When you plan your visit to Laos, the main place you need to go is Luang Prabang. We loved Luang Prabang, and it’s worth spending at least 3-4 days there. If you have more time, even better. With its gorgeous natural setting, 36 beautifully decorated and maintained Buddhist temples, and thousands of saffron-clad monks, it’s a magical setting for your next adventure. For adventure sports, spend some time in Vang Vieng. We didn’t find much worth doing in Vientiane, so I would stick to Luang Prabang for peaceful nature and cultural sites, and Vang Vieng for extreme sports…and that might be all. But Luang Prabang alone would be worthwhile on a trip to Southeast Asia!
Want to have me plan out your trip to Southeast Asia, and all you have to do is click on the links? Find my Southeast Asia itinerary including Laos here! Curious about more of Southeast Asia? Read all of my advice in this article!
How to plan your visit to Laos
When to visit Laos
You’ll want to plan your visit to Laos for the dry season, which is November- April. It’s even better to go the first half of that time, November- January, when everything is still green from the rains and the Mekong river is deep enough for you to take boat rides on it. As the main artery around not just Laos but all of Southeast Asia, you’ll want it to be deep enough to navigate! Of course, the weeks around Christmas and New Year’s will also be the busiest and most expensive, so book your accommodations well in advance if you’d like to visit then.
How long to spend on a visit to Laos
If you’re doing a bigger trip through several countries in Southeast Asia, then I’d spend at least 3 days in Luang Prabang. If you have more time, I’d spend a week there and really relax, or even longer. If you love adventure sports, then spend 2-4 days in Vang Vien. If you are only going to Laos and not to any of its neighbors, then you could explore the more remote regions up in the mountains- but if you’re going to Thailand and Vietnam, both of them have similar landscapes with far better infrastructure.
If you want very rustic roads and challenging transportation, then go for it- but this article won’t get into those options. Laos is a very rural, poor country, so the roads are not easy. The one major exception is the new train system that China built connecting China with Luang Prabang, Vang Vien, and Vietienne- so that is very smooth, easy, and efficient.
Luang Prabang
Why go: Luang Prabang is the spiritual capital of Laos, with 36 wats (Buddhist temples) and 1200 saffron-robed monks! It has the Mekong river on one side, and another river on the other side, and mountains all around. It’s only 70,000 people. The natural setting with the rivers and mountains, the temples and monks, and the sense of peace and calm makes it one of our favorite towns in Asia.
Where to sleep: We were so glad we stayed at On the Mekong Resort. It was beautiful, peaceful, and had maybe the best breakfasts of our entire year of travel…right on the river. Our room and the grounds were just gorgeous.
What to do:
- Wake up early to see the monks collecting alms from locals and Buddhist tourists from all over the region. The monks have their rice baskets (and extra tote bags for the surplus!) and the believers give them rice and other food as good karma. It was lovely to see.
- Check out the local market right after, as it’s most lively in the mornings. You’ll see all sorts of food!
- Wander into the various temples all over town- they’re all beautifully decorated, and follow the sounds of chanting to observe (silently) monks in action.
- Take a class at Ock Pop Tok! We did a silk weaving and traditional dye making workshop, but they have so many options! In all of them, you’ll learn about a traditional art form, try it yourself, and give local women a way out of poverty- while making a beautiful souvenir for yourself!
- Walk to the temple at the top of the hill for the view for sunrise or sunset
- Eat well in a beautiful setting at Manda de Laos or try different street food at the Night Market
- Listen to Laotian storytelling in English here
There are also many lovely day trips you can do from Luang Prabang. These are some that we really enjoyed:
- Kuang Si waterfalls, butterfly sanctuary (set up by a Dutch couple!), and moon bear rehabilitation center: gorgeous, peaceful, and fascinating day trip
- Do a day trip to Pak Ou Buddhist caves, which is a two-hour boat ride down the Mekong river to these very old Buddhist shrines in caves. Along the way, on our trip we stopped at a village famous for their weaving and whisky production, and an elephant sanctuary, where we got to feed bananas to some elephants.
