11 AMAZING Things To Do In Luang Prabang
What Are The Best Things To Do In Luang Prabang?
Looking for the absolute best things to do in Luang Prabang? After spending ten days exploring the ancient capital of Laos, I’ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you make the most of your visit.
Whether you’re wondering which temples are worth your time or debating if that sunrise climb up Mount Phousi is really worth the early wake-up call (spoiler: it absolutely is, even if you have to strategically position yourself for the perfect sunset spot), I will go through it with you.
Drawing from my personal experience exploring the night markets and discovering local coffee shops, this guide cuts through the tourist traps to deliver a curated list of truly memorable experiences.
I’ll share exactly where to stay, when to visit, and which activities deserve a spot on your itinerary.
Let’s look a everything you need to know to make your Luang Prabang adventure unforgettable.
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that if you make a booking through them, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my Privacy Policy.
Map Of Luang Prabang’s Best Things To Do
1. Trek To Phousi Hill
This was one of my highlights when we finished our trip in Luang Prabang.
Trekking to Phousi Hill is thankfully not overly challenging.
Sure, we got a serious sweat on and our quads were on fire from all the steps, but it doesn’t take that long to reach the top, around 50 minutes in total at a comfortable pace.
The cost to enter was 20,000 KIP (€0.81/$0.90/£0.68), so it’s very reasonable.
On the way up, there are some interesting paths where the steps are short, which helps make it easier.
At the very top, there is a golden stupa. The views are seriously special. We could see 360 degrees across the town of Luang Prabang.
When we went, the sun was setting, and many people were gathering at the top to get the best view.
You might have to jostle for position, but pretty much everywhere offers a nice view.
This was one of the unique things to do in Luang Prabang at night.
You can also go for the sunrise to avoid the crowds.
PS – find out what the best restaurants in Luang Prabang are with my detailed post.
🤩 I recommend this Luang Prabang Must-See Sights and Mount Phousi Tour for experiencing the best highlights of the city with a knowledgeable local guide!!
2. Visit The Buddhist Temples
Luang Prabang has many beautiful Buddhist temples.
Make sure you visit as many of these as you can.
While Laos and Southeast Asia more broadly have loads of temples, the ones I found in Luang Prabang felt more local and less touristy.
I know tourists still visit, but they had a small-town feel, and we experienced way fewer tourists than we did at Thailand’s temples.
My personal favourite temple was Wat Xiengthong.
It was strikingly beautiful, and the area outside the temple was large.
Right beside the temple, you can find the Royal Carriage House. Another stunning piece of architecture which catches the eye the moment you arrive inside the temple grounds.
The cost to enter this temple was 20,000 KIP.
🤩 I recommend this UNESCO World Heritage City Tour for temple-hopping through the town’s most impressive temples with a knowledgeable local guide!!!
3. Explore The Night Market
The Night Market in Luang Prabang is a fun and pleasant experience, and one of the best things to do at night.
The merchants were much more friendly and less pushy than in other parts of Asia.
I took home some small oil paintings, and it was really a nice way to spend time walking through and seeing what’s on offer.
The market is quite compact, meaning you’ll likely be much closer to people than you might expect.
The atmosphere was consistently great, and most nights we spent some time just walking through the market and soaking up the ambience.
This is one of the best free things to do in Luang Prabang, assuming you don’t buy anything, of course.
🤩 I recommend this Luang Prabang Must-See Sights and Mount Phousi Tour for experiencing the best highlights of the city with a knowledgeable local guide!!
4. Take River Cruise
A fun way to see Luang Prabang from the river is by taking a short river cruise.
We were able to get the boat from the pier beside Tamarind Tree Restaurant Mekong and cruise up the river for about an hour.
It was a private tour, though public and group tours are also available along the river.
This was an unforgettable way to see how people live along the riverbanks. The green vegetation was lush, and the water was dark and muddy.
I really appreciated the views.
The mountains that curve around Luang Prabang were visible, and I could see Nahm Dong Park.
The river was calm and the water smooth, disturbed only by occasional ripples from passing boats.
🤩 I recommend this Half-Day Mekong Cruise to Pak Ou Caves for experiencing the majestic river views and ancient Buddhist caves with a knowledgeable local guide!!!
5. Visit Kuang Si Falls
Visiting Kuang Si Falls is the most famous attraction in Luang Prabang.
One word sums up this place – epic.
The site includes a black bear conservation centre you can visit before reaching the falls. Take some time to explore here before continuing to the stunning layered waterfall complex.
The water is incredibly transparent and sparkles because of the limestone sediment found in the water.
Here we swam in a number of the pools, and the best part is the last. The epic falls splash down, and you can walk along the bridge to get the perfect picture for your socials.
