Laos is one of the few destinations where, in some areas, visitors are yet to deviate from a few well-trodden sights. It’s Indochina’s final frontier, and only now emerging after years of isolation, Laos is a country of steep, jungle-robed valleys inhabited by resilient communities who live at a refreshingly unhurried pace.
The former royal stronghold, Luang Prabang, is a mosaic of golden wats and Indochinese villas, its streets often filled with silent processions of monks. In the diminutive capital, Vientiane, you’ll find faded French-colonial mansions and coffee shops.
The rest of the country is predominately one blanket of green, carved with slow-flowing tributaries of the Mekong. As you explore, you’ll happen upon little-visited hill tribes, backwater towns and Cham temples that predate Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.
Laos is a landlocked country in the northeast-central mainland of Southeast Asia. It consists of an irregularly round portion in the north that narrows into a peninsula-like region stretching to the southeast. Overall, the country extends about 650 miles (1,050 km) from northwest to southeast.
Laos is an independent republic, located northeast of Thailand and west of Vietnam. It covers 236,800 square kilometres in the centre of the Southeast Asian peninsula, and it is surrounded by Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
There are no direct flights from the UK to Laos but it’s still only a simple one-stop route. It’s a 12-hour flight to Bangkok, before a connecting one-and-a-half-hour flight to Luang Prabang. For a nicer way into Laos, you could take a one-stop flight to northern Thailand, before hopping on the Luang Say cruise along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang.
Laos is Indochina’s least-developed country, with many parts rarely seeing visitors. We have uncovered the best places to go in this timeless place and can help tailor an itinerary tailored to your specific interests.
For a country still emerging as a tourism destination, there are a surprising range of accommodation options in Laos, much of it full of character. In Luang Prabang and Vientiane, French colonial villas have now been converted into small, stylish guesthouses with all the required comforts and a warm welcome, with a few grander options also offering swimming pools and even spas. In the mountains of the north, eco-lodges have opened for those who wish to stay in remote locations to explore the surrounding hill tribe villages. In the south, however, the accommodation is much more basic with only simple guesthouses available.
Laos has two distinct seasons, with the dry season running from October to April and its wet season taking up the rest of the year (May to September).
Thanks to Laos’ landlocked nature, the weather remains fairly consistent throughout much of the country, with the height of the location the only factor. Its dry season sees pleasant days, with temperatures below 30°C in Luang Prabang and the lowland areas of Laos, while rainfall is minimal, too. In the evenings it can get quite cool, so we’d definitely recommend packing a few extra layers. It’s much hotter in Champasak, with year-round temperatures in the early 30s, but in the highlands of the Bolaven Plateau it’s noticeably cooler, even chilly at night. From February onwards, the heat and rainfall starts to rise.
At the start of the rainy season, days can be extremely hot – around 35°C – and with showers yet to reach their peak, it can be baking. Heading for the Bolaven Plateau is a great option if you’re planning a holiday to Laos at this time. Across the country, the rains are at their greatest in July and August, although showers still typically only last up to an hour, leaving the rest of the day dry. However, the rains feed the surrounding scenery, leaving behind gorgeously green landscapes to show Laos in a different light.
For further information, please do feel free to contact Nicola directly or at The Explorations Company for further inspiration and unforgettable safaris and holidays to Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Or, if you would like to just dream some more for now then you can by visiting our Video Library.
By Marcela Kunova - 20th April 2017
Nicola Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Exploration Company, organises unusual trips for HNW and UHNW clients ranging from birthday parties at an Indian Maharajah's palace to reliving Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1950s expedition to the South Pole. Citywealth caught ...
Premium service from one of the world's most knowledgeable travel companies
24/7 contact number
Your holiday is fully protected by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018
Flight-Inclusive Bonding: We are licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority and hold ATOL Number 7159
Flight-Exclusive bonding: Your holiday is further protected by our membership of ABTOT Membership Number 5197