Tourism in Laos
Wondering how to travel Laos? If you’re short in time and want to visit Laos, then this is the guide for you! Here is a detailed route on what how to discover Laos in less than 1 week. Laos is a country with beautiful mountais, clear blue lagoons, waterfalls, caves and great places to party.
Day 1: Vientiane
Vientiane is a very quiet city.You can see everything that is worth seeing in just one day. It can get very hot in vientiane because of the humidity. In my opinion, it’s one of the hottest cities in southeast asia and there isn’t much to do. Get to the next destination as quickly as possible and use that precious time to see more of the other destinations. You will not regret it.
To get to Vientiane from Bangkok, you can take a night train which leaves at 8 pm and cost around 40$ USD for the VIP room. The train ride is actually very comfortable and safe.
The train arrives at the border around 7:45 am. Then you can either take a taxi or a train at 9 am to cross the border. The train ride across the border is about 15 minutes but I don't recommend it. You’ll have to wait 1 hour until 9 am. Once you cross the border, there are no atms at the station so make sure you bring enough money and a picture for your visa. They only accept american currency to pay for the visa on arrival or they can take thai bath but they will charge extra. The prices for the visa varies, For canadians its around 43$ usd.
After the hassle at the border, you have to take a minibus to Vientiane which is about 15 minutes away. Unfortunately, the mini bus drivers overcharge the price since there’s no other type of transportation.
To avoid all that hassle, just take a taxi from the start to cross the border. It should cost around 1$ to 2$ USD per person if u are at least 3 people.
Day 2 to 5: Vang Vieng
This town is located about 4 to 6 hours away from Vientiane. Your hotel can arrange a bus to this popular place. This is a town known for its tubing, restaurants,bars and party life. Depending on what kind of trip you are looking for, 2-4 days should be enough for this party town.
You can also find bars that will sell you any kinds of drugs. All the way from Opium to Marijuana or Mushrooms. Sometimes hotels can also provide you with the goods for a very high price, but it also includes the peace of mind . Do not do drugs on the streets, police can give you a 2000$ fine and even send you to jail if you refuse to pay. Remember that smoking outside of the Bar where you bought it is very dangerous. Undercover police officers are actively looking for drug users to blackmail them for 500$-2000$ USD. Even smoking on a balcony that faces the street is risky as cops often patrol the streets looking for people smoking in the lobbies of their hostels. If you’re planning on trying any illicit substances such as weed, do make sure that no one sees you do it. Specially other locals, because where people are smoking there is a reward to be made if they sell you in.
When you’re in this city. I do recommend that you go tubing. It starts around 2 pm. To rent a Tube you have to pay 55,000 kip and 60, 000 deposit. Just so you know, you most probably will not make it back before 6 pm to get your deposit back so you might as well forget about it. Here are the golden rules for tubing and for your own sake I hope you will follow them:
- Do not bring anything except your bathing suit and around 300 000$ - 500 000$ Laotian Kips.
- This means: No wallet, No cards, Not cell phone, Absolutely no gopro, No sandals! ( yes no sandals, you will lose them 100% guaranteed and they will become a weight to carry) and a T-shirt that you will be willing to lose.
- Buy two bottles of the local whisky and spread them among two bottles of coke and an empty 1.5 liter water bottle mixed with coke. Trust me on this one. Two bottles of coke mixed with whisky for two people is barely enough as you most probably will become the life of the party and have crowds of girls and guys begging you to pour some in their mouth or fill up their flip the cup cups. You will make friends quick this way, save lots of money and have a lot of fun.
- As soon as it starts get dark head back. It’s not safe to be out late at night and definitely not work the extra few drinks. If you want to keep partying got back to Sakura Bar.
Sakura Bar is a bar that you should visit while staying in Vang Vieng. When you’re recovering from the hangover, I recommend that you rent a motorcycle and go check out the Blue lagoon which also has a cave. If you can find a big group of people then you can all pitch in and get a taxi.
Day 6 to 7: Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang is a very peaceful town located about 6 hours from vang vieng.
The beautiful town is right next to the mekong river. To get the most out of this place one should stay here 2-3 days. The town has a little touch of french architecture and its know as the romantic city of Asia. You can have breakfast or dinner in any of the cozy restaurants along the river.
I strongly recommend to rent a bicycle to go around the little town. you can get a motorbike but in my opinion the town is so small and quiet there's really no point.
theres also a night market, where they sell many interesting stuff such as scorpion whisky if you are up to the challenge.
There is a beautiful waterfall called kuang si falls where you can take extraordinary pictures of their light blue lagoon waters. The water temperature is also perfect for a nice swim. They are located 25 minutes from luang prabang by car. You can arrange this trip from your hotel or you can also negotiate a price with the tuk tuk drivers.
I would recommend 4 days in luang prabang to have a romantic getaway or as a place to recover from the all the partying in Vang Vieng. if you are travelling solo then 2-3 days should be enough. Dont worry you can bring your girlfriend/boyfriend next time.
Hope you found this article helpful. We have other articles on how to travel in Vietnam and Thailand!
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