The Blue Lagoon and Cave in Vang Vieng, Laos

When I first heard there was a lagoon near Vang Vieng with extremely blue waters I could relax in, I was keen to check it out. It turned out to be an excellent half day trip from the town, and a perfect way to cool off in the Laos heat.

Getting There

The Blue Lagoon and cave are located about 30 minutes outside of the town of Vang Vieng. It is possible to get there by renting a bicycle or a motorbike for the day. The way there is a dirt road that can be a bit bumpy, so alternatively you can take a tuk tuk there as well. The size of your group might determine the way you get there: a bigger group can easily split the tuk tuk fair (about 100,000 kip, $12.25, after some bartering. If you have better bartering skills you may be able to haggle for a lower price). If it is just two people, it may make more sense to rent a bicycle or motorbike for half a day (between 40,000 kip and 70,ooo kip depending on the shop, around $5-$9). All rental shops will require you to leave your passport as a deposit. A bicycle is cheaper to rent (about 30,000 kip or $3.68) and most places will provide a map for you to use. On the way there is a toll bridge spanning the Nam Song River; tolls cost 5,000 kip (~$.60) per vehicle to cross the bridge. Once at Blue Lagoon, there is a 10,000 kip ($1.23) entrance fee that includes both the cave and the lagoon.

Tham Phu Kham Cave

Before jumping right into the lagoon, I would recommend working up a sweat by exploring the cave in the mountain right above the lagoon. At the bottom of the stairs, you can rent a head flashlight for the darker parts. I did not rent one and used the light from my cell phone. If you plan on going deep into the cave though, you might want to consider renting one.

The climb to the cave entrance is steep set of stairs made of rocks. There are handrails all along the way to help you keep your balance and pull yourself up at the steeper moments, but it is not a hard climb by any means. It took my boyfriend and I about 15 minutes to make it to the top.

When I entered the cave, I was immediately struck my how large it was. There is a large opening providing adequate lighting to see and make your way around this first chamber. I am not sure if any of my pictures truly capture the size. There are beautiful formations all along the ceilings, so make sure to look up! We clambered over rocks and slid down mini slides making our way around the chamber and finding perfect vantage points to capture the beauty of the cave. In the first chamber is also a shrine to Buddha, which is easy to get to as well.

After exploring the first chamber, we followed the red arrows to further explore the cave. The path led to the back of the first chamber and at this point a head light would be useful. We explored one of two more chambers in complete darkness by casting our flashlight around. At this point we were both very sweaty and hungry, so we turned back towards the light and headed back down to the lagoon. Overall we spent about and hour and a half exploring just a few chambers. If you are up to going deeper into the cave, it could take up even more of the day.

Blue Lagoon

It was extremely satisfying to come down from the climb and jump, literally, into the water. The Blue Lagoon is a small turquoise blue spot created by mountain streams. It is full of small fish but they will not bother you at all; I completely forgot they were after awhile. The lagoon can get  very deep at certain points and there are several places you can climb a tree and jump right into the water. They also have a rope swing that is really fun to use.

There are several facilities available for visitors to the lagoon. If you get hungry, they have restaurants overlooking. There is a water slide you can use (one time payment for unlimited use). For those who are not confident swimmers, there are also lifejackets for rent. I had a blast cooling off by jumping off the tree into the water below (there are different levels… the highest one was scary but I did it!) and relaxing on the rope swings strung underneath the branches.

The lagoon can get crowded with locals. When I visited, there was not a huge crowd, but I did have to be careful when jumping off the tree or rope swing so that I didn't land on someone's head. It was still a lot of fun, and it just meant there was more of an audience for those jumpers brave enough to back flip into the water!

Have you been to the Blue Lagoon? Share your experiences in the comments below!