Splendid Water Activities in Vang Vieng, Laos

If you love adventure, you gotta love Laos. It’s as simple as that. From dirt biking to cave exploration, river tubing to kayaking the rapids, zip lining and jungle treks – Laos has it all. For someone like me, who cannot sit idle on vacations (Unless I am chilling at the beach), Laos was simply epic.

My favorite water activities in Laos –

River tubing – Sure tubing is commercial and probably only for drunk 20 somethings, but, I loved it to bits. Getting on a tube and floating down the lazy Nam Song river with a beer Lao in hand was one of the best experiences ever. Plus, I love partying and anything to do with water – so this was right up my alley with bars on either side of the river playing loud dance music to get you swaying.

Kayaking – Taking on the rapids in a tiny Kayak along the Nam Song with amazing natural beauty and karst formations is an immensely enjoyable experience. Paddling your way through rapids can be challenging but I was so sure of my white water rafting skills that I had to give kayaking a shot. It started raining as our group reached the bank, so it wasn’t the lazy river we were expecting. With my “not so excellent” paddling skills and the choppy waters, my kayak flipped once and I had to be rescued by two fellow kayaks, which was quite embarrassing. The whole experience was pretty great though and I would do it again in a jiffy.

Tubing inside caves – River tubing vs getting on a tube inside a pitch dark water cave is totally different. You get a head torch , a tube and you need to hold on to a rope which goes inside the entire length of the cave. These are limestone caves so you have to very careful when you float down the dark caves as there are sharp rocks everywhere. You need to dip or even get off your tube at some points where the rocks are really close to the tube. I had a great time ducking and ensuring I didn’t lose the rope (Which I did – ahem ahem).

Swimming in fresh water lagoons – One of the most beautiful part of Vang Vieng is the blue lagoon. Getting to blue lagoon is an adventure in itself. I rented a bike and drove down with a rustic map. As most of you already know my inbuilt navigational system is dysfunctional. The map wasn’t very useful and there is no 3G connectivity. As luck would have it, I got lost but did make it to the lagoon after riding 2.5 hours in the heat. Upside – I discovered so many lovely villages and caves en-route. Once you are at the blue lagoon, you can jump off tree branches and swings into the awesome inviting blue waters. Plus, you can find plenty of spring waters around caves to take a dip and keep yourself cool in the sweltering heat.

Tip – Always carry a bathing suit in Laos . There are so many opportunities to take a dip in fresh waters and you wouldn’t want to miss them. I was wearing my bathing suit under my clothes every time and it came in handy. 

So if you are a water baby, head to Laos and if you are not into water activities, fret not – there is plenty to do on land for anyone seeking adventure and fun.

Have you been to Laos? Did you try any adventure sports? Tell me about your experience.

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Jo

Jo has been putting pen to paper from an early age when she started her "Dear Diary" and letters to her pen friends across the globe.
This alongside regular visits to Indian jungles in search of the Royal Bengal Tiger, fueled her zest for adventure, nature and wildlife.
Now she is a renowned travel blogger, outreach expert and has worked with over 500 travel brands in the last 15 years.

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