Let's get yourself fully informed before your trip to Laos with Paradissa's Laos travel guide, travel tips and travel advice, travel destinations and photos. All information here is the written by Paradissa tour guides and staff from our own travel experiences in Laos. Have nice reading and please don't forget to share with us your travels in Laos.
Below are some helpful guides to Lao culture, traditions and culture traits which may be of use especially to the independent travelers.
Laos is a multi-ethinic country and each ethnic group has their own their language or dialect. But the official language of Laos is the Lao language as spoken and written in Vientiane. Standard Lao and standard Thai belong to the same linguistic group of the Thai-Kadai language family. The native speakers of Lao standard language and Thai standard language can mutually understand one another thanks to the similarity.
Theravada Buddhism is followed by 60% of Lao population and it's the most popular religion in the country. King Fa Ngum, the first king of Lan Xang Kingdom, declared Theravada Buddhism the state religion in the 13th century. Others following kings were active patrons of Buddhism building more wats, teaching the religion in schools...
Laos is country of multi-ethnic nature and each community has a lot of festivals all year round. Some festivals may affect your tour itinerary in the country and/or your travel interests. It's always good to know the main ones that are more likely encountered on your holiday in Laos. Many other festivals held in different regions are not mentioned here. If you plan to travel thoroughly through Laos or if you plan to have an adventure tour in remote regions of the country, please consult our travel experts for further information.
Lao food and drink: Laos is a country of multi-ethnic group and each group has its own version of traditional cuisine. On the general level, Lao cuisine is fresh and spicy. The country's cuisine can be best described as blend of more Thai cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine and Chinese cuisine.
One of the highlights of the trip to Lao for many foreign tourists is probably to experience the rich arts of the country which are quite different from those of other countries. Lao arts have been mostly found in religious architecture, in religious sculpture and traditional handicrafts.
Having your health in the best conditions while traveling is vital to having a nice vacation and a memorable away-from-home holiday. Experiencing a healthy journey is essential to leading a happy and full-of-success life in the time to come and to prepare ourselves in the best conditions for the next adventures of life.
The currency in Laos is the Kip (LAK) which comes in 5,000, 2,000, 1,000, 500, 100 and 50 Kip denominations. In most travel destinations, with the exception of the remote or mountainous areas, Thai Bahts and US Dollars are also accepted widely. For items of higher prices such as room rates at luxury hotels, food at first class restaurants, deluxe tour packages...the prices are normally quoted in US Dollars.
Below you can find a travel guide to post and communications in Laos, internet access in Laos, making a phone call in Laos, sending a post card in Laos.
A guide to passport and visa for Laos: All visitors and travellers to Laos must possess a passport with validity of at least 6 months after entry and an appropriate visa, except for those who come from a country which has bi-lateral agreements with Laos on visa exemption.
Below are recommended activities for a traveler in Laos. As tourism grows, there are more choices as to things to do and what to see in this amazing country.
Shopping in Laos is getting better and better along with the increase in the number of travelers visiting the country year over year. The traditional products get better and better to meet the requirements of the discerning traveller-shoppers.