12 daysLaosAges 18–40
12 days · Chiang Rai, Luang Prabang & Vientiane
Northern Thailand & Laos is a 12-day group trip for solo travellers aged 18 to 40. You start with the temples of Chiang Rai and three easy days in Chiang Mai, then fly from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang for waterfalls, monks and a day on the Mekong by long boat. There is no two-day slow boat from Huay Xai on this trip. The Laos-China Railway takes you on to the cliffs and rivers of Vang Vieng, and the trip ends in Vientiane. Your Trip Host is with the group the whole way.
Updated
From, per person
$1,500 / £1,120 / €1,315 / A$2,130 / CA$2,120 / NZ$2,650 / ₹1,43,500
Free to reserve
Sarthak's best travel memories come from going solo: hostel dorms, a new activity most days, new cultures and new food. SoloNomads grew out of that.
Sarthak travels with every group, from the first day to the last, so there's always someone on hand to sort things out when plans change and to make sure nobody gets left out.
In every country, a licensed local agency and licensed local guides look after the ground services, so you get local know-how too.
Chiang Rai to Vientiane, 5 stops in 12 days.
5 stops
12 days
Day 1
Arrive whenever your flight lands. Flights from Bangkok take about 80 minutes. The Trip Host meets everyone at the guesthouse in the late afternoon for a get-to-know-you and a run-through of the trip. Then we walk to the night bazaar for a welcome dinner.
Day 2
A morning at two of Chiang Rai's strangest buildings. Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple, is a hall of deep blue and gold with a white Buddha inside. Baan Dam, the Black House, is a garden of dark teak houses full of horns, bones and carvings, made by the artist Thawan Duchanee. We're back by lunch, and the afternoon is yours: a massage, a coffee or a nap.
Day 3
Our own van leaves early so we're at Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, when it opens at 8am, before the tour buses. It's the life's work of the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat: white plaster and mirror glass, a bridge over a pit of reaching hands, and some very odd murals inside. Then it's about 3 to 4 hours down the road to Chiang Mai. We arrive in the early afternoon and the evening is free.
Day 4
A half day at an elephant sanctuary in the hills outside town. You walk through the forest and watch a small herd feed and wander, from a distance. We choose a place where there's no riding and no shows, and you don't bathe with the elephants. Lunch is at the sanctuary. After a free afternoon, we ride a red songthaew up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep for the gold chedi and the view over the city at sunset.
Day 5
Nothing is planned until the evening. Walk the old city temples, find a cafe, get a Thai massage, or on a weekend head to the Saturday or Sunday walking street. In the evening we go to an organic farm outside the city for a cooking class. You pick herbs from the garden, pound your own curry paste and cook four or five dishes, and that's dinner.
Day 6
The morning is free for packing and a last Chiang Mai breakfast. In the afternoon we take the short direct flight to Luang Prabang, and the flight is included. You get your Lao visa at the airport or show your eVisa. By early evening we're in town, just in time for a first walk through the night market on Sisavangvong Road.
Day 7
About 45 minutes out of town, Kuang Si drops in tiers of turquoise pools through the forest. There's time to swim in the pools where swimming is allowed and to walk up beside the main fall. The bear rescue centre near the entrance is part of the visit. We have lunch nearby and come back in the afternoon. At the end of the day we climb Mount Phousi, in the middle of town, to watch the sun go down over the Mekong.
Day 8
If you'd like to, get up before dawn to watch the monks collect alms. We watch quietly from across the street, at least five metres back, with no flash. After breakfast we board a wooden long boat and head up the Mekong for about two hours to the Pak Ou caves, two caves in a cliff above the river packed with old Buddha images. Lunch is on the boat on the way back. The evening is free.
Day 9
A free morning in the old town. Good choices are the Royal Palace Museum, the sweeping roofs of Wat Xieng Thong, or the UXO visitor centre, which explains the bombs still in the ground from the Indochina wars. After lunch we head to the station for the train south. The train takes about an hour to Vang Vieng, where we arrive in time to watch the sun set behind the cliffs.
Day 10
A full day outdoors with a local operator. We kayak down the Nam Song river past the cliffs, float into a water cave on a tube with a head torch, and swim at the Blue Lagoon. Lunch is included. How much of the river we paddle depends on the water level that day, and we go with the operator's call.
Day 11
A free morning. Climb to a viewpoint above town if you've got the legs for it, or sit by the river with a coffee. After lunch the train takes about an hour to Vientiane. In the afternoon we visit Patuxai, the city's big victory gate, and climb it for the view. In the evening the group gets together one last time for a farewell dinner near the Mekong.
Day 12
The trip ends after breakfast. Wattay airport is a short drive from the centre, so any flight from late morning onwards works. With time to spare, the COPE visitor centre opens at 8:30 and is worth an hour. Heading back to Bangkok overland? The Trip Host can help you book the overnight train, which leaves Vientiane in the early evening.
