The morning is yours at leisure before your guide transfers you to Luang Prabang Train Station for the high-speed train to Vientiane. The journey takes around two hours, passing through the Lao countryside and a series of tunnels blasted through the limestone hills that define this part of the country. On arrival in the capital, you’ll transfer to your hotel with the afternoon and evening free to explore at your own pace.

The morning takes you away from the city to Don Xin Xu, a quiet Mekong island reached by a ten-minute longboat ride from Kao Liaw Village. After a stop at a small island temple for a monk’s blessing, you’ll board a toktok for a ride through the island’s countryside, including a visit to a farmer who has lived on Don Xin Xu for over 30 years. Lunch is served on the boat as you float back to Vientiane.

The afternoon covers the city’s key sites by tuk-tuk: Wat Sisaket, the only structure to survive the Siamese invasion of 1828; Wat Ho Pha Kheo, former home of the Emerald Buddha now kept in Bangkok; the golden That Luang stupa, Laos’ most sacred monument; and the COPE Visitor Centre, which documents the legacy of the Secret War. Between 1964 and 1973, over 270 million cluster munitions were dropped on Laos, and an estimated 80 million remain undetonated today.

An early morning flight from Vientiane brings you to Pakse, where your guide will meet you for the drive up to the Bolaven Plateau. The day is spent on a jeep safari through this fertile highland region, known for its coffee plantations, waterfalls, and red laterite roads that turn adventurously muddy in the rainy season.

Stops include Tad Moun waterfall for a swim and picnic lunch, followed by a coffee farm where you’ll learn about the roasting process and taste the plateau’s three main varieties. The afternoon continues to Tad Yuang waterfall before a final stop at Tad Fane, where twin falls plunge 650 feet into a jungle gorge. From there, you’ll transfer to your accommodation in Champasak.

After breakfast, your guide will take you to Wat Phou, a pre-Angkor Khmer temple complex dating to the 5th century and one of the most significant archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. Set against a dramatic backdrop of forested hills above the Mekong plain, the UNESCO-listed complex predates Angkor Wat by several centuries and marks the easternmost reach of the Khmer Empire. Your guide will walk you through the intricately carved ruins and explain their historical and religious significance before the transfer back to your accommodation for a free afternoon.

After breakfast, your guide will take you by ferry across the Mekong to Ban Muang pier, where a vehicle will be waiting for the drive toward the Cambodian border. En route, you’ll stop at Khone Papheng, the largest waterfall in Asia by volume, before continuing to the Nong Nok Khien/Trapaing Kriel border crossing.

After processing your Cambodian visa, your guide and driver will meet you on the other side for the transfer to Siempang Forest Lodge, where the remainder of the day is at leisure.

Enjoy a full day to explore the Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary at your own pace. The lodge sits within one of Cambodia’s most biodiverse and least-visited protected areas, and the activity options reflect that. Expert guides can take you birdwatching for some of Cambodia’s rarest species including the giant and white-shouldered ibis, on guided forest walks with skilled wildlife trackers, or on boat cruises along the Sekong River. By special arrangement, a vulture feeding visit can be organized where three critically endangered species may be watched from a hide at close range. Other options include cycling the forest trails, cultural visits to local villages, and a bush dinner under the stars.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you on the six to seven hour road journey south to Siem Reap. On arrival, you’ll check in to your hotel with the afternoon free.

In the evening, you’ll set out on a private progressive dinner through Siem Reap’s dining scene, moving through three distinct locations over the course of the night. It begins with a sunset cocktail and starter at a restaurant where much of the produce comes from the kitchen garden, continues to a traditional Khmer wooden house on the city’s outskirts for a tasting platter of iconic Cambodian dishes, and finishes back in town with a dessert course by one of Cambodia’s top chefs and a locally inspired cocktail. In total, ten dishes across three restaurants, each paired with a drink.

Set out before dawn for Angkor Wat, entering from the quieter east side to watch the sun rise over the temple’s iconic towers before the crowds arrive. Built in the 12th century as the funeral temple of King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument on earth. You’ll return to the hotel for a late breakfast before heading back out for a full day at the wider Angkor complex.

The afternoon covers the South Gate of Angkor Thom and the Bayon, with its forests of carved stone faces, followed by Baphoun, Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, and the Terraces of the Elephants and the Leper King. Ta Prohm comes later in the day when the crowds thin, its massive tree roots pushing through the stone blocks in the way that has made it one of the most photographed temples in the region. The day ends with sunset at Pre Rup or Srah Srang before returning to the hotel.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you 30 miles north of Siem Reap to Phnom Kulen, the sacred mountain considered the birthplace of the Khmer Empire. It was here that King Jayavarman II proclaimed independence from Java in 802 AD, and the site has held deep religious significance ever since. The river running through the mountain conceals over 1,000 carvings of Yoni and Linga etched into the sandstone riverbed just below the water’s surface, alongside a stone representation of Vishnu reclining on his serpent.

You’ll also visit Preah Ang Thom, a 16th-century temple housing an eight-meter Buddha statue considered sacred to the mountain, before the river leads to a waterfall where you can swim. Lunch is a local Khmer meal nearby.

On the return to Siem Reap, the route stops at Banteay Srei, a 10th-century temple. The final stop is the Cambodia Land Mine Museum, established by Aki Ra, a former child soldier forced by the Khmer Rouge to lay thousands of mines who has since devoted his life to clearing them, removing over 50,000 to date.

Say goodbye to Cambodia and head to the airport to catch your departing flight.