Luang Prabang Cooking Class, Pottery & Candles: Learn from Artisans

Make something you'll take home and skills you'll keep

Choose from three hands-on workshops in Luang Prabang: a morning or afternoon cooking class where you prepare and eat a four-course Lao meal; a combined pottery and candle-making session with lunch; or an afternoon pottery and candle workshop without meals. Hotel pickup, materials, an English-speaking guide, and food (where included) are part of every option. Children from age 3 are welcome, and dietary needs can be accommodated.

Step-by-step itinerary

Lao cooking or pottery workshops

• Pick up at hotel lobby
• Welcome drink and Laos culture intro
• Choose cooking class or pottery workshop
• Cooking class: prepare four-course Laos meal
• Pottery workshop: shape clay with artisan
• Candle making with local flowers and beeswax
• Enjoy traditional Lao lunch (pottery option)
• Share meal with fellow travelers (cooking option)

The experience

Six to seven hours is enough time to move through the full arc of a craft. The cooking class runs either 9am to 12:30pm or 4pm to 7:30pm, starting with a welcome drink and a primer on Lao culture before you step into the kitchen with a local chef. You'll learn to build four dishes from scratch, then sit down with the other travelers to eat what you made. The pottery and candle option begins at 8:30am with herbal drinks, moves into shaping clay under an artisan's hands, shifts to rolling beeswax and local flowers into candles, and breaks for a traditional Lao lunch in the middle. The afternoon pottery and candle workshop skips the meal and runs shorter, so you can fit it around other plans.

Hotel pickup is included, which means you don't coordinate a separate ride into the workshop space. An English-speaking guide walks through each step, so language isn't a barrier to understanding technique or asking questions. The materials (clay, beeswax, flowers, cooking ingredients) are all there waiting. Dietary restrictions (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free) can be flagged at booking and will be honored in any meal component you choose.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off.
• all materials (clay, beeswax, flowers, cooking ingredients).
• instruction from an English-speaking guide and local artisans.
• traditional Lao meal (included in cooking class and the morning pottery and candle option).
• herbal drinks to start the pottery and candle sessions.

Options for this experience

3 options

Pottery and candle makingGuide in English · 13:30Without lunch or cooking. Pickup is included.

Authentic Laos cooking classGuide in English · 08:30 and 15:30Cooking class only, without pottery or candle making. Pickup is included.

Pottery, candle making and lunchGuide in English · 08:00Pottery and candle making plus lunch, without the cooking class. Pickup is included.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00, 08:30, 13:30 and 15:30

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (10 and older) · Child (3 to 9 years) · Under 3: can't be booked

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyPets welcome

Is this one for you?Pick the cooking class if you want to learn recipes you can remake at home; choose the morning pottery and candle workshop if you'd rather make three different things in one morning with a meal included; book the afternoon pottery and candle session if you're already eating elsewhere and just want the craft time.

Traveler reviews

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 9 years). Children under 3 can't be included in the booking.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

Can I do the cooking class if I have dietary restrictions?

Yes. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other dietary needs can be accommodated. Just note them when you book, and the chef will adjust the four-course menu accordingly.

What's the difference between the pottery and candle options?

The morning session (8:30am–1:30pm) includes pottery, candle-making, and a traditional Lao lunch in between. The afternoon session (no meal) is pottery and candles only, so it's shorter and fits if you're eating elsewhere that day.

Do I need any experience to shape pottery or make candles?

No. Both workshops are hands-on instruction from local artisans who guide you through each step, whether you've worked with clay or beeswax before or not.

What time does the cooking class start?

You can choose: the morning session runs 9am to 12:30pm, or the afternoon session runs 4pm to 7:30pm. Hotel pickup is included for whichever time you pick.