›You are here

Home›Destinations›Asia›Laos›Laos Snapshot

Laos Snapshot

Laos is a great place to visit at any time of the year as the weather doesn't vary much – it’s always hot and humid! The coolest time to visit is from November to January. This is also the driest time, and the main festival period, so it’s an interesting time to travel through Laos. The wet season runs from June to October. It rains frequently during this time, temperatures average over 30 degrees Celsius and although some roads may be closed due to flooding, it is a great time for river travel. February to May is drier but hot, with temperatures climbing to 40 degrees Celsius.
  • Vientiane weather chart

Eating and Drinking in Laos

  • Larb: This spicy meat salad is considered the national dish of Lao. The delicious combination of minced beef, chicken or pork seasoned with chilli, lime and mint, served with vegetables and sticky rice is a firm favourite with locals and travellers.
  • Khao Poon: This popular soup of meat, rice noodles, lime leaves, chilli, garlic and fish sauce has a few variations. The version made with coconut milk makes the dish similar to a laksa, while the version without coconut milk is a lighter option.
  • Fresh Fruit: The markets of Laos have a cornucopia of delicious fruits on offer, either fresh or whipped up in a juice. Pineapple, orange, watermelon, guava and banana are plentiful but why not try more exotic fruits like lychee, longan, rambutan or jackfruit?
  • Beerlao: The answer to Laos’ heat and humidity is a bottle of locally brewed Beerlao, best served cold at the end of a long day of exploring.
  • Fresh seafood

Intrepid believes that one of the best ways of experiencing a country is by eating! Whether you're sampling street food, savouring a cheap eat or indulging in a banquet, there are endless options to choose from wherever you are in the world. Laotian cuisine draws on culinary traditions from its neighbours, so visitors will be able to taste the flavours of China, Thailand and Vietnam in the food of Laos.

Shopping in Laos

  • Textiles: Laotian weavers are responsible for crafting an impressive range of top-quality fabric wonders. Silk and cotton are the most common and with everything from handmade bags, scarves, cushion covers, placemats and linen on offer, it won’t be hard to go over your luggage limit here.
  • Saa Paper: Saa paper (also known as Mulberry paper) is made from the leftover bi-products of the silk industry. You’ll be able to find Saa paper notebooks and stationary, cards and even gorgeous hanging stars in some of Laos’ markets and boutiques.
  • Hmong Handicrafts: The Hmong people are famous for creating colourful handicrafts, which can be found in most markets around Laos. Hand-embroidered bedspreads, vibrant clothing and cotton dolls make meaningful global gifts for friends back home.
  • Hmong Handicrafts

Apart from being a great place to pick up handmade wares, buy fresh produce and mingle with locals, the many markets of Laos are one of the most interesting places to take photos also.

It's a good idea to check with your local customs officials to ensure that you are able to bring certain items back into your home country. Australia and New Zealand generally have strict quarantine laws.

Supporting Grassroots Business

Supporting local artists is something Intrepid encourages. When shopping in Laos, look out for this organisation:

KPP Handicraft Promotion Enterprise

Cnr Setthathirath & Th Chao Anou, Vientiane
This Fair Trade enterprise stocks a range of textiles and handicrafts made by ethnic minority groups from southern Laos. Paying a fair price for handmade goods improves the lives of tribal minority groups and ensures that age-old traditional arts and crafts are kept alive.

Accommodation

Travelling with Intrepid is a little bit different. We endeavour to provide travellers with an authentic experience to remember, so we try to keep accommodation as unique and traditional as possible.

When travelling with us in Laos you may find yourself staying in a:

  • Guesthouse

  • Intrepid prefers smaller character-filled hotels over hotel chains. When staying in Laos, enjoy staying in small guesthouses and hotels owned and run by friendly locals.

Transport

Intrepid believes half the fun of experiencing a new country is getting there, and getting around once there! Where possible, Intrepid uses local transport options and traditional modes of transport - which usually carry less of an environmental impact, support small local operators and are heaps more fun.

Depending on which trip you're on while in Laos, you may find yourself travelling by:
Riverboat

  • Riverboat

  • Cruising down the Mekong is an iconic travel experience that just must be done in one’s lifetime.

Shortlist

No trips.

Laos at a glance

  • 19
  • Vientiane
  • 6.3 million
  • Lao
  • LAK
  • (GMT+07:00) Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta
  • Type C (European 2-pin), Type A (North American/Japanese 2-pin), Type B (American 3-pin), Type E (French 2-pin, female earth), Type F (German 2-pin, side clip earth)
  • +856

Subscribe to Newsletters


Inspiration straight to your inbox with travel tips, specials, travellers' experiences and a trip to win in every edition!
  • brochure request