A soaring backdrop of limestone cliffs and clawing mountains is reason enough to visit pint-sized Vang Vieng, but if you're after a touch of genteel adventuring you should be heading there regardless.

Conventional kayaking and the popular activity of tubing - floating down river in an inflated truck tyre inner tube - are ideal ways to view the jungle, caves and paddy fields that line the banks of the beautiful Nam Song River. The three-kilometre route can be done in a couple of hours, although many like to make a day of it, stopping for drinks at riverside bars along the way.