The 15 Best Kayaking Tours in Laos

1.Kayaking & Cave Tubing with Zip Line/Blue Lagoon

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 410 reviews · 6 - 8 hours · from $30Our pick

Paddle the Nam Song River with an English-speaking guide, explore Tham Norn and Tham Nang Far caves, and eat a picnic lunch by the water. Add the jungle zip line or Blue Lagoon 1, depending on your chosen package. Guides such as Duang, Om, On, and Lee are known for careful, friendly help.

“Fantastic experiences. Did everything in one go from kayaking, tubing to zip-lining. Highly recommended”

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2.Tham Nangfar and Tham Nam Day Tour with Kayaking

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 147 reviews · 5 hours · from $24

Spend five hours kayaking down the Nam Song River, tubing through Tham Nam cave, and visiting Tham Nang Far, or Angel Cave. Your English or Thai-speaking guide provides safety gear, a waterproof bag, hotel pickup, and a banana-leaf BBQ lunch. Small groups make the outing easier to manage.

“D was amazing made us all feel safe and cared for ! The kayaking was so much fun and then the caves were very much worthy too ! Absolutely value for money ! There is also an option to do zip lining which I highly highly recommend!!! And lunch was delicious ! Thanks so much :)”

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3.Kayak Tour to Pak Ou Caves

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 115 reviews · 5 - 9 hours · from $43

Start with an easy kayak run on the Nam Ou, visit Pak Ou Caves, paddle 30 minutes on the Mekong, then eat a buffet lunch and visit Kuang Si Falls. Guides such as Lan, Vone, Mungkone, and Yearxiong are praised for friendly, clear guiding. Optional sunset cruise and cycling add-ons may be available.

“Really enjoyed our day kayacking along the Ou river, exploring the Ou caves and visiting the Kuang Si waterfall. Kayacking was lovely though a bit short - only 2 hours kayacking and would have liked to kayak for longer. Lunch was exceptional - one of the best lunches I’ve had during a tour and in a beautiful location. The waterfalls were wonderful too, though would have been nice to have a bit more time as there is a lot to explore, especially if you want to climb to the top of the hill overlooking the waterfalls. Overall, a great day seeing all the best spots around Luang Prabang.”

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4.FULL DAY – Kuang Si Waterfall, Kayak on the Nam Ou / Mekong River, Pak Ou Caves

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 81 reviews · from $50Top rated

Spend about 8.5 hours kayaking from Ban Pak Ou or Ban Hat Kho, exploring Pak Ou Caves, stopping at Whisky Village, eating at Manifa Elephant Camp, and swimming at Kuang Si Falls. Small groups, bottled water, equipment, and a Lao buffet are included.

“Overall the experience was great. I will say that this tour does make for a long day so be prepared. The distance of the kayak was just long enough to enjoy the experience. Lunch at the Elephant Camp was very nice, lots of food options and Read more”

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5.Nam Song River Kayak Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 69 reviews · 4 hours · from $33

You will travel 6 km north from Vang Vieng to Ban Viengsamai, learn basic kayak and capsize safety skills, then paddle the Nam Song River through small rapids beneath dramatic mountain peaks. An English-speaking guide, equipment, water, transport, and a short riverside rest are included.

“I only wanted to do the kayaking so had to wait around while the rest of the group did the cave walking/tubing and ziplining but that was ok, I had a coffee and chillaxed though I would have loved to spend the time doing more kayaking :)”

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6.Vang Vieng Tour with Cave Kayak & Zipline

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 32 reviews · 9 hours · from $113

Spend nine hours exploring Vang Vieng with an English-speaking guide such as Nam, Souk, Gao, or Mr. King. You will kayak the Nam Song, zipline near Nangfa Cave, visit Jang Cave, eat lunch, and swim at Tham Phu Kham or Blue Lagoon 1. Expect a long but active day with private-group options.

“We had an absolutely wonderful time on this tour to Vang Vieng. Our guide was professional, friendly, and knowledgeable, our driver was wonderful, and we had a full day of awesome activities that gave us memories of Laos that we’ll cherish forever. We would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone wanting to explore Vang Vieng in a day!”

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7.Day Tour with Kayaking, Ziplining, and Rafting

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 30 reviews · 1 day · from $55

Spend a full day around Vang Vieng kayaking the Nam Song, tubing through Tham Chang Cave, hiking, ziplining over forest, and swimming at Blue Lagoon 1. English and Laotian staff provide safety guidance, lunch is included, and hotel pickup is available in central Vang Vieng.

“It was a mix, pick up was quite late, kayak and zip line were funny, the cave tube and the Lagune overcrowded”

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8.Muang Ngoi, View Point, Water Fall and Kayaking

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 26 reviews · 8 hours · from $35

Spend eight hours traveling from Nong Khiaw by boat to Muang Ngoi, climbing to Phanoi Viewpoint, visiting a history cave and weaving village, trekking to Tad Mok Waterfall, and kayaking back at sunset. The day is active, scenic, and best for fit swimmers.

