Destination: Laos

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK INFORMATION

Money & costs

Laos is an inexpensive country to visit by almost any standards. Not including transport, a budget of US$15 a day brings with it decent food and comfortable, but basic, lodgings. When you add air-con, hot water and falang (Western) food, costs are around US$25 per day if you economise, and around US$75 for top-end hotels and food. Of course, you can spend even more if you stay in the best suites in the best hotels and eat at the most expensive restaurants in town, although such a scenario exists only in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.

For those on a tight budget, in Vientiane or Luang Prabang you can squeeze by on about US$8 a day if you stay in the cheaper guesthouses and eat local food; in remote areas where everything's less expensive you can whittle this figure down to around US$6 a day.

Add to these estimates the cost of transport, which varies considerably depending on how fast you're moving through the country. Flying with Lao Airlines, the only domestic air carrier, costs from US$50 to US$90 per leg. Most bus trips cost between US$2.50 and US$7.

HOW MUCH?

Eggs & baguette breakfast US$1
Luang Prabang budget room US$3-5
Vientiane mid-range room US$24
Slow boat, from Pak Beng to Luang Prabang US$7.50
One-way airfare, Vientiane to Pakse US$86.50
One litre of petrol US$0.50
One litre of bottled water US$0.25
660mL bottle of Beerlao US$0.50
Bowl of fo\ve (rice noodles) US$0.40
Souvenir T-shirt US$2.50

Travelling to Laos?
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