Luang Prabang

Currency budget Laos

The kip has lost a great deal of value in recent years, so carry small notes and expect prices quoted in thousands. US dollars and Thai baht are widely accepted, often at a poor rate — paying in kip is cheaper.

ATMs & cards

Withdrawal limits are low, often around 2,000,000 LAK, and the fee is charged per withdrawal — so cash runs out faster than you expect. Bring US dollars as a reserve; most of the town takes cash only.

Laos is a cash economy and the kip has been unstable — change small amounts often. Dollars and Thai baht are accepted at a poor rate.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Laos

Very safe town with almost no crime against visitors. The real hazards are elsewhere: medical care in Laos is poor and anything serious means evacuation to Thailand, so travel insurance with evacuation cover matters here more than almost anywhere. In rural areas outside town, stay on marked paths — unexploded ordnance from the 1960s and 70s is still being cleared.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Laos visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Laos

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Lao food is its own thing rather than a version of Thai: sticky rice with everything, laap, and jeow dipping sauces. The bamboo bridge restaurants and the night market buffet are cheap; the riverside places charge for the view.

Nightlife

A curfew town. The night market, dinner, one bar, and then a bowling alley, which is not a joke.

• Luang Prabang Night Market — the evening, for most people
• Utopia Bar — the one riverside bar everyone ends up at
• Lao Bowling Centre — genuinely where the night goes after 23:30

Closing: 23:30 by curfew, after which the bowling alley is the only thing open.

A beer in a bar: 15,000–30,000 LAK

The alms procession at dawn is a religious rite, not a show — watch from a distance, in silence, or not at all.

Getting around

• On foot — the peninsula between the two rivers is the whole old town
• Bicycle — 20,000-30,000 LAK a day, the pleasantest way to get about
• Tuk-tuk — agree the price first, 20,000-50,000 LAK across town
• Laos-China railway — Vientiane in 2 hours, a genuinely modern train and the best way to travel here
• Airport: 10 minutes from the old town by tuk-tuk

Internet speedall of Laos

Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Laos, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.

Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Lao

• Helloສະບາຍດີ (Sabaidee)sa-bai-DEE
• Thank youຂອບໃຈ (Khop chai)kop JAI
• Thank you very muchຂອບໃຈຫຼາຍໆ (Khop chai lai lai)kop JAI lai lai
• Yes / Noແມ່ນ / ບໍ່ (Maen / Bo)men / baw

Lao is tonal and closely related to Thai — a Thai speaker understands a good deal of it, though the reverse is less true. English is common in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng and rare outside them; French survives with older people. Sabaidee is said with hands together, and returning that gesture costs nothing and changes the greeting.

Religion

Theravada Buddhist

About 65% Buddhist, with animist beliefs widely held alongside it among the highland peoples. Monks are a daily presence rather than an occasional sight, and the dawn alms round in Luang Prabang is a religious obligation, not an attraction — the standing complaint locally is tourists treating it as one.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Return the nop — palms together at the chest — when an older person offers it
• Remove shoes before entering a temple or a home
• Cover shoulders and knees at temples, men included
• Watch the dawn alms procession from across the street, quietly and at a distance, if you watch it at all

Don't

• Do not touch anyone’s head, and do not point your feet at people or at Buddha images
• Do not photograph the alms ceremony up close or with flash — it is a religious act, not a performance, and the behaviour of tourists has become a genuine grievance in Luang Prabang
• Do not touch a monk if you are a woman, or hand anything to one directly
• Do not step off marked paths in rural areas — unexploded bombs from the 1960s and 70s still kill people every year