Prices are per person, and reserving is free. A date goes ahead once about 10 travellers have joined. You pay nothing until then. Once it's confirmed, we send you an invoice for the full price, and you have 7 days to pay it (or until the trip starts, if that's sooner).
22 Nov – 3 Dec 2026
AvailableLoy Krathong falls on Day 3 in Chiang MaiMax 16 people
Price
$1,500 / £1,120 / €1,315 / A$2,130 / CA$2,120 / NZ$2,650 / ₹1,43,500
8 Dec – 19 Dec 2026
AvailablePeak dry seasonMax 16 people
Price
$1,500 / £1,120 / €1,315 / A$2,130 / CA$2,120 / NZ$2,650 / ₹1,43,500
10 Nov – 21 Nov 2027
AvailableLoy Krathong departure, expected on Day 4 (the 2027 date is an estimate)Max 16 people
Price
$1,500 / £1,120 / €1,315 / A$2,130 / CA$2,120 / NZ$2,650 / ₹1,43,500
You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.
Some departures are timed for a festival, and when one is, the departure note says so. Festival dates follow the moon, so they change from year to year. A late November date can put you in Chiang Mai for Loy Krathong, when people float candle-lit baskets on the river.
Solo travellers aged 18 to 40. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates, and it's never more than 16. You need to be averagely fit: there are steps up Doi Suthep and Mount Phousi, some easy paddling, and a lot of walking in hot weather. You also need to be comfortable in the water for the kayak and cave day.
The Trip Host travels with the group for all 12 days, sorts out every transfer, ticket and check-in, and is the person you go to if anything goes wrong. On activities that need them, a licensed local guide leads the visit. You can skip any activity, because nothing is compulsory. Just tell the Trip Host so nobody waits for you.
Because Canada and Germany advise against travel in parts of Bokeo province, where the boat starts. This trip flies from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang instead, and spends a day on the Mekong by long boat from there. The two-day public slow boat starts at Huay Xai, in Bokeo province, on the Thai border. As of September 2026, Canada's government advises against non-essential travel within 10 km of the Thai border in Bokeo. Germany's Foreign Office advises avoiding Bokeo and Sainyabuli provinces. Travel insurance can stop covering you in places your government advises against. We check this advice before every season.
It starts at our guesthouse in Chiang Rai in the late afternoon of Day 1, and we send the address when you book. It ends in Vientiane after breakfast on Day 12. Fly into Chiang Rai (CEI), which has frequent flights from both Bangkok airports. For the way home, book a flight out of Vientiane (VTE) any time from late morning on Day 12, or take the overnight train back to Bangkok that evening.
November to mid-February is the best time: dry, clear and not too hot. We don't run this trip from about February to April, when smoke from farm burning hangs over northern Thailand and northern Laos and is worst in March. We also avoid the rainy season, which runs from May to October in Laos, when the rivers run high.
For Thailand, many nationalities can visit visa-free for up to 30 days since 15 September 2026, and everyone fills in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card online within 3 days before arrival. For Laos, most passports need a visa: either a visa on arrival at Luang Prabang airport or an eVisa bought before you go from the official site, laoevisa.gov.la. You also fill in the free Lao Digital Immigration Form online in the 3 days before you arrive. Rules change, so read our Laos visa guide before you book flights.
Social hostels and small guesthouses with air-con, picked for location and cleanliness. You share a twin or small dorm room with travellers of the same gender. If you're vegetarian, vegan or have allergies, tell us when you book. Thai and Lao food are easy to adapt, and the cooking class and the sanctuary lunch are vegetarian-friendly. For serious allergies, we can give you a card in Thai and Lao to show at restaurants.
A soft bag or backpack rather than a suitcase. Bring clothes that cover shoulders and knees for temples, a light fleece for cool mornings in the north, sandals or water shoes for the kayak day, a head torch, a refillable water bottle and a waterproof phone pouch. For the Lao visa on arrival, bring clean, new US dollar notes and a couple of passport photos. Your passport needs at least six months' validity and two blank pages.
Yes to insurance: it's a condition of joining. It must cover medical treatment and evacuation, because serious cases in Laos are usually moved to hospitals in Thailand. Check that it covers kayaking and tubing, and that your own government has no advice against the places on this itinerary. For vaccinations, see a travel clinic at least eight weeks before you go. The UK's TravelHealthPro and the US CDC both publish up-to-date advice for Thailand and Laos.
It has real risks, and it's worth knowing them before you go. Foreign travellers have died after drinking alcohol in Laos. Six died in Vang Vieng in November 2024, and a lab found excessive methanol in a vodka sample, but Laos authorities said in July 2026 that they couldn't establish the cause. Buy drinks sealed and never accept free shots. "Happy" shakes and pizzas can contain opiates, and any drugs, including cannabis, can mean a long prison sentence in Laos. People have also died tubing or jumping into the river. On our kayak day we use a local operator and follow its call on the water level.
Ask here and someone on the team will email you back within 1 to 2 business days.
From
$1,500 / £1,120 / €1,315 / A$2,130 / CA$2,120 / NZ$2,650 / ₹1,43,500