Was an incredible journey through the jungle on a 5 day trek. xai our guide spoke great English, had great knowledge of the area and plants, and also an excellent cook. Stayed 3 nights in the jungle, one night in an improvised shelter made from banana leaves. Was great to see the techniques used to survive in this harsh environment. Hiking itself was certainly a challenge but so rewarding. Our last night at a home stay was comfy and everyone very friendly. It was great to see a slice of life from khmu people in Nalan village. 10/10 would recommend, even just for the food.

Great experience, back to basics. Especially our tour guide Xai was fantastic. The food was amazing, as well as the explanations about the nature, the area, and the animals.

Used this agency to do a 1 day kayak trip. I picked them over three others as they were the cheapest and as a solo traveller they could advertise that 1 person had booked and as they are located on the Main Street this would be seen by others who would hopefully join and lower the price. I was kayaking late January and already the first 8km that are normally used on the Nam Tha river was too low to use so the journey was only 17km not 25km which for an amateur like me was more than enough. The river is slow moving which means more paddling! Adrenaline wise it wasn’t that exciting as the river is very tame in the dry season but I still enjoyed being in the river, the scenery and the lunchtime bbq. Thid was my guide. His English is basic but enough that we could get by. He went at my pace and was happy for me to take as many breaks as I needed. He even made me a cup out of Bamboo when I made a comment about drinking, so I was very happy with him. Overall it was a great day out and I would happily use The Hiker again.

We had the best time with Thid and his team of guides and fellow hikers. The jungle is a really special place, and Thid showed us many edible medicinal plants and explained their use. His knowledge was inspiring. It fully became clear to us how versatile bamboo is after going on this hike and visiting the homestay. Our lunch on top of the mountain was delicious, fire roasted fish and lots of vegetables, since our group members were mainly vegetarians. Reaching the homestay village was a satisfying end to the day, we took part in dancing, crossbow firing, river swimming and rice pounding. We also had time to wander around the village ourselves and soak up the atmosphere. Sadly I had to leave on the second day due to a bad stomach, so a motorbike was organised to take me back to town which I really appreciated. I would highly recommend the hiker as an agency. If you’re struggling to make your mind up - just choose the Hiker. Guides were very Knowledgable and professional, and fantastic cooks too!

Two days forest trek with homestay was a wonderful and exceptional expertience! The hike was a bit difficult at some points but the guides weren’t rushing so everyone felt comfortable. I particularly enjoyed when Mr Thid shared his knowledge of medicinal and edible plants from the forest. I wish I’d known how are these plants called in English. Homestay was comfortable, we swam in the river and enjoyed some activities with locals. I’d highly recommend a tour with The Hiker!

Just came back from the 3 day/2 night Wild Thrill trek with the Hiker. It was amazing!! Our guides Peng and Vong were brilliant. I loved learning about the jungle, Lao people and Lao culture. Both the night in the jungle and in the homestay village were really special. Incredible food, some of it foraged from the jungle and all cooked over open fires was a real highlight (I'm vegetarian and this was no problem at all). Go for it! Take an inflatable pillow if you have one! PS the Wild Thrill trek was labelled as 5 hours of walking each day but it isn't - the 5 hours includes a leisurely lunch and lots of breaks :)

Great 1 day trek in the forests followed by an equally good day kayaking, many Thanks to Pheng who was a fantastic guide and Li who came kayaking with us. Midway through kayaking we stopped and they built a campfire and cooked the fish that we had bought live from the market before we left. The ingenuity with bamboo was incredible and while the fish was cooked salad and dips were made and we had a feast. Thanks ti Hiker and Pheng and Li we really enjoyed our time here in Luang namtha.

