would like to know average travel costs and best means of transport through laos to cambodia
greetings all,
My girlfriend and i are planning to travel from hong kong china down through laos, cambodia and thailand to indonesia. where we would travel further north west to the phillipines and papa new guinea. all... within four months and within 'the budget' : ).
at the moment we are focusing on laos; what we want to see there and how much it will cost to travel from the north boarder down to cambodia.
i know this is a very open ended question but if anyone could give us information on prices for buses and boats in laos, and also some interesting highlights of laos it would be greately appreciated. even just soome websites where this kind of information is available.
Reply to this My boyfriend and I recently arrived home from our SE Asia adventure. We spent about a month in Laos, and the places that I would definitely recommend visiting are Luang Prabang, Phonesavan, and Don Det. Luang Prabang, the spiritual capital of Laos, has several wats to visit, and a great market for buying gifts for people back home. Phonesavan is home to the Plain of the Jars, large stone jars that no one really knows the origins of. Don Det, in southern Laos very close to Cambodia, is a small island that you can bike around or just swing in a hammock on the porch of your bungalow. Electricity is relatively new to Don Det, so don't be expecting fancy accommodations.
We were traveling on a budget of about $20-$25 each per day, but you could easily spend more or less than that.
We took buses most of the time through Laos, because they were very cheap. The bus rides are very long and very windy. You can just buy tickets at the local bus station, but sometimes it is about the same price to buy your ticket in town, because you need to factor in a Tuk Tuk ride to get to the bus station.
As far as internet sites I can’t help you. We used a Lonely Planet just to figure out where the bus stations were and areas to look for guest houses. I hate to recommend Lonely Planet, but it is helpful for basic information, and you will be able to find a cheap used one in every country you visit.
Hope this helps
Reply to this Hi, I did Laos a couple of years ago and was also on a tight budget, laos is a place that totally amazed me and remains on the top of my most amazing trips list, we took the slow boat from Chiang kong in Thailand, and despite the nagging of package deals I did it myself stayed in the same places and bought the same meals as every-one else, but cost heaps less, once at Luang prabang we took buses everywhere, they are cheap and the scenery was amazing, it is also cheap if you meet some others and get a jumbo for the day (like a tuk tuk), to take you where you want to go. Amazing country, wonderful people, the markets also offer really cheap food, we ate at an all you can eat vegetarian place at the market in Luang prabang for 50c a day.
Enjoy your time there
Reply to this Hello Birdie,
I was in Laos 3 years back. It's lovely amazing country and super friendlly people. You should go to Luang perbang, Vang Vieng (for Tubing and Kayaking in the mekong River, lovely), Boleaven pelatu in the south and dont det as well.
I was in a very tight budget, i spent around 300 - 400 USD for 3 weeks.
have a good trip.
Reply to this hey thankyou everyone for helping us plan this part of our trip, I was also wondering wheather it's worth waiting to get to Laos for buyig trekking gear. I'm in Switzerland ATM and it costs about 100 franks for a good pair of trekkig pants. However I was wondering what the quality is like in Laos. I mean sure it's cheaper but is there anywhere I can buy brand name products like northface that aren't copies for cheaper??
Reply to this 
