Vang Vieng Experiences: Tubing in the Nam Song River

Blessed with spectacular natural landscapes adorning the entire region with limestone karsts erected just on the opposite bank of the Nam Song River, Vang Vieng is certainly a nature lover’s paradise to just relax, unwind and throw himself into the embrace of Mother Nature.

You will instantly fall in love with the majestic mountainous landscape.

In spite of all the sights and outdoor activities available along the river banks of the river, river tubing remains the absolute favourite and must-do experience for travellers, young and old, who have come to this town.

Sit in your tube and just admire the gigantic limestone karsts towering above you!

The Dark History of Tubing

If it had not been for tubing, Vang Vieng would definitely not be what it is today and probably would remain unknown and insignificant to the outside world in spite of its picturesque natural landscapes.

You heard me right, travellers began flocking to Vang Vieng not for this but rather for tubing!

Starting off as a means of relaxation for volunteers working on a farm to unwind in tractor-tyre inner tubes down the Nam Song River, the trend of tubing began spreading like wildfire and gained international attention amongst backpackers who were travelling along the well-trekked banana pancake trail around the Southeast Asian region.

How peaceful tubing must have been back in the day before all the chaos!

Dozens of bars began setting up along the river banks with bamboo swings and water slides erected all around to cater to the fun-loving backpackers who began swarming to Vang Vieng.

The Jumping Bar of today probably had tubers jumping into the river back in the day!

Despite the boom in visitor numbers that brought in tourist dollars, tubing created a massive problem for the townspeople as travellers paid no heed to local culture and dressed scantily whilst traversing the streets of Vang Vieng. Restaurants served ‘mushroom’ shakes and ‘happy’ pizzas laced with drugs, absolutely destroying the local way of life.

Seeing how close the river is to the locals' homes, one can imagine how greatly affected the locals were by the drug-infused and drunken backpackers.

However, the final blow struck when travellers who had too much to drink started disappearing and losing their lives by either playing along the swings and slides half-conscious or drowning in the rivers – with a depressing number of 27 tourists losing their lives in 2011 alone. 

I can totally imagine drunken backpackers ramming their heads against these massive rocks which emerge in the middle of the river.

Under pressure by regional governments, the Lao authorities have abolished deadly activities and regulated the local bars such that they operate in a rotatory manner such that only two bars are open at any one time. Today, Vang Vieng has certainly cleaned up its tarnished reputation and is slowly on the road to recovery from the tragic events that had occurred here not too long ago.

Vang Vieng is certainly a fantastic place that has upped its game!

Cost of Tubing in Vang Vieng

Tube Rental Fee: 60,000 LAK (USD 7.20)

Tube Deposit: 60,000 LAK (USD 7.20)

Tuktuk ride (if applicable)

The deposit of 60,000 LAK for the tube will be returned to tubers who manage to return their rubber tubes back to the shop by 2000h. Failure to return it punctually will result in the unnegotiable forfeiture of their deposits. The price of the tuktuk ride is included in the tube rental fee (if there are at least 4 people in the tuktuk). However, if there are less than 4 in a tuktuk, tubers will have to foot an additional tuktuk fee as stated here:

• 1 person in a tuktuk: 20,000 LAK / person
• 2 people in a tuktuk: 10,000 LAK / person
• 3 people in a tuktuk: 5,000 LAK / person

That's a steal for being able to ride rapids and admire the epic views!

Location of Tubing Office

Where all the fun begins

There are numerous tubing offices around the town centre of Vang Vieng, which makes it very easy for visitors to organise their own tubing expeditions independently without needing to sign up with restrictive guided tours being touted throughout the entire town.

With guided tubing tours, you will probably have tubers in every single one of your photos...

These tubing offices primarily fall into two main categories – red tubes (catering to more family-oriented fun with a comparatively shorter distance to cover) and the yellow and white tubes (which allow for a longer tubing experience further upstream from the town centre).

These white tubes must have around for quite some time and are ready to head down to the river!

Unless travellers are really tight pressed for time, they should definitely sign up with the yellow and white tubing offices, be it for more time to party or to admire the breathtaking views all around.

Trust me, you'll want more time to take in the views or to party!

Having had a pleasant experience with the tubing office which I had signed up with, I would suggest that visitors consider trying it out with this agency which is conveniently located right in the middle of town and offers an extraordinary experience down the ‘white tube’ route. 

