So we leave in just about 3 weeks.

Last year, I completely over-prepared. Had everything (guides, itineraries, etc) booked and confirmed way in advance. This year is a little more loose just due to my crazy schedule at work and the sheer lack of time to spend on planning this year's trip.

For the LP portion of our trip, we have about 3 full days of touring plus two 1/2 day travel days before and after that. I was just probably going to wing it once we got there as far as an official 'plan' goes.

How best to do that?

I know walking around town can certainly take up a good chunk of our time--and I plan to do lots of that! But I also know I want to see the caves as well as Kuang Si (sp?) Waterfalls--plus any other must-see out of town sites. Is it best to just go to the desk at the hotel (La Residence) and ask them to set this up? Or maybe just go into town and find a local guide?

This whole off-the-cuff thing is counterintuitive to my uber-anal planning gene, so I'm looking to you guys for advice.

Thanks!

We are planning a trip to Luang Prabang in July 2008 - we originally were holding reservations at La Residence for $253 per night. Which was okay. But when I inquired (with La Residence) as to arranging a car for a few day trips - I was advised it would cost $85 per person/per day. I don't mind paying for luxe accomodations, but these are really ridiculous prices for such a poor country. Between Hotel, Touring and a nightly meal in the hotel - we'd be held hostage for upwards of $500 per day! Yesterday I revised my plans - and we are now going to 3 Nagas Boutique Hotel (which gets great reviews at Tripadvisor) for $85 per night, and the hotel can point me in the direction of a local driver/guide - which should run in the neighborhood of $25 - 40 total / per day.
Have a great trip !

In Luang Prabang it is pretty easy to wing it. You'll need a boat to visit the caves - just go down to the river and most likely, someone will approach you. If you can find Mr. Thongdy, no phone, no e-mail he did a great job for us. You'll need a driver for the waterfalls - ours wasn't great - the one we wanted was already booked when we got there. I'm sure your hotel can arrange a driver - don't do one of those tours though.

Based on the above post, maybe its best to inquire in town about a driver...

We had a great guide in LP - a delightful man who speaks good English and is lots of fun

Khamta (Ta) Keovongsy

[email protected]

We hired he and his van with driver for a full day - rode elephants and went to the waterfalls - he can also arrange the river trip.

Pix on our blog

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/2...ang/index.html

I'm going to re-type his email address as it's not clear

[email protected]

We sound just like you - uber planners but arrived with no plans for LP ("we're just going to relax&quot - after Day 1 we were itching to tour around and luckily found Ta

It will be easy to find a driver once you get there. (and no need to pay $85!!). You can just walk to the steps where the boats are and hire a boat for yourselves. There are lots of travel agencies in town that will sell you group tours to the caves - just hire a boat yourselves. There are two waterfalls outside of town that may be worth a visit. Mostly, you'll want to stay in town.

testing this talk page, was having trouble earlier

i had trouble asking for a driver from la res. office....they wanted a huge fee and it was per person...

instead i found a tuk tuk driver i liked and asked him to pick us up the next day at 10....you often pay per person in LP for all rides...i think they quoted me $70/pp

i'm going to europe next week so i will bid you a wonderful trip now...

bob

Where are you off to, Bob? Wherever it is, I'm sure you and Karen will have a wonderful time! Safe journeys!

It seems like La Residence pretty much charges a premium for everything!! I assume it's best to grab tuk-tuks (there's 4 of us) or a taxi (do they have those?) from the airport to the hotel then?

Liz, I LOVE your blog, by the way--never got a chance to tell you how many times we've read it in preparation for our trip! I'll definitely email Ta later on this week. Thank you for the suggestion! How many days did you tour with him?

I feel like the 1st day, we'll just walk around town--get a feel for things, visit shops, see the museum, etc...then on the 2nd and 3rd day I guess we'll start touring.

Is the caves and waterfall a 1 day or a 2 day thing? Better to split it up? Want to make the most of our time there.

we are going to romania for two weeks and then a week in england...

have the hotel pick you up in their van....its not too expensive...maybe $5 each...

i did not see one taxi....but there are some vans for hire...

go to a travel agency on 'farang way', the main drag...

you will love the la res....the pool is a delight after a hot day...

the dining room is nice and breakfast is a real treat...

rooms are huge....open room concept..

good luck with the mosquito nets...its fun however....open and close your door quickly at nite to keep bugs out...

wing it!! and enjoy LP - it is BEAUTIFUL. I would definitely recommend a boat trip on the Mekong, but I kind of felt like the Pak Ou caves were kind of a tourist trap...what do others think??

We found a car and driver at the airport who took us to our hotel and who then became our driver for our time outside LP.

