Thailand and Laos Adventure — Self-Launched

Land at Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang and take the Airport Rail Link (~£1) plus BTS Skytrain to a hostel near Khao San Road or Silom. Airport taxi is around £8-9 if you arrive late. Settle in, pick up a Thai SIM/eSIM (~£6 for 15GB), register your Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before arrival, wander to a street-food stall for pad thai or boat noodles (£2-3) and get an early night ahead of a big day.

🚌Airport Rail Link + BTS (~£1) or taxi (~£9)

🛏Hostel dorm or private twin in Banglamphu/Silom (~£12)

• →Airport Rail Link to city
• →Local SIM card
• →Street food dinner on Khao San or Soi 38

Book a half-day longtail boat tour of the Thonburi klongs via Klook or GetYourGuide (~£18-22 including guide and pier fees) — the boats pass riverside stilt houses, canal-side temples and monitor lizards. Spend the afternoon at Wat Pho (£5 entry, reclining Buddha and massage school); optionally add the Grand Palace (£12) or Jim Thompson's House (£6). Grab dinner near Hua Lamphong, then board the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai from Krung Thep Aphiwat station — second-class air-con sleeper is roughly £25-30 booked on the State Railway of Thailand site or at 12Go Asia. Book 2-3 weeks ahead in high season.

🚌Longtail boat tour (~£20), overnight sleeper train Bangkok-Chiang Mai (~£28)

🛏Overnight sleeper train, second-class berth

• →Thonburi klong longtail boat tour (Klook/GetYourGuide)
• →Wat Pho reclining Buddha
• →Optional Grand Palace or Jim Thompson's House
• →Street food dinner near Hua Lamphong

Arrive early morning and walk or take a red songthaew (£1) to your guesthouse in the Old City. Sleep off the train, then head up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep — take a songthaew from Pratu Chang Phueak gate (~£2 each way) and pay the £1 entry. In the late afternoon try a half-day northern Thai cooking class via Klook (~£25 including market visit, six dishes and recipe book) or head to the Sunday Walking Street / Night Bazaar for khao soi (£2). Temple dress code: cover shoulders and knees.

🚌Songthaews within Chiang Mai (~£4 total)

🛏Old City guesthouse twin (~£12)

• →Doi Suthep temple and songthaew ride
• →Northern Thai cooking class (optional, ~£25)
• →Chiang Mai night market street food walk

Take a Green Bus or shared minivan from Chiang Mai's Arcade Bus Terminal to Chiang Rai (~3.5 hrs, ~£5), then a local bus to Chiang Khong (~2 hrs, ~£2.50). If you'd rather go direct, minivans run Chiang Mai–Chiang Khong for around £10. Stop at Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple) — entry £2.50, reachable by local bus or songthaew from Chiang Rai. Arrive in Chiang Khong in the evening, watch the Mekong from a riverside guesthouse balcony, and get your Laos e-visa or prepare USD cash (~£30-35) for the visa-on-arrival at Huay Xai tomorrow.

🚌Bus/minivan Chiang Mai–Chiang Rai–Chiang Khong (~£8)

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Chiang Khong (~£12)

• →Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) visit
• →Mekong sunset from Chiang Khong riverfront

Cross the friendship bridge to Huay Xai, clear Laos immigration (visa on arrival ~£30-35 for most Western passports; bring two passport photos and clean USD), then board the public slow boat down the Mekong. Tickets are bought at the Huay Xai pier the day before or same morning, roughly £22-25 for the two-day journey to Luang Prabang. Boats leave around 9-10am and stop overnight in Pakbeng. Book a simple guesthouse in Pakbeng (~£10) and ask your guesthouse or a local agent to arrange a village homestay night for tomorrow if you want that experience — otherwise the standard Pakbeng stay is the practical equivalent.

🚌Border crossing + two-day public Mekong slow boat (~£23)

🛏Pakbeng guesthouse (~£10)

• →Huay Xai border crossing
• →Mekong slow boat, day one
• →Riverside sunset in Pakbeng

Second day on the boat: back on the water by 9am for roughly seven hours of limestone cliffs, sandbanks and fishing villages. Most public boats stop briefly at the Pak Ou caves (Tham Ting and Tham Theung) — entry costs around £1.50 and the boatmen will wait. Arrive in Luang Prabang in the late afternoon and walk the five minutes into the peninsula for a guesthouse (~£15-18). Dinner at the night market — a plate of grilled fish, sticky rice and papaya salad for under £3.

🚌Mekong slow boat, day two (included in two-day ticket); tuk-tuk to guesthouse (~£1)

🛏Luang Prabang guesthouse (~£16)

• →Pak Ou caves
• →Luang Prabang night market dinner

Start with the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Museum (£2.50) and Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Centre (£3-5, free if you buy from the shop) — both easily reached by tuk-tuk or bicycle hire (~£2/day). In the afternoon share a songthaew or minivan to Kuang Si Waterfalls (~£6 return from town, entry £2); get there after 2pm when the morning crowds thin. On the way back, ask your driver to stop at Ban Ou village — several community tourism groups run home-cooked meals with local families (~£8) and it's a straightforward, bookable-on-the-day alternative to the operator's included community meal. Don't jump or dive from the falls.

