Vang Vieng Guide: Tubing, Viewpoints, Lagoons, Nightlife

Is Vang Vieng Worth Visiting

Vang Vieng is a wonderful small tourist town in Laos, once known as a partying town for backpackers getting wasted while tipsy tubing, it has now found its balance, rebranding itself as a place for outdoor adventures such as hiking the Nam Xay Viewpoint and going to lagoons during the day. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in the region.

How to get to Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is a town in the Northern section of Laos. It’s in between the two popular cities of Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane.

Vang Vieng is accessible by road and by train. There is no airport directly to Vang Vieng. There is a high-speed train that connects Laos, built by China. It’s very clean and quick, and costs only a little more than a bus or van ride, making it quite affordable.

I would recommend taking the train and a van at least once in your time in Laos. The train is very convenient, and the van ride will save you some cash, and will let you experience the roads of Laos.

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

The train station in Luang Prabang is about an hour walk or 20-minute ride away from the city center. The rules are constantly being updated, so it’s good to check the latest news on a forum such as a Laos travel Facebook group.

From the last time I visited, you can use the Laos Railway App to book a ticket online if you have a Laos phone number. Be aware that some sim cards for data in Laos do not come with a Laos phone number.

I heard when I was there in April 2023 that foreigners cannot book a ticket at the train station in person and the app was the loophole at the time. However, I did hear at the time that they were trying to make it more friendly for tourists to book their own tickets.

In my case, my 50000kip unlimited data sim card did not have a phone number, so I went to every agency I saw while walking around the town to look for the best deal.

At the time, my hostel, Tony Central Hostel, had the “slower” train tickets with 2nd class seats and a tuk tuk ride to the station for 190,000 LAK, but other times and seats available for a higher cost.

The fast train is advertised to take around an hour while the slower train is advertised to take about 2 hours to get to Vang Vieng from Luang Prabang.

Do note that the train station in Vang Vieng is also quite a distance from the main town. You could walk the 4ish kilometers into town or take a group tuk tuk for 30k kip and get dropped off at your desired location.

Vientiane to Vang Vieng

Vientiane also has the same options of taking the train or a van ride, with prices being similar to Luang Prabang.

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking in Laos is said to be a little more difficult than its neighboring countries, especially in the north. From my personal experience, people are still friendly and will smile and wave at you, which will keep the spirits high, but they may not understand.

I’ve heard that the hitchhiker’s thumb isn’t as useful around Southeast Asia, and I learned when I got picked up by a trucker that explained the waving down motion looks like the “blow the horn” action to a trucker. This may explain all the friendly honks I got when people were smiling driving by.

However, it is possible, and me and my hitchhiking partner were able to get a very lucky ride from a friendly Vietnamese trucker in about 15 minutes.

Laos, like much of Southeast Asia, is quite safe and full of friendly people, but always keep your wits about you and trust your gut if you decide to hitchhike.

Hotels Vang Vieng / Where to Stay in Vang Vieng

Budget Hostel: Pan’s Place

For 40,000KIP cash per night for a bed in a dorm, Pan’s Place is one of the cheapest accommodations you can get solo in Vang Vieng. The staff are friendly, they have a great common area, free hot and cold water, and soap and towels are provided!

It’s also conveniently located only a 2-minute walk across the street from Nana’s Backpacker Hostel… a great meeting point in the town.

Don’t expect anything fancy, but you can’t complain about the price. The cheapest hostels can vary in quality and atmosphere, but I found everything to be good here, including the fellow travelers I met staying here.

To be honest however, in Laos, it was hard not to find the fun extra cheap kind of backpackers that I love to be around. I think the atmosphere is quite important when traveling, as you’ll come across some budget hostels with people who don’t talk and are living long term cheap in a dorm, and sometimes a large crowd of rowdy Brits.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s some amazing people that I’ve made friends with from the UK, but everyone has met the group of Brits who aren’t on the same page as a more “hippie” traveler, and instead of trying to learn as they travel, just travel to party for cheap.

Hostel with Private Rooms

Nana’s Backpacker Hostel

When you’re traveling to Vang Vieng, or around Southeast Asia, if you mention visiting Vang Vieng, you’ll hear of Nana’s Backpacker Hostel. It’s because out of all the places in Vang Vieng, they have the most social atmosphere to meet other travelers.

Be warned though, this is also the place where the rowdy Brits find their way to.

It’s a much bigger and cleaner place that comes with a higher cost. If you are looking to spend a little more for comfort but want to be right in the middle of the action, Nana’s will not disappoint.

How Many Days to Stay in Vang Vieng

3 days would be an ideal amount of time to visit Vang Vieng. It will give you enough days to explore the small town, rent a scooter and visit the beautiful Viewpoints and Lagoons, and experience the tipsy tubing and nightlife. There’re more activities to do as well such as Kayaking, more hikes, and riding hot air balloons.