Pak Ou caves a tourist trap? The Pak Ou caves have been a Buddhist Pimgrimage site for hundreds of years. There was almost no one there when we were there, and we loved the caves. Some people report being underwhelmed by the caves. I guess it depends on your expectations.

The Lao-Lao village across from the caves - now that's a tourist trap.

Filmwill - glad you enjoyed the blog - my husband does a great job of it - I'm chief typist and editor!

We were only with Ta one day which we regret - would have liked more but we were determined to "just relax" (which is nonsense for us as it turns out!) - plenty of time to relax when I'm 6 feet under

The waterfalls/Elephant ride in the jungle are one day (9am - 3pm) and the caves are another (not necessarily a full day - depends on stops) but then there are other excursions out of town to the silk village and the one I really wanted to see but didn't know until I was there - where they make the river weed appetizer! We loved the river weed!

While you're walking around town be sure to go into .....ummm I guess you'd call it the "real" town - not just the night market street - there are some lovely small galleries and restaurants that many tourists overlook (I think).

Have a great time - we loved LP!

I was perfectly happy with my cheap $16 hotel in Luang Prabang (a/c, hot water, safety box, private toilet/shower.) A hotel for me is only a place to keep my clothes, clean up and sleep a little.

Expensive hotels do charge more for other things they do for you - cheap hotels don't! If a cheap hotel makes arrangements for a driver or tour guide their commission is peanuts.

You can sign up for private tours on your own that will be much cheaper than you can get from an expensive hotel.

I did the boat rides, lots of temples to look at, water falls and caves with more temples. One place I liked, think it was a time filler, was a trip to a small village that had a huge clay deposit. It was interesting to see how they dug the clay up and processed it for making pottery and bricks. I liked this short tour more than most of the temples! They have been mining clay there for hundreds of years!

I found a restaurant that had good prices and stuff on the menu that interested me. I wanted a steak well done, the waitress kept bringing it back only slightly cooked, each time I said more - eventually I discovered that she was afraid to cook it too much and she would be stuck with the bill if I refused it! I paid for the dinner ahead of time and told her to "burn the sucker!" No problem after that, steak, salad, French bread, butter, Beer Lao and fries - about $2.00 U.S.! (I do eat lots of fried rice and other Asian specialties - but I like my steak and beer too!)

Restaurants that have food that doesn't make me sick I return again and again!

Always allow some down time to relax and explore the local area a little.

Pick up a Beer Lao T-shirt!

Just returned from our trip and spent 4 nights in Luang Prabang which we felt was one day too long. Stayed at the 3 Nagas which was a great location and good room but front desk help was minimal. We were charged $2 for a city map which you can pick up at the airport for $1. With your map in hand, most of the city is walkable if you are fit or tuk-tuks easily get you around for little cost. We took day trips to both waterfalls which were worthwhile (very different...Kuangsi will get you all wet and the other is more beautiful with a boat ride included) but just hailed a motorized tuk-tuk. Their rates are set while if you do this with your hotel, you will probably pay more. Since we are very active, we also did a one day mountain bike trip into the villages with White Elephant Adventures. There are numerous outfitters in town and you can compare prices/schedules without needing a concierge. Just remember this is still a developing area so service and guides are not always top-notch. We passed on the Pak Ou Caves as well....most young people (under 50) found it to be boring/touristy and not worth the trip. Did a 1 day cooking class through 3 Elephants Restaurant that was very worthwhile. With regard to restaurants, there are many fine ones in the area and within walking distance. 3 Nagas -- their Laos restaurant, L'Elephant -- pricier but beautiful decor and excellent food, and Tamarind for lunch (they close at 6). We also found a wonderful wine bar in the middle of the main street (Pack Shop or something) that had great prices and wine available to take to your hotel. This is one destination where you don't need a lot of advance planning or reservations -- go with the flow and the weather!

Loved La Residence. The spa service was fantastic (and relatively inexpensive compared to US prices). Did a massage at the end of each day, but book when you get there.

Loved the waterfalls. The silk town tour was awesome too. Far better buys than at the night market or in Thailand or Vietnam. But the night market was very cool.

The caves were interesting; but it's all about the journey. The river boat ride up was more interesting.

Very nice people every where. I wouldn't hesitate to go downtown and hire a driver or boat captain there on the spot.

Sass.

Liz,

Just out of curiousity, how much did you have to pay Ta per day for touring?

We got a quote from him, which, to me, seems kind of high (if you add it up x4 people)

I will be bound for LP in January so am reading this with interest. I wonder if anyone who has been can elaborate on the tours to the silk village and to the village "that they make the river weed appetizer" (Elizabeth??) I will have 5 nights at La Residence, so 4 full days.

Thanks!