The tubing office where I managed to enjoy a wonderful tubing experience

A Peaceful Tubing Experience

Recommended for: Nature Lovers

For travellers who are not into the entire party scene and just want to enjoy and admire the magnificent natural scenery that accentuates Vang Vieng’s beauty like me, I would like to urge them not to completely forsake the unique tubing experience and dismiss it as a drunken escapade.

"Are you really willing to give up the opportunity to explore and admire this? This is only a shot from the tuktuk ride out to the starting point where you start tubing!"

Instead, I would highly recommend that they head over to the tube rental shop early in the morning after breakfast at around 9am, where they can have the river all to themselves (less some kayakers and canoeists) and enjoy the peace and quiet that Vang Vieng has to offer.

You heard me right - we had the river all to ourselves!

After completing a couple of indemnity forms and collecting their life jackets (if necessary), visitors will be whizzed off for their tubing adventure in a tuktuk approximately 3 kilometres upstream in Nam Song River.

Taking in the sights of Vang Vieng as we whizz past and head out of the town centre

The drive out of town is equally scenic as the tube ride down as travellers are brought to the outskirts of Vang Vieng and are able to catch a glimpse of the livelihood of the locals in the unspoiled countryside.

The countryside emerges before our very eyes as we leave the town centre.

Upon arrival, tubers will be able to hop into their tubes and commence their journey downstream while admiring breath-taking scenery all around.

Where it all starts: No instruction manual, just hop in and relax!

Floating down the river certainly offers a relaxing experience to just see the views past by and explore the various interesting structures in the layers of limestone karsts that seem to go on forever.

Photographs do not do these beautiful mountain landscapes justice!

Visitors will also pass by little wooden houses with miniature farms where they can greet friendly locals who are tending to their plants and have a sneak peek into their houses.

Now, that is what I call a house with a view.

Closed bars flanking the Nam Song River allow tubers to visualise how chaotic the town must have been back in the day entangled in a dark history of backpackers high on drugs and alcohol.

So you can truly enjoy nature and check out how the locals live in the countryside!

Passing by small villages and wooden bridges over the Nam Song, tubers will be able to appreciate this tranquil atmosphere where human activities and natural beauty can coexist harmoniously and be integrated into a single entity. 

This wooden bridge links the urban town of Vang Vieng with the rest of nature in the wilderness.

However, during the dry season, the waters actually move much more slowly, thereby resulting in the entire journey downstream back to the centre of town potentially taking up to 5 hours (without any stops at bars) – double that of the advertised time of 2.5 hours!

With the slow speed of the waters, tubers can slowly admire the views.

At some points in the journey, the waters were not moving at all, resulting in tubers potentially remaining stationary and not even inching a single centimetre downstream.

The calm waters certainly make tubers come to a standstill!

As a result, I will recommend that tubers consider paddling down the river either with their hands or probably a stick from the shore to make it down the river in a shorter period of time before enjoying their time floating down the river when the currents start picking up again. 

And when the currents do pick up, it means that the waters are shallow so mind your bottoms!

Throughout the journey down the Nam Song, tubers will be joined by numerous friendly kayakers and canoeists who will happily greet them, wave hello and subsequently splash them with water using their oars. 

Every wave of canoeists passing by offers an opportunity to say hi and make new friends!

As tubers are a rare sight early in the morning, they will probably enjoy being the centre of attraction as kayakers begin snapping shots of these ‘weirdos’ floating down the river in rubber tyres.

The number of canoes should give you a rough indication of how many canoeists there were!

(Some even asked me how long I had been on the river and told me, “You’ll eventually get there!” after hearing that I had spent more than 3 hours in my tube.)

At least, I can enjoy the sights without needing to paddle the oars.

Besides kayakers and canoeists rowing past, tubers should also keep a lookout along the zip-lines above them, either those crossing the width of the river or those surrounded in the foliage of the trees on the river bank opposite the town of Vang Vieng. 

Nope, these are not electrical wires - they're zip-lines!

Travellers who have signed up with tour packages including zip-lining opportunities will be whizzing along these lines like flying foxes and Tarzans, so tubers can feel free to probably cheer and encourage zip-liners who are feeling the nerves when standing high up on the wooden planks.

This poor lady was so frightened - she must have been made to do this on a dare!

It is certainly quite an experience seeing travellers turn off their electronic devices and truly get up close with nature and embark on these outdoor sports and activities, which is becoming increasingly rare in our modern-day world where technology seems to be bread and butter of our lives.

