Did you know Laos’s nickname is the “Land of a Million Elephants,” but fewer than a thousand remain in the country?
That it’s one of the least developed countries in the world, but it has a high-speed train?
Or that it has no sea but is full of islands? Perhaps as many as three times Thailand’s, depending on how you count them.
Contrasts like these shape Laos in multiple ways. Metaphorical coins with one side good and the other side…meh. These deserve further scrutiny, especially if you’re contemplating a trip to Laos. So without further ado, let’s look into some pros and cons of traveling in Laos.
Laos is full of contrasts, and that’s exactly what makes it fascinating. Here’s what you can expect on the ground:
- Raw, less touristy feel compared to Vietnam, Thailand, or Cambodia.
- Spectacular natural gems – 200-meter waterfalls, huge caves, misty viewpoints
- Easier travel with the new Laos–China Railway — but also bigger crowds (in Luang Prabang in particular)
- High visa fees, but otherwise a bargain for eats, drinks, and beds
- Things to mind: poor infrastructure, UXO in rural areas, and dodgy alcohol
- Things NOT to miss: jungle ziplines, hot-air balloons, remote treks
Keep reading for Simon’s full impressions and travel tips — or skip ahead to Laos Backpacking Guide and 1–3 Week Itinerary put together by Marek, the original Indie Traveller, with his tips on adventures like the Gibbon Experience and exploring the Bolaven Plateau.
+ Landscapes to die for…
International tourism tends to overemphasize beaches and the sea. Laos has none – it’s landlocked – so it stays in the shadows of its neighbors, even when it comes to other natural wonders.
I can prove it to you.
Search for the tallest single-drop waterfall in Southeast Asia with a method of your choice; heck, why not even ask one of the AI chatbots? I bet the answer is not in Laos. Frankly, that’s wrong.
The confirmed tallest, single-drop waterfall in Southeast Asia is Tad Fane at 213 meters in the Champasak province of Laos.
But you are unlikely to find this information. Instead, you might learn about smaller or tiered waterfalls in other countries that receive several times more tourists.
Oh, what a pity!
Laos has hundreds, if not over a thousand, waterfalls!
But it doesn’t stop there.
Laotian caves are among the largest and most beautiful on this side of the Tropic of Cancer. Take, for example, Kong Lor Cave – a 7.5 km long cavern with boats ready to take you on an eerie, majestic, and surreal (yes, at the same time) ride through to the other side.
Or the Pak Ou Caves, which contain upwards of 6000 Buddha statues in a sacred, timeless testament of devotion.
The rugged terrain across the country creates hundreds of viewpoints offering spectacular panoramas. The Nam Xay viewpoint near Vang Vieng lets you “ride” a motorcycle above the clouds, the several viewpoints around Nong Khiaw will leave you breathless, as if floating above a sea of fog, and even the Phou Si Hill in the center of Luang Prabang is a place worth sweating for.
I can go on with the various ways Earth has wrinkled in Laos. Plateaus, mountains, floodplains, wetlands, rice terraces, and karst, so much karst.
It would be amiss not to end with the Mighty Mekong River, the lifeblood of the country. From the northern reaches near the tri-border with Myanmar and China, to the southernmost anabranches known as the 4000 Islands near Cambodia, the Mekong weaves through Laos, shaping its landscape as much as its people and culture.
You likely hear about those locations for the first time, but truth be told, they are some of the most enchanting places in the world!
– …But many are inaccessible
Remember when I said that Laos may have over 1000 waterfalls? We just don’t know, and it’s because most of them are beyond our reach.
The overload of natural beauty described above only scratches the surface, but we don’t know what’s hidden out there, behind the veil.
Poor infrastructure, in some regions akin to pictures taken by a Mars rover, means that you simply can’t get to certain places in a reasonable time.
Some areas in Laos can feel quite isolated 
Getting stuck in the slippery roads during the trip to the Gibbon Experience 
Crossing the Mekong River in the south
For instance, the 100 Waterfalls trek near Nong Khiaw was first explored by non-locals as late as 2008, having been the literal definition of “off the beaten track” prior to that.
