Is Laos or Vietnam cheaper?

Whats cheaper, Vietnam or Laos?

Laos bleeds less from your wallet.

• Accommodation: Laos wins. Simpler, cheaper.
• Transport: Buses, tuk-tuks…less painful in Laos. No contest.
• Food: Street eats? Both are cheap. Restaurant splurges? Vietnam bites harder. I know what I’m talking about.
• Overall: Vietnam preys on tourists more.

Laos isn’t luxury, but it’s lighter. Vietnam has charm, sure, but the cost echoes louder than the motorbikes in Hanoi. Believe it. My sister learned this year. The hard way.

Additional information? Fine.

Laos offers true off-the-beaten-path experiences. Think muddy roads, jungle treks, remote villages… less developed. And a lot cheaper. Services limited.

Vietnam has exploded. Flashy resorts, bustling cities. Easier travel. More options, more price tags. Expect to pay a premium. The premium’s real.

How expensive is Laos to visit?

Laos… cheap. Yeah, I guess it is.

Between $20 and $50 a day. It’s what they say. If you are a backpacker, that is.

Memories. I spent maybe $30? Something like that.

It felt like nothing.

• Accommodation: Guesthouses were dirt cheap. Like, ten bucks a night. Maybe even less, somewhere. Sleep on a hard bed, who cares, you’re seeing the world.
• Food: Street food. Noodles. Soup. Chang Beer. It all adds up to almost nothing. A couple of dollars, tops. Sometimes less.
• Transportation: Buses. Tuk-tuks. Bargain hard. I hate bargaining. Okay, I do it anyway. It’s part of it.

Yeah, it was something. I don’t think I’ll go back though. Not anytime soon, anyway. It was cheap, sure. I just don’t know. Something felt missing.

How much should I budget for a trip to Laos?

Laos trip budget? Fifty bucks a day, ramen noodles, hitchhiking. Just kidding… mostly.

Okay, real talk. Seven days. Think of it like this: Seven fancy coffees. Seven pizzas. Seven… trips to the zoo? Except, instead of zoo animals, you got temples and tuk-tuks. Budget travelers? Five hundred to 800 smackeroos. Middle of the road? 800 to 1500 big ones. Luxury? Psh. Sky’s the limit. My uncle Morty went last year. Spent, like, five grand. Brought back a stuffed gecko. Worth it? Debatable.

• Budget: Think hostel bunks, street food (delicious, by the way – I had some amazing papaya salad once. Changed my life.), and buses that sound like they’re about to explode. But hey, adventure!
• Mid-range: Okay, so maybe a slightly less explosive bus. A hotel room with, get this, air conditioning. Fancy. Restaurants with actual menus, not just pointing and grunting.
• Luxury: Private driver. Infinity pools overlooking rice paddies. Meals consisting entirely of rare Laotian truffles. You know, the usual.

My advice? Don’t be Morty. Unless you really want that stuffed gecko. Seriously though, Laos is amazing. Waterfall slides in Luang Prabang. Tubing down the Nam Song. Elephant sanctuaries (the ethical kind, obvi). Worth every Kip. (Kip is their money, FYI. Learned that one the hard way).

How much does a trip to Laos cost?

Laos…How much?

It depends. Really it depends.

Budget? Around $30-$50 a day. Guesthouses. Noodles. Buses. That’s doable. It’s lonely sometimes.

Comfort? $50-$100. You get…a little more. Better food. Maybe a tour. It’s still not much, is it?

Luxury? Forget it. Over $150. Easily. Why even bother at that point?

Ten days. $300 to $1500… or more. I… I spent two weeks there. Probably closer to $700, all in. That was…enough.

It always seems like enough at the time, you know?

• Transportation: I mostly took the local buses. So slow. So crowded. But it was real. Right? A flight within Laos is expensive. Not worth it, I think.
• Accommodation: I stayed in mostly guesthouses. Small rooms. Fan only. I did splurge one night. Air conditioning. It felt…wrong.
• Food: Street food all the way. Pad see ew every day. I think I got sick. Maybe? I don’t remember.
• Activities: I went to Kuang Si Falls. Beautiful. Overrated. Visited some temples. They all blur together. Did a cooking class. Burnt everything.
• Personal: I missed my dog. a lot. It sounds stupid. It just feels like such a waste, being gone that long.

How much money do I need for Laos?

Laos? Well, pack your bags (lightly, trust me). Daily damage? Around $18. That’s like, two fancy coffees back home… or a feast there!

Food, glorious food! You’re looking at roughly $9.08per day for meals. Translation: skip the avocado toast; embrace sticky rice.

Think of it like this: your stomach’s budget is smaller than my shoe size. (Okay, maybe slightly bigger. I wear a… never mind.)

Laos is where adventure (and saving moolah) meet. Just avoid impulse-buying that elephant-shaped lamp. Seriously.

• Accommodation: Hostels rule! (Unless you’re allergic to fun and shared bathrooms.)
• Transportation: Embrace the tuk-tuk. Bargain like your life depends on it. It doesn’t, but they don’t know that.
• Activities: Waterfalls? Temples? Free. Ninety-nine. Percent.

But hey, who am I to tell you how to spend your precious pennies? It’s your trip. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about the lamp. And the questionable street meat. Oh dear.

Just kidding! Laos is, like, amazing. Go! Enjoy! And send me a postcard. (Of, like, anything but the lamp.)

Is it cheaper to go to Laos or Vietnam?

Vietnam’s cheaper, hands down. Laos? More like “La-expensive”! Think of it this way: Vietnam’s like finding a twenty in your old jeans; Laos is more like finding a slightly crumpled five.

Budget travel? Vietnam wins. Seriously, Laos is trying, bless its cotton socks, but it’s playing catch-up.

• Food: Both countries got yummy street food, but Vietnam’s a smorgasbord.
• Accommodation: Hostels galore in Vietnam. Laos has some, but it feels like hunting unicorns.
• Transport: Vietnam’s got efficient buses. Laos? You’re basically hitchhiking with a prayer and a slightly dodgy map.

My mate Dave went to both last year. Spent a ton more in Laos, even though he’s tighter than a drum. He swore he saw a monkey charging him for a coconut. True story.

Bottom line: Save your pennies for the beer. Choose Vietnam. You won’t regret it. Unless you’re weirdly into paying extra for questionable tuk-tuk rides.

Pro-tip: Bring your own mosquito net to Laos. Seriously, those things are like tiny, bloodsucking ninjas. I speak from experience. My leg still itches. And it’s 2024. Still itches.