Laos Budget Guide 2026: How We Spent $25/Day Per Person
Planning a trip to Laos and worried about how much it will cost? The good news: Laos is one of the most affordable countries in Southeast Asia – if you know what to expect.
We visited Laos and tracked every kip we spent during our 30-day trip to create a realistic Laos budget.
While prices may shift slightly year-to-year, this guide gives you a clear picture of what you can expect to spend based on real-world experience.
From accommodation and food to buses, motorbike rentals, and activities, we’ll show you exactly where we saved money and where it was worth splurging.
Mid-range travelers will spend more, but this guide focuses on our firsthand budget experience.
Our breakdown focuses on couples, since sharing things like rooms and motorbike rentals helped keep our costs lower.
We each spent about $25/£20 per day – so a solo traveler booking private rooms might spend more, while those staying in dorms could keep their budget closer to ours.
👉 In this guide, we’ll share our total spend, average daily costs, and category-by-category breakdown so you can plan your own Laos adventure with confidence.
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Our Laos Budget: What We Spent in 30 Days (Per Person)
Quick Glance Daily Budget (Per Person)
Based on our 30-day trip, here’s what we each spent on average per day in Laos. This quick snapshot shows the daily cost breakdown per person.
Category | Avg Daily (USD) | Avg Daily (GBP) |
|---|---|---|
Accommodation | $7 | £6 |
Everyday Spends* | $11 | £9 |
Transport | $4 | £3 |
Tourist Activities | $3 | £2 |
Total Per Day (per person) | $25 | £20 |
*Everyday spends covers food, drink, laundry, city transit, and incidentals (eg toiletries, medicine, gifts, SIM card)
💡 Note: These averages are per person, based on traveling as a couple and sharing costs like rooms and motorbike rentals. Solo travelers may spend slightly more unless staying in dorms.
That means our month in Laos cost about $25/£20 per person per day – making it one of the most budget-friendly countries in Southeast Asia.
Full 30-Day Budget Breakdown (for detail-seekers)
Here’s our full 30-day spend shown in KIP, USD, and GBP – we’ve included KIP so you can easily check against current exchange rates for the most up-to-date conversion.
Category | KIP | USD | GBP | Avg Daily (USD) | Avg Daily (GBP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accommodation | 4,500,000 | 210 | 180 | 7 | 6 |
Everyday Spends* | 6,856,000 | 322 | 254 | 11 | 9 |
Transport | 2,728,000 | 128 | 102 | 4 | 3 |
Tourist Activities | 2,100,000 | 99 | 78 | 3 | 2 |
TOTAL | 19,156,000 | 759 | 614 | 25 | 20 |
Additional Costs (not in daily average):
- Laos Visa: $41 / £33
- Bus from Thailand to Laos: $4 / £3
- Bus from Laos to Cambodia: $37 / £30
- Total Extras: $82 / £66
All together, we each spent $759/£614 over 30 days in Laos – plus about $82/£66 for visas and onward travel
🛑 UPDATE: As of January 2026, 19,156,000 kip is approximately $893 USD / £656 GBP – which works out to about $29 USD / £22 GBP per person, per day. Keep in mind exchange rates may shift, but our kip-based spend remains accurate.
📝Note: When we traveled in 2024, our average was $25/£20 per person, per day. The higher $29/£22 figure above reflects today’s exchange rate – not an increase in what we actually spent.
How Much Does It Cost to Backpack in Laos?
Overall, with every single cost included, we spent 841USD / 680GBP per person on a 30 day trip in Laos in 2024. We had the best time, did everything we wanted to, and covered Laos from top to bottom.
Our Laos budget definitely benefited from our easy going nature, i.e not needing to spend money to have fun. There’s plenty of tourist activities to spend your money on if you want to go all in on your trip!
Our advice: Be sure to do some research beforehand so you know what you can expect to pay before you book.
TOP TIP: Cash is QUEEN in Laos, so take every opportunity to use a BCEL ATM when you see one. This ATM has the lowest withdrawal fee. The maximum you can withdraw at one time is 2,000,000KIP (94USD).
Accommodation in Laos: What We Paid Per Person
Accommodation in Laos was not as cheap as we had expected but prices are still very reasonable. This won’t impact your Laos budget massively.
We are fortunate to be traveling as a couple, which often allows us to to stay in guesthouses for less than the price of two beds in a hostel.
This meant our average daily cost for accommodation was 150,000KIP / 7USD / 6GBP per person per night.
If you’re a solo traveler, a stay in a hostel dorm located in a popular location costs on average 10USD / 8GBP per person per night.
TOP TIP: If you wish to pay in USD, make sure your dollars are in top condition otherwise they won’t be accepted. This means no wrinkles, no folded corners, and especially no little tears.
🌄 Looking for somewhere to stay in Vang Vieng or Luang Prabang? These are our top hotel and hostel recs in Vang Vieng and our favorite accommodation in Luang Prabang.
Food Costs in Laos: Daily Spend Per Person
A meal in Laos can vary in price depending on what you’re ordering. Throughout the country, you can scope out tasty street food, regardless of location.
If you want to eat Western food, expect to pay at least double the price.
