Pakse · With kids

Silk weaving about 18km north of Pakse, with a craft centre in Ban Saphai and looms in the shade of the wooden houses on Don Kho island, reached by a short boat. Children can usually try the loom, and there are rice fields and river beaches to wander between visits.

At Ban Kiat Ngong on the edge of Xe Pian, arranging canoe trips into a Ramsar-listed wetland, birdwatching, gentle village cycling and half-day walks up Phou Asa. There is no online booking — contact them ahead by phone or email.

A small provincial museum in Pakse: stelae in Tham script from the 15th to 18th centuries, regional pottery, an 11th-12th century water jar and a model of Wat Phou downstairs, ethnic clothing, textiles and jewellery upstairs. An hour is plenty, and it makes the ruins mean more afterwards.

Beyond the two famous falls, the national tourism board also lists Tad Champee and Xekatam on the Bolaven — smaller, shallower and much less crowded, which is what you want when children are getting in the water. All lie off the Paksong road.

A flat Mekong island of villages, forest tracks and dry-season sand banks, listed by the national tourism board and reached by a short boat from Champasak. Easy cycling with children and effectively no traffic at all.