook delivering your breakfast every morning. This hotel is farther from the city, but it's right by that mountainous landscape we can't stop talking about.
ILP Alumni have stayed here and loved everything about it (especially the pool that they spent a day relaxing at!). They did say that they noticed a bit of a bug problem (ants and spiders), but said that other than the bugs, it was perfect. For $15 a night... that's not bad! P.S. This hotel only takes cash payments.
This hotel has some great reviews and is still pretty affordable. At the Sky Mountain View Hotel, you'll get to enjoy its pool, which has some raving reviews. Another perk is that it's pretty close to places like the Blue Lagoon. You can also book tours through this hotel, and they'll hold your bags for you after checking out.
The most eye-catching part of this hotel is that every room has a balcony/terrace, and that it has a beautiful view of the hot air balloons that lift off in Laos! Even if you don't get to catch the hot air balloons, the views from here are still lovely. There's a pool on the roof, so if you don't have views of the hot air balloons from your balcony, you can likely catch them from up there.
If the hot air balloons are the selling point for you, make sure to do research on if the balloons are happening at the time of year you are in town.
You can also book tours through this hotel which is always a plus! It is also reviewed to be very clean and comfortable and to have wonderful service. Looks like you'll have to go see for yourself!
If the views weren't tempting enough for you, Laos has another incredible thing to offer its travelers. The food! Soooo many of our ILP alumni have pointed out the delicious food you can eat. especially in Vang Vieng! The food here is priced similar to the United States, but boy is it worth every penny. Here are a few places you can look into checking out:
*Take note that there are lots of little cafes also scattered throughout town, but many places are only open for dinner time, so plan accordingly!*
Happy Mango comes with RAVING reviews from our past ILP alumni and a plethora of Thai-inspired mango dishes that will tickle your taste buds. Our personal recommendation to you? The mango sticky rice. It's so delicious you'll want to go back for seconds.
At this sit-down restaurant, you will also be able to find mango ice cream, dim sum dumplings, pad Thai, and other Thai foods.
Address: Middle Street, Town Center, Vang Vieng, Laos
Here, you will find plenty of Asian-inspired foods, such as Chinese dumpling noodles, dim sum, crispy pork, and "plump wontons swimming in a garlic-stirred, comforting, and super addictive broth."
This is a delicious, traveler-friendly restaurant that is also perfect to fit into a tighter budget.
Address: WCCX+PF Vang Vieng, Laos
This restaurant is one of the most popular for backpackers in Vang Vieng due to its menu, which offers a little something for everybody, including sandwiches and burgers for our American readers!
Another huge plus for this restaurant is that it is open from morning to night, so you could come here multiple times a day if you love it enough! Take a look for yourself!
Address: WCFX+2CR, Unnamed Road, Vang Vieng, Laos
Vang Vieng is fullllll of outdoor activities ranging from hiking steep mountainsides to visiting the iconic cliffside motorbike, to sitting back and relaxing while you watch hot air balloons float through the sky. Don't forget the famous Blue Lagoon that put Vang Vieng on the map!
Visiting the Vang Vieng lagoons is the #1 recommended thing to do while you are here. They're the biggest draw to this gorgeous town, and for good reason!
The Blue Lagoon actually has six different pools full of bright blue waters, all with their own little adventures attached to them. These six pools are all relatively close to one another, but most visitors only end up visiting 1-3 pools total. Here's a general overview of a couple of the different lagoons, and you can choose for yourself which ones you want to visit. Take note that each lagoon will have a separate entrance fee, and most tours don't include more than one pool.
Blue Lagoon 1 is definitely the most popular lagoon. It's one of the closest to the city and has the most adventurous accommodations. This is also where most of the tours you book will take the group. Since this is the most popular lagoon, you can expect all of the amenities to be pretty busy. Despite that, it is soooo beautiful and has hours worth of activities to do. There's got to be a reason why it's so popular, right?
Here you will find rope swings, diving boards, some restaurants to eat at, and the most unique part? The Tham Phu Kham Cave! This hike is a super fun activity to add to your lagoon itinerary of relaxing, swimming, and diving into water. The lagoon has flashlights or headlamps that you can rent for cheap and then you can hike through the slippery stairs and pathways of the cave. Note that the spelunking is not a walk in the park and can be a little challenging. Keep an eye out for bats!
Like we mentioned earlier, there are six different pools that can be visited. Some of them, like Blue Lagoon 2 and Blue Lagoon 6 are on the more chillax side, while a lagoon like Blue Lagoon 1 is where you'll get to see a lot of adventure. Here's another blog post that dives into their experiences at the different lagoons.
The Nam Xay Viewpoint is one of our favorite places to see volunteers visit. The view is unreal and we're big fans of the iconic motorbike photo that is basically the trophy for mastering this hike.
If you are wanting to take on this hike, be aware that this is no walk in the park. This is a steep trek that requires two hands, shoes with grip, and perseverance — especially if there was any recent rainfall. Our ILP alumni stated that this hike took them about 2 hours, and the earlier you get there, the better. This is a very popular hike, so the top can get busy. Don't forget to bring water!
Link to Nam Xay on All Trails.
For many of our ILP alumni, ziplining was their favorite part of Vang Vieng! If you haven't caught on yet, the most enjoyable part of Vang Vieng is the scenery. Ziplining is the perfect way to see these wonderful sights from a new perspective. You can book your zipline experience on websites like GetYourGuide or through places like your hotel.
Through this booking, our alumni raved about the seven different ziplines they were able to soar down. Five of them are your typical sitting ziplines, and two of them being superman-style ziplines! You can't tell me that ziplining over the gorgeous mountain ranges and rivers like Superman doesn't sound like a blast. Not to mention that it only costs around $17!
Kayaking along the Nam Song River is a wonderful way to explore more than just the mountains. If hiking isn't your thing, this kayak adventure might be more your style. You can book plenty of tours that include just kayaking or combine it with other adventures such as a Blue Lagoon or the hot air balloons.
This river adventure is a mix of peaceful rowing, navigating some bumpy waters, taking in views, gliding past villages, and, depending on the tour, a chance to swim in some caves. You can book tours on GetYourGuide.
Here's one that we found that just includes the kayaking.
If the weather permits, you have to catch sight of the dreamy hot air balloons that take flight in the morning and evening in Vang Vieng. These hot air balloon launches are not guaranteed due to weather conditions, but if you are visiting between March and July, or September and November, you should definitely keep an eye out.
The hot air balloons take off in the Nathong/Phonekam Valley, but you can find nice view points to see them all throughout Vang Vieng. You can also look into if any of the tours you book include hot air balloon sightseeing from elevated locations.
Want to travel the world while also making a difference?
Our volunteers in Thailand get to experience more than just the wonders of Laos during their semester abroad! Check out our volunteer program for yourself; you might be the perfect fit!