Luang Prabang

Introduction

Loatian Temple

© All Rights Reserved Luis M

Luang Prabang is one of the most popular destinations in Laos and one of the most popular cities to visit in all of Southeast Asia. The old city has a wonderful feel of being the royal capital and then a French colonial centre. It is very easy to spend several days relaxing by the Mekong or jumping off of water falls outside of town.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• The Night Market located on the main street comes to life every night with locals selling handicrafts and other goods meant for tourists.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Luang Prabang has a hot and humid tropical climate. There are two seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to October while the much more pleasant dry season lasts from November to April. During the rainy season there is about 200 to 300 mm of rain a month and the high temperatures, averaging around 33 °C during the day and around 24 °C degrees at night, makes this time the worst for a visit. Winter is much more pleasant with days still close to 30 degrees and nights a nice 15 °C to 18 °C. March to May can be very hot, with temperatures exceeding 40 °C and the record stands at 45 °C!

Getting There

Night Market, Xiang Thong street, Luang Prabang

© All Rights Reserved Glug

By Plane

Luang Prabang International Airport (IATA: LPQ, ICAO: VLLB) is a small international airport located outside of town with regular domestic flights to Phongsaly, Vientiane and Xieng Khuang. There are also international flights to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Hanoi and Siem Reap. Remember that flight schedules can change so make sure to check for the most current destinations served.

By Car

By Bus

Bus is the most common way to reach town and the bus stations has direct buses to every major city in the country and several international buses to China and Thailand.

By Boat

Slow boats up and down the Mekong to Hoay Xai (or Hoay Say) in the north leave daily, stopping overnight at Pak Beng.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Most provincial capitals have internet access, particularly those that a more popular with tourists. In Luang Prabang and Vientiane rates are usually very reasonable at about US$0.50 to US$1.50 per hour. In more remote towns where competition is low, rates are a fair bit higher at around US$3 to US$6 per hour. If you're looking to save a bit of money, it's best to save your emailing until you reach the larger towns and cities.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The country code for Laos is 856. To dial out of the country, the international access code is 00. There are plenty of public phone booths in Laos but these are pretty useless as phonecards are no longer sold and the technology is rather archaic. For long distance calls it's much better to use a post office or internet cafe. The best place however is the local Telecom Office.

Mobile phone users can use their own GSM mobile phone in Laos. Roaming tends to be expensive, so if you're planning on using your phone a fair bit it may well be worth buying a local SIM card and purchasing prepaid minutes. SIMs are normally around US$5 and both Lao Telecom and ETL have good network coverage.

Post

For the best postal services, send your mail from Vientiane as the post in the provinces is less reliable. In general it takes anywhere from 1 to over 2 weeks to send post to/from Laos. Post offices generally are open from 8:00am to 5:00pm, with some having shorter hours on weekend days as well. If you are going to Thailand, post from there as it's more reliable and faster. If you are worried about sending home valuable items there is a Federal Express office inside the main post office in Vientiane. You might also check possibilities with companies like DHL, TNT or UPS.

External Links

Tourism Laos
Tourism Luang Prabang