The impetus for this? The absolutely breathtaking views all around Vang Vieng!

Tubers will soon realise that tourists are not the only source of traffic along the Nam Song, as they will have the opportunity to witness locals going about their daily activities such as harvesting water plants and herding the cattle along the river banks. 

Cattle quenching their thirst along the river banks of the Nam Song

Some locals will also be carrying their purchases from the morning market near the centre of Vang Vieng and crossing the river along its shallowest area with a bamboo pole in hand to test how deep the waters are, offering tubers a unique sight and photo opportunity.

A local woman crossing the river in a highly skilled manner with her groceries in tow

Local children can also be seen playing with the water cheekily and will be more than happy to shout "hello" when they see tubers floating down the river.

The little boy is intrigued by a fish that he discovered whilst playing with the water.

The older kids are even diving in with water goggles over their eyes to collect river plants for their families at such a young age, showing just how mature they are.

A teenage girl searching for river weed in the middle of the Nam Song

As with all other Lao locals, the ones in Vang Vieng are extremely friendly and amicable as well, so travellers should not be afraid to interact with them and offer them an affable greeting or simply a wave as they appear in sight.

After having a simple conversation, the locals head back out to work.

A Day of Booze and New Friends

Recommended for: Party Animals

Tourists who intend to join the parties and mingle with other backpackers will be more inclined to embark on their tubing adventures starting in the afternoon at approximately 1pm, as that is the peak period for visitors to hop on their tubes and get a drink at the bars along the river.

The first bar along the river is just a short distance downstream of the starting point!

This will also allow them to enjoy a full 7 hours of floating down the river and making random pit-stops at the various bars along the river before returning their tubes, which should be more than sufficient time.

One of the bar-hopping stops along the Nam Song with a great view of the mountains

Tubers will be able to grab onto ropes hurled out into the river by bar operators to be pulled in to the bar where they will have the opportunity to grab some booze, enjoy some beach sports and pub games such as beer pong. 

Fancy a game of petanque (French boules) with some beer buddies?

Alternatively, they may choose to just relax, unwind and simply have some lovely conversations to befriend other backpackers from various countries, possibly opening up doors for meals together and even combined expeditions and day trips out to the popular tourist attractions in the area.

What better place to shoot the moon than these sheltered huts with a magnificent view?

Given the small size of the town, it is almost guaranteed that these pub buddies will meet each other again somewhere in Vang Vieng!

This town is essentially that small, so it's quite a lot of nature for that amount of land!

My Story: Getting Stranded and Being Rescued

Noting the end-point of the tubing experience

Tubers who have chosen to float down the Nam Song River in the afternoon together with the massive crowds will probably not have any problem locating the end-point of the tubing route.

That's why they say 1 + 1 = 3! When there are other tubers, you can just follow them like how these canoeists are following each other.

However, for those who have opted to head down early in the morning to enjoy the peace and quiet, knowing where the tubing ends can pose a relatively huge challenge, as there is no one else to look out for and no signs to direct them along the tubing course.

I bet you can't even see the "End of Tubing" sign from this photograph!

I, for one, was faced with an insurmountable challenge during my tubing journey. 

Busy waving hello to the locals and taking photographs of the cattle which were beginning to appear along the river banks, I realised that I was slowly being swept by the waters to the right side of the Nam Song River. 

Yup, this one of my last shots before the disaster struck!

However, I did not take much notice as I was unsure as to how much longer I would take to arrive at the destination. “Anyway, the waters were moving at such a slow speed that I would be able to wade my way back to the middle of the river,” I thought to myself. 

Just a few minutes later, I saw sheltered huts appearing on the river bank on my left and a huge sign that wrote “End of Tubing”, so I began paddling towards my left with a tree branch which I had obtained after being swept to one of the banks previously. 

By the time I saw the sign, I realised how much trouble I was in.

However, the waters started gushing and pushing me towards the two river banks (unfortunately, for me, I was being pushed to the side opposite of the sheltered hut). Everyone who was sun-tanning in the sheltered hut started staring to see what I was doing there, and a lady even cheered for me. 

That's right, guess who just overshot the end point? I should get a medal for this!

I thought of wading across the river but realised that the depth of the water was only shallow on the two sides and the middle was relatively deep, so I probably won’t be able to walk across just like how the locals did further upstream. 

One of these would come in really handy now...

