Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng
Once the famous party town of Southeast Asia, Vang Vieng is definitely re-defining itself as an adventure-lovers haven. There are so many amazing things to do here, from tubing to rock climbing, trekking, and even paramotoring, there’s endless options for outdoor activities here.
How to get to Vang Vieng?
We took a shuttle van from Luang Prabang via our hotel. It was about 175,000 kip (US$20). You can book via 12GoAsia, a hotel, or travel agency in town. We recommend checking the prices offered online first, and then going in person to see if they can offer a better deal (depending on the card you have, you can save money on transaction fees booking in person).
Where to stay in Vang Vieng?
There is definitely a ton of cheap hotels or hostels in Vang Vieng town. Most of these are catered towards backpackers, and if you go over the river you can find a quieter, more laid back scene. Molina Bungalows is centrally located in town and offers affordable private rooms.
Budget: Real Vang Vieng Backpacker Hostel
Luxury: Vien Tara Villa
Where to eat in Vang Vieng?
The food in Vang Vieng was definitely nothing to rave about, especially coming from Luang Prabang, and before that Thailand. That being said, here were some of our favorites:
Il Tavolo: Italian-owned restaurant with amazing pizza and pasta. We recommend the bruschetta.
Happy Mango: Great mango shakes and Thai fusion food.
Nazim Indian Food: Decent Indian curries and cuisine right in the center of Vang Vieng town.
Milan Pizza: Known for “happy pizza” but from what we’ve heard/experienced, they weren’t so happy and not worth the money.
A few of our favorite things in Vang Vieng:
Nam Xay Viewpoint: One of our favorite things we did in Vang Vieng. The drive alone is stunning, going through the rural areas and rice paddy fields. Once you arrive, you have to climb about 30 minutes up to the top. If you’re visiting during the hotter months, make sure to bring water! There’s some shaded platforms and plenty of different areas to take photos once you make it to the top. There’s a famous motorcycle at the top which makes for an epic photo. Entrance fee is 50,000 kip (US$5).
Blue Lagoons: There’s a lot of different “blue” lagoons in Vang Vieng. We visited Blue Lagoon 1 and 4. Blue Lagoon 4 was way harder to get to, but we had the whole place to ourselves for the 3 hours we were there. Lagoon 1 was way more crowded, but they had places to get food, drinks, and even go zip-lining. On the way to Blue Lagoon 4, we found Pha Thao Cave, which was really cool and definitely worth checking out. Entrance fee was 8,800 kip (US$1), which included a head lamp.
Hot air ballooning: Going for a hot air balloon ride was another highlight of our time in Vang Vieng. There are quite a few companies to do this with, but we HIGHLY recommend Above Laos Ballooning. They are slightly more expensive than other tour operators, but its definitely worth it. Instead of taking off in Vang Vieng town, you fly over the rice paddy fields and the limestone formations. This makes for way better views, photos, and a much better experience. Your group is generally smaller (there were 7 of us including the pilot, compared to 10-12), and we got complimentary champagne afterwards – a very nice touch.
Tubing: Although it’s not as crazy as it used to be, we went tubing and had a really fun day. To be honest its more drinking than actually tubing down the river, but did you even go to Vang Vieng if you didn’t try the tubing?
