Last Updated on March 20, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Thank you for visiting my Laos Travel Blog. We visited Laos as part of our sometimes dependent, sometimes independent, 65-day Southeast Asia Odyssey from November 2017 to January 2018. Specifically we visited Laos from Dec 25 to Jan 2.
We arrived in Luang Prabang via Vietnam Airlines on December 25th, visited the city for a few days, then drove with a private driver and guide south and west to “The Plain of Jars” near Phonsavon. We then backtracked to the main north-to-south-highway, and continued south to Vang Vieng. Finally we drove to Vientiane. We visited Vientiane for two days, one of which was New Year’s, and then flew out to Surat Thani in Thailand.
Planning
Mekong River Cruise or Land Tour?
Part of my interest in Laos stemmed from reading about the Mekong River cruises. We are definitely not cruise people, but after the wonderful time we had on a cruise in the Amazon, and in the Galapagos, I strongly considered a cruise on the Mekong River. I found the following cruises. The links are simply the best pages with information on the cruises; they are not recommended, neither do I receive any compensation for them.
We ultimately decided against the cruises for four reasons:
- The overland tour would be much less expensive.
- We don’t like to spend a lot of money on twin-bed sleeping accommodations. We want a double-bed and often they are very expensive on cruise ships.
- A land tour would be private and we would probably see more, at our own pace.
- We did want a cruise on the Mekong but chose to cruise in Vietnam, on the Gecko Eyes, because we felt that a cruise was the best way to see that area of southern Vietnam, while in Laos we had good land alternatives.
For the land tour, I decided early on that the three most important locations to visit were Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage site, Vientiane, the capital, and Phonsavon, the Plain of Jars, most unusual.
Travel Agency
I chose to use a travel agency for the entire Laos trip, selecting Backyard Travel. We settled on the “Traverse Laos” itinerary, adding in the detour to the Plain of Jars. I selected a travel agency because I saw Laos as a medical risk for myself, a diabetic, public transportation was not high-quality, and there had been recent stories of danger from armed robbery on the road between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. Feel free to read my full review of Backyard Travel – Laos.
When to visit Laos
Part of the complexity of designing our 65-day Southeast Odyssey was in determining the appropriate time to best visit each country. The lowland nature of some countries, such as southern Vietnam, contrasted with the mountains of Laos and northern Thailand. We also wanted to avoid high costs in typically popular locations during holiday seasons such as Christmas and New Years.
November through February is said to the best time to visit Laos. Laos is a large country covering many different ecosystems. We would be traveling from Luang Prabang, in the mountains, down to Vientiane. Is Vientiane in the mountains or considered lowland? Well, it’s definitely not the mountains, and I read it is called the Plain of Vientiane, so I guess not!
March to May is slash-and-burn season for the farmers of Southeast Asia and I didn’t want to have the pollution ruin my photography, as well as our lungs. May to September is monsoon season and you can be sure we didn’t want to visit this muddy mountainous country in the rain. Both the risk of dengue fever and landslides clinched the deal for me.
We chose to visit Laos during the high Christmas season because we would avoid the high Christmas / New Years costs in Thailand, and more populous Southeast Asians cities. I feel that we made a very good decision. We never felt crowded in Laos, even at a such a high season.
I had read that it could get downright COLD in the mountains, and golly, they were right. It was a bit of a shock to our systems to have come from a month of heat and humidity in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia to arrive in the cold mountain fog of Luang Prabang. Luckily I had packed for all weather, with layers, and we did not suffer unduly from the cold.
Visas
We planned to enter Laos through the Luang Prabang airport, and that is one of the many ports of entry by which one may obtain a Visa upon arrival as long as the stay not exceed 30 days. We planned to stay 9 days. We had also planned to bring quite a packet of passport photos as they are needed at so many international points of entry in Southeast Asia. With our passports, photos and cash to pay the entrance fee, we were all set to enter. Unlike Vietnam, there was no need to send our passports away for real visas.
Medical
We checked the CDC’s travel page for Laos, and found the usual list of suspects for Southeast Asia travel: Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid and Malaria. We made sure to schedule our appointments with the Travel Clinic several months in advance of our trip. We didn’t want to take any chance that multiple shots or vaccines at various time intervals would be necessary. We wanted to be absolutely sure we were prepared. Due to the particular itinerary of our entire 65-day Odyssey, we found ourselves on malaria pills the entire trip. Malaria pills do not bother us, so it was easy to just be as safe as possible.
Laos Itinerary
- Day 1 – Arrival by air in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Day 2 – Luang Prabang: Wat Mai, Wat Sensoukarahm, boat trip to Pak Ou Caves and participation in a “baci” ceremony. We missed out on Mt. Phousi due to bad weather.
- Day 3 – National Museum, Wat Visoun and Kuangsi Waterfalls (rain again but didn’t stop us this time), dance show at the Royal Theater
- Day 4 – Drive south and west to Phonsavon
- Day 5 – Visit the Plain of Jars
- Day 6 – Drive west and south to Vang Vieng, more rain
- Day 7 – Drive south to Vientiane
- Day 8 – Vientiane sightseeing
- Day 9 – Fly to Surat Thani, Thailand
Diabetic Travel Tips
I can hear my voice echoing again and again: Don’t drink the water, take your malaria pills, wear your DEET. Luckily I didn’t get ill at all in Laos, if you don’t count the car-sickness!
Lessons Learned
Many of my lessons learned are detailed in my review of Backyard Travel – Laos. The most important lesson learned is to medically plan for motion sickness. If you suffer from car-sickness, and you want to travel to Laos, you must plan ahead and not just hope the trip will be wonderful. Read my Travel Tips article “Coping with Motion Sickness” for possible options.
If cost had not been so important to me at the time, I believe the best option would have been to take a Mekong River cruise from Luang Prabang down to Vientiane. The cruise would have eliminated the nasty, nasty curving mountain roads. While the views of the mountains were beautiful, I have seen mountains before, and they simply weren’t worth the distress!
Then I would have arranged for a pre- or post-cruise round trip flight from Vientiane to Phonsavon to see the Plain of Jars. The Plain of Jars just recently achieved its UNESCO World Heritage Site status and it is truly a unique place to visit. To me, it is a must-see place in Laos, and would be worth the plane ride up and back.
With this recommended itinerary one is missing the ride on the mountain/jungle roads, however you can get a real taste of these roads just by taking a day trip to Kuang Si Waterfalls out of Luang Prabang. Just arrange for a pre- or post-cruise day trip.
See? the costs are mounting up. That’s why we chose the land tour. Just make sure your stomach can handle it!
How much did it cost us to visit Laos?
I keep to-the-penny records of the money spent on a trip, so I am able to give you the exact costs for a couple for 9 days in Laos (first day was arrival by air at dinner time, and last day was departure before noon):
- Tour and guide tips: $2977
- One-way airfare from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang: $380
- Food (6 dinners (approx $10 pp each), 2 lunches (approx $9 pp each): $138 – the rest of the food was included in the tour.
- Visas: $72
- Souvenirs: $69
- Soda: $59
- Entertainment (tickets for Royal Theater and tuk-tuk): $29
- Laundry: $8
- Tip: $6
For a total of $3738.
Summary
I would not hesitate to go back, with proper protection for my car-sick stomach!
Until I get to writing my entire Laos travel blog, what I have for you is a video slide-show here. You can see why I would love to return.
Here are all the videos for the entire 65-day odyssey.
And here are all the blog articles for the entire 65-day odyssey!
