How Much Should You Budget for a Trip to Laos?
Laos remains a destination where day-to-day travel can be relatively inexpensive. A local meal for just a few euros, affordable guesthouses and a moderate cost of living make it easy to keep everyday expenses under control.
But your final budget depends heavily on the trip you build.
A night at the top of the mountains in Nong Khiaw, a hot-air balloon flight in Vang Vieng, several days riding the Thakhek or Bolaven loops: it is usually the experiences and transportation rather than food that push the budget higher.
After spending several months on the ground, here is how much we would realistically budget for 10, 20 or 30 days in Laos, based on three different traveler profiles.
To see how to spread these experiences across your trip, read our article How Long Do You Need to Visit Laos? 10, 20 or 30 Days.
How much does a trip to Laos cost?
Our estimates include accommodation, food, local transportation, activities and a small allowance for miscellaneous expenses. International round-trip flights are not included.
| Trip length | Backpacker | Couple | Family of 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 days | €485 | €1,030 | €1,915 |
| 20 days | €865 | €1,880 | €3,455 |
| 30 days | €1,135 | €2,520 | €4,610 |
These amounts correspond to our actual itineraries, so they include the activities and transportation we selected rather than simply applying a theoretical daily cost.
That works out to around €49 per day for a backpacker over 10 days, then €43 over 20 days and €38 over a month. For a couple, expect around €103, €94 and €84 per day for two.
The decrease over longer trips is easy to explain: some expensive activities are paid for only once, while accommodation and food remain very affordable.
Accommodation budget in Laos
This is probably one of the areas where Laos is most surprising.
Along our route, we found dorm beds for around €7, simple double rooms for around €15, and standard family rooms for around €24.
These prices obviously vary depending on the destination and level of comfort.
For our complete itineraries, we use the following benchmarks:
- Backpacker: around €7 per night
- Couple: around €20 per night on average
- Family: around €30 per night
For accommodation, we do not think it is worth automatically chasing the lowest possible price: spending just a few euros more can make a noticeable difference in comfort.
How much does food cost in Laos?
This is where the budget remains particularly low.
A simple local meal generally costs around 40,000 to 50,000 ₭, or approximately €1.60 to €2 based on the exchange rates we used during our trip.
From our own price records:
| Expense | Price observed |
|---|---|
| Local breakfast | €1.20 |
| Western-style breakfast | €2.40 |
| Local lunch or dinner | €2 |
| Western-style meal | €4 |
| Water, coffee or tea | €0.40 |
| Local beer | €1.40 |
| Cocktail or glass of wine | €2.80 |
In our calculations, we allow around €9 per day per person for an economical trip and up to €12 per day per personwhen mixing local food with more traveler-oriented restaurants.
Transportation: very affordable
Buses, minivans, boats, scooters and local transfers quickly add up when crossing the country. Transportation is generally easy to organize, even if journeys can be slow.
In our itineraries, transportation budgets therefore reach:
| Trip length | Backpacker | Couple | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 days | €75 | €95 | €270 |
| 20 days | €165 | €250 | €585 |
| 30 days | €230 | €365 | €815 |
For scooter rental, we paid around 200,000 ₭, or €8 per day, plus roughly €2 for a tank of fuel.
The Thakhek and Bolaven loops should therefore be treated as genuine travel expenses, not simply as a small occasional scooter rental.
Activities: the expense that really changes the budget
This is the key point.
Laos is inexpensive when it comes to eating, sleeping and local transportation. But some of the experiences that make the trip exceptional cost significantly more.
An overnight hike to Pha Daeng in Nong Khiaw, including the guide, meals and a night in a tent, was budgeted at around €50 per person.
In Luang Prabang, the experience with the elephants at Mandalao costs around €90 per person.
Add a hot-air balloon flight in Vang Vieng, entrance fees, waterfalls and other excursions, and the difference between a simply inexpensive trip and a trip packed with memorable experiences becomes significant.
That is why our 10-day itinerary already includes around €235 in activities for a backpacker, compared with only €70 for accommodation and €90 for food.
And that is also why we prefer to talk about a travel budget rather than simply the cost of living.
If you are trying to decide which experiences are worth prioritizing, we have also selected What to Do in Laos? 10 Experiences That Are Truly Worth the Trip.
What budget should you choose for your travel style?
For a solo backpacker, €40 to €50 per day is already enough for a very good trip if the major activities are planned in advance.
For a couple who want a private room, the freedom to eat where they like and the main experiences included, we would budget closer to €85 to €105 per day for two.
For a family of four, around €155 to €190 per day provides a much more comfortable margin.
You can obviously travel for less. But cutting €15 from your daily budget by removing the experiences you traveled halfway around the world to have is not necessarily a saving.
This is exactly where we prefer to spend wisely rather than simply spend as little as possible.
Small daily expenses to plan for
Beyond the main categories, a few smaller costs also add up:
- 20 GB SIM card: around €4.80
- Laundry: around €1.20/kg
- Soft drink: around €1
- Scooter: around €8/day + fuel
And always carry some cash. Cash remains widely used in Laos, particularly outside the main cities and for small purchases. The official Laos tourism website also notes that the kip is the official currency and that bank cards are mainly accepted in larger hotels, restaurants and businesses in the main cities.
So, is Laos an expensive country?
No, but it would be misleading to reduce Laos to a €20-a-day destination.
It is perfectly possible to eat and sleep for very little. But if your trip includes Nong Khiaw, a hot-air balloon flight in Vang Vieng, the major scooter loops, the waterfalls of the Bolaven Plateau and several excursions, your budget will naturally be higher.
And that is exactly what our figures are designed to show: not simply what it costs to be in Laos, but what it costs to actually take the kind of trip we recommend.
Planning your trip?
The TAMAP Laos Guide includes our flexible 10, 20 and 30-day itineraries, with transportation, travel times, best areas to stay, prices we observed, activities and alternatives. Each day can be followed exactly as written or integrated into your own route. Then it is yours to turn into your own trip.