🚌Bicycle hire and shared songthaew to Kuang Si (~£8)

🛏Luang Prabang guesthouse (~£16)

• →Traditional Arts & Ethnology Museum
• →Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Centre
• →Kuang Si Waterfalls
• →Ban Ou community meal (optional)

Optional early start for the alms-giving ceremony (watch respectfully from a distance, don't join the tourist rice-selling stands). Free day worth spending slowly: Wat Xieng Thong (£1.50), Phousi Hill for sunset (£1.50), a Lao massage (£5), a cooking class at Tamarind or Bamboo Experience (~£25), kayaking on the Nam Khan, or cycling out to the bamboo bridge. Book any Luang Prabang day tours through Klook or your guesthouse the day before. Budget a relaxed evening at the night market and the Utopia riverside bar.

🚌Walking and bicycle hire (~£2)

🛏Luang Prabang guesthouse (~£16)

• →Wat Xieng Thong
• →Phousi Hill sunset
• →Lao massage
• →Optional cooking class or kayaking

Take the Laos-China high speed train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng (~1 hr 15, around £9-11 second class) — book 2-3 days ahead via 12Go Asia or a local agent as seats sell out. Note the strict 20kg luggage limit and the ban on aerosols, vapes, sharp objects and strong-smelling food. Arrive by midday, check into a riverside bungalow or hostel (~£10-12), and spend the afternoon tubing or swimming off the Nam Song, or just watching the karst peaks from a hammock.

🚌High speed train Luang Prabang–Vang Vieng (~£10); tuk-tuk to guesthouse (~£1.50)

🛏Vang Vieng riverside bungalow or hostel (~£11)

• →Laos-China high speed train ride
• →Nam Song riverside afternoon

Hire a bicycle (~£2) or scooter (~£7) and ride the loop past rice paddies to the Blue Lagoon and Tham Chang cave (entry £1-1.50 each). Alternatively book a half-day Nam Song kayak trip through GetYourGuide or a local operator (~£15-18 including pickup and life jacket). Sunset at Pha Ngern viewpoint or the Nam Song bridge. Everything is easy to arrange locally the evening before.

🚌Bicycle or scooter hire (~£2-7)

🛏Vang Vieng riverside bungalow or hostel (~£11)

• →Blue Lagoon and Tham Chang cave
• →Optional Nam Song kayaking (~£16)
• →Pha Ngern or Nam Song sunset

Take the high speed train on to Vientiane (~1 hr, ~£7) or the slower VIP bus (~4 hrs, ~£6). Drop bags at a guesthouse in the city centre (~£15) and spend the day hitting the capital's big sights on foot or by tuk-tuk: Pha That Luang (£1), Wat Sisaket (£1), Patuxai and the National Museum (£4). Tuk-tuk out to Buddha Park (Xieng Khouang) on the Mekong edge of town (~£4 return, entry £1). Cheap Lao food at the evening market along the river — Lao sausage, sticky rice and Beerlao for under £5.

🚌High speed train Vang Vieng–Vientiane (~£7); tuk-tuks (~£3)

🛏Vientiane guesthouse (~£15)

• →Pha That Luang
• →Wat Sisaket
• →Patuxai and National Museum
• →Buddha Park
• →Mekong night market

Book an afternoon flight from Wattay to Noi Bai (~£55-75 one way on Lao Airlines or VietJet, booked 2-3 weeks ahead) — the overland alternative is a 24-hour bus via Lak Sao, so flying is the sensible match for a 14-day trip. Complete the Vietnam pre-arrival declaration online within 3 days of arrival. Take airport bus 86 (~£1.20) or a Grab (~£8) into the Old Quarter, check into a hostel or cheap hotel (~£14), and orientate over bún chả and egg coffee on a street corner (~£4).

🚌Flight Vientiane-Hanoi (~£62); airport bus 86 into town (~£1.20)

🛏Old Quarter hostel or budget hotel (~£14)

• →Flight to Hanoi
• →Old Quarter orientation walk
• →Street food dinner

Morning half-day on foot: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ba Dinh Square (free, closed Mon/Fri, mornings only), the One Pillar Pagoda, and Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake (free). Afternoon at the Temple of Literature (£2) or the Museum of Ethnology (£4). Book an evening Hanoi street food walking tour via GetYourGuide (~£18-22) — six or seven tastings, bia hoi and a local guide who explains what you're eating. Alternatively grab a £3 ticket for the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre at the box office that morning.

🚌Walking, Grab rides (~£4)

🛏Old Quarter hostel or budget hotel (~£14)

• →Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ba Dinh Square
• →Tran Quoc Pagoda
• →Temple of Literature
• →Water puppets (~£3) or street food tour (~£20)

Last morning for milk coffee, a bowl of pho and any shopping around Dong Xuan market, then take bus 86 or a Grab back to Noi Bai airport for your onward flight (~£1.20-8). If you have time, add a day trip to Halong Bay or Ninh Binh's Tam Coc — book locally from an Old Quarter travel agent for around £28-35 including transport and lunch.

🚌Bus 86 or Grab to Noi Bai airport (~£1.20-8)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Hanoi café breakfast
• →Dong Xuan market shopping
• →Optional Halong Bay or Ninh Binh day trip if extending