What's on in Vang Vieng, Laos through the year

Busy — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Dry season on the Nam Song (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Hazard

  Burning season haze

  15 Feb – 25 Apr · usuallySmoke season

  The karst towers are the reason to stop here and for these weeks they are outlines in smoke from the fields burning up and down the valley. The balloons still fly; there is less to see from them. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season on the Nam Song (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Burning season haze (15 Feb – 25 Apr (usually)), Dry season on the Nam Song (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Pi Mai, Lao New Year, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Pi Mai, Lao New Year

  13–17 AprWater-festival New YearClosuresCrowded

  Three days of water thrown along the main road, and one of the few times the town is full of Lao visitors rather than foreign ones. Agencies and the bus office shut through it. Source ↗

Still on: Burning season haze (15 Feb – 25 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Fast, muddy Nam Song

  15 May – 15 Oct · usuallyFlood season

  In the rains the river runs high, brown and fast; tubing and kayaking get genuinely risky after heavy downpours. The upside is green hills and far fewer visitors. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Fast, muddy Nam Song (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Fast, muddy Nam Song (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Fast, muddy Nam Song (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Fast, muddy Nam Song (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Ok Phansa boat races, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Ok Phansa boat races

  1 Oct – 10 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  At the end of Buddhist Lent village crews race naga-prowed longboats on the Nam Song, with candlelit processions at the temples the night before. It follows the full moon of the eleventh lunar month. Source ↗

Still on: Fast, muddy Nam Song (15 May – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Ok Phansa boat races

• Season

  Dry season on the Nam Song

  1 Nov – 31 Mar · usually

  The river runs clear and slow enough to tube or kayak without thinking about it, the cave paths are dry and the balloons go up most mornings. The wet half of the year turns the water brown and fast. Source ↗

Still on: Ok Phansa boat races (1 Oct – 10 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Dry season on the Nam Song (1 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))