Itinerary for a road trip to Laos

[buksida]

Will be taking the family on the road to Laos soon and haven't been there myself for 20 years so looking for itinerary ideas.

Has anyone been recently? Any top things not to miss (mrs buksi wants to do the hot air balloon ride over Vang Vieng).

What about Vientiane, on first impressions it looks like the only thing to see there are temples?

Loose plan is Vientiane > Vang Vieng > Luang Prabang.

Ideas on a postcard appreciated!

[buksida]

Figured there'd be no travelers on here. But maybe a lot of keyboard warriors too busy hammering away telling everyone else how much more they know!

Will post the usual trip report on return.

[oakdale160]

It will be interesting to hear from you on your return. I would be interested to hear if you see any signs of the High-Speed train infrastructure that the Chinese are building in Laos.

[hin]

Have never done it as a road trip, always by train, plane, bus, river boat. But in Nong Khai I enjoyed seeing Sala Keo ku, or Sala Keo Kou, a park featuring giant fantastic concrete sculptures inspired by Buddhism and Hinduism. Some of them as tall as a 3 or 4 story building.  Built by and reflecting the vision of a Buddhist / Hindu psychic and his followers. There is also a smaller one across the river near Venetian that he was building earlier, until Laos kicked him out. Very impressive to see not only for the acres of zany sculptures but as it illustrates what one inspired person can do in less than a lifetime. All the sculptures reflect a story or theory but sadly that info is not easy to find.

There is an Issan Rum Distillery in Nong Khai but we have never checked it out https://www.inspirock.com/thailand/non ... 2269876875
https://jonesyinthailand.com/nong-khai ... nong-khai/

Unfortunately cannot locate our NE Thailand and Laos info as wife likes to clean house. but Hobo Maps is fairly decent for locating things of interest in Thailand and Laos https://www.hobomaps.com Among others might Google ‘NE Thailand: Off the Beaten Path’ and ‘Laos: Off the Beaten Path’

[Nereus]

Please take some photo's of the following:

http://www.traveller.com.au/its-a-myste ... imple-e2mq

[moater]

I've done it recently, entered at Nong Khai, and exited at Huai Kon (Nan province). Vientiane is okay for a bit of exploration. There are some lesser known waterfalls to the east, which we enjoyed finding and exploring (helps a lot if your partner speaks Issan). The mountain road from Vientiane to Vang Vieng is breathtaking, so don't use the bypass. I don't recommend taking 4A to exit at Nan unless your vehicle has high clearance and perhaps 4WD. The scenery is amazing, but the road is quite bad at some points (plan on an avg speed of 30-40 kph for that section if you decide to take it). It's a lovely country and I really enjoyed how different it was from Thailand, almost like a trip back in time. Will be going there again soon, this time covering the south and will attempt to exit directly to Cambodia.

[buksida]

I've done it recently, entered at Nong Khai, and exited at Huai Kon (Nan province). Vientiane is okay for a bit of exploration. There are some lesser known waterfalls to the east, which we enjoyed finding and exploring (helps a lot if your partner speaks Issan). The mountain road from Vientiane to Vang Vieng is breathtaking, so don't use the bypass.

Cheers guys. Flying into Vientiane so going nowhere near Nong Khai. Plan to rent some scramblers and do a bit of touring. Did that road from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang 20 years ago - its Jurassic, would love to ride it this time.

These waterfalls, can you access them by bike from Vientiane? How far east are they?

[Fandango]

One question. If travelling by road, can you drive into Laos and tour in your own car? The seemingly obvious issue is insurance - brokers have told me we are effectively landlocked in all directions - Malaysia, Vietnam etc.

Thanks!

[Nereus]

One question. If travelling by road, can you drive into Laos and tour in your own car? The seemingly obvious issue is insurance - brokers have told me we are effectively landlocked in all directions - Malaysia, Vietnam etc.
Thanks!

https://isaan.com/how-to-cross-your-car ... d-to-laos/

There are more Websites that show good information.

[Fandango]

Many thanks, maybe the EU wasn’t all bad!