Skip to content
Sada Hotel's teak balconies and terracotta roofs lit against a deep blue evening sky

The Town

Visiting Luang Prabang

A peninsula between the Mekong and the Nam Khan, listed by UNESCO in 1995 and largely unchanged since.

Getting here

Luang Prabang International Airport is ten minutes from the hotel, with direct flights from Bangkok, Hanoi, Vientiane, Chiang Mai and Kunming. The slow boat from Huay Xai takes two days down the Mekong. We collect every guest from the airport at no charge.

When to visit

November to February is dry and cool, and the busiest. March to April is hot, with the Lao new year in mid-April. May to September is the green season — warm, lush, and much quieter, with rain that usually falls in the late afternoon.

What to see

Turquoise pools and a low cascade at Kuang Si Falls, with a timber footbridge under forest canopy

Kuang Si Waterfall

Turquoise pools stepping down through the forest, half an hour south of the city.

The sweeping tiled roofs and gilded façade of Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang

Wat Xieng Thong and the Temples

The old royal temple, its roofs almost touching the ground, and thirty more within walking distance of the gate.

Hundreds of small Buddha figures crowded on ledges inside the Pak Ou caves, beneath the dark cave roof

Pak Ou Caves

Two river caves above the Mekong, holding thousands of Buddha images left by pilgrims.

A longboat on the Mekong at dusk, the water gold beneath forested hills

Mekong Sunset Cruise

Two hours on the water as the light goes gold behind the mountains.

An Asian elephant at a sanctuary in the hills near Luang Prabang

Elephant Sanctuary

A day with the herd at an ethical sanctuary in the hills outside town.