Vang Vieng – caving, canoeing and much more – an ideal place for active people

Vang Vieng is a city in Laos labelled as a place for party animals and sports addicts. Indeed, there is no shortage of bars with loud music played every day until 1:00am, and you can spot night life at the Mekong River near the wooden bridge, but you can also find some places where nature is conducive to challenges, extreme sports , exploring caves, or trekking … One thing is certain – it’s impossible to get bored in this small city, and for sure everyone will find something for themselves!

What caves to visit in Vang Vieng?

1.The Chang / Jang Cave is located 1.7km from the center of Vang Vieng, so you can easily reach it on foot. On the way you will have to pay for crossing an orange bridge (2.000Kip / 0,25USD) leading to the cave, and then – for the entrance fee to the cave: 15.000Kip/2USD.

The cave is the largest in the area and also the most beautiful one, well-lit inside, so you don’t need a torch there. If you come across a rainy day like we did, you shouldn’t waste your time in a hotel, instead explore the caves!

Below – the view from the Jang Cave.

2.The Water Cave and the Elephant Cave are located right next to each other. The Water Cave is famous for ‘tubing’: you are given a head torch  and an inflated truck tube, on which you need to sit having your bottom in water and your legs outside the tube pulling a rope attached to the rocks in the cave. The tubing takes bout 40min. Of course, this is done in groups and there is a limited number of people that may be in the cave at a given time. A lot of fun guaranteed, especially for families with children!

Above – the bridge you have to cross to get to the Water Cave.

Below – the Elephant Cave:

3.Kham Phouak cave lies at the same place as the famous Blue Lagoon, where you can swim and jump into the turqouise water. To get to the cave you have to go up and it’s quite steep but it’s a short way in fact. It is hard to take a picture in the cave, because it is so dark there – the torch required (nowadays everybody has it in their mobile phones, so it’s not a problem :)).

4.As for the Lusi Cave, we reached the slope of the hill on which it is situated, but we weren’t let in inside because of the rain. For the safety of the tourists they blocked the entrance to the hill, because the rocks were too slippery to let anyone in there. To reach the cave you have to walk about 3km and follow the signs leading through a rural path, but it is a pleasant walk being surrounded by an unspoilt nature.

What other activities can you try?

1.We already mentioned the tubing. Another popular attraction is canoeing on the Mekong River, a little exercise and relaxation – all in one!

2.Zipline – another option that you can try close to the Water Cave. We didn’t try this one as the zipline we tried in  Bohol in the Philippines was more impressive (as we had half a kilometer of empty space view down to the river and the waterfall. Here they had short intervals for the rides and much less distance down to the ground.

3.A flight in a hot-air balloon over Vang Vieng for sure can provide you with nice views and exciting ride but it is horribly expensive: $ 80 per person!

4.Swimming in the Blue Lagoon – a place a bit overrated, but great for kids to swim and jump into a crystal clear water, besides, you can visit Phouk Kham cave, which is located in the same area. The admission fee is moderate (don’t remember how much exactly).

5.You can also hop on a bike / motorbike to visit nearby villages. We had it in our plan, but the weather wasn’t good enough to do it.

Here below you can have a glimpse at how nice the chill-out area by the riverside is – a place to relax, drink beers, socialize and watch the sunset 🙂

Is there a full day package available for active people in travel agencies?

Yes, of course! We bargained 100.000Kip / 50PLN per and went to the Water Cave for tubing (the lunch was included in the price), then to the Elephant Cave, then kayaking on the Mekong River and finally to the Blue Lagoon and the Phouk Kham cave. In the meantime, you could try the zipline (no idea about the price).

How to get to Vang Vieng?

Our stop before Vang Vieng was Phonsavan with the famous Plain of Jars, and there we had 2 options: a local bus for 90.000Kip or a minivan for 100.000Kip (price including the pick-up from your hotel). The journey takes about 5 hours and buses / minivans run at least 8 times a day in that direction, but depending on the time of travel the price can be higher/lower (if you want to go early in the morning you will pay more, but at 9 o’clock the price will as mentioned previously).

 

Besides, you will easily get to Vang Vieng from Vientiane or Luang Prabang. The prices are very similar to the ones mentioned above 🙂