Laos Hotel Reviews

Luang Prabang was not what I expected. It was smaller, older, more rural than I imagined. There are many picturesque views in and around LP, and I had seen photos from other travellers posted on websites. I guess it led to an unrealistic expectation that beauty would surround me at every turn. The truth is that the Mekong is muddy, many of the streets in LP are dusty, and the Wats are not in the best repair (especially after I''d seen so many impressive temples in Thailand). Having said that, once you start to explore Luang Prabang and the surrounding area, you find lots of natural beauty. The hill in the centre of town (I just can''t think of the name right now) offers spectacular views of the surrounding town and countryside. There are basically two places to visit in the area: Kuang Si Waterfall and Pak Ou Caves. The Kuang Si Waterfall is spectacular. We spent two hours there, but I could have happily spent the entire day. It is peaceful and you can shoot an entire roll of film (or fill a memory card) trying to capture all of its unique beauty. The caves were only mildly interesting in my opinion -- the main reason to visit them was to have an excuse to cruise on the Mekong River with fantastic views of mountains exposed with every bend in the river. We ate at a couple of restaurants in town, and while the food was good (the highlight was the "Luang Prabang Salad")the service was a poor quality. I spent many weeks in Thailand ahead of this trip to Laos, and the Thais offer a very high level of service everywhere. In Cambodia a couple of weeks earlier the service was not refined, but there were lots of people ready to assist you. In Luang Prabang I found that the servers were inattentive, sometimes surly, and often simply not to be found. We booked the trip to the Pak Ou Caves through a local travel agent a day ahead (though you can just walk up to the river and grab a boat if you want). The agent arranged a pickup at our hotel, and delivery to the riverside. We were then parked on a hard wooden bench with a German couple where we waited for about an hour with no explanation except that another passenger was coming. When the bench got too hard the four of us in turns asked the fellow coordinating our trip what was going on. He squirmed and mumbled, but generally just kept walking away. I kept following him until he finally said he would jump on his motorcycle and go ask his boss what to do. This didn''t happen -- finally the four of us were loaded on the boat 90 minutes later than scheduled departure, without the mysterious missing customer. This seemed to be a pretty normal approach to service in LP, which is really just a village trying to figure out how to cater to the spectrum of visitors that range from backpackers who consider indoor plumbing to be a blessing, to well-heeled travellers who are accustomed to having everything done for them. I''m probably in the middle somewhere, but I was often surprised when a van or a boat would deliver several of us to a destination, park or tie up, then let us off with no explanation about which way to go, or any hint about what to do. Even the backpackers would look around in confusion and ask, "Which way do we go?". This happened at EVERY location I visited. If all this sounds like I didn''t enjoy Luang Prabang, I must say that I enjoyed it very much. It is real Laos -- not a slicked up version of Asia for western tourists to visit. It is surrounded by incredible natural beauty, and the trip was one of the highlights of my time in South East Asia.

The sights of Vientiane can really be exhausted in about a day. Spending two there, we found ourselves scratching our heads to figure out how to spend out time. Definitely try a Lao massage -- much better, softer and more relaxing than a Thai massage.

Go to the ''Cafe Du Maison'' on Pangkhan Road, (off Samsenthai Rd) for the absolutely best Lao Mountain Coffee in Vientiane!

I was only there for 1 day but enjoyed it. Vientiane is a fairly sleepy capital on the river. I went to see most of the local tourist attractions which were easily accessible. Budha park is way outside of town and not worth the visit IMHO if you only have 1 day. I ate dinner at a simple restaurant on the river. The fresh fish and sauce was out of this world. The meal along with beers and an entree for my driver was less than $5. Unfortunately, I don''t have the name of the restaurant but there are many places along the river. Don''t be afraid to venture out.

Slash and burn agriculture is practised in the surrounding hills and mountains in the dry season. It can be quite smokey in the morning, but lifting about 10.30 -11.00 a.m. Luang Prabang is a charming town set in a beautiful location. People were most friendly and loved to practise and learn English.

Luang Prabang is awesome and I am very glad I went. People are very friendly and I felt very safe. One day we did the 4 hour cave tour and 4 hour waterfall tour in one day. These two tours will cost you about $50 per person at the hotel (ripoff)or you can go anywhere in town and get the same trip for $10. I highly recommend the restaurant Nazim as it has great indian food. I would also recommend the crepe place for a snack, a bit expensive but a nice european touch. I would also recommend renting a bike for the day as it is a great way to see the city and tour the temples/wat''s and at $1 a day it is the best bargain there is. I loved this city and can''t wait to get back.

One day is enough for Vientiane. I recommend to visit Wat Sisaket in the morning and That Luang in the late afternoon. Outside of Vientiane Vang Vieng (Two and a half hour by private car) has a beautiful scenery due to its limestone cliffs but it can certainly in no way be compared with the scenery of Yangshuo/Guilin in Southern China.

Coming back to LP after 6 years, the place is a bit busier, more clearly on the traveller route, but has lost none of its charm. Still the most magical place in SE Asia. Culinary highlight: The Saveur de Laos set at L''Elephant.

