Our 7-Day Laos Itinerary ๐ โ๏ธ ๐บ๏ธ
Who needs another humdrum holiday when you can trudge through seven days of endless temples in Laos? ๐ฎโ๐จ
From Vientiane’s bustling markets to Vang Vieng’s adrenaline-pumping activities, our itinerary ensures you’ll never get bored (or rested ๐คซ).
Dive into the heart of Southeast Asia’s best-kept secret. You’ll be questioning why you didn’t visit sooner.
Highlights
- Our Route & Schedule
- Our Budget for Laos
- Discovering Laos by Train
- Pre-book Your Trains
- Hotel Options in Vientiane
- Hotel Options in Luang Prabang
- Hotel Options in Vang Vieng
- Our Impressions of Laos
- Things we carry on the Plane/Bus
Our Route & Schedule
Most travellers to Laos arrive at Wattay International Airport just west of the country’s capital – Vientiane. Our planned route through Laos was the classic:
Vientiane/ Vang Vieng/ Luang Prabang/ Vientiane
Though not strictly in that order ๐.
Our schedule was as follows:
- Day 1: Vientiane – Get our bearings
- Day 2: Vientiane – Discover the city
- Day 3: Vientiane – Explore out of the center
- Day 4: Luang Prabang – Check out the city
- Day 5: Luang Prabang – Visit the waterfalls
- Day 6: Vang Vieng – Explore the town
- Day 7: Vientiane – Relax before return flight
Patuxai Victory Monument – Vientiane, Laos
Our Budget for Laos
Planning a trip to Laos requires budgeting for accommodation, transportation, food, and activities. Here’s a rough estimate of our expenses for the 7-day itinerary, based on 2 people sharing:
- Online visas: โฌ100
- Flights to and from Laos: โฌ460
- Accommodation + breakfast: โฌ100 per night
- Transportation (buses, taxis): โฌ25 per day
- Food & drink: โฌ50 per day
- Activities (entrance fees/tours): โฌ10 per day
Based on these estimates, our total budget for the trip was around โฌ900-โฌ950 per person.
Spoiler Alert: Our finalized costs came to โฌ925 per person!
Discovering Laos by Train
Using Vientiane as our initial base, we planned to use the relatively new high-speed railway system that runs between Laos and China.
A welcome result of China’s ambitious and highly successful Road & Belt initiative, these trains will get you from Vientiane to Luang Prabang in just less than 2 hours.
We planned to spend our first 3 nights in Vientiane at a 4* hotel on the Mekong river, just 2 kms from the center of town.
Laos high-speed trains
From there, we would take the train directly to Luang Prabang, where we would spend 2 nights.
After this, we would use the same train network to return to Vientiane via Vang Vieng.
We would have just one night in Vang Vieng followed by a last night in Vientiane before taking our flight out of Laos.
Our Impressions of Laos
Laos is a rapidly developing SE Asian country, assisted by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). So if you’re planning to visit Laos, go there now while it’s still relatively cheap.
- Don’t expect too much from the cities, get out and enjoy the natural environment and stunning scenery.
- Plan in advance some fun activities. There’s plenty to do if you give yourself enough time.
- The local Laos food is OK, but nothing special. We prefer the spicier cuisines of the more southern SE Asian countries
- The people are great, and we got to meet some really nice locals.
Climate
Laos is a mountainous country. Vientiane is 175 m above sea level, and Luang Prabang 305 m above sea level.
Take into account the weather for when you’re travelling. Depending on the time of year, it can get quite windy and chilly, especially in the evenings.
We travelled at the end of January, and we’re very glad we took along some woolies (we didn’t need coats).
If you enjoy swimming or other water sports, understand the water is bracing, even in the middle of the day with a hot sun shining.
Upcoming Laos Articles
They’re still in preparation! but do bookmark this page and come back to check out our indepth reviews of:
- Vientianeย ๐๏ธ๐บย French colonial charm meets local tradition (April 3rd)
- Luang Prabangย ๐๐ฆ Mekong river sunsets and lush waterfalls (June 2nd)
- Vang Vieng โฐ๏ธ๐ถ Misty mountains and vibrant adventures (August 3rd)
If you’re interested in our 7-day Laos itinerary, take a look at our other Tropical Travel Plans. You may also like:
Spice up your inbox…
… with discounted hotel deals, cost-saving travel itineraries and SandSpice escapades! ๐
