Laos
Slow rivers, karst mountains, and a currency that has lost most of its value.
Flat. The exchange rate moved +4.9%; local prices rose +9.0%.
- Lean
- $27
- Comfort
- $127
Ranked 26 of 65.
What your money buys there
30 monthsThe dashed line is what a currency converter shows. The solid line is the same thing after prices in both countries are taken into account. When they part, the solid one is telling the truth.
How the score is built
- Dislocation ×0.36
- 46
- Price floor ×0.30
- 84
- Safety ×0.20
- 75
- Ease ×0.14
- 45
Real price drop vs last year and vs the five-year norm
How low the daily cost is in absolute terms
From the current travel advisory
How well set up the country is for visitors
The full reading
| Real change, 3 months | −0.4% | Is the move still going, or already reversing? |
|---|---|---|
| Real change, 12 months | −0.4% | The headline: what your money buys versus a year ago. |
| Exchange rate alone, 12 months | +4.9% | What a currency converter would tell you. |
| Local inflation, 12 months | +9.0% | How much of that the destination's own prices took back. |
| Versus five-year average | −4.0% | Cheap or dear against its own recent history. |
| Advisory | Level 2 | Increased caution |
| Ease of travel | 2.8 / 5 | Rough edges |
- Riverside rooms from $12
- The new China–Laos railway
- Luang Prabang without the crowds
Infrastructure is basic outside three towns, card payments are rare, and medical evacuation means Thailand.
The kip has depreciated sharply for years; tourist-facing prices are often re-quoted in dollars or baht, which blunts the benefit.
When to go
November is peak season- Janpeak
- Febpeak
- Marshoulder
- Aproff
- Mayoff
- Junoff
- Juloff
- Augoff
- Sepoff
- Octshoulder
- Novpeak
- Decpeak
Safety and ease
- US State Department
- Level 2: Increased caution · updated 27 July 2026
- Read the full advisory ↗
- Advisories are often regional. A country-wide level can hide both safe areas and no-go zones, and other governments may judge differently.
- Tourism infrastructure
- Rough edges · 2.8 / 5
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia
Reading of 12 November 2026. In US dollars, Laos reads −0.4% over twelve months in real terms with a mid-range day near $58. Costs are modelled, not quoted: see the method.