FAQ

When and what do I pay in advance and how?

To complete the booking we expect you to pay 30% in advance within 2 weeks after confirmation and at least 6 weeks before departure. The other 70% you pay upon arrival at the destination.
Bank address:

SAVANH BANHAO TRAVEL CO.
ACCOUNT NO.: 01.4548000.00856
BANQUE POUR LE COMMERCE EXTERIEUR LAO
LUANG PRABANG BRANCH
109/3 RUE PARASAMANH BAN VIENGXAY
TEL: (856-71) 252814, TEL/FAX: (856-71) 252815 P.O.BOX: 534
LUANG PRABANG, LAOS

When is the booking complete?

If you want a package, you simply mail your request to us with your date of arrival. Savanh Banhao Travel will send you an invoice and after we have received the 30% advanced payment by transfer to our bank account, the booking is done. The other 70% you pay upon arrival cash or traveler's cheques(plus 2% of total amount), or by visa card(plus 4% of total amount).

In the event of a no-show?

In the event of a no-show you lose the 30% advanced payment.

What if I have a special request?

If you want something else besides the mentioned programmes, you simply send an email from with your special desires. We will send you an offer, which you have to confirm. After the advanced payment of 30% the booking is done.

Time

Time in Laos is 7 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (+7 h).

Clothing

Light casual wear is best of Laos as the weather and general economic conditions influence dress. The lowlands (Lao Lum) are generally warm year round so there is no need to wear heavy clothes except during the infrequent cool spells that many affect the lowlands in December or January. Laos is a poor country and as the Laotians are steeped in a Buddhist tradition, some consideration to modesty in dress is advisable. Restaurant in Vientiane do not have any dress restrictions. Women should refrain from wearing short pants, they prefer to wear traditional rock (is called "Sinh"), which is made off cotton or silk.

Visas & Passports

All countries must have visa to entry to Laos. The visa can be obtained in different ways as following:
Visa on arrival for 30 USD at the international airport in Vientiane, in Luang Prabang and at the Friendship Bridge in Vientiane.
The tourist can get visa at the Lao Embassy abroad.
Otherwise the Laos visa can be provided at the border for 30USD:
Cau Treo (Vietnam)-Lak Xao
Mukdahane (Thailand)-Savannakheth in the middle of Laos,
Laobao border (Vietnam-Laos)
At the Chong Mek (Thailand) -Vang Tao in the south of Laos.
This kind of visa can be obtained by yourself, you have to fill a form and need two pictures.

Domestic airport tax is 5000Kip and international airport tax is 10USD. (Prices are subject to change)

Visiting Wat (temple)

Visitors are most welcomed to look around the Wat and mosques, and even to attend the religious ceremonies; but you should quietly stand aside if you are not taking part in the ceremony, and ask of permission before taking any picture. It's also appropriate to wear moderate clothes instead of mini skirts or shorts. Women must never touch a Lao monk.

Special festivities

Laos has numerous festivals, which are observed throughout the whole year. There are three kinds of festivals: national, religious and family festivals.
In Laos, working days are from Monday to Saturday, from 8 AM to 12 AM and from 2 PM to 5 PM.
Official holidays include:
International New Year: January 1st Lao New Year: Middle of April (13-16) International Labour Day: May 1st Lao National Day: December 2nd

Lao National Day is an official public holiday during which parades and speeches commemorate the 1975 Lao People's Revolutionary Victory over monarchy.

Religious or Buddhism Festival is called in Lao language "Boun", what means "merit or credit" for the next life, because the Buddhists believe on rebirth. In fact, "Boun" is on every full moon day, but we would only like to suggest some most important Bouns.

February: Wat Phou festival
On the full moon of the third lunar month (usually in early February), the residence of Champassak celebrate the traditional Wat Phou festival. The festivities include elephant races; water buffalo fighting; cook fighting and many traditional performances.

April: Boun Pi mai
Boun Pimai, the Lao New Year, is celebrated in middle of April. On the first day of the festival, Buddha images are taken out of the temples to be cleaned with scented water, which drops from the Buddha images is collected and taken home in order to pour it on friends and relatives as an act of cleaning and purification. On the evening of the final day, the Buddha images returned to their proper shrines. In Luang Prabang the festival also features a beauty contest with the crowning if miss Pimai.

Middle of May: Boun Bangfai
Boun Bangfai is the rocket festival, is held at the beginning of the rainy season. The festival is a call for rain and a celebration of fertility. In the morning a religious ceremony is performed. In the afternoon, people gather in the fields on the out skirts of villages and town to launch self-made firework rockets, different communities complete for the best decorated and the highest travelling rocket. Men disguised as women perform vaudeville acts using wooden phalli in order to anger the gods. As revenge, the gods are expected to send thunderstorms. Beginning around the middle of May, the rocket festivals are staggered from place to place to enable greater participation and attendance.

