What are some fun things to do in Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai that will get my wife and I outdoors? We are not mountain climbers, but we like hiking and trees. We are staying (starting tomorrow night) at the Villa Santi Resort for 3 nights and Yaang Come Village for 4. We are thinking of going on a boat to the caves one day. Does that involve hiking or get us out in nature physically? Is renting a bike one day a good idea? Is there anywhere to hike?

How about Chiang Mai? We will do the cooking school one day and go to the National Park another. Is there a good trail? Are the hot springs northeast of the city worth going to? If so, what else could we do around there?

Thank you.

I loved the Pak Ou caves (but not everyone does). Just the boat trip itself was enjoyable. You walk a bit to get to the caves, but it's not especially strenuous.

Do climb Mt Phousi in the center of town, a charming little shrine on top... and a great view.

You could certainly rent a bike for a day and ride around LP. There are lots of things to see off the tourist trail (even just a few streets away you'll be the only visitors).

Luang Prabang:
There is a tour agent on the main street that specialises in slightly different tours. It advertises trekking, elephant riding, kayaking. Someone else has mentioned it on this forum. I think it was called "Tiger tours" or a name like it. Have a look on the other Luang Prabang postings on Fodor's for ideas of what to do.

Tat Kuang Si waterfalls are spectactular. You can bathe there in the turquoise pools and climb up to the top of the falls.If you hired a driver, rather than take an organised tour, you would have more time to explore the surrounding countyside.

We really enjoyed the cookery school at Tum Tum Cheng. You go to the large market, then there is a talk on all the various herbs and spices & vegetables. After chopping and preparation, you eat the delicious food.It isn't as "hands on" as the ones in Chiang Mai, but we found it really interesting.

If you get up early, you can watch the monks receive rice offerings. Do not buy rice from the ladies outside the Villa Santi. Apparently, there have been some problems with them.

Gill.

This is probably a day or so too late, but a nice trip is to cross the Mekong and walk along to the temples.(You can get a map with the walk from the tourist office) The elevated temple that you can see from Luang Prabang is worth climbing up to if only to look back to Luang Prabang. There is also a cave which is worth a visit if you are into that sort of thing. It is locked and so you have to be accompanied. We were grateful to the young guy who came to show us as he used a stick to clear the leaves off the path and removed an enormous centipede from right where we would have stepped! The cave was way too hot for me (I thought hadn't expected it to be even hotter than outside!) and so I didn't go all the way down but my other half found it interesting.

Stayed in the same place in LP week ago, you'd fall in love with this Resort. It is about 15 minutes away from the town (not walkable), the Resort
offers free shuttle service about every hour to their hotel right in the center of the town.
We hired a private minivan ($25) to Tat Kuang Si waterfalls, the boat ride will not take you to the waterfalls, you still need to hire a tuk-tuk from the pier.
Have fun!