Laos is not an expensive country to begin with but I don’t see why would anybody likes to pay extra for anything. Having travelled on a backpacking trip across a few cities in Laos, here are our tips to ace your budget travel in Laos and stretch your dollars further.
Overview
- Don’t reserve ahead
- Have USD with you
- Don’t shop at night markets, visit local workshop
- Get a local SIM card
- Overland travel is the way to go
- Share transport costs
- Eat local food
- Enjoy perks by your accommodation
- Stay in the city centre
- Visit free attractions
Here’s how you should travel Laos on a budget:
1. Don’t reserve ahead in Laos
Weird, but it’s true in Laos or maybe it applies to many Southeast Asia countries. Reservation ahead often give the operators a chance to increase the prices to cater for your convenience. I am not saying don’t plan anything at all! Do still have a list of things you would like to do or cities you want to visit.
Accommodation prices wouldn’t make too much of a difference but intercities buses and tours make a big difference. We booked these only when we arrived and never encountered a problem of unavailability.
In Luang Prabang, we realised booking the slow boat to Pak Ou Caves directly saves much more. Instead of the 90,000 kip, you could pay 65,000 kip when you go straight to the port.
2. Have USD with you
Laos kip is a close currency, banks outside of Laos will not exchange kip. Apart from US dollars and Thai baht, all the other currencies are not that sought for in Laos even other strong neighbouring currencies like Singapore dollars.
Although they accept USD for payments, it is always cheaper to pay in kip. There are many privately owned money-changer in town and they are easy to find. In Vientiane, major banks are available in the central district.
3. Don’t shop at night markets, visit local workshops
Night markets are catered to tourists for convenience in mind. If you have the time, go to local workshops instead. They are usually set-up in small villages with products made by local women. This will eliminate the price increment by the middle man who sells it in the night market.
We bought a scarf at Ban Xang Hai Village on the way to Pak Ou Caves, easily half the price of what we would get in the Luang Prabang night market.
4. Get a local Laos SIM card
Data SIM cards are extremely affordable in Laos. If you don’t need to keep your home country telephone number, then purchasing a local SIM card is the best way of staying connected. We bought ours at the Luang Prabang airport at US$6 for 10GB, 30 days availability.
One thing to note is that Laos only have up to 3G available as of June 2019 which was still very smooth and fast for us.
5. Overland travel is the way to go
Bus travel is by far the best option in Laos for travelling between cities. There is currently a Chinese-funded railway in progress and flights are expensive between Luang Prabang and Vientiane, which usually cost US$50-100 for a one-way journey. Bus on the other hand, not only it is a much cheaper alternative, but it can also get you to smaller cities apart from Luang Prabang and Vientiane.
6. Share a tuk tuk or other transports
Extremely common and easy to hire a tuk tuk (an auto rickshaw) or minibuses to attractions outside of the city in Laos when you are travelling in a big group. Even better if you stay in hostels where fellow travellers are also looking for cheap transport – one more reason for you not to plan ahead!
We shared a minivan (usually filled to the maximum capacity of 12) to Kuang Si Falls at just 40,000 kip per person for the two-way journey.
7. Enjoy your Laos street food
Needless to say, if you want to spend less, the best way is to do what the locals do, eat what the locals eat. Eat khao soi, eat larb, eat or lam. Not pizza, not burgers, not french fries which are often much higher than what you would pay for the local delights.
Local food is also the best way to experience local culture – which is the reason we travel!
8. Enjoy perks by your accommodation
Why waste them when you can have them? Accommodation usually comes with breakfast regardless of whether you are staying in hostels, hotels, or resorts. Grab a bite (or a big meal if you can) so you feel fuller for later. Find out if there other services that are included in your package.
Our Vientiane hostel even provides instant noodles that you can feast on! They also have discounts for its hostel’s guest who dine in their cafe. Our Vang Vieng resort had free transport to and from anywhere in the city centre, which helped us bypass the toll fees multiple times! It is the little things that make the accommodation stand out from the rest.
9. Stay in the city centre
Staying in a prime location gets us to attractions faster, cutting down a lot of unnecessary costs and time since it’s not easy to get transport in Laos. You could also get to many places on foot, walk to most attractions in the city centre especially Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. Otherwise, you could even rent a bicycle to get around faster! It is relatively cheap to rent a bicycle at only about 30,000 kip for the entire day.
In Luang Prabang, we stayed very close to the morning and night markets. The location is so good that we walked to most attractions we wanted to go within the city centre.
10. Visit free attractions
The major attractions more often than not charge a small entrance fee. However, in Laos, there are free and worthy attractions or substitutes to major attractions.
In Vientiane, Patuxay Monument is free to visit and admire if you choose not to ascend the tower. Visit Thatluang Tai Temple with free entry to see the golden reclining buddha instead of the golden stupa. In Luang Prabang, smaller temples do not require an entry fee at all but they also serve the same religious purposes as the more prominent temples.
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