Explore the mighty Mekong River in Laos on a Mekong Kayaks’ river adventure with mountain biking, village home-stay, beach camp or a cruise

Live the Adventure

Explore the mighty Mekong River in Laos on a Mekong Kayaks’ river adventure. Kayak, cruise or cycle the mighty Mekong departing Ban Lad Khammune village and arriving in Luang Prabang 1, 2 or 3 days later depending on your choice of tour.

Or do a 1 day Twin Rivers Explorer kayaking tour on on 2 of South East Asia’s most famous rivers; the Nam Ou and the Mekong. Or you can mountain bike over snaking trails through the jungle for 25 kms and then kayak 60 kms back to Luang Prabang. The choice is yours.

 Or take a Mekong Kayak’s 300+ km 2 or 3 day VIP boat cruise from Huay Xai on the Thai border to Luang Prabang.

Push your boundaries as you follow in the footsteps of famous Lao explorers after whom our tours are named. True adventurers like Francis Garnier, Madeleine Colani, Doudart de Lagrée, Auguste Pavie, Louis de Carné and Henri Mouhot (buried just outside Luang Prabang), these brave men and women were the daring 19th century explorers and pioneers of this lost, unmapped and little known wilderness. They travelled by river in small boats, just like you’ll do, discovering new tribes, fauna and flora and most importantly new values.

Step into a time machine and go back nearly 100 years and experience an authentic village culture untouched by time. Immerse yourself in a culture unchanged for generations, where there’s no roads, cars, bikes, distributed power,  phones or internet. The river is their only means of contact with the outside world.

A Mekong Kayaks’ adventure tour, exploring the Mekong River gets you out of your comfort zone

Part adventure, part community, part eco and ethno tourism this Mekong Kayaks’ trip of a lifetime combines all 4 into an authentic experience you’ll never forget.

Just chill out and enjoy the majesty and serenity of the spectacular scenery along the Mekong, as you kayak or cruise along the world’s 12th longest river, snaking through jungle clad gorges beneath karst mountain peaks.

The river first threads its way east then south past the Pak Ou Caves and Wat Don Koun Island (Good Luck Island Temple) towards the United Nation’s World Heritage city of Luang Prabang.

Explore the mighty Mekong River in Laos on a Mekong Kayaks’ river adventure holiday over one, two or three days, ranging from 25 to 300+ kms, as you kayak, cruise in style on a riverboat or mountain bike downriver (or a combination of all three) to Luang Prabang.

The Mekong River running between Huay Xai on the Thai border to Luang Prabang in Laos is about 300kms

Spend the night in a remote, riverside village where you’ll be welcomed with a warm, traditional baci ceremony as guests of honour.

Giant rain forest tree at Tadtom waterfall

Or try your hand at traditional crafts, take a hike up to the falls to see how some households generate their own electricity, see massive jungle trees, learn to throw a traditional fishing net, or even teach a little English in the village school we’ve helped finance and build, before a swim in a clean mountain river followed by dinner.

The next day we’ll kayak to the camp-site on an isolated river beach beside the rain-forest where there are many species of butterflies depending on the season.

Beach party around the campfire

The camp will already be set up and dinner will be prepared for you.

After dinner you can chill out on the beach over some drinks, swapping stories and maybe singing a few songs with your new friends, before retiring to comfortable tents.

The next day we’ll head off down stream to Luang Prabang stopping off at the famous Pak Ou Caves then for lunch at an island temple before arriving at Port Don Mai around sunset.

For every client on the tour we donate US$10 to the Bridging the Gap Mekong Trust that builds and sustains isolated village schools along the river. These donations buy much needed desks, text books, pads and pencils, funds the construction of a new schools, concretes dirt floors, replaces roofs, builds toilets, etc

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Ban Kok Phu School book donation

For the Curious

Butterflies on the beach at Ban Kok Phu

Laos is a butterfly heaven with hundreds of recorded species. Frocked out in iridescent blues, metallic greens and flame reds they are a neon of flashing colours.

On your trips down the Mekong River you’ll see them everywhere, especially on the beaches jostling for the best spot to sip on mineral rich water; like this white  Polyura nepenthes and the 3 dark blue tigers or Tirumala septentrionis  at Ban Kok Phu.