How much does a Trip to Laos cost ?
This is obviously one of our main concerns when we think about our future travel plan !
We put ourselves in your place and decided to write this detailed article which will enlighten you on the costs of your trip. Take the time to read through to the end, we really wanted to be transparent with our travelers.
Few notions of prices
in Laos
The preconceived notions about "Laos is cheap" are unfortunately wrong.
Reports are often far from the reality of a country. Regarding Laos, we imagine traveling for 1 USD and paying the meals 1 USD too. It may have been possible for 20 years back but no more today. Laos has evolved enormously since the year 2000, the year when our creators began to spot the country from all angles. The cost of the life has become more expensive than in Vietnam and Thailand but approach Cambodia. Laos remains cheaper than Burma and Bhutan.
Laos is a landlocked country, isolated in the mountains and without any access to the sea. Laos is a "buyer country", 90% of the products sold in Laos come from neighboring countries. It is therefore necessary to add to the original price the transport costs and the margin of the dealer.
Here are few examples
1. The cost of a common meat, chicken
Laotian chickens are quite thin, so most restaurants in Lao towns choose to import this meat from Thailand. Originally, the chicken costs around only 5 USD, but once it's imported from Thailand its value increases to 8 or 10 USD.
During a night at a local homestay, we logically think it would be cheaper. But that's not the case, it costs around 12 to 15 USD. Local people raise the chickens themselves to feed their family and the animals are not numerous (there is no big economy allowing a lower price). Moreover, they live far from the cities, the food there is more rare therefore more expensive.
2. The cost of your vehicle : the minivan
90% of the minivans in Laos are made in Thailand. Their original price is about 25 000 USD. The crossing of the border, the import taxes, the margin of the Lao dealer make that final price increases to 42 000 USD. The same process applies to spare parts in case of repair. This price increase therefore affects the cost of the minivan per day.
3. The cost of the guide
Depending on the difficulty of the day, in town or for a trekking day, the guide will be paid between 50 and 75 USD per day. (and yes, we know that the documentary don't talk about that)
4. Your accommodation
With 450,000 visitors a year, Luang Prabang is in great demand. Often, in high season the more than 350 hotels and guesthouses in the city are fully booked. Their prices vary from 35 USD to 1,800 USD per night depending on the range. The average for staying in a small charming hotel with swimming pool is around 100 to 200 USD per night.
In summary, how much will my custom trip to Laos cost me
with a legal agency?
The price of a tour varies according to several factors
- The number of participants : Fixed costs are shared between the members of the group. So each of them will pay half as much if they are a group of 6 rather than 2. In all our tours are include your guide and driver services, food and accommodations, minivan, gasoline, and taxes.
Here is one simple example : there are 8 seats in a minivan. With 8 participants, each will pay for it their own seat,
while for 2 people they will have to cover the costs of the full minivan.
The same thinking matches with the cost of boats, etc.
- Services included : We mainly do tailor-made and offer several formulas. The price of a tour varies up to 20% according to the included services or not. (first and last night in Luang Prabang, Vientiane or Pakse, airport transfers,...)
- The choice of the accommodation standard: It makes also greatly vary the price of your trip (homestaying, the local guesthouse, the comfortable hotel with swimming pool or the luxury hotel).
Price for an Adventure tour
We can say that a tour costs an average of 110 to 230 USD per day per person. From 800 to 1 600 USD per week depending on the options and the number of participants. For example, for a group of 4 participants, it would be about 120 to 140 USD per day per person.
These prices are all taxes included
As a legal travel agency in Luang Prabang (unlike a variety of nonlegal websites that do not necessarily have physical offices in Laos), we will not make a paragraph about Laotian taxes but the Luang Prabang office obviously taxes us on each of your tours. For information, a little less than what Australia or Europe could do, but far more than what Vietnam or other neighboring countries charge for the same travel service.
Our quality approach for your trip to Laos.
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We create unique and tailor-made itineraries, all made from a thorough and personalized preparation. Our goal is to organize an authentic and unique adventure as you would expect.
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We develop fair trade conditions very favorable for all our local partners who get involved with us to guarantee you dream holidays. And we respect local communities, their customs, their traditions and their cultural characteristics.
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We are committed in providing you a "fair" price for excellent quality of service in respect of our local partners. We consider that lowering the cost of a trip too much leads to exploiting our local partners and the loosing the quality control of our circuits.
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Choose a fair travel and solidarity with the local population. By traveling with us, you are helping to support the association Enfants du Laos that we have created and are sponsoring. We donate USD 10 per passenger to help develop education in remote villages and maintain our computer school.