October: Boun Ok Phansa
That marks the end ode the monks' three-month-fast and retreat during the raining season. At dawn, donations and offerings are made at the temples. Prayers are chanted by the monks, and at dusk candlelight processions wind round the temples. Concurrently, hundreds of decorated candlelit-floats, made of paper, are set a drift in the rivers. These carry offerings and incense, transforming the rivers into a fragrant snake of sparkling. This ceremonial part is called Boun Lai Heua Fai. The biggest event of the Ok Phansa festival, Boun Souang Heua, is the boat race festival, is held the day after Ok Phansa. Crowds gather at the Mekong River to watch 45-members teams rowing wooden pirogues to the beat of drums in Compitition for the coveted trophy.

November: Boun That Luang stupa
Boun Thatluang is a three-day religious festival celebrated at full moon in eleventh month of lunar calendar. It begins with pre-drawn gathering of ten thousand of pilgrims from Laos and Thailand at Thatluang who listen to prayers and sermons chanted by hundreds of monks representing all Lao Wats during the following days a fair is held nearby. The festival ends with a huge firework display.

Hmong New Year
Different to the other Lao people, Hmong people celebrate their New Year end of November to December. In that time, they dress in their original tradition clothes.

The third group of festival is the family celebration. There are wedding-, birth ceremonies. The burial of dead person is also celebrated. Festival of moving to the new house is belongs to family celebration too.

Money

The "Kip" is the official currency of Laos. The bank notes are presently in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, 1.000, 2.000, 5.000, 10.000 and 20.000 Kip in circulation.
All major currencies such as the US-, Australia-, and Canada-Dollar, Euro, Yen, Thai-Baht and others can be exchanged at banks that are located in all major towns. The other exchange facilities are available at the international airports, international borders, Friendship Bridge in Vientiane and at some big hotels in major cities such as Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Savannakheth and Pakse.
Exchange bureaus and banks will cash travelers cheques in major currencies. Furthermore, most domestic and foreign banks in Vientiane allow cash withdrawals on visa and master credit cards. In Vientiane, Laung Prabang, Savannakheth and Pakse, credit cards can be used in many hotels and restaurants, too. In case of journey to remote areas it is, of course, advisable to take a good supply of Kip with you. In Laos, there are no ATM's.

Peak Seasons

Laos enjoys a tropical climate with two distinct season-the rainy season from the beginning of May to the end of September and the dry season from October through to April. The yearly average temperature is about 28*C, rising to a maximum of 38*C in April and May. In Vientiane minimum temperatures drop to 14-15*C during the winter months, and in cold nights easily reach the freezing point.
The best time for most travelers is in the dry season. In these months, the weather is cool like the sunny summer in middle of Europe, especially in December/January, the temperatures can drop in the morning time to 10*C and the air is dry. If you are planning your journey to see the festival, then "Boun Pimai", Lao New Year, in Luang Prabang is the highlight. There are the procession through the town, election of "Miss Pimai" (is called Nang Sang Khan) and more.
In Laos, there is no worst time to travel. It means, depend on how do you like. In the rainy season, it's normally wet. For people who like trekking or rafting, it's the pure challenge.

Safety

Laos has the lowest crime rate in Indochina countries. The Laotians are very helpful. Tourists who overnight at hotel or guest house, if possible, please let your value things at safe of hotel or guest house, or you carry them by yourself. In Vientiane municipality, there is tourist police, who is taking care in case security of the tourists. Walking at night should be then at the light places. The Lao Tourism Authority in Vientiane municipality has his agencies in every province, if you have any problem or you have lost something, please ask them. The phone number of Tourists Police in Vientiane: (021) 251128.

Medical advice

No inoculation or vaccinations are required to enter Laos, unless you are coming from or passing through contamonated areas. Malaria is present, but rare and only those who will spend time in the forest areas, sleeping without mosquito net. If you are planning to visit the countryside, it's strongly recommended to take malarial medication and to bring mosquito net.

Food and beverages

Rice is the staple food in Laos. There are two kinds of rice, steam rice and sticky rice and the Laotian prefer eating sticky rice, which is called in Lao language "Khao Niaw". Lao food is spicy and delicious. It is served in communal dishes with meat; fish; chicken and vegetables. Sticky rice, mostly served with other dishes, is eaten with the fingers.
In the major cities, European, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes are also served in many restaurants. The most popular fishes are they from Mekong River. The national dish is "Laap", what looks like meat salad, and it can be made from meat, fish, chicken, mixed with vegetables. Drink water, fresh drinks, beer, coffee, tea and juice, you can get anywhere. The seasonal fruit juice is the most recommended drink and unless "Beer Lao" is also very testy. But the Lao traditional drink for festivals is "Lau Lao" Lao rice whisky.
It is also advisable to drink only bottle water or boiled water. The same precaution should be taken when consuming drink whit ice, and eating uncooked vegetables.

Electricity

Electric voltage is 220 volts, 50 cycles (Hertz). Laos has mostly Japanese plug. To use the European electric equipment, an adapter is advisable to bring with you.