Tips for a successful trip to Laos

Written by Preetika Narula (Local Expert)Updated on 18-09-2024

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Visa

To enter Laos, you will need a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your intended stay and a visa unless you are a citizen of Luxembourg or Switzerland. From July 1 to December 31, 2024, visas on arrival and eVisas allow stays of up to 60 days. Starting January 1, 2025, the maximum stay will revert to 30 days. Multiple-entry visas, available through the Lao Embassy, allow longer stays and are also extendable once for up to 60 days. Chinese tourists in organized groups can travel visa-free for 15 days, while citizens of several European countries can stay for 15 days without a visa

>>> For more information, please read: Laos visa 2024

Budget and currencies

The exchange rates in September 2024 are:

• 1 Euro ≈ 24,598 Kip
• 1 US Dollar ≈ 22,000 Kip

While Laos can be more expensive compared to its neighbors, it's still affordable for tourists from Europe and North America.

To get the kips, you can exchange them before or upon your arrival in Laos. Please note that vending machines are omnipresent in towns. Although credit cards like Visa or Mastercard are widely accepted in hotels, shops and restaurants, bring enough cash for personal expenses or if you go off the beaten track. Keep in mind that an additional commission (around 3%) will be charged to you if you use bank cards.

>>>  For more information, please read: Laos Currency

Travel insurance

Travel insurance covering emergency medical care and repatriation is essential. Insurance for a short stay of a few weeks in Laos is not expensive, you can take it very easily from your country by purchasing a plane ticket/booking the trip with a local agency with your bank card. Here are the insurance companies with which our customers often take out a contract: Europe Assistance, Mutuaide Assistance, Mondial Assistance, ACE Travel Insurance, MACIF, GMF Assurances, MAIF…

Luggage

Given Laos’ tropical climate, pack light cotton clothing, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a hat. If traveling to higher altitudes like Luang Prabang in winter, bring warmer layers such as a windbreaker and vest. A small backpack for daily use and a larger suitcase for other items is ideal​

Prepare a backpack and a suitcase. The backpack will carry your personal belongings with you as well as your essential items during the trip (passport, travel documents, travel pharmacy, toiletries, etc.).

Another larger bag (or suitcase) stores the rest of your belongings; which will notably be placed in the hold, on the plane.

Tip

If you travel to Laos on an organized tour with guides and drivers, it is customary to thank them with a tip but of course, this amount is not obligatory.

Tipping is appreciated but not obligatory. For tours, a standard tip is 3-6 USD/EUR per person per day for the guide, with about half of that amount for the driver.

Furthermore, if you wish to give a small tip to the boatmen, porters, rowers, hotel staff...it is very practical to prepare in advance euros, dollars or kips, as an indication, 20,000 kips or 2 USD/ euros. Of course, it is up to you to decide the amount based on the quality of the services and your budget.

Accommodation

Hotels generally follow a check-in time of 2:00 p.m. and check-out by 12:00 p.m. Accommodation options range from homestays and budget lodgings to luxury hotels, offering something for every type of traveler

Gifts to give

European products are highly valued in Laos. Perfume or lipstick are good gifts for women, while French wine or alcohol are appreciated by men. Pens, colored pencils, or candy are thoughtful gifts for children.

Schedules

There is a five-hour difference in summer time and six in winter time between Laos and the Greenwich Mean Meridian (GMT). More precisely, if it is for example noon in Paris, in Luang Prabang or Vientiane it will already be 5 p.m. in summer and 6 p.m. in winter.

SIM card and communication

The ideal for travelers is to obtain a SIM card on-site very quickly. This will allow you to avoid unpleasant surprises regarding the costs of your French SIM card, and it will also allow you to access the internet anywhere in Laos, as well as be able to call and send messages as you wish. The best company is Unitel whose Sims are sold at airports, be aware that the average price of a SIM card is around 5 to 20 euros depending on internet capacity and the different characteristics. Recharging SIMs is also easy, in small markets or exchange offices. 

To call Laos, dial 00 85 followed by the digits of the number you are dialing.

To call France from Laos, dial 00 33 followed by the digits of the number you are dialing.

Vaccine and health

Many vaccinations are recommended by some institutes such as Tetanus, Diphtheria, Typhoid, Poliomyelitis, Hepatitis B, Meningitis A, C, Hepatitis A, and antimalarial treatment. However, no vaccinations are required by local authorities.

As malaria affects tropical countries such as Laos, the treatment seems necessary only if you plan trekking stages over several days in the mountains and/or forests. Otherwise, an anti-mosquito product in the form of a cream or bracelet as well as long clothing is enough.

It is also imperative to drink bottled water because tap water is clean but not drinkable (or it must be boiled for at least 30 seconds).

Please take a small essential pharmacy with you because counterfeit medicines appear everywhere. Also, choose clean restaurants to avoid possible health risks.

Transportation

Laos has made significant improvements to its road network, and tuk-tuks and motorized tricycles are commonly used in cities. Domestic flights connect major cities, and cruises on the Mekong River remain a popular travel option.

The plane remains the most practical and quick means of transport to travel within the country. You find flights departing from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, Pakse, Xieng Khoang, Oudomxai, Luang Nam Tha, and Savanakhet and from Luang Prabang to Pakse.

You can also take a cruise on the Mekong River and enjoy the idyllic charm of the country where time seems to stand still. The choice of boats is vast: from small to large, from simple to luxury, from collective to private, from short to long-term…