laotravelguide（https://laotravelguide.com/）
14 days · 6 stops
Two weeks from north to south
The full length of the country, using the railway where it exists and accepting the roads where it does not.
Best in November, December, January, February
Last reviewed 14 August 2026
The route
1 Northern Laos · UNESCO Luang Prabang The old royal capital between two rivers — and the place most visitors under-book by two nights. 3–5 days（https://laotravelguide.com/destinations/luang-prabang/）
2 Central Laos Vang Vieng Limestone towers over the Nam Song — and a town whose reputation is a decade out of date. 2–4 days（https://laotravelguide.com/destinations/vang-vieng/）
3 Central Laos Vientiane The quietest capital in Southeast Asia, and the one most travellers write off after half a day of looking for the wrong things. 2–3 days（https://laotravelguide.com/destinations/vientiane/）
4 Central Laos Thakhek A quiet river town that exists, for travellers, as the start of the best motorbike loop in Laos. 3–4 days（https://laotravelguide.com/destinations/thakhek/）
5 Southern Laos · UNESCO Pakse and the Bolaven Plateau Coffee country a thousand metres up, a pre-Angkorian temple below it, and the coolest air in Laos. 3–5 days（https://laotravelguide.com/destinations/pakse/）
6 Southern Laos 4000 Islands Where the Mekong spreads out and slows down before Cambodia — and where most people stay two days longer than they planned. 3–4 days（https://laotravelguide.com/destinations/4000-islands/）
Minimum stay across these stops adds up to 16 days, leaving-2 for travel between them and for slack.
Why fourteen days works and ten does not
Laos is long. The railway has collapsed the northern third of the journey into a couple of hours, but below Vientiane you are back on roads, and the distances are real.