Vang Vieng
Why go: On your visit to Laos, if you like adventure sports, then it’s worth including Vang Vieng. Laos is a very rural, undeveloped country. Vang Vieng has lots of activities from kayaking to rock climbing to caving to mountain biking…as well as a serious backpacker-heavy tubing and drinking scene. We had lovely bike rides, hikes to viewpoints, and kayak down the river, but there is definitely a strong backpacker vibe and the infrastructure and safety standards are very low.
The nature around the town is absolutely gorgeous, but the town itself had developed very quickly for a cheap backpacker crowd…ugly multistory buildings, mediocre food, and lots of beer. As soon as you get out of the town, it’s beautiful scenery. It used to be an 8 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang…but with the brand-new Chinese train, it’s now 45 minutes away! The rest of the infrastructure around town is very basic.
Where to sleep: We stayed at this lovely airbnb, Lao Valhalla Bungalows and Restaurant. Our host picked us up from the extremely fast and modern train station, and dropped us off afterwards. She also helped us arrange bike rentals and the kayaking trip.
What to do:
- Bike to a gorgeous hike up to views! We biked here and loved the views, though it is a steep hike- and same with this one! Read the reviews and see whether it’s a good match for what you want.
- Consider a lagoon swim…we didn’t go to any because we’ve both had some bad experiences with water safety in other countries…but many people go to the lagoons around Vang Vieng and love them!
- Kayak or tubing…we went kayaking on the Mekong, which was gorgeous and relaxing and safe in the calm water when we were there. Tubing seems to be more for drinking beer than being in the river, and attracts a very young backpacker crowd. Kayaking when we were there had families with children and people more in their 30s and older. We went much farther than the tubers, so we only saw the inner tube scene for a short time at the end, closer to town.
- You can also rent mountain bikes and go caving and rock climbing, but we didn’t try those. The roads are quiet and empty, so it wasn’t scary biking around. The nature outside of the town is gorgeous!
Vientiane
Why go: On your visit to Laos, I would only go to Vientiane if you need to. With the new high-speed train, it’s only another 50 minutes from Vang Vieng, so if you need to go, it’s not hard to get there. Otherwise, I’d skip it! It has some modern temples, and of course it’s the capital and has all of that infrastructure…but we were very disappointed.
If you end up there, the COPE visitor center is a moving museum and nonprofit helping the thousands of Laotians who have been injured by the millions of unexploded ordinances the U.S. dropped on Laos during the Vietnam war…which killed 50,000 Laotians at the time and have killed 20,000 since, mostly children playing with them. You can donate here if interested. Doi Ka Noi our favorite restaurant there.
Connecting your visit to Laos with the rest of Southeast Asia
There are flights from Luang Prabang and Vientiane to other major cities in Southeast Asia. Since you can easily get to Vang Vieng from both cities with the high-speed train, I’d recommend just flying out.
You can also take a very slow and rustic boat from Luang Prabang into Thailand, but that will take at least 3 days and has very mixed reviews. Given the safety concerns we saw in our time in Laos, and the state of the infrastructure, I can’t recommend it.
Laos is a gorgeous country, full of incredible nature and scenery. If you go outside of the major train line, you will have many hours of bus rides on mediocre roads…be careful, especially in the rainy season! On a short trip to Southeast Asia, I’d just stick with Luang Prabang and fly in and out of its airport. On a longer visit to Laos, I’d spend as long as possible in Luang Prabang and give yourself 2-3 days in Vang Vieng before flying back out of Luang Prabang.
Last tips for your visit to Laos
It’s beautiful, and absolutely worth visiting! There are many wonderful nonprofits and people to support, so be thoughtful about where you stay and who you give business to, and you can have a positive impact in this gorgeous country.
Remember to check out my itinerary to organize your trip to Southeast Asia here!
Have a wonderful visit to Laos!
