Tips and Tricks for Laos (As Of 2014)

Overland from Chiang Khong, Thailand into Laos:

The Thai side is very self-explanatory once you are at the border.

Once you get stamped out, by your ticket across the bridge for 20 Baht plus 5 Baht “overtime” during “lunch”. We waited 1 hour for the bus to take us to the Laos side.

Getting Visa on arrival for Laos – Pretty straight forward as long as you have a passport picture (can also have one taken on the Thai side if you need to) and brand new USD. $35 for a 30 day Visa for Americans. While you’re waiting you can withdraw Kip from the ATM here.

Getting to Huay Xai from the border – You can take either a minivan or Jumbo as walking is not an option. We were able to negotiate 16,000 Kip each for 5 people but they will be asking 25,000 Kip per person which is actually the going rate. We went into town and came back to the bus terminal. It cost us 25,000 Kip to get back after our beer.

Luang Prabang

Getting There – Don’t trust any info you read. The schedule changes ALL THE TIME, DAILY from Huay Xai if you are traveling by bus. If it’s rainy season, do yourself a favor and take a day bus! The roads are covered in landslides and parts are washed away. It’s just a better idea. We had a 4pm departure with no A/C and paid 120,000 Kip per person for a 14 hour journey. Upon arrival at northern bus terminal, a tuk-tuk will be about 20,000 Kip to the city center. Just walk past the tuk-tuk guys in the bus station and flag one down if you can’t get that rate. Someone will be happy to take you for that amount.

Staying – 1^st visit we stayed at Hoxieng Guesthouse for 100,000 Kip per night. You can find cheaper places as well, but if you’re looking for a nice room and a very comfy bed, this is a great place with a nice family, wifi, HBO, hot shower, and room cleaned every day with fresh towels and free coffee.

2^nd visit we stayed at a place by Dala Market for 60,000 Kip per night. It was basic and cheap but served the purpose for a night.

Eating – We would stay away from the buffets personally though most tourists tend to eat here on a regular basis. It seemed to us like they just put the same food out night after night until someone ate it, but to each their own. There is a woman at the end of the food street where the buffets are who serves up great soup. If you looking for good, authentic Indian you can’t go wrong with the Indian place on the main road where the night market is.

Getting Around – Be careful of renting motorbikes in Luang Prabang as there are still reports of people having motorbikes stolen and having to pay for them. Use your gut. We rented from our guesthouse and had a good experience. Average cost is 100,000 Kip per day.

Nong Khiaw:

Getting There – A tuk-tuk to the bus station will run you 25,000 Kip. Minivans to Nong Khiaw are 40,000 Kip per person. Once in Nong Khiaw, we were able to get a tuk-tuk from the station all the way across the bridge for 5,000 Kip per person. 20,000 to get back when leaving since we decided not to walk…maybe we are getting soft!

Staying – We stayed at Vongmany guesthouse just over the bridge. It’s practically brand new and rooms are very nice with high ceilings to keep it as cool as possible without A/C. We were able to negotiate 50,000 Kip per night. Great place to stay with a very nice family.

Eating – There are 2 different Indian places across the bridge right next to where we stayed that both offer the best prices in town on food and are also open for breakfast. You can find decent food at guesthouses as most of them have restaurants as well, but if you’re on a budget it’s tough to be the Indian places.

Getting Around – Mostly you’ll find yourself walking where you go, but you can now rent motorbikes for 60,000 Kip per day if you’re willing to give up your passport as collateral.

Vientiane:

Getting There – We took a non-A/C bus during the day from Luang Prabang for 130,000 Kip per person. From the station to your accommodation is 10,000 kip per person.

Staying – In our opinion, just pick your poison. There are plenty of expensive places to stay and few budget options. If you’re just crashing for a night to break up your travels, Chantha is an OK place at 80,000 Kip per night.

Eating – Even though you’re probably going to stay in a more touristy area of the city where you’ll find plenty of expensive (though probably tasty) options, you can still find those little local spots with good food. You just have to do a little looking.

Getting Around – We walked everywhere accept the local buses to get to the southern bus terminal. Tuk-tuk drivers are typical here. Negotiating is a necessary evil.

Pakse:

Getting There – We took an amazing overnight bus from Vientienne for 130,000 Kip per person. Guesthouses everywhere will advertise 120,000 but it is NOT THE SAME. It’s easy enough to spend a couple hours getting to the bus station in Vientienne with cheap local transportation to buy your tickets from the actual company instead of taking someone’s word for it. You really don’t need to take a tuk-tuk to your guesthouse here. It’s easy enough to walk, especially in the morning when it’s cooler.

Staying – Nong Noi is a very nice place with another great family, very accommodating and rent out nice motorbikes. A double fan room with hot water and wifi was 70,000 Kip per night.

Eating – Plenty of places to choose from and you can’t really go wrong with most of them. Jasmin is the best place in town for Indian hands down. A good bet for breakfast with great, real coffee is Daolin.

Getting Around – Renting a motorbike from Nong Noi was a great choice. Bikes are in great shape and well-maintained, costing 60,000 Kip per day. Riding a motorbike on the Bolaven plateau is highly recommended by all.

Don Det:

Getting There – We decided to just book all the way through with our guesthouse in Pakse for 60,000 Kip including the boat ticket. This actually turned out to be a little cheaper than doing everything separate.

Staying – We stayed at Oi’s Guesthouse and really couldn’t have been happier. Because it was low season and there were very few people staying on the island, we were able to stay for 40,000 Kip per person. For a bungalow, this was one of the best ones we found for the money, but in high season prices will be a LOT higher no matter where you decide to stay.

Eating – We found ourselves eating most of our meals at Mama Reggae. She had some of the better food we could find while staying on budget.

Getting Around – You can rent a bicycle if you like here, but the entire island is walk able in about an hour and a half and most restaurants and guesthouses are fairly close to each other.