Nov 9, 20183 min read

Accommodation in Laos (part 2), local guesthouses in town and countryside.

Updated: Jul 23, 2020

You are planning your next holidays and are you seriously thinking about flying to Laos ? The travel agency ORLA TOURS is here to help you. In this article, we will talk about accommodation, and more specifically guesthouses.

What is a guesthouse ?

We could easily think that the word guesthouse refers to a building which was originally built for a family, and then customized for hosting tourists. In reality, in Laos as in many Asian countries, these are hotels with a limited number of rooms and reasonable budget or very economic. We can compare some guesthouses with certain hostels. Few of them offer dormitories, private rooms with shared bathrooms or rooms with private bathrooms. We will focus on these ones.

To learn more about hotels in Luang Prabang, read our article on Where to Stay in Luang Prabang and What Budget.

Guesthouses in Laos

In Laos, guesthouses offer basic comfort but are not as clean and sanitized as European standards. They offer rooms with a double bed or two single beds and they provide sheets, mosquito net if needed, towels, a small bottle of water, soap and shampoo. The quality of these establishments and their prices vary widely depending on the city or region.

local guesthouse countryside laos - restaurant

For example, in Luang Prabang, guesthouses are small structures, sometimes in an old traditional house (the ground floor is made of concrete, the floor of wood).

In tourist areas, guesthouse owners often speak English and Laotian. They always have good advice if you are looking for a typical little restaurant to eat at night.

Guesthouses in rural areas of Laos

Good news, there are hotels or guesthouses all over the country, even in the remotest areas of Laos. Of course, in some places the choice is very limited. And the further one goes from the tourist areas, the more one moves away from "European standards" to reach the standard of Laotian countryside. That is to say a bathroom less and less equipped (sometimes with Turkish toilet and no hot water), sheets not necessarily washed between every visitor. You have to keep in mind that Laos is a small developing country and that we must be very tolerant about the comfort and cleanliness of these accommodations in remote areas. Because before being intended for Western tourists, these small local cottages were made for Lao people travelling through the country.

You want a change of scenery and authenticity ? You will be served !

Accommodation is an important part of your stay in Asia, so take time to think about you what category you are excepting. A good night of sleep, in peace, will be the key to a serene day full of discoveries and adventures. In a previous article, we mentioned the hotels of charm, we will soon talk about the nights homestay.

To learn more about Luang Prabang's luxury hotels, read our article on Where to Stay in Luang Prabang and What Budget.

ORLA TOURS, for 100% tailor-made holidays

At ORLA TOURS, we give you the opportunity to customize your tour so as you can choose what type of accommodation you need during your stay. For a full immersion in Lao culture, we advise you to sleep one night in a village, which will allow you to learn about the daily life of local tribes. For more comfort, hotels and guesthouses will allow you to sleep well and quietly. Our agency has a wide panel of partnerships with local hotel owners, to allow you to have a quality accommodation at the best price. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

In a future article, we will come back to an experience rich in emotions and discovery : Staying overnight in a tribe village, a unique way to better understand how tribes and ethnic groups live in Laos.