Located one hour south of Pakse, Wat Phu Champasak is the ruin of a small town of the once-mighty Khmer Empire. It is one of the three royal cities of Laos, along with Vientiane and Lung Prabang. Think of it as a mini-Angkor that is also vastly less crowded than Angkor itself. It makes a very pleasant day trip, and a good chance to get used to driving a motorbike before you start the Bolaven Loop.

Take a look at the attached maps, provided for free by “M Maps - Pakse Info”. In addition to seeing the Khmer ruins, you can potentially spend several days in this area including the Mekong Bamboo Trail, a very scenic motorbiking or (if you’re fit) cycling route to the 4,000 Islands. If you’re staying a long time in Laos, I would give this serious consideration.

If not going by motorbike, you can get a group together in Pakse to hire a tuk-tuk and driver (the more people you have, the cheaper per person). Or you can now hire a private boat with driver, more details here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/12DAUW1Qxqu/. In February 2025, one traveller reported booking an entire boat from Pakse to Champasak through Miss Noy Motorbike Rental in Pakse for $35 one way including piuck-up at their hotel in Pakse.

For a wide range of information on tavelling in Champasak Province (from Pakse to the Cambodian border) see here.

While in Champasak, I’ve heard that Boupha Garden Cafe on the riverfront is a good place to stop for a coffee and a bite to eat. On the way back into Pakse, stop at the hilltop Buddha across the river from Pakse for a very pretty sunset. You can park at the bottom by the food stands and walk up a steep staircase, or you can drive up most of the way.