Day 6 Chiang Rai – Pakbeng
Start early this morning for a transfer to the Laos border. After crossing into Laos you will board a small traditional boat to start cruising down the Mekong. The views along the way are beautiful as you pass through picturesque scenery of rolling hills, paddy fields and small villages.

You will spend the night in a small lodge near the banks of the Mekong. Perhaps take a walk through a nearby village this afternoon.

Day 7 Pakbeng – Luang Prabang
Continue either by boat or by vehicle to Luang Prabang, stopping en route at Pak Ou caves with its thousands of Buddha images.

In the evening perhaps visit the lively night market that stretches along the main street of Luang Prabang.

Day 8 Luang Prabang
Today you will enjoy a city tour of Luang Prabang, one of South East Asia’s loveliest cities and the ancient capital of Laos. Visit the Royal Palace Museum, which gives a great overview of local history and is also home to a number of beautiful temples. From here take a quiet walk through the back streets to a beautiful heritage house where you can stop for an iced tea in the gardens. Later visit two of Luang Prabang’s most beautiful temples before returning to your hotel for some time to relax.

In the late afternoon your guide will meet you again for a walking tour of the town as dusk settles. The children will enjoy challenging the guide to a game of ‘petanque’ (boules), which is very popular amongst the locals.

Day 9 Luang Prabang
After breakfast, head to an elephant sanctuary in the countryside outside Luang Prabang. You will spend the morning here learning about the elephants and spending time helping to bathe them in the river. This is always an absolute highlight for the children, as is the chance to then walk with the elephants through the rice paddies and creeks.

After a delicious local lunch, return to your hotel for a relaxing afternoon. This evening perhaps take a wander along the riverfront and stop for dinner in one of the many restaurants overlooking the water.

Day 10 Luang Prabang
Great fun this morning, as you make your way into the countryside to a community run enterprise where the villagers will show you in a very hands on manner how rice is grown. Depending on the time of year, you may find yourselves knee deep in mud, ploughing the paddy fields with the village water buffalo!

Later continue to beautiful Kuang Si waterfalls where you will enjoy a picnic lunch and can cool off with a refreshing swim in the turquoise pool or walk along the forest trails.

Day 11 Luang Prabang – Siem Reap
This morning you will be transferred to the airport for a flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Siem Reap is the gateway city to the extraordinary Temples of Angkor. There are hundreds of different temples, each of which is in a different stage of preservation. Some are immaculately restored (at least in parts) whilst others are still very much part of the jungle, with tree roots growing through the walls. Your guide will take you to the temples this afternoon for a sunset visit.

Day 12 Siem Reap
A full day to explore the Angkor Temples by bike or tuk tuk with a guide. You will start at the magnificent ‘South Gate’ of Angkor Thom, famed for the colossal human faces carved from stone and flanking the route. From here you will see all of the main temples including Bayon, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace and Angkor Wat itself. Although there is masses to see, you can take the day at your own pace and when the children have had enough, you can head back to the hotel pool.

Day 13 Siem Reap
One further day to explore the Angkor Temple by yourselves. Make sure that you visit Ta Prohm, one of the most picturesque temples, covered in sprawling tree roots and lianas.

When you have had your fill of temple-hopping, Siem Reap is a very pleasant town with fantastic restaurants and shops as well as foot massage parlours where you can dip your weary feet in a fish tank and tiny fish will nibble off the dead skin!

There are plenty of other activities that we can include if of interest, such as cookery classes, ziplines through the jungle, quad bikes and so on. These can either be arranged in advance or you could arrange them locally on arrival.

In the evening perhaps visit the local circus, where performers will give a demonstration of traditional Khmer acrobatic and dance skills.

Day 14 Siem Reap
This morning visit a stilt village built over the vast waters of Tonle Sap. This huge   freshwater lake is home to traditional fishing communities. It is a world heritage site and is best explored by a small wooden boat, which enables you to sail amongst the stilt houses and through the flooded mangrove forest.

Later head to Beng Melea Temple, an enormous ruin the size of Angkor Wat but still completely part of the jungle. This is real Indiana Jones stuff and you will follow wooden walkways over giant lianas that grow through the temple walls, and through thick undergrowth to dilapidated carvings.

Day 15 Siem Reap
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.