Moreover, unexploded ordnance (UXO) dots the entire country, making it extremely dangerous to veer off into the jungle or any unmarked paths. Roughly 30 Laotians die every month from UXO, trying to reclaim their country from the bombs dropped in the 60s and 70s.
Clearing bombs takes considerable effort and money. Estimates suggest that over 30% of the land is contaminated with UXO, and only 1% has been cleaned in the 50+ years since the war ended.
If you’d like to support efforts to clear Laos of bombs, check the work of Halo Trust and Mag International. If you’d like to learn more about this ongoing tragedy while in Laos, I highly recommend the UXO Visitor Centers in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
+ Way less touristy than neighboring countries…
Laos receives 9 times fewer international tourists than Thailand and nearly 5 times fewer than Vietnam. Even Cambodia welcomes twice the number of foreigners yearly.
If you ignore Vietnamese and Thai tourists in Laos and the number of foreign arrivals drops from 4 million to under 2 million.
While both are larger and way more populous than Laos, these stats don’t lie – Laos is not nearly as popular as its neighbors.
For someone who seeks the unspoiled and to escape the well-trodden, this is amazing. Laos feels more untouched and less scripted. It hasn’t had to adapt or commercialize its culture to the same extent, and in many parts of Laos, local life continues at its own pace, unshaped by mass tourism.
Interactions feel more genuine – people aren’t performing for tourists, they’re just living their lives. Laos is still raw and allows you to be spontaneous. You’re discovering it on its terms, not as it has rebranded for outsiders.
– …But this is changing. Quickly.
The new Laos-China Railway (LCR) is a boon and a curse at the same time.
It shortens the overland journey from the capital, Vientiane, to its former capital and cultural epicenter, Luang Prabang, from 8 hours to just over 2, vastly improving local access to jobs, education, and services and boosting regional economies.
But it also brings thousands of tourists (mostly from China, as the railway line extends to Kunming and beyond) with different values and dispositions.
I was in Laos in March 2023, just a month before the cross-border service to China commenced. Luang Prabang was busy but functional. Not crowded, not noisy. Authentic, truthful to its history. The word is blissful.
I also visited in February of 2024. A palpable difference. Crowds, queues, these tacky selfie sticks. It felt more like a theme park than a real community.
Laos is changing, for better or for worse.
That said, the most in-your-face tourism development is happening along the Laos-China Railway. Head further into Laos and you can experience a wonderfully pure travel destination that is often much more focused on sustainable ecotourism than on typical mass tourism. (I’ll share my recommended places to go in a moment.)
+ It’s cheap
Low prices should never be the primary magnetic force to visit a certain country, though it’s always nicer to spend less and see more.
Laos is cheap by default (the same can be said about pretty much all countries in SEA, bar Singapore), plus the currency, the Laotian Kip, has been continuously losing value, making things even cheaper for those with foreign cash. This is why many businesses are pegging prices to the US dollar instead.
Street food in Laos is very inexpensive with meals costing as low as 1.5 USD. A can of Beer Lao is under 1 USD, a night in an adequate guesthouse goes for 5-12 USD, and a 2-hour journey on the LCR train in the 2nd class carriage costs just 11 USD, to give you ballpark figures.
Digging into some roadside noodle soup on the Bolaven Loop
There is an endless debate among backpackers about whether it’s the cheapest countries in Southeast Asia – without going down this rabbit hole, we can all agree that traveling in Laos is very affordable.
However, the visa cost is rather high – the highest in the region at $40 (on arrival) or $50 (online) – though that’s a topic for another time.
– …But be careful with the alcohol
Cheap alcohol leads to bad decisions. I ain’t your father, and this is not about drinking in moderation. But bad decisions shouldn’t be fatal.
Six people died in a mass methanol poisoning case in Laos in November 2024. The story made the headlines around the world as the victims were all young foreign backpackers.
