Luang Prabang

Currency

The kip has lost a great deal of value in recent years, so carry small notes and expect prices quoted in thousands. US dollars and Thai baht are widely accepted, often at a poor rate — paying in kip is cheaper.

ATMs & cards

Withdrawal limits are low, often around 2,000,000 LAK, and the fee is charged per withdrawal — so cash runs out faster than you expect. Bring US dollars as a reserve; most of the town takes cash only.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Very safe town with almost no crime against visitors. The real hazards are elsewhere: medical care in Laos is poor and anything serious means evacuation to Thailand, so travel insurance with evacuation cover matters here more than almost anywhere. In rural areas outside town, stay on marked paths — unexploded ordnance from the 1960s and 70s is still being cleared.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Rabies — strongly, as treatment here is hard to obtain
• Japanese encephalitis for rural stays

Getting treated

Be honest with yourself about this before you come: medical care in Laos is poor, including in the capital. Anything serious means evacuation to Thailand — usually Udon Thani or Bangkok — and that flight costs tens of thousands of euros. Travel insurance with evacuation cover is not optional here in the way it is elsewhere in the region.

Malaria is present in the rural south and along the borders — take advice on prophylaxis for those areas. Dengue is countrywide. Unexploded ordnance from the American bombing still contaminates large parts of the country; stay on marked paths and do not pick anything up.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Lao food is its own thing rather than a version of Thai: sticky rice with everything, laap, and jeow dipping sauces. The bamboo bridge restaurants and the night market buffet are cheap; the riverside places charge for the view.

Getting around

• On foot — the peninsula between the two rivers is the whole old town
• Bicycle — 20,000-30,000 LAK a day, the pleasantest way to get about
• Tuk-tuk — agree the price first, 20,000-50,000 LAK across town
• Laos-China railway — Vientiane in 2 hours, a genuinely modern train and the best way to travel here
• Airport: 10 minutes from the old town by tuk-tuk

Must-see

Things to do

• Watch the dawn alms round, quietly and from a distance
• Swim at the Kuang Si waterfalls
• Climb Mount Phousi for sunset
• Visit Wat Xieng Thong
• Take the slow boat or the new railway onward
• Browse the handicraft night market

Nearby day trips

Religion

Theravada Buddhist

About 65% Buddhist, with animist beliefs widely held alongside it among the highland peoples. Monks are a daily presence rather than an occasional sight, and the dawn alms round in Luang Prabang is a religious obligation, not an attraction — the standing complaint locally is tourists treating it as one.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Return the nop — palms together at the chest — when an older person offers it
• Remove shoes before entering a temple or a home
• Cover shoulders and knees at temples, men included
• Watch the dawn alms procession from across the street, quietly and at a distance, if you watch it at all

Don't

• Do not touch anyone’s head, and do not point your feet at people or at Buddha images
• Do not photograph the alms ceremony up close or with flash — it is a religious act, not a performance, and the behaviour of tourists has become a genuine grievance in Luang Prabang
• Do not touch a monk if you are a woman, or hand anything to one directly
• Do not step off marked paths in rural areas — unexploded bombs from the 1960s and 70s still kill people every year