TOP TIP: We would occasionally treat ourselves to some home comforts, but would usually share something like a pizza so the meal had less of an impact on our pre-planned Laos budget.
After buying 2-3 meals daily for 30 days, we developed a good sense of fair prices for food in Laos.
Places like markets will always be less expensive than sitting down in a restaurant – we once paid only 15,000KIP for a noodle soup at the night market in Luang Namtha!
While you can absolutely find cheap street food, most dishes will range from 60,000KIP to 120,000KIP depending on where you are and what you order.
To summarize…
- Local dish: 60,000KIP
- Beer Lao: 15,000KIP
- Western meal: 120,000KIP
Transport Costs in Laos: Buses, Trains & Tuk-Tuks
Relative to other aspects of your Laos budget, transport between destinations may seem high. It is still cheaper to travel around Laos than it is in Thailand or Vietnam.
However, don’t expect VIP options in Laos. Most routes are shared with locals and also used to transport goods. This means packed buses and minimal leg room on many routes!
During 30 days in Laos, we spent 5,400,000KIP / 255USD / 203GBP for both of us on transport between locations.
In total, we had 12 long distance travel days (11 buses and 1 train) working out to an average of 225,000KIP / 11USD / 8GBP per person per trip.
All of the 12 trips were within Laos – the total does not account for the cost of the buses to enter and leave Laos. In addition to the above, we paid the following:
- 4USD / 3GBP per person to enter Laos from Thailand
- 37USD / 30GBP per person to go from Laos to Cambodia
An alternative to overland transit is flying. Expect the price of flights to take a huge chunk out of your Laos budget though, especially once you add on checked baggage as well.
If it’s more convenient for you to fly, you can check current airfares here.
🚍 Are you interested in knowing more about what transit is like? Read our comprehensive guide on transport in Laos.
Activities & Tours in Laos: What We Spent Per Person
Naturally, we tend to lean towards life’s simpler pleasures. By this we mean you won’t catch us forking out hundreds of dollars for an experience just because it’s popular!
We’d much rather spend our money eating good food, learning about local culture, or finding free activities if all else fails.
All this to say – our itinerary only included a select few paid activities, and our Laos budget reflects that.
For 2,100,000KIP / 99USD / 78GBP per person, we had some unforgettable experiences. This figure includes some highlights such as:
- A 2-Day jungle trek in Luang Namtha – Find out more ➡️
- Temple entry fees throughout Laos
- Boat ticket fee for Kong Lor Cave – Find out more ➡️
- Motorbike hire, fuel, and repairs on our Bolaven Loop route
Perhaps you’d like to go on a hot air balloon ride in Vang Vieng. If so, this will cost 2,900,000KIP / 135USD / 107GBP per person with the highly reputable company, Above Laos. We didn’t include this in our budget as it was a gift from friends and family at home.
Is Laos Cheaper Than Thailand and Vietnam?
Being serious backpackers on a budget, we recorded our costs everyday – broken down into everyday spends, accommodation, transport, and tourist activities.
As a result, we can tell you exactly what we spent in Laos compared to Thailand and Vietnam.
FYI: By “we”, we mean Jess, she’s the budget-obsessed one! 😉
The information below details what we spent per person in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos:
– After 30 days in Thailand, we spent:
38,380 BHT / 1,045 USD / 835 GBP
– After 30 days in Vietnam, we spent:
25,805,000 VND / 1,005 USD / 800 GBP
– After 30 days in Laos, we spent:
18,266,500 KIP / 841 USD / 680 GBP
Generally speaking, there was a noticeable difference in particular expenditures in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
For example, beer was much more expensive in Thailand, meals in Vietnam cost more, and guesthouses in Laos weren’t as cheap as its neighbors.
While the cost of a month in Thailand and Vietnam were approximately the same, Laos came out ahead as the most budget-friendly destination of the trip.
👉 For more comparisons between Laos and Vietnam, read this post.
Final Thoughts: Traveling Laos on $25/Day Per Person
At just $25/£20 per person, we explored temples, waterfalls, caves, and cities without ever feeling like we were “missing out” by sticking to a budget.
Compared to Thailand and Vietnam, Laos came out as the most budget-friendly country of our trip, proving you don’t need to spend big to enjoy Southeast Asia.
Wondering how to save money in Laos? Here are a few tried-and-tested tips from our own journey:
- When there are no hostels, find friends to travel with and split guesthouses/bungalows.
- Book accommodation with breakfast included.
- Eat where locals are eating (street food and small family restaurants are the cheapest and tastiest).
- Share tuk tuks and taxis with other travelers to bus/train stations or tourist spots.
- Seek out local crafts straight from the source, rather than purchasing in tourist hotspots such as night markets.
These are just a handful of hot tips to stretch your budget further. Jump in, take the leap, and see where your Laos adventure takes you. Along the way you’ll learn lots of new tricks to keep that Laos budget down – and when you do, come tell us about it!
🌏 If you’re ready to plan your own Laos adventure, start with our 2 Week Laos Itinerary for a step-by-step route and don’t miss the Pakse Loop if you’re craving a motorbike adventure. Both pair perfectly with the budget insights we’ve shared here.