Kuang Si Falls is located about 30 kilometres south of Luang Prabang, but it’s totally worth the journey. The entrance fee is 60,000 KIP.
We opted for a day tour, which made the experience easy and well-organised.
Watch my vlog about Kuang Si Falls to get an idea of what to expect.
🤩 I recommend this Kuang Si Falls Half-Day Tour for experiencing these stunning waterfalls with a knowledgeable local guide!!!!
6. Pak Ou Caves & Whisky Village
Another epic adventure in Luang Prabang is to visit Pak Ou Caves.
We were taken by tuk-tuk for 420,000 KIP to the village of Pak Ou, where we crossed the river in a longboat to the caves.
It was brilliant to explore these caves and find all the Buddha statues inside.
However, there was a lady at the top of the temple who was extremely pushy and wanted us to buy things we didn’t want.
While it was a little negative, we soon forgot about it thanks to the amazing temples and cave structure.
There are plenty of steps to reach the temple, so watch your footing.
I urge you to look back at Pak Ou Village from the caves.
The views are superb, and there’s a limestone cliff visible in the background, which makes it look extra special.
Grab a photo of this for your memory bank.
Whiskey Village was another fun place to go, where one producer showed us his process of making whiskey.
We even saw some venomous snakes in the bottles with some amazingly creative items.
Afterwards, we took a bottle back with us and said cheers to Luang Prabang on our hotel balcony.
🤩 I recommend these tours for experiencing Pak Ou Caves: Half-Day Mekong Cruise to Pak Ou Caves – perfect for exploring the caves with a knowledgeable guide.
7. Visit The Royal Palace Museum & Haw Phra Bang
The most beautiful building in my view in Luang Prabang is Haw Phra Bang.
This temple is sparkling golden and reflects every ounce of light back out into the world.
It’s beautiful design and colour make it very attractive to explore.
While the Museum was closed when we visited for maintenance, we could stroll around the beautiful grounds and enjoy the well-maintained green spaces in front of it.
We had to leave our backpacks upon arrival.
When we walked around the entire complex, we discovered what looked like stables of some sort for storage.
I think visiting both the Royal Museum and Haw Phra Bang is two of the best things to do in Luang Prabang for free.
While it was free for us to walk around the grounds, the entrance fee for the museum was 30,000 KIP.
🤩 I recommend these tours for experiencing the Royal Palace: Private Full-Day Tour with Lunch – perfect for exploring the palace and other cultural highlights with a knowledgeable guide.
8. Relaxing Coffee At Dyen Sabai
This coffee shop/restaurant felt like actually discovering a hidden gem.
Dyen Sabai is located right on the banks of the Nam Khan River.
When we visited, we saw a child climb the orange tree in front of us, pick some fruit and throw it down to his friend below.
I couldn’t believe what I had witnessed.
The coffee was great here, and the atmosphere was relaxed.
Most of the time, we had the whole place to ourselves apart from the staff.
We had explored the east side of Luang Prabang after crossing the Nam Khan River Bridge and made our way north.
This was my favourite restaurant in Luang Prabang for sure.
9. Ferry across Nam Khan River
Once we finished at Dyen Sabai and felt ready to leave, we asked two teenagers who were swimming in the river to take us across by boat.
To be honest, this felt unsafe. Not for us, but for the two teens tasked with delivering us across the river. The current was strong, but by then we were already committed.
I was incredibly impressed with their stamina and strength as they fought against the current to get us safely across to the other side of the riverbank.
No doubt they do this very often and are experienced, but I still view it as somewhat dangerous.
Make your own mind up on whether to make the trip. I think we paid about 10,000 KIP to cross the river—though it might have been less, my memory is a bit fuzzy.
🤩 I recommend this Private Old Town Food Walking Tour with Lunch – perfect for exploring local cuisine and cultural highlights with a knowledgeable guide..
10. Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre
I loved exploring the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre.
Located close to Mount Phousi, it costs 25,000 KIP for foreigners to visit.
It’s worth every penny.
Inside, we found an amazing array of colours, history, and everything related to Laos’ ethnic heritage.
It’s a beautiful display of over 600 artefacts from 20 different ethnicities, it really is a great way to learn about the country and its past.
Don’t miss out on the fair-trade handicrafts store and bring back something worthwhile to friends or family back home.
🤩 I recommend this Luang Prabang Cultural Heritage Tour – perfect for exploring the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre and other cultural sites with an expert guide.
11. Alms Giving Ceremony
While I urge you to visit the alms giving ceremony, please do not act like all the tourists we saw.