We started from a village and after walking through farmlands and cattle we walked straight into the jungle. Banana trees, bamboo and big very old trees accompanied us on the way. Halfway the day at the top of the ridge we were served tasty lunch on banana leaves. We went on for a couple of hours till we arrived at our destination: a bamboo hut covered with banana leaves on top and on the floor. We were wellcomed with campfire and Peng started to prepare our meals for which he bought the ingredients at the morning market. With his knife he created stove, jugs and chopsticks from bamboo. Food tasted excellent and not too spicy. After dinner we were asked if we would like to catch frogs? I like frogs, but not for eating. Therefore his assistent went looking under a stone in the water stream nearby. He showed us a small river crab and fish that he catched with his bare hands. We were allready satisfied from dinner, but we saw him making a barbecue later. Night was a bit chilly, but nevertheless I had a good night. Next morning we had a beautiful walk along the stream surrounded by banana trees and even more huge old trees qith the sound of birds in the background. We saw women gathering herbs for a wedding. On the way Peng showed us bark from which they create tiger balm. We entered a village with a primary school that has been setup in cooperation between village and government which looked peacefully. I want to thank Peng who learned us a lot about forest and birds!

The tour was amazing! We were a small group accompanied by two friendly guides - one a local guide from a village nearby and an english speaking guide for translation. The english speaking guide guide was very friendly and helpful. On the hike we learned a lot about the forest and the ethnic groups. They also showed us edible plants which we could try as a jungle snack along the way. The homestay offered impressive insights in the daily life of the village. The trail lead trough challenging terrain (we chose a hard route) but the views are definitely worth it! Overall a very good experience :)

The two day trek through the forest to Nalan Village was a wonderful experience and one I can only recommend! Thid is an incredibly great guide and showed us so much! The food was delicious and the views were fantastic.

If you are able to read any of my reviews that I have written along the way you would soon see I am very much a positive review writer. This review will be different. It has been over a week since we came off of our 2 day jungle trek/kayak experience. I am still unable to sit comfortably and we are now in Vietnam and have had to cancel our motorbike excursions because my coccyx bone is quite bruised from the less than adequate equipment that was available for my trip down the river. Our first boat was patched on land, with little success, as a short distance down river we were without air and my guide was unable to steer clear of the rocks. We made it to a local village where we swapped out boats but by the time it was carried to the water’s edge it needed more air. And yes, we got in the boat and before long my guide was sitting in more water than I (And I sat in quite a bit of water.) and again, was unable to navigate around the rocks, so inevitably, my bottom was continually banged into the rocks where we stayed until my guide got out and spun us off the rock. It could have been such an enjoyable paddle down the river, even in the downpouring rain, but because this company does not pride themselves in having quality gear, it was a very long kayak trip and I am still paying the price for it. For this reason, I would not recommend this group at all. On a positive note, the food that was prepared in the jungle was quite delicious and very impressive. Also, our stay in a local village was also quite remarkable, so if you are only trekking, consider them, but if you are doing something where you need their equipment, do yourself a favor and steer clear.

Overall, we enjoyed our 3 day hike on the Hunter Trail. The food was definitely the highlight, both food brought with from the market and especially that foraged while hiking. The hike had a good variety of scenery between the fields and village life to primary and secondary forest. A couple of things we thought could be improved. There was the lack of basic camping education such as leave no trace principles, which was definitely needed in our group of mixed experience. There were a few camps used by The Hiker that had toilet paper and plastic wrappers left behind. Although our guides, Noy and Puon, did a good job of cleaning up plastic along the way. When we arrived at the village there was no introduction to our host family nor explanation of appropriate social interactions which left a bit of guessing on our part. In hindsight we should have asked for clarification.

Our option was the 5 day ultimate hiker choice, at first we were a little apprehensive being young lads who had done lots of hiking on one day expeditions but not up to 5 days. And we were pleasantly surprised by our experience, the company will move at the pace of your group and it’s a very inclusive trek. Our guides blee Noy and Jai were amazing from telling us about the jungle,picking us jungle fruit and cooking some of the BEST meals we have ate on our whole trip. Overall an amazing experience and would highly recommend. Thank you for the experience!

Amazing jungle trekking with our very nice tour guide, Thid! He showed us every al the nice places, teached us about the plants, fruits and other cool stuff about the jungle. Would really recommend to book a trip with The Hiker!

Kingfisher 1 in Waterkant, Velddrif, was cosy, had all the requirements for a couple. Will definitely book there again when in the area.