Golden temples, karst mountains and the serene Mekong: Laos is the calmest and most authentic corner of Southeast Asia, perfect for slowing down.
Laos is the calmest and least touristed corner of Southeast Asia: a mountainous, landlocked country crossed from north to south by the Mekong, where the pace drops several gears. If you are coming from the intensity of Thailand or Vietnam, Laos surprises you with its calm, its golden Buddhist temples, the kindness of its people and karst landscapes of green mountains wrapped in mist. It is the ideal destination for travellers who want authenticity and nature rather than parties and crowds.
The country is toured fairly linearly. In the north are Luang Prabang, the colonial and spiritual jewel, and Vang Vieng, the adventure capital among the mountains. In the centre, the capital Vientiane, quiet and on the banks of the Mekong. And in the south, the Bolaven plateau with its waterfalls and coffee farms, and the 4,000 Islands (Si Phan Don), where the Mekong opens into a labyrinth of islets for doing absolutely nothing. The new fast Laos-China train (2021) links several of these stops within a few hours.
The best of Laos is that sense of having found a place that has not entirely changed yet: monks at dawn, meals for two dollars, turquoise waterfalls almost empty. What surprises is how slowly you travel, since the mountain roads are long, and that beyond the four or five classic stops the tourist infrastructure is basic. Which is precisely why it is worth it.
The official currency is the Lao kip (LAK), which is used only inside the country and cannot be obtained or exchanged outside it, so bring US dollars or Thai baht to change on arrival. In practice the dollar and the baht are widely accepted, above all in hotels, agencies and tourist areas, though change almost always comes back in kip at an unfavourable rate. ATMs are plentiful in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Pakse, but they charge high fees and have a low limit per withdrawal, so take out larger amounts. Always keep cash in kip for markets, street food, tuk-tuks, buses and rural villages, where cards and foreign currency are not accepted.
Full converter for LAK →There are no direct long-haul flights: you arrive through Asian hubs such as Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, from where Lao Airlines and other carriers connect to the international airports of Vientiane (VTE), Luang Prabang (LPQ) and Pakse (PKZ). The great development is the Laos-China railway, opened in December 2021, which links Vientiane with Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and the Boten border with China in a few hours, cutting the Luang Prabang to capital journey from eight hours to two: it is fast, comfortable and cheap, but buy tickets in advance. Overland, Laos has numerous border crossings with Thailand (several Friendship Bridges over the Mekong), Vietnam, Cambodia and China, heavily used by international buses. Within the country you can also travel on local buses, on the slow boats along the Mekong and the Nam Ou, or on the popular two-day slow boats between the Thai border and Luang Prabang.
The best time to travel to Laos is the cool dry season, November to February: sunny days, pleasant temperatures (cooler in the mountainous north, where nights can be quite cold) and little rain. It is high season and ideal for almost everything. From March to May comes strong heat, with highs above 35 °C, and towards March and April the agricultural burning covers the north in a dense haze of smoke that ruins the views and makes breathing unpleasant: those weeks are best avoided.
The rainy monsoon season runs from May to October: it rains in short intense downpours, the landscape is green and lush and the waterfalls are at full flow, but some rural roads become difficult. If you can choose, aim for November or December. One event worth catching is Lao New Year (Pi Mai) in mid-April, with water fights across the country, though it coincides with the heat and the smoke. Verified July 2026.
Lao food is tasty, fresh and very close to that of northeastern Thailand. The national dish is larb (or laap): minced meat sautéed with herbs, lime and chilli, eaten with glutinous rice (khao niaw), the sticky rice that in Laos is picked up by hand and is the base of almost every meal. Try also tam mak hoong (the spicy green papaya salad), khao piak sen noodle soups, Lao sausages (sai oua) and grilled Mekong fish. From the French legacy comes the filled baguette (khao jii), perfect for breakfast.
Eating is cheap: a plate of local food at a street stall or market runs USD 1.50 to 4, and a Beerlao — excellent and omnipresent — costs about USD 1 to 2, verified July 2026. The best and most authentic food is at the night markets and street stalls, not the tourist restaurants. Tipping is not customary at local places, though rounding up is appreciated in tourist restaurants. The Lao coffee from the Bolaven plateau, strong and sometimes served with condensed milk, is unmissable.
