Pakse, Wat Phou & 4000 Islands Laos Short Stop 4 Days 2025-2026

Day 1: Arrive Pakse (No Meals)
Fly to Pakse. (Flight not included.). Meet your tour guide on arrival then take a private guided scenic drive from the airport to through mountains and winding roads all the way up to the region of Bolaven Plateau. An expanse of highland formed from an ancient volcano, Bolaven Plateau is resplendent with lush jungles, rivers, scenic farmlands and diverse ethnic communities. Explore this naturally beautiful and cool climate elevated region. Start with a visit to the Tad Fane Waterfalls, 120 meters high and located in the Dong Hua Sao Nature Reserve. Continue to the Tad Champi and Tad Yeung waterfalls, which drop an impressive 42 meters and are surrounded by lush vegetation. Then head to a tea and coffee plantation and learn why the Bolaven Plateau is an ideal area for these plantations. Enjoy an exceptional fresh organic cup of coffee prepared with a unique technique at the Jhai Coffee House in Paksong and meet some ethnic minorities.
Continue onto Pakse and your hotel. Stay one night at the (very basic tourist class) Pakse Hotel (Deluxe room) in downtown Pakse

 Day 2: Pakse – Wat Phou – Don Khong (B,L)
Check out after breakfast and take a private guided road transfer along Mekong River to Don Khong in the south of Champasak. Stop at Wat Phou, otherwise known as Vat Phou, to visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating back more than 1,000 years, Wat Phou is a spectacular pre-Angkorian temple that sits amidst the rice fields and waterways of southern Laos. Explore this mythical temple ruins and tumbledown structures.
Enjoy a simple lunch at a local restaurant then continue to Khong Island, the biggest island in Southern Laos and the start of the 4,000 Islands. Called “Siphandon” in Laotian language, this area is where the Mekong stretches over 14km wide and houses thousands of islands between its cascades and rapids. Here the Mekong is at its widest and dotted with thousands of small islands.
Arrive in the peaceful island of Don Khong, home to small villages and plantations, late afternoon.
Stay one night at the (very basic tourist class) Kongmany Hotel (Superior room – Hotel Prestige building) in Don Khong.

Day 3: Don Khong – 4000 Islands – Pakse (B,L)
Embark on a 90-minute traditional long-tail boat and cruise amongst the Siphandon riverine archipelago from Don Khong to Done Khone. Explore this peaceful rural island where locals live out a simple life. Once a minor 19th century French Indochina settlement reveals a handful of colonial-era buildings including an old French railway station. Visit awesome Liphi Waterfalls, nicknamed the “Corridor of the Devil”, a natural border between Laos and Cambodia and habitat of the rare Irrawaddy dolphins (sadly, the last known river dolphin in the transboundary pool in the Mekong between Laos and Cambodia was found dead on 15 February 2022). After simple lunch at a local restaurant, cruise back to Nakasang and drive about 20km to visit Khone Pha Pheng Falls, Southeast Asia’s largest waterfalls and one of Laos’ most magnificent natural attractions. Hear the thunderous roar and gaze at the awesome power created by millions of litres of water crashing over rocks. You will have a chance to walk on sky bridge to observe Liphi closely.
Return to the mainland by boat and then travel back to the hotel in Pakse by car, arriving in time for sunset.
Stay one night at the (very basic tourist class) Pakse Hotel (Deluxe room) in downtown Pakse

Day 4: Depart Pakse (B)
Leisure time until private transfer (vehicle with driver) to Pakse airport. (Flight not included.) –

Included Meals: (B) = breakfast, (L) = lunch