Luminous Laos Is Open for Booking
Alaya's first trip is open: five days across Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, February 13 to 17, 2027, capped at 10 travelers and led by both of us.
Merald AysonSeptember 27, 20262 min read
Today we're opening seats for Alaya's very first trip: Luminous Laos, five days and four nights across Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang, running February 13 to 17, 2027, with both of us leading it in person.
Most Laos itineraries move you through those three cities in a straight line and call it a trip. We built this one so each stop teaches you something different. Vientiane is where you make something with your own hands. Vang Vieng is where you see the country from above. Luang Prabang is where you put in the work yourself, instead of watching someone else do it.
Vientiane: make something
You'll spend a morning in a hands-on cooking class, learning a dish the way a Lao household actually makes it, not the tourist-menu version.
Vang Vieng: see it from above
You'll rise before sunrise for a hot air balloon over the limestone karsts along the Nam Song (weather permitting, as every balloon flight is), then spend the rest of the day with Somchai, the local guide who first showed Merald the best of this town.
Luang Prabang: put in the work
You'll spend real time working the rice terraces outside the city, planting or harvesting instead of just photographing it from the road, alongside Bounzon, a Luang Prabang local Merald first got to know while volunteering to teach English there.
The trip closes with a sunset cruise on the Mekong, included in your fare, so your last evening in Laos is spent slowing down instead of packing.
You'll come home from Luminous Laos having made something, planted something, and seen a place from a height most tourists never bother to reach.
The details
- Dates: February 13 to 17, 2027 (5 days, 4 nights)
- Group size: capped at 10 travelers
- Price: PHP 67,999 per person, twin share (USD 1,090 / EUR 950 for guests booking from abroad)
- Private room: add PHP 10,000
- Deposit: 30% to hold your seat, balance due 60 days before departure
- Included: the hot air balloon flight, the rice farming experience, and the Mekong sunset cruise
- Not included: international flights and travel insurance, though we're happy to help you arrange both. (We fly Vietnam Airlines and recommend you do too.)
Because this is our very first trip, we're opening it with our very first promotion: the first 5 people to book get 10% off. Once those 5 seats are filled, the trip reverts to standard pricing.
Seats are limited to 10 for a reason (here's why we cap every group). Book your spot on Luminous Laos.
Learn a little, live a little.
Merald & Mirjan
Written by
Merald AysonAn industrial engineer and operations head in tech, the one who plans, systemises, and makes sure things run on schedule. Writes Wandering Emerald on the side.
