Budget Laos: how much does Laos cost?

Laos is a beautiful country with pristine nature. The adventurous traveler who loves lots of activities will have a perfect time in Laos. Unfortunately, Laos has been experiencing massive inflation for several years. This causes prices to rise significantly. Are you curious about what to spend in Laos? In this article, we answer all your questions about budgeting in Laos.

We traveled in Laos for 35 days in 2023. All our expenses are based on 2 people.

What currency is used in Laos?

In Laos, payment is made with the Lao kip. To make it easy, we have already converted everything to euros in this article. We’ll take you through the budget for Laos below. Costs are broken down into activities, accommodation, transportation, food and beverages and other. This is all based on two people. At the bottom of this article you will find a handy overview of common expenses in Laos.

The exchange rate averages between 20,000 kip and 22,000 kip for €1. As mentioned above, there has been massive inflation in Laos in recent years. That is why this rate fluctuates widely. This table uses an exchange rate of €1 = 22,000 kip.

Cost of accommodation in Laos

We always try to spend as little money as possible on accommodation. Since this is often just the place where you sleep and barely spend any other time, we don’t mind a bit of simple sleeping. We have only two criteria: it must be clean and it must be near the center. Accommodations in Laos, compared to neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, tend to be very expensive. Good value for money is sometimes hard to find.

In Laos, we spent a combined average of €18 per night on accommodations, so €9 per person. This is a good average for a couple in Laos. Are you a solo traveler? Then you will spend between €5 and €10 for a good hostel.

Costs for activities in Laos

You can make the cost of activities in Laos as crazy as you want. Our motto is that we always try to save money on everything except activities, because that is the reason we travel: to do fun and amazing things.

There are big activities in Laos that come with a fat price tag. For example, we did the Gibbon Experience (€200 p.p. for 2 days), took a balloon ride in Vang Vieng (€110 p.p.) and ziplined at the Bolaven Plateau and during the Thakhek Loop. These are all activities in Laos that we wouldn’t have wanted to miss for anything, but of course are very expensive.

So this is also our biggest expense in Laos. We spent a total of €1,050 on activities in Laos. This amounts to €30 per day for 2 people, a very high amount!

Cost of food and drink

Laos does not have as great a cuisine as neighboring Thailand. Fortunately, though, there are more and more Thai influences through which, among other things, Pad Lao (a variation of Pad Thai) was invented. The cost of food and drink in Laos is also a lot higher than in other countries: for a simple dish in a restaurant, you will spend between €3 and €4. Especially in Luang Prabang, prices are very high. At the stands on the street you can still sometimes find dishes for €2.

Tip: In Southern Laos, at the 4000 Islands on Don Det, prices for accommodation and food and drink do tend to be a lot lower.

Together, we spent a total of €24 per day on food and drinks, €12 per person that is. For this amount, we almost always ate 3 meals a day. Because as vegetarians we do not like the local cuisine very much, we ate Western food more often than “normal,” which of course is also a bit more expensive.

Cost of transportation

Transportation in Laos, between tourist areas, is well regulated. Several times a day there are buses, minivans and trains, or boats. Local transportation is reasonably normally priced. For a ride in the minivan from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw, which takes 4 hours, you pay €7 per person.

The slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang (or vice versa) costs an average of €22 per person. For this money, you have a two-day ticket: you travel from Huay Xai to Pakbeng on the first day and on to Luang Prabang on the second day. In total, you will spend about 14 hours on the boat, so this amount is not that high either.

The train in Laos is hugely expensive, though. China has built a “high speed railway” between the northernmost town in Laos, Boten (which is on the border with China) and Vientiane. Several trains run up and down this route daily, allowing you to travel quickly and comfortably between Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. This does come with a price tag: for the Luang Prabang – Vang Vieng route (1 hour on the train) you pay around €10 per person.

Other costs

In addition to the above expenses, we did some laundry, bought toiletries, tipped, bought sim cards and bought day passes for the gym. We spent a total of €4.20 per day on other expenses combined.

The visa for Laos costs between $40 and $45. If you cross the border at Chiang Khong to Huay Xai (from northern Thailand to northern Laos) the visa costs $40. We also crossed the border into Laos from Hué in Vietnam, and at this border crossing we had to pay $45 (while it is legally $40). Therefore, make sure you always carry enough dollars with you, just in case you are suddenly ripped off heavily….

Average daily budget for Laos

After 35 days in Laos, we arrive at a daily budget of €45 per person. This, of course, does not include any flight to and from Laos. For us, this is one of the more expensive countries in Southeast Asia. This is mainly because of all the expensive activities we did. Yet daily life in Laos has also become quite a bit more expensive for tourists. Especially in the tourist cities like Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, accommodations and food and drink have gone up a notch. Still, Laos is definitely worth visiting: if you have a small budget you can save on the expensive activities if you find it necessary, and the nature is (often) free to admire and beautiful.

Cost overview budget Laos

To get your budget right, we have written down below the common costs of your trip through Laos. This will make it easier to set your budget for Laos.

Please note that this is an average: in high season, prices are a bit higher everywhere, and in low season, of course, lower.