The cost of "staying" in Laos varies greatly according to where in Laos you go. Prices in the 4000 islands, such as Don Det or Don Khone are surprisingly much lower than Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, or even Luang Prabang. The local currency is the Lao Kip or LAK, although Thai Baht and US dollars are also accepted, which makes Laos a good place to get rid of any leftover cash after Thailand; although, as is often the case, you will probably lose out if you choose to pay in dollars due to the exchange rate they go by.
 

Visas

Contrary to a lot of out of date information on the web, a tourist Visa can be obtained upon arrival. We travelled to the Cambodian-Laos border by bus from Phnom Penh and were dropped off at the Cambodian border, a small hut not far from the Laos entry point. We had to pay 2USD each for an exit stamp (a bribe), and walk maybe 200 metres through “no man’s land” until reaching the Laos entry point where we paid 4USD each (another bribe) as well as the Visa fee, which varies depending on where you’re from - even within Europe. If I remember correctly, French passport holders had to pay 5 USD less than us - British and Spanish citizens have to pay 35 USD each.

50 USD in total should cover you if you’re from Europe, but prices are clearly increasing every year, as I had read on numerous sites that I would only need 30USD plus 3 dollars in bribes.

 

Accommodation

Here you can see what we spent on accommodation in the three different parts of Laos we visited:

 

Don Det (4000 islands - sunrise side)

€5 a night for a bungalow in Don Det that finally made Mrs Havisham’s house in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations come to life for me. It was covered in cobwebs and had a torn mosquito net that had possibly been white, many moons ago, but was now a dark grey. This was not because we paid so little - all of the bungalows on the island are similar in that they have hammocks on river front terraces, and cost about the same price if not less. Most travellers we spoke to had paid 40,000 kip (LAK) which is currently less than €4 for cleaner versions of the same thing  - we were just unlucky.

 

Vientiane
€14 a night for a modern, clean double room with air conditioning and a fan + breakfast. This was not the cheapest option, but it was needed after a night bus and ended up being one of the best places we have stayed in since we started travelling 5 months ago. It’s called Vientiane Star and was partly why we had such a great time in the capital of Laos.

 

Luang Prabang
€11 a night for a colonial style fan room with wooden floors, brick walls and charm that made up for the slightly smaller than expected double room. We could have paid slightly more for an air conditioned room elsewhere in Luang Prabang, but didn’t think it would be a problem. It was - we happened to be in Laos for a very hot week where even locals were complaining about the scorching heat. Get air con if you can afford it - unless it’s definitely going to be cold when you’re there (if that’s even possible in Laos).

All of these rooms came with ensuite bathrooms - a shared one would obviously bring down the cost per night.
 

Food and Drink

The food in Laos was a lot better than Cambodia, partly because there seemed to be a slightly more Thai influence in restaurants (although they might have just worked out that tourists like Thai food). The Laos “Laap” - mince meat with mint - was cheap and tasty, as was every generic Southeast Asian rice dish that we tried. In Don Det we paid around 18,000 LAK (€1.50) for a dish, in Vientiane and Luang Prabang this went up to around 20,000 LAK , although we were able to find a fairly posh restaurant called Salt and Pepper that served rice or noodles with meat cooked on the spot for 15,000 LAK.

There is an infamous street buffet for 10,000 LAK (less than €1) , although I personally don’t think it’s worth the saving. The food looked pretty bad, and you are only allowed one plate, one time. Although it is a great place to meet and hang out with other travellers, if you can be bothered to look around there are decent food options for just 5000 LAK more.

I ate crepes on a few of the nights as I wasn’t too hungry after a late or large lunch. These should cost 10,000 - 15,000 kip depending on what you have inside. A chicken noodle soup in the street  can cost 10,000 - go to the place next to the Indigo Guesthouse and look for the two small tables.

And then there’s dessert. With French bakeries (with French prices) everywhere, it was hard to resist a treat every now and then. The Indigo Guesthouse where the night market begins has a table outside with some really good sponge cakes (banana, ginger, pumpkin…etc.) ranging from 10000 - 15000. Definitely a cheap fix.
 

Excursions

As I mentioned in slowly but surely the COPE visitor centre in Vientiane is a little hard to find but definitely worth the effort. It is a real eye opener, educating everyone on how the Vietnam war is still killing people in Laos. It is next to a medical centre where patients affected by bombs are treated. There is no entry fee, although donations are welcome.

 

Transport

There are buses connecting the major cities in Laos, but they are quite expensive considering the condition they’re in - we paid 180,000 for a bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang which is around €17. The buses tend to break down or in our case actually crash into oncoming traffic, although our night bus from Pakse to Vientiane was absolutely fine so it’s just a case of luck.

 

So how much?!

Visa: 41 USD per person (no other currency is accepted)

Accommodation based on 2 people sharing: €9 per night in total (see above for more detail)

Waterfalls: Khone Phapheng Falls (4000 islands): entrance fee: under €20,500 each although you will need to get to the mainland first

Kuang Xi (Luang Prabang): 30,000 LAK per person to get a shared tuk tuk from the centre. entrance fee: 20,000 LAK (less than €5)

Buses between cities: €17 each

Food: €11 a day (total for 2 people sharing with majority of time spent in Luang Prabang)