Where should I make my visa for Laos? | Travel Laos

Laos Travel Agency, Adventures in Laos, ORLA TOURS Luang Prabang

How to prepare your trip in Laos

To know before you go

1. Visa

To get a VISA TOURISM of 30 DAYS for Laos. You can easily ask it directly in Laos, at the airport or at international checkpoints. It costs between 30 and 40 US Dollars depending of where you come from, and it needs 2 photos.

2. Passport

Above all, make sure that your passport is not expired. The expiry date must be at least 6 months later than the date you come back from your trip in Asia.

3. Lao local currency, KIP

The currency used in Laos is the kip.

1$ = 8500 kips ; 1€ = 10 000 kips. The baht and dollars are also accepted almost everywhere in the cities. These two currencies can be changed in all banks.

4. Vaccines & Malaria

Whether or not it is mandatory to have vaccines done, please remember to carry your updated health record booklet at all time. In Laos, no vaccine is required to enter the country. However, consult your doctor or a public health center before leaving for more technical information on the following recommended vaccines:

Typhoid, Hepatitis A and B, Rabies, Tetanus

Japanese encephalitis (anticipate in advance as 3 injections are required)

An anti-malaria treatment of the 3rd category for tropical areas is also recommended, especially during the monsoon season. The malaria-carrying mosquito is found in humid environments close to farm animals and rice fields, mainly in the so-called wet season (July to October).

5. Lao Food

The staple food of the Lao is steamed sticky rice, which is eaten by hand. It’s accompanied with meat (pork, chicken) or fish and vegetables. Fried rice, noodle, soup, omelet, fruits are typical meals (even for breakfast). Out of big cities, you can’t find any western food.

6. Electrical outlets

Electrical current here in Laos is 220V, and there is electricity everywhere. The plugs are plate like british ones, but they are compatible with two headed french ones.
We recommend to always have a pocket light with you in case of electricity breakdown (they are frequent).

7. Jetlag

Laos is on the GMT+7 time zone. It means when it's 3pm in Laos, it's 9am in Central Europ, 4pm in west Australia.

8. Meals & Food prices

- Very cheap: 10,000 to 40,000 kip

- Budget meal: 40,000 to 80,000 kip

- Average prices: from 80,000 to 120,000 kip

- A little more chic: from 120,000 to 250,000 kip

9. ATM's & Change

ATM's work with Visa and MasterCard and can easily be found in the cities. Now, thez are also available in many other small touristic sites and towns.

Note that number of ATMs will issue at most 1 million kip (about $ 125) at a time, which multiplies the impact of fixed charges for each transaction by your bank.

10. Accommodation

Please note that in some places, especially in the remote countryside and really small town, we will not always have much choice of hotels. There will no be 5 star hotels in such places, which explain why we have to choose local guesthouses instead of hotels.

HOMESTAYS are very basic comfort. You will not have hot water for shower and “bathroom” can be small room in the backyard with a bucket of clean cold water or a tap in the corner of the house. We recommend you to bring a small towel that you can carry in your bag and flip flops for showering. Power breakdowns are frequent so we also recommend you to bring a small portable battery to charge your electronic devices. There might not be bed sheets and pillow cases in the village where you will sleep. You can bring your own sleeping bag liner if you wish.

We will make sure that you experiment different types of accommodation during your trip in Laos. These sometimes surprising places will be part of your overall Lao adventure and you will remember it all your life.