Lightweight clothing, shorts, skirts, t-shirts, vests are all acceptable but do cover up when visiting temples and palaces.
At the higher end hotels smart casual for dinner only if you wish and don't forget the bikini for relaxing by the pool or taking a dip at the waterfalls.
A hat, flip flops for day time, sunscreen and comfortable shoes are a must.
Buy your mosquito spray there, local ones always work better.
Free for Asean countries, Russia, Korea, Japan and Switzerland. All others need a tourist visa available for one to two months OR a 30 day visa on arrival at certain entry points, mainly airports and the Thai Lao Friendship bridge. For VOA you need one passport size photo and up to 42 USD in cash plus the name of your accommodation. You can pay one or two dollars extra to forgo the passport photo.
Free import (irrespective of age):
- 500 cigarettes
- 1 litre of spirits;
Getting here
Fly into the two international airports Vientiane and Luang Prabang with Lao Airlines, Air Asia, Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Bangkok Airways (LP only). The other airport is Pakse with flights from Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh.
Train - Only one link from Nong Khai in Thailand but the station is at Tha Naleng near Vientiane which is in the middle of nowhere.
Boat - 2 day slow boat from Thailand to Luang Prabang or 6 hour speedboat to Luang Prabang which can be very uncomfortable and dangerous.
Land border crossings are open from Cambodia, China, Thailand and Vietnam.
Getting around
Domestic flights are all with Lao Airlines
Bus and minivan are the road options available but beware of long journeys, cancellations and impassable roads. There is a hop on hop off guided bus travelling the whole country provided by Stray Travel.
For airport transfers and local journeys in Vientiane there is a public bus system run by Vientiane Bus.
Minivan transfer from airport in Luang Prabang is a standard 50,000K into town or arrange through your hotel.
Tuk-Tuk - rates negotiable in Vientiane. Set rate in Luang Prabang 20,000K per journey.
Songthaew - pick up truck/lorry operating as a local bus.
Car and driver - usually best option as cars are new and can be booked through a hotel, agent or car rental company.
Lao Kip although Thai Baht and US Dollars are widely accepted.
ATMs are available but only dispense small amounts per transaction.
Currency exchanges can be found in most places especially Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
November to March is classed as high season with low rainfall and lower temperatures
March to May - very hot and dry
May to October - cooler and wetter, sometimes the Mekong can flood
Laotian, french and english are spoken. Laotian is also spoken in northeast Thailand (Issan) so many of the words were familiar to us.