Methanol is a byproduct of moonshine distillation, widespread throughout rural Laos. A few drops are enough to blind you for life, and 30 ml is already a deadly dose.
How poisoned alcohol got to a bar in Vang Vieng (not a rural place, famous for international visitors, though also for tons of drinking) remains a mystery. To this day, no one has been formally charged; the investigation is ongoing and will likely never yield results.
This lack of justice has prompted calls for a boycott of Laos. I believe that’s too much, but basic precautions are necessary.
Don’t drink from improperly sealed containers or such that were not opened immediately before your consumption. Buckets, free shots, drinks whose preparation you didn’t see – assume they are dangerous and move on.
+ Many bucket list experiences
Don’t let Laos’s laid-back vibe fool you – it is brimming with extraordinary experiences, waiting to become once-in-a-lifetime memories.
Take the Gibbon Experience in Houayxay – a jungle adventure combining conservation, ziplining, and sleeping among the treetops.
You get to explore the deep rainforest by hopping from treehouse to treehouse like the gibbons…and if you’re lucky, they may join you! Truly unique and remarkable.
The bad news? It’s expensive (~320 EUR for the classic tour) and you must book at least 2 weeks in advance.
Cheaper alternatives that vaguely compare are:
- Zip Lining at Tad Fane Waterfall: You will become a flying fox, some 200 meters above ground, gliding under 4 interconnected lines. This costs $30 to $50.
- Rock climbing at Rock View Point: You will ascend via ferrata routes and navigate suspended bridges, soaring above the forest canopy and through Laos’ limestone karst landscape. It costs $60 for a half-day trip or $90 for a full-day trip, lunch included.
- Camping on top of a mountain near Nong Khiaw: “All” you need to do is scale 1000 meters of altitude. The rewards are a 360-view, fireside stories under the starlit sky at night, and the mesmerizing Sea of Fog with the sunrise as a backdrop.
- Jungle trekking in Luang Namtha: You get to explore the ancient forests, diverse wildlife, and traditional hill tribe villages in single or multi-day guided treks. Prices average $40 to $65 per person per day (or explore around Luang Namtha by motorbike)
All of the above require a certain level of fitness and good health. No doubt about it – Laos is a frontrunner for being the adventure capital of the world.
Jungle trekking in Luang Namtha 
Nong Khiaw: a town ringed by towering karst mountains, with epic viewpoints 
Tad Fane Waterfall 
A quiet, cloudy day settles over the mountains of Nong Khiaw
Lastly, if you want a leisurely bucket list activity, Laos is one of the cheapest places in the world to fly in a hot air balloon. The nearly vertical karst cliffs around Vang Vieng present the perfect landscape. Prices vary depending on the season (from as little as $80 up to $150), though balloons generally do not fly during the peak of the rainy season (July to September). View details and secure your tickets on GetYourGuide.
– But you can’t do them all on a short trip
The activities listed above are scattered throughout the country. Limited transport options and lagging infrastructure make it challenging to do all of them in a week, even two.
If you’re going to Laos for 3-4 weeks, it is doable, but still rushed.
This really is just another “pro” in disguise; what better reason to become a return visitor than to cure the FOMO?
Is Laos worth visiting?
There are many fascinating places in Laos that I haven’t even mentioned so far.
The over 2000 mysterious megalithic jars near Phonsavanh, made of solid rock, that still puzzle archeologists. This Plain of Jars became the third (and last to date) Unesco Heritage Site in the country in 2019.
The 4000 Islands (Si Phan Don) that pop up from the Mekong during the dry season in Southern Laos. You can’t claim to know perfect relaxation, the “Art of the Chill”, until you visit Don Det.
Or Vat Phou – an ancient temple complex in Champasak, built by the Khmers, at roughly the same time they built Angkor Wat, some 400 km to the southwest.
Or Muang Ngoi Neua – a village so remote that you can only reach it by boat from Nong Khiaw.
It’s obvious, isn’t it? Laos is amazing, and the cons are merely small inconveniences that make visiting it even more memorable.