You could easily stay for longer, especially if you’re on a long backpacking trip. I would recommend a minimum of 2 nights and extend from there. I personally had no clue how long I would stay, and ended up staying for 8 nights, and only left to experience Pi Mai, Laos New Year, in Luang Prabang.

Weather in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng follows the weather patterns of Northern Thailand and Laos with three distinct seasonal patterns.

The area is always going to be moderately hot, but November to February being the most optimal with less heat and less severe weather.

February to about May is the “burning season”, or dry season where there is little rain. This results in many natural and man-made fires all throughout the region causing a very high amount of smog that is concerning to health.

The worst of it is typically mid-March to mid-April, so it is recommended to avoid traveling in this region during this time unless you have a specific reason such as seeing the Laos new year celebration known as “Pi Mai”.

The Rainy Season starts at the end of the burning season, around May and lasts until around October. If you are limited on time for your travels, you should try to visit Laos and Vang Vieng in the wintertime, but for backpackers and longer-term travelers, the rainy season will have less tourism and will typically give better deals for accommodation. If you have a flexible schedule and are trying to budget hard, this may be a good time to visit.

Is Vang Vieng Safe to Travel

Yes, Vang Vieng is a safe area, like most of Southeast Asia, with friendly locals all over. The area is also not under any warnings for leftover explosives such as bombs and landmines, but it’s best advised to not go off the beaten trail in Laos and Cambodia. If you do illegal activities, it is a more heavily law enforced area than other places, since it had a reputation of being a rowdy party town in the past (except for bars with immunity).

Things to do in Vang Vieng:

Vang Vieng is a well-known town in Laos amongst many travelers backpacking across Southeast Asia. It’s a great escape from the city, surrounded by beautiful nature, with many activities to do.

Tubing in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng was once known as a town to visit primarily for the “tipsy tubing”. A place where backpackers would rent out a tube, float down a river with many many bars, and get as drunk as possible bar hopping down the stream.

A high enough number of people died doing this activity, causing the government to start having concern and shutting the scene down due to the minority who couldn’t control themselves.

Although only a tribute to the past, the tipsy tubing has reopened, but with only three bars still open on the river, with the first two being within the first 30 minutes, and the last bar being hours downstream at the end of the ride.

It’s a great activity to do with friends, and it’s easy to make new friends as there isn’t much to do floating down a river other than just to drink and chat.

I had a blast doing it myself with a group of friends I made on the slow boat ride from the Thai-Laos border to Luang Prabang. Be warned though, they will tell you an estimate of around 2 ½ hours, but our ride lasted for 5 hours, until it was pitch black outside in shivering cold water.

Where to go and how much does it cost

Recently, the price has changed with a fee of 100,000 LAK to rent the tube, get a shared tuk tuk ride to the start, and have a few fun guides keeping everyone safe.

You can reserve your booking at Nana’s Backpacker Hostel, which is quite a famous spot in the town. Tubing starts at 1-2pm with a gathering of pre-gaming in the hostel’s outdoor area with a pool, bar, pool table, and many seats.

If you’re solo traveling, it will be easy to make some new friends to tag along with here.

preparation / what to bring

Bring the bare minimum. If you do want to bring some money for the bars or your phone for some pictures, you can buy a drybag at the convenience stores, conveniently located right next to Nana’s.

I only brought some cash with me and gave it to someone in my group who had a drybag.

You are allowed to bring your own alcohol as well, which is also stocked up at great prices in the same convenience stores where you can buy a drybag. I would advise to only buy can’s and pour any hard liquor into plastic bottles as there is a good chance you will accidentally drop your belongings while drunk in the river, and glass bottles aren’t good for the river.

If you’re bringing sunglasses, or anything else in general, don’t bring anything expensive. I brought my favorite pair of sunglasses (Costa Del Mars; the staple Floridian sunglasses) and dropped them twice in the river. The first drop was miraculously recovered as I dove out of my tube and frantically sifted around for them before the tubes floated away and I would become one with the river.

The second drop I took them off for 5 seconds to take a group photo, and only noticed that they were not on my knee where I placed them. 5 seconds was more than enough time for them to sink, and with the river flowing so fast, I only had about 10 seconds to sift around without having to swim for miles to recover my tube.

After the ride

You’ll finish the ride with one of the guides on the side of the river waving everyone down. You’ll have the option to either walk back into town or pay the tuk tuk driver conveniently waiting at the stop.

