Lao Food Tour in Luang Prabang: Evening Street Food, Morning Markets or a Walk with a Monk Blessing?
4 min read
Short answer. For most visitors, the Mekong Meals food tour is the one to book: €40.70, 4.9 stars from 121 reviews, four hours in the evening, with 15 or more tastings. If you prefer mornings, the Plates food tour covers the market and breakfast side of the city. If you want less food and more temple, there is the Foodie Walking Tour with a monk blessing.
The three, side by side
| Option | Duration | From | Rating | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mekong Meals Food Tour with 15+ Tastings | 4 hours | €40.70 | 4.9 (121) | Evening, night markets, riverside grilled fish |
| Luang Prabang Plates Food Tour with 15+ Tastings | 4 hours | €40.70 | 5.0 (41) | Morning markets, a brick-oven bakery, tuk-tuk |
| Foodie Walking Tour & Monk Blessing | 3.5 hours | €45.08 | 4.7 (66) | A temple visit with a monk and a blessing |
The evening tour
The description lists 7 to 8 stops across the city, a group of at most 8, and the walk from street grills to the Mekong as the sun sets. Expect riverweed crackers, a talk with a monk followed by a short blessing, pun pa grilled fish, sticky rice, Lao sausage, papaya salad and khao piak sen noodles. Bottled water and local drinks, including a beer, are included; other alcohol is not. It starts at Khaiphaen and ends at the Tourist Information Center with a short tuk-tuk ride, and it runs in rain as well. Hotel pickup is not included.
The morning tour
This one has 9 to 10 stops around the old city, also for at most 8 guests, and the second half is by tuk-tuk, which is included. The tastings run from khao soy noodles and fried mungbean cakes to charcoal-grilled chicken, with a visit to one of the last brick-oven bakers. It starts at the Pasaniyom Traditional Café, ends at the Tourist Information Center, and hotel pickup is not included either.
The walking tour
Smaller, at a limit of 6 participants according to the page, and built around one temple. You walk the main street’s food stalls with a guide, taste snack samples and a Lao hot coffee in the morning version, then visit a temple, learn about Buddhism from a monk and receive a blessing. Cover your knees and shoulders. It starts at Joma Bakery, and the page lists it as not suitable for people with mobility impairments. The page speaks of snack samples and lists “breakfast or dinner” in the same list as tips, so ask the operator what your time slot includes.
Who has to skip
Both 15-tasting tours say they are unsuitable for vegetarians and vegans, because there are three to five fewer tastings and little alternative, and for severe allergies; they advise against coeliac disease because of soy sauce and cross-contamination. The morning tour also rules out halal diets and uses pork in two or three tastings. The evening tour also lists wheelchair users, and both list pregnant women. If dietary rules matter to you, read the booking page before paying. For a hands-on alternative to eating out, see the cooking class guide, or browse all cooking classes and food tours.
Check dates and prices for the Mekong Meals food tour
Our recommendation
Book the evening tour if you want the street-food side of Luang Prabang, the morning tour if you would rather eat before it gets hot, and the walking tour if the monk blessing matters more than the tastings.