Laos is a calm and safe country for travellers: violent crime against tourists is rare and the most common issues are petty theft and the occasional overcharge. The biggest real risk is road accidents — take care hiring motorbikes, especially on mountain roads — and, in rural areas of the east and around the Plain of Jars, the danger of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left from the war: do not leave marked paths. One serious and recent matter was the methanol poisoning from adulterated alcohol in Vang Vieng in 2024; be very careful with cheap drinks and cocktails of dubious origin.
On health, go with routine vaccinations up to date plus hepatitis A and typhoid; there is a dengue risk year-round and malaria in rural areas, so use repellent. Do not drink tap water: only bottled or filtered. Medical care is basic outside the capital, so travel insurance covering evacuation is strongly advisable. The emergency numbers are not entirely reliable, but police is 191 and ambulance 195; in tourist areas it is usually faster to call a hospital or your hotel directly. Verified July 2026.
Laos is an economical destination. A backpacker manages on about USD 25 to 35 a day: a hostel dorm bed for around USD 8 to 12, street and market food at USD 1.50 to 4 a plate, and transport on local buses or the train. A mid-range budget of USD 50 to 75 a day gives you a private room in a two-star hotel, restaurant meals, the odd tour and more comfortable transfers. From USD 100 a day you travel with plenty of room by local standards.
Concrete examples, verified July 2026: the fast train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang costs around USD 15 to 30 depending on class; motorbike hire runs USD 8 to 15 a day; entry to the Kuang Si waterfalls is about USD 3 to 4; and a Beerlao USD 1 to 2. Add the visa separately, at USD 50 for the eVisa. These are reference figures that vary with the season and the exchange rate.
The language is Lao, and English is understood fairly little outside hotels, agencies and tourist areas: it is worth learning a couple of words (sabaidee means hello) and having patience and a translation app. Laos is a Buddhist and fairly conservative country: in temples you must cover shoulders and knees and remove your shoes, you never touch anyone's head or point with your feet, and the manner is one of calm and smiles — raising your voice or getting angry goes down very badly. The morning ritual of the monks is watched with respect and at a distance.
The voltage is 230 V and the sockets generally accept type A, C and F plugs, so a universal adapter handles almost everything, and North American devices may need a converter. Connectivity is surprisingly decent: buy a local SIM (Unitel or Lao Telecom) as soon as you arrive, as it is cheap and works well in the cities and on the train, though the signal drops in rural and mountain areas. One piece of advice from having been there: do not try to see Laos in a hurry. The distances deceive because the mountain roads are slow; better to choose three or four stops and enjoy them than race around the whole country.
The history of Laos is that of a landlocked country, crossed from north to south by the great Mekong River, which for six centuries revolved around a glorious name: Lan Xang, "the kingdom of a million elephants and the white parasol". Founded in 1353 by Prince Fa Ngum with the backing of the Khmer empire of Angkor, this Buddhist kingdom came to rule much of present-day Thailand, modern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, before splitting in the early 18th century into three rival states (Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Champasak) that were left at the mercy of the powerful Siamese kingdom. From that medieval greatness survive the golden temples, the palm-leaf manuscripts and an identity deeply tied to Theravada Buddhism and the Mekong.
Between 1893 and 1953, Laos was an almost forgotten French protectorate within colonial Indochina. That period left behind the street plans of Vientiane and Savannakhet, the coffee plantations of the Bolaven Plateau and a tiny railway laid between two southern islands to get around the Mekong's waterfalls. But the 20th century in Laos was marked by a tragedy the world was slow to learn about: between 1964 and 1973, as part of the Vietnam War, the United States turned this neutral country into the most heavily bombed nation per capita in history. To understand today's Laos (socialist, unhurried, Buddhist, still littered with unexploded ordnance), you need to follow this thread of kingdoms, colonies and wars running from the 14th century to the present.
Read the full history of Laos →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