With a group in the back, the driver asked for 10k KIP each, which is about 65 cents in USD (LAK, or Laotian Kip has had bad inflation since covid compared to standard currencies such as USD and the Euro, so prices may inflate for many things, but the amount spent after currency conversion isn’t as drastic as you think). They try to keep track of payment with stamps when you pay, but if enough people pay, you could just blend in until they have collected enough to go. Don’t ask me how I know.

You’ll probably be back at Nana’s hostel if you take the ride. From here, you’ll probably be wanting a good shower and a dinner, but if you haven’t had enough yet, Nana’s hostel has a promotion time from 7pm-9pm with unlimited free vodka and Whiskey. You can learn more about it in the Nightlife section of this article.

Hikes and Viewpoints in Vang Vieng

Nam Xay Viewpoint

Yes, this is the famous viewpoint with the Motorcycle and Laos Flag. You’ve probably seen it, and yes, it is as beautiful as the pictures, usually even more. This is a view that you won’t want to miss. It’s West of Vang Vieng. You’ll most likely cross over the bridge over the river, and then take a dirt road to the entrance.

There is a small entry fee that locals will charge, as well as drinks and snacks available for purchase.

The hike up is relatively short, but steep. Depending on your fitness level, it will take between 20-45 minutes to get up. If you’re hungover after a three-day bender and hiking with two Korean bodybuilders who just finished their military service, you may be panting on your way up.

Blue Lagoon Vang Vieng

The Blue Lagoons are an iconic part of the Vang Vieng experience. It’s an amazing place to cool off from the heat and is a common visit after going for a hike.

The lagoons also have a great mix of locals, domestic tourists, and of course, us crazy international tourists, commonly found with oversized hiking backpacks.

There are many Lagoons in the area, each with their own activities, named easily with numbers. There are three well known ones to visit, with many further out and not as crowded.

Just show up with some money, as the entry fee for foreigners is 20,000LAK (as of 2023), and there will be food and drinks available there.

Blue Lagoons 1, 2, 3 are all located in a similar area west of Vang Vieng, near the viewpoints as well. This also means that you’ll most likely want to rent a scooter to visit unless you fancy walking for a while.

Party / Nightlife in Vang Vieng

Is Vang Vieng a Party Town?

Vang Vieng is known for its great balance of outdoor activities during the day and a fun nightlife. It was well known for the tipsy tubing in the past and is now a more balanced place for all types of backpackers to visit. If you want to party, there are still some here.

There aren’t many options of places to go in this small town, but there are a few good ones. Here’s the route of bars that you should visit.

Vang Vieng Bar Hopping Route

Nanas → Gary’s or Sakura’s → Jaydee’s → Viva

Nana’s Backpacker Hostel

The best place to start an early night is at Nana’s backpacker hostel, where they give out free liquor for 2 hours from 7-9pm.

Sounds crazy right. Why would they do something like this? Well, the alcohol is so cheap here that a bottle will cost less than $2, they sell sodas and mixers at the bar to not go completely negative, but most importantly, it creates a great atmosphere that upsells their other services.

The word gets around that Nanas is the place to visit or stay in Vang Vieng, so they end up having more signups for other services such as tipsy tubing and accommodation. It’s the effect where people see a busy restaurant and think that the food must be.

Gary’s Irish Bar

Gary’s is a great chillout spot. It’s open from evening to midnight, where they unfortunately must close. The upstairs is a relaxed area to just chat around, while the downstairs has the bar, pool table, and most importantly, music to dance and sing along to.

After around 10pm, the whole downstairs turns into a crowded sing along karaoke dance party for everyone.

Gary, the owner, is also a very friendly fellow.

Sakura’s Bar

While Gary’s bar is a great place to relax with friends, Sakura’s is a party.

On the same street as Gary’s with the same closing time, you can pick your poison for the night, or hop between the two. Sakura’s has a strong mix of international tourists both eastern and western as well as some locals.

It goes from the relaxed beers and food atmosphere of Gary’s to one step higher with some balloons and a dark South American Pyramid style dancefloor where you can dance the night away to hit songs in the West from 10-20 years ago.

Sakura’s is a great place to start the night if you still have some energy in you.

Jaydee’s Bar

The bar hop destination after all the 12am bars close such as Gary’s and Jaydee’s. A great relaxing bar with a little dancing, but mostly another chillout area that’s still open until 2am.

To be fair, I never went during the day or early hours and only as a bar hop destination from 12am-2am, but I’ve heard from many other travelers that it still holds a great environment even during other times.

Viva’s

A more nightclub feel. Like Sakura’s, but with deafening music from the loudspeakers indoors. The type of music is more towards the Laos EDM that you may hear around as you travel.

Again, I only visited after Jaydee’s closes at 2am, as Viva’s is one of the only places still open late. If you want to keep the night going after 2am, this is the destination.