They did not care for the requests of the monks. Signs posted everywhere stated the rules. Everyone we saw blatantly ignored them to either get a picture with the monks or try to speak to them.
It was embarrassing.
The experience is a beautiful and relaxed time if done correctly.
A line of orange-robed monks walks through the street and receives goods from locals and tourists. It was so quiet when they walked past, apart from those who chose not to show respect.
We were out of bed at 05:00 AM and made the walk to Joma Bakery Café on Sakkalaine Road.
While there were a few locals attending, I think the monks were thankful for what they received.
It’s free to attend, but you can give a small offering if you wish. This is one of the free things to do in Luang Prabang.
🤩 I recommend this Luang Prabang Weaving Workshop – perfect for learning traditional textile techniques and crafting your own souvenir with expert local artisans
Where Is Luang Prabang?
Getting To Luang Prabang
You have a few options when travelling to Luang Prabang.
You can fly into Luang Prabang International Airport.
If you take the slow boat from the north, it will take you to the port of Luang Prabang.
We made the journey in the opposite direction, and I wrote about our experience. Simply brilliant, although we nearly sank! You can watch my vlog about the whole journey.
Alternatively, you can get there using the LCR Railway. I also wrote about our experience getting to Luang Prabang from Vang Vieng. It’s a solid option that is comfortable and relatively affordable.
There are always options to take taxis or buses, but the train was the best option.
Read my guide to Luang Prabang Railway Station.
You can purchase bus, train, taxi, or van tickets to Luang Prabang from 12GOAsia or just enter the location you depart from in the box below.
Where To Stay In Luang Prabang?
Luang Prabang has many great options where you’re travelling as a couple or solo.
We were positioned right along the river with balcony views when we stayed at Mao Pha Sok Guesthouse.
The good breakfast, air conditioning and nice garden won me over. Some other options to consider include:
Budget Hotels
Mid-Range Hotels
Golden Lotus Namkhan River View
Luxury Hotels
Best Time Of Year To Visit Luang Prabang?
The best time of the year to visit Luang Prabang is the high season between November and February.
While we visited in June, we mostly had decent weather. That didn’t mean we weren’t hot with plenty of heavy downpours. Even with that considered, I felt our time in Luang Prabang had plenty of dry and sunny spells.
Most importantly, there weren’t the crazy crowds that we experienced in Thailand or Vietnam.
If you can travel in the shoulder seasons, that’s also a good option, but for the best weather, it’s said to be the end of the year.
Safety Wing Insurance
Need travel insurance?
We trust Safety Wing. They really got us out of a tough situation in Kazakhstan. Read my detailed review here and find out exactly what happens should you need assistance.
Final Thoughts/Conclusion
As you can see from the above, Luang Prabang is worth visiting, in my opinion.
My favourite experiences included taking a boat up the Mekong River, trekking to Mount Phousi, and visiting all the beautiful Buddhist temples.
You can take the Slow Boat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai and travel further into Thailand if you’re in the region. I highly recommend this experience.
Additionally, you can then move on to the next major hub towns in Laos, like Vientiane or Vang Vieng, where there are endless things to do as well.
Just make sure you follow my complete packing list for Southeast Asia, and you’ll have everything you need for a perfect trip.
Any questions? Just drop me a message.
Thanks for reading,
James
FAQs
What Is Luang Prabang Famous For?
Luang Prabang is famous for many beautiful Buddhist temples, natural beauty like the Mekong River, hills, and caves. Pak Ou Caves were my favourite, and you can experience a peaceful two-day slow boat journey along the river. You can get amazing coffee in Luang Prabang and witness the alms giving ceremony. There are so many great things to do in Luang Prabang.
When To Avoid Luang Prabang?
It’s best to avoid travelling to Laos during March and April when farmers burn their rice fields, as the air quality becomes poor. Additionally, May through October brings the heaviest rains, unless you’re fully prepared with wet weather gear and don’t mind these conditions, I suggest visiting during the drier months between November and February. While there are lots of unique things to do in Luang Prabang, timing your visit right is essential.
What To Do In Luang Prabang?
You can climb Mount Phousi for some great views of Luang Prabang. You can visit Pak Ou Caves and Whiskey Village. You can even experience the alms-giving ceremony in the early hours of the morning for a total Laotian experience. The town is full of beautiful temples, as well as having an amazing night market. There are plenty of fun things to do in the town.
- The 17 Best Things To Do In Ubud, Indonesia
- Taman Sari Waterfall: My In-Depth Guide
- Banyumala Waterfall: Bali’s Best Waterfall?
- Tibumana Waterfall – All You Need To Know Before Visiting
- Exploring Vientiane Night Market
