How to Enjoy a Visit to Si Phon Don, Laos

1). Get to Ban Nakasang. This is the Laotian village where the boats for Si Phon Don depart from. It can be reached by overnight bus from Vientiane, the capital of Laos. If you are coming from Cambodia, make the journey to Stung Treng and head north from there.
2). Pick your island. There are two islands with facilities for tourists: Don Khong and Don Det. Det is the more busy of the two islands, if anything around Si Phon Don can be called busy. The guesthouses on Don Khong tend to be more expensive, but also more upscale. Many bungalows on Don Det are little more than shacks, so if that is too spartan, go to Don Khong. They are connected by a bridge, so switching islands is easy.
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Old French Steam Locomotive

Go exploring. You'll find ruins of the French Empire, including an old early 20th century steam locomotive. The area is also home to the rare and endangered Irwaddy freshwater dolphin, and there are trips available to see them. Be sure to head out to wherever there are rapids in the Mekong after a rainfall, as the swollen river can be breathtaking then.
4). Do nothing. Be lazy in your hammock. Drink Beer Lao or Lao Lao. Go for a swim in the Mekong. Laziness is the point of being in Si Phon Don.
5). At night, be sure to check out the glow-in-the-dark worms--really a species of bioluminescent fly larvae.
6). Go visit one of the largest waterfalls in Southeast Asia, roughly a 45 minute bike ride from the islands.