4 Epic Spots in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng, West side

1. Tara Villa

Vang Vieng is home to the, debatably, most Instagrammed place in Laos, Vieng Tara Villa. Click Here to see more Vieng Tara Villa. It has 8 villas overlooking the rice fields with an amazing view fo the mountains. Since it’s on the Westside of the river, it is a little removed from the tourist buzz of downtown. That being said, it’s only a short 15 walk into the heart of the city. But the real reason to stay here is for the view of the mountains. You won’t regret waking up to a beautiful morning watching the mountains change color with the sun. And sunset is spectacular as you watch the colors come to life in the golden hour. You can even take a hot air balloon nearby to see the beauty from above.

Vang Vieng is home to the, debatably, most Instagrammed place in Laos, Vieng Tara Villa. It has 8 villas overlooking the rice fields with an amazing view fo the mountains. Since it’s on the Westside of the river, it is a little removed from the tourist buzz of downtown. That being said, it’s only a short 15 walk into the heart of the city. But the real reason to stay here is for the view of the mountains. You won’t regret waking up to a beautiful morning watching the mountains change color with the sun. And sunset is spectacular as you watch the colors come to life in the golden hour. You can even take a hot air balloon nearby to see the beauty from above.

If you choose to stay here, be careful to book a villa. They also offer river view bungalows, but they do not overlook the rice fields or mountains. And they don’t put the bungalows as on prominent display as the villas.

The sounds of the crickets and frogs in the rice field at night is magic! The villa has a ton of windows and options to keep them open or not and huge glass window front to wake up to the sunrise.

The villa has a lily pad pond that was in bloom

There is a fun hut hangout with couches at the end of the walkway in the rice fields. Claim this early if you want to spend the sunset here.

Pizza Luka

One of the best restaurants in the city, Pizza Luka, is on the west side. It’s also the only western food on the westside. Pizza Luka is run by the sweetest French couple who make phenomenal wood-fired pizza as well as homemade chocolate mousse that was to die for. Honestly, the best mousse I’ve ever had. They have delicious fresh salads, pizza, and drinks. The vibe of the place is down to earth and warm, like you are in a clay pizza oven. Or maybe that was just the smell. Either way, it was our favorite place to eat on them westside of the river. We ate there two nights in a row.

Cutie Laos babies walking home from school

Pha Ngern View Point Hike

The trailhead for this hike is a 30-minute walk from Tara Villa, or really any where on the west side. You could easily rent a motorbike or buggy from one of the many tourist places in Vang Vieng, but since we were only going to do the hike, we chose to walk. If you want to see the blue lagoon and other lookout points, you could rent a ride and spend the whole day exploring the beautiful Laos countryside.

As for the hike, you just take the main road out into the country and eventually run into huge signs pointing you to the trailhead. The cost is 10,000 kip per person and is around 4 miles. The ascent is brutal and takes around 3 hours, depending on how long you rest at the viewpoint. I think the hike took 2 or 2.5 hours, and we rested up at the top for 30 minutes. The trail includes some pseudo-bouldering, especially on the last 2 kilometers. Once you get to the top, you can see the whole valley sprawling out below you from a small hut on the cliff. They also sell water and snacks. We bought a water for 10,000 kip (it comes at a price ha).

drinks stand run by a local at the time (expensive)

Vang Vieng, West side

Riverfront hangs

The life of Vang Vieng rests on this thin portion of the Mekong, with killer views of the mountain. By far, this is the best place in town to catch the sunset over the mountains with kayakers passing by on the river. You may even get free entertainment because some of the floating platforms bump loud. music throughout the evening. The whole places is decorated with lanterns and pinwheels. As the sun goes down, the restaurants fill up with families and travelers.

There are several cool and delicious restaurants along the river, but our favorite was called Saynamson 2. It’s the building right next to the port where all the kayakers come up to shore, and it’s a fantastic place to people watch. We happened to be here for New Years Eve, and it was magic! We staked out our spot at this restaurant with the best view of the river and mountains for the evening. They had fireworks and sky lanterns, and some were even lit from the bamboo bridge. The whole vibe was fun. There were travelers, locals, adults, and kids all celebrating together, lighting off lanterns and fireworks together. The dance music started at 8 pm and was still going when we woke up at 6 am for our bus out of the city. Vang Vieng definitely rang in the new year dancing all night long!

Phubarn Cafe

Phubarn was another one of our favorites. It sits right along the river, with great seating options. They even have these private little cabana-type seating areas that are nicely decorated, with plenty of hanging lanterns for when it starts to get dark. This was our favorite local cafe in the city. We sat here for hours in the afternoon with books reading, and it was so restful.