“Sehr schöner und abwechslungsreicher Tagensausflug. Der Guide hat viel erzählen hat viel erklären können. Jederzeit wieder :)”

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9.Full day / Half Day Kayaking and Pak Ou Caves with optional sunset cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 24 reviews · from $41

Paddle the Nam Ou and Mekong rivers from Luang Prabang to Pak Ou Caves, where thousands of Buddha images fill the limestone grottoes. A guide leads the visit, and the trip includes a local village stop, food, water, equipment, and an optional sunset cruise.

“We did the half-day kayaking and Pak Ou Caves. Our guide was perfect, interacting seamlessly with a variety of nationalities. Pak Ou Caves did not disappoint. The kayaking surrounded by a beautiful Laos landscape was breathtaking. Lunch provided a plentiful variety of deliciousness. Treat yourself to a special experience.”

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10.Hot Air Balloon,Kayak,Zipline,Blue lagoon1 Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 24 reviews · 1 day · from $186

Spend a full day around Vang Vieng with a 30-minute hot air balloon flight, Nam Song kayaking, rafting, ziplining, Tham Chang cave tubing and hiking, plus Blue Lagoon 1 if selected. Expect early starts, shared tuk-tuk transport, lunch, safety gear, and a busy schedule.

“The activities exceeded our expectations. The guiding was disappointing with a lack of information, poorly coordinated and lacked the general quality we gave often enjoyed from other providers.”

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11.2-Day Trekking,Hmong village,Home Stay&Kayaking

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 17 reviews · 2 days · from $80

Spend two days trekking from Nong Khiaw through Lao, Khmu, and Hmong villages with guide Bick, sleep in a village home, make bamboo crafts, visit a cave and viewpoint, swim at Tad Mork Waterfall, and kayak down the Nam Ou River. Expect a moderate to challenging trek and simple local accommodation.

“It was such a wonderful experience, our guide Bick made it even better! We had two full days of exploration and I’ve learned more than on my two weeks trip in Laos. Bick showed us so many new things, he was always cheerful and easygoing. I can’t recommend enough as this trip has all the best experience you can have in Nong Khiaw. I would totally do it again, thank you very much for these wonderful memories ❤️🙏”

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12.One Day Guided Tour: Kayaking, Zipline & Tubing In The Cave from Vang Vieng

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 15 reviews · from $49

You’ll paddle 7 km down the Nam Song River, ride a series of forest ziplines, and pull yourself up to 500 metres through Tham Nam Water Cave. A guide such as Mr Lee provides help, safety gear, transfers, and a picnic lunch for this small-group day out.

“This was a lot of fun. We started out kayaking down the Nam Sang River for about 2 hours, which was beautiful. Then we visited Angel Cave, followed by ziplining. It was actually a series of 7 ziplines, and it was so much fun. Then we had a gooRead more”

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13.Kayaking&Zipline&Water Cave&Tham Chang tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 11 reviews · 1 day · from $51

Join an English or Lao-speaking guide for a full day of kayaking on the Nam Song River, tire tubing through Tham Chang Cave, cave hiking, swimming, lunch, and jungle ziplining. Hotel pickup in central Vang Vieng is included, with safety gear and instruction provided.

“Meget ubehagelig oplevelse i Cave tuning pga for mange mennesker på en gang”

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14.Zipline,Water Cave,Tham Chang,Kayak,Blue Lagoon 3

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 8 reviews · 1 day · from $58

Spend a full day around Vang Vieng kayaking the Nam Song River, tubing through Tham Chang Cave, hiking and swimming, then ziplining through forest before cooling off at Blue Lagoon 3. Pickup, lunch, equipment, and central hotel return are included, but activity order and lagoon choice can change.

“Overall it was a fun experience. I would recommend doing it with a different tour operator and if it is not raining. The tour operator didn’t speak any English at all (couldn’t even understand when we were asking for toilet - let alone how dirty the toilet was and without hand soap and also that they didn’t tell us ever where and where we could use restrooms/ change clothes/ etc.). The order of the activities was random (and we were never told what was up next even when we asked - because they didn’t speak any English - so we didn’t even know what we should have been wearing before…”

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15.One Day Kayaking, Zipline and Tubing In Cave from Vang Vieng

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · from $75

Spend about eight hours beyond Vang Vieng kayaking from Khmu Village, ziplining through forest, and tubing through Tham Nam Water Cave. Your English-speaking guide provides instruction, safety gear, lunch, and hotel transfers. The group is capped at 15, making this a lively but manageable day outdoors.

“I really enjoyed this half-day kayaking tour in Vang Vieng. Starting at Khmu Village with proper training made me feel safe and confident right away. The scenery along the Nam Song River was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. It was the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation.”

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