I also started planning my route of heading onto the shore on my right before crossing the bridge back to the huts on my left, but I realised my cash was with my friend (who did not have it easy and had fallen into the water before arriving at the huts) and I did not have money for the toll bridge. 

I was stranded amidst piles of rocks... but on the bright side, I had a great view!

Just when I was probably at my wit’s end, my knights in shining armour appeared. 4 local children in a canoe started paddling with oars in my direction and dragged my tube across the river to the shore where the huts were. (I am guessing that these incidents happen often enough for the locals to begin such services.) 

These superheroes are ready to head off to save the world!

Upon arriving at the huts, one of the little kids stretched out his hand and said, “Money.” The children received their tips, I was saved from the gushing waters and the backpackers at the hut got front-row seats to watch how I was rescued from the other side of the river, so everyone was happy. 

I was actually enjoying the process of getting rescued!

That was quite the experience. 

My two cents from this experience will be for tubers to consider keeping to their left when they begin seeing signs of civilisation and locals appearing, as that will probably signal that the tubers are nearing the centre of Vang Vieng and the end of the entire tubing route.

Signs of locals appearing - even in a boat - probably indicate that you are entering the town.

This will certainly reduce the chances of them missing the sign and encountering the same problem as me, but they are also recommended to be careful when disembarking from their tubes in order to prevent any nasty falls or injuries.

The rocks are sharp and slippery, so please be careful!

Upon arriving at the huts, tubers will probably wish to freshen themselves up by heading to the john and probably grabbing some snacks at the Smile Beach Bar before returning back to town.

You can relax here but don't forget to heed their reminder to return your tubes before 8pm!

I have seen online reviews where tubers have been offered tuktuk rides from the Smile Bar back to the centre of Vang Vieng for extortionate prices, given that the journey is probably 2 minutes or so. Instead, for those who are not in a hurry to return their tubes, I would recommend for them to simply stroll into town with their tubes in hand.

The way back to town is well trodden by backpackers, as seen by the tracks that are left behind.

Not only is the walking distance relatively short at only about 5 minutes, this will probably help get their backs dry under the sun so that they are ready to embark on their next adventure for the day without worrying about staying wet from the tubing.

As you glance at the mountains in a distance when you are back in town, you can safely say that you have embarked on one of the best adventures to admire the beautiful landscapes.

Tips for Tubing

• Wear lots of sunblock. The sun will be scorching and can cause extremely serious sunburn during that short period of time when you are tubing. (I’m speaking from experience here – and it really, really hurts!) 

You can imagine how hot it must have been with that cloudless sky.

• Remember your passport number. The indemnity forms at the tube rental shop will require you to indicate your details including your passport number. 

Grab a life jacket if you need one and you'll be safe - unless this metal bridge falls on you (and I'll say the chances of that happening are really slim)!

• Be prepared to lose whatever you bring, no matter how careful you may think you are. Your belongings may either fall out of your pockets into the riverbed or be carelessly left at one of those bars you partied too hard at. Non-waterproof cameras may suffer from severe water damage if you are not careful as well, so bring the bare minimum. (Thankfully, I only lost my camera lens cap, but I’m also speaking from experience here.) 

I dropped my lens cap just moments after I hopped into the tube - ugh!

• Purchase a dry bag if you need to. Dry bags are available and sold by numerous stores all over Vang Vieng, so you may wish to get one to keep your belongings in while tubing down the river. Some online reviews have lamented the ineffectiveness of dry bags, but I guess an extra layer of protection may help prevent your valuables from getting wet. 

It is wet and you don't want a spoilt gadget to destroy the entire experience!

• Be mentally prepared that your clothes will get wet and may stink. Unless you have every intention to do laundry, I would suggest that you wear clothes which you are alright with not wearing again during your vacation. Your bottoms especially may reek of water and algae for quite some time, so you may want to grab an old set of clothes instead.

No worries, the river isn't smelly or polluted - it's just the algae, I think!

• Consider sandals instead of flip-flops. People have been known to have gotten their flip-flops washed down the river and have had to resort to walking back into town barefoot. Sandals are certainly more desirable, and sneakers are a huge no-no. 

Now, just sit back and enjoy your once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Now that we have experienced the most signature activity that Vang Vieng has to offer, let’s get ready to explore more of this picturesque little village as we hike to the most picturesque vantage points (including an exclusively secret viewpoint) in the whole of Vang Vieng and enjoy the tranquil, peaceful atmosphere emanating throughout the entire area.

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