After coming from Bangkok and ChiangMai I found Laung Prabang to be a beautiful scenic place full of warm and friendly people. I would recomend people to try to meet a local and have them show you the villagers and its surrounds rather than the tours which are on offer in all the travel companies along the main street. The staff at my hotel was happy to show me his village and the people and even showed me around the town and the temples. The only tour I did was a bike trek through the country side to a waterfall and back through some villages and textiles shops. It was interesting if you are fit and can take 5-6 hours of riding a mountain bike on uneven roads. There are plenty of cheap guesthouses right through to expensive hotels so everyone is catered for. A destination that needs to be visited before the coming of MacDonalds etc...

Vientiane is a quiet and laidback city (compared to other asian capitals anyway). I also found it quite friendly. Major attractions are easily available by foot. I particulary liked Wat Si Saket. Other places worth seeing are places like Pha That Luang, Morning Market and the National museum. I spent about three days in Vientiane before moving to Luang Prabang further north.<br> <br> Luang Prabang was really beautiful. I spend six days there, including daytrips to the caves and waterfalls. The trip to the Pak Ou caves was by slowboat on the Mekong river and included stop in villages like a Hmong village. I just went down to the pier where the boats to the caves started, and hired a boat for the day (we where three persons paying US$10 each). I think the rivertrip to the caves is just as interesting as the caves themselves, because of the beautiful scenery along the river. In Luang Prabang itself I particulary enjoyed the Royal Palace Museum, Phu Si hill and Wat Xieng Thong. Or just strolling the peninsula between Mekong River and river Nam Khan. I would also recommend to rent a bike (several guesthouses have bikes for rent for about US$1.50 per day) to explore the city and its surroundings at least for one day.

If you like spicy food (thai for example) make sure you tell the restaurants so, because they asume that as a foreigner you can''t take spicy and they will serve you the laotian food without it, kind of bland! This was our experinece in Luang Prabang.

The old center of Luang Prabang is small enough to get around on foot. Highly recommended activities include getting up in the morning to see the monks collect alms and a slow boat trip on the river.

The Indochina restaurant has a nice atmosphere. The boatride to the budha caves was not really necessaey, since most of the larger Buddhas disappeared.

I only spent a few days in Luang Prabang but loved it. I managed to squeeze in most of the usual sights and activities - local temples, Royal Palace, Pak Ou caves, Kuang Si falls. But it would have been great place to hang out for a while - a Southeast Asian version of a European hill town. The locals are relaxed, genuinely warm and friendly and the whole town still has an authentic, ''un-touristy'' feeling - hope it will stay that way.

We enjoyed Luang Prabang - a relaxed town with friendly locals. Three or four days is a good length of time to see everything at a relaxed pace. The town is also compact enough to walk everywhere. A climb up Mt Phousi in the centre of town is good for views of the town and also for watching the sunset. The relaxed night market in the main street below is worth a look too. We recommend a boat cruise up the Mekong. We had a 5-month-old baby with us, so we just did a 2.5 hour cruise (1.5 hours upstream, stopping at a traditional Lao village, then a 1 hour return). The cost was USD15/person, booked through the hotel. Other river tours visit caves, etc and are longer in duration and more expensive. There was a very nice French restaurant near the hotel (L''Elephant). Ate there a couple of times.

Laos is a very poor country but still provides good quality to traveller of all kinds. The quality of service from the area around Vientienne and the fabulous views of the Mekong make it an area well worth visiting. Plus a pair of socks on prime display in a museum is well worth a visit.

Luang Prabang is a wonderful destination, and surely will be a touristic spot next in the future. Many places to visit or just to walk around the city and sit for hours to look at the people and let the time go on. The tours must be taken in the street, the hotel charges for exactly the same (Pak ou cave and Khouangsi falls) four times the price.

Great food at Apsara. This is owned and run by an Englishman. It was such a relief when we walked in to be greeted by some beautiful classical music.

With wider knowledge of the visa on arrival scheme I expect the place to pace of change to increase. Just remember to pick up the VOA form at Bangkok or wherever and get to the front of the queue at Wattay.<br> <br> My latest LP guide gave prices that are already out of date: jumbos won''t easily budge below $1 (OK they ask $2 but you know they''re trying it on) and car+driver is not easy to find for as little as $10 more than LP upper bound figures.<br> <br> The morning market is being spoilt by busloads of rich US tourists (when they arrived the stallholders immediately ignored my Asian wife). Prices are rather high, almost comparable to Bangkok and bargaining, even by an expert is hard. Eating out is very cheap and continental food is good; e.g. we were very impressed by Cote d''Azur. We did not risk the roadside stalls and my wife was not too impressed by the Lao food. For me, I could not complain at $1 for a litre of excellent laobeer, while watching sunset over the Mekong. Vientiane is peaceful, people are friendly and easy going and I had a very relaxing stay.<br> <br> My wife enjoyed visiting the weaving commune (enchanting for me to watch the ladies at work). On the way back from a relaxing day at Nan Ngum lake we stopped at a market selling all kinds of animals and animal components.

One of the hotel staff organised a car and driver for us for the day to tour the region (Buddah park, temples, Morning market, friendship bridge, lunch, more temples...) Vientianne is quite primitive and there really isn''t that much to do and see (1 or max 2 days will do you). Be careful walking the streets and pavements (where they exist!) as there are a lot of open holes. Everything (over)priced in US$ - generally prices are way way too expensive. Worth the detour: Phaeng Mai Gallery - for handwoven silks. Absolutely fantastic - expensive but definitely high quality. (take a taxi - 5 to 10 minutes from centre).