Laos

Lao is the official language. English is spoken in guesthouses and restaurants in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Vang Vieng, but drops off quickly outside the main tourist towns.

Lao uses its own script, unrelated to Latin letters, so road signs and menus outside tourist areas are often written only in Lao. Learning a few basic phrases helps a lot with transport and markets.

Prepaid SIM cards are sold at the airport and in phone shops in every city, with no registration hassle beyond showing a passport. A basic data package costs only a few dollars for several gigabytes.

Mobile coverage is reliable in cities and along the main roads, but drops out in mountain areas and on some of the smaller Mekong islands in the south.

Tap water is not safe to drink; use bottled or filtered water, including for brushing teeth in more remote areas. Ice in restaurants in the main tourist towns is generally made from treated water, but ask if unsure.

Pharmacies are well stocked in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, with English-speaking staff at the larger ones. Options are limited in smaller towns and rural areas, so bring a basic first-aid kit and any regular medication with you.

Check with a travel clinic about routine vaccinations and malaria precautions before visiting rural or forested areas.

Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival at major airports and land border crossings, or apply in advance for an e-visa online. Both typically allow a stay of up to 30 days. This can be extended once, for a further 30 days, at an immigration office inside the country. Citizens of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and several other neighboring countries can enter without a visa for shorter stays.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

Dress modestly when visiting temples: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off before entering a temple building. Women should not touch monks or hand things directly to them — set an item down for a monk to pick up instead.

The head is considered the most sacred part of the body and the feet the least — avoid touching anyone's head, and don't point your feet at people, Buddha images, or altars.

If watching the early-morning alms-giving procession in Luang Prabang, keep a respectful distance, skip flash photography, and stay quiet. Buy sticky rice from an established stall rather than a vendor pushing rice on tourists moments before the monks pass.

Greet people with a slight bow and palms pressed together at chest height, known as the nop.

Public holidays, especially the Lao New Year (Pi Mai) in mid-April, can close shops, banks, and government offices for several days and fill buses and guesthouses in tourist towns.

Most shops and family-run restaurants open early and close by early evening, with some closing for an hour or two around midday. Government offices and banks close on weekends.

• By train: The Laos-China Railway runs from Vientiane through Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang to the Chinese border. It cuts a trip that used to take a full day on the road down to about two hours. Book tickets a few days ahead in high season.
• By air: Domestic flights connect Vientiane with Luang Prabang and Pakse, saving a full day of driving on mountain roads.
• By bus: VIP and sleeper buses cover longer routes between provinces and are the main way to reach towns without an airport or train station. Roads are often narrow and winding in the north, so journeys take longer than the distance suggests.
• By boat: Slow boats on the Mekong River connect the northern border town of Huay Xai to Luang Prabang over two days, with an overnight stop partway.

Sticky rice, eaten by hand from a small woven basket, is the base of most Lao meals, alongside grilled meat or fish, spicy salads, and soups. Breakfast is often a bowl of khao piak sen, a thick rice noodle soup, from a street stall.

Laap is the closest thing to a national dish: minced meat or fish tossed with herbs, lime, and toasted rice powder. Tam mak hoong, a spicy green papaya salad, is a common lunch. Grilled river fish, fresh spring rolls, and skewered meats are common snacks at markets and night markets.

Beerlao is the standard local beer, and lao-lao, a strong rice whiskey, is often shared at gatherings. Coffee from the Bolaven Plateau is served strong and sweet with condensed milk. Family-run noodle shops and market stalls are the everyday way to eat; sit-down restaurants are mostly found in the bigger towns and tourist areas.

Vientiane, the capital, is a low-key riverside city with French colonial buildings, morning markets, and the golden stupa of Pha That Luang. Vang Vieng, a few hours north, sits among limestone karsts and caves along the Nam Song River, and draws travelers for kayaking, caving, and hot-air balloon rides.

Luang Prabang, the former royal capital, is Laos's most visited town, with dozens of gilded temples, a UNESCO-listed old quarter, and nearby waterfalls. Luang Namtha, further north, is the main base for trekking through hill-tribe villages and protected forest.

Xiengkhouang province, in the northeast, holds the Plain of Jars, while Vieng Xay preserves the cave complex used as a hidden wartime capital.

In the south, Pakse is the gateway to the Bolaven Plateau's coffee farms and waterfalls, and to Champasak, home to the pre-Angkorian temple of Vat Phou. Si Phan Don, on the river islands of Si Phan Don near the Cambodian border, is the place to slow down completely.

Savannakhet and Thakhek, both on the Mekong in central Laos, see fewer visitors but are the starting points for the caves and karst scenery around Kong Lor.