Vientiane travel guide
Golden That Luang, the COPE centre and Mekong beer gardens
The Lao capital is a low-key Mekong city of temples, French-era cafes and riverside beer gardens. Come between November and February, when it is dry and cooler. Two days covers That Luang, the central wats and COPE before the train north. Laos is cheap, and many visitors get a visa on arrival or an e-Visa.
Laos's capital spreads along a bend of the Mekong with Thailand in plain sight on the far bank. It is a low-rise, slow-moving city of gilded wats, French-era villas and newer concrete, and most visitors give it two days before taking the train north to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.
Pha That Luang, the gold-sheathed stupa north-east of the centre, is the national symbol and the place to start. In the old centre Wat Si Saket and Haw Phra Kaew face each other across Setthathirat Road. The cloister walls of Si Saket hold thousands of small Buddha images in niches, while Haw Phra Kaew once housed the Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok) and today works as a museum of religious sculpture.
Give an hour to the COPE Visitor Centre on Khou Vieng Road. Laos is, per person, the most heavily bombed country in history. The centre's films and exhibits show how unexploded ordnance still injures people in the countryside and how its prosthetics programme helps them. Entry is free. Patuxai, the concrete victory arch at the end of Lane Xang Avenue, is worth climbing for the view down the boulevard, less so for the building itself.
Evenings belong to the riverfront. Beer gardens along the Mekong grill whole fish and pour cold Beerlao while the sun drops behind Thailand; those further upstream from the main promenade tend to be cheaper. A night market sets up on the promenade too. For breakfast the French legacy lives on in baguettes and strong coffee around Nam Phu Square.
Moving on is easy. Trains on the Laos-China Railway reach Vang Vieng in about an hour and Luang Prabang in about two, but the station is well outside the centre, so leave time to get there. Thailand lies across the First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai, and many people coming from Bangkok fly to Udon Thani instead because the domestic fare is much cheaper.
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Gilded wats and the national stupa, a sobering war-legacy centre and the Mekong at sunset.
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Best time to visit Vientiane
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Dry and sunny with cool mornings, the easiest months for walking and cycling.
Fierce heat and haze from field burning; Lao New Year in mid-April turns the streets into a water fight.
Heavy afternoon downpours, greener streets and fewer visitors.
The That Luang Festival, around the November full moon, fills the stupa grounds with pilgrims and a fair; book rooms early that week.
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Getting there
Wattay, the Friendship Bridge and the rail lines
Few capitals put the runway this close to town. Wattay International Airport lies about 3 km west of Nam Phu Square, so the drive from arrivals to a central hotel is a short one. International and domestic flights share a single terminal split into two wings, and the money changers on the landside give fair rates. Overland arrivals are just as common. The First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge carries road and rail traffic over the Mekong from Nong Khai, and budget travellers starting in Bangkok often fly domestically to Udon Thani, then take the airport shuttle of about 50 km to the border.
- Wattay Airport (VTE)
- Taxi counter in arrivals or a LOCA ride, about 3 km to the centre
- Direct flights
- Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and a long list of Chinese cities
- Udon Thani route
- Airport shuttle of about 50 km to the Nong Khai border, then over the bridge
- Thai trains
- Direct trains from Bangkok (overnight) and Udon Thani cross the bridge to Khamsavath station, about 5 km from the centre
- Laos-China Railway
- Station well outside the centre; Vang Vieng about 1 hour, Luang Prabang about 2
- Bus stations
- Northern terminal for Phonsavan and the north, Southern station for Thakhek and the south
- Online boarding passes are refused at Wattay, so queue at the check-in counter whatever your airline app says.
- Pick up a departure card from the desk after security and fill it in while you wait for exit immigration.
Where to stay
Nam Phu, Fa Ngum Road or the That Luang side
Sleep in the old centre unless you have a reason not to. Everything a short visit needs, from Wat Si Saket to the riverside beer gardens, sits inside a square of streets you can cross on foot in twenty minutes. Plenty of guesthouses never appear on booking sites, so arriving without a reservation and walking Setthathirat Road and its side lanes to compare rooms is still a sensible plan outside festival weeks. Ask to see the room first: the cheaper places vary a lot in how much street noise and daylight they let in.
- Nam Phu Square and Setthathirat Road
- The best all-round base, walkable to the central wats, bakeries and cafes; first-time visitors and short stays
- Fa Ngum Road (riverside)
- Sunset over Thailand and the night market at the door, but more traffic and evening noise; light sleepers should ask for a back room
- Around Talat Sao and Lane Xang Avenue
- Handy for the main bus station and Patuxai, busier and less atmospheric than the lanes near the river
- That Luang side
- Quieter residential streets near the stupa, suited to longer stays; you will rely on tuk-tuks or a bike to reach the centre
- During the That Luang Festival in November, book ahead, since rooms near the stupa and in the centre go first.
Getting around
Tuk-tuks, LOCA rides and bikes on Setthathirat
Traffic is far gentler than in Bangkok, and the centre is flat enough to walk or cycle. Street signs are patchy and appear in Lao and French, with 'thanon' rendered as road, rue or avenue almost at random, so give drivers a landmark such as a temple, hotel or market. Asking passers-by for directions rarely helps, because many people are shy about their English. Inside the old centre, walking is the quickest way to cover Wat Si Saket, Haw Phra Kaew and the river. For That Luang, COPE and the airport, take a tuk-tuk or a LOCA car, and use a bike when the heat allows.
- Tuk-tuks
- Wait outside the Morning Market, hotels and along the river; agree the fare before you get in
- Ride-hailing
- The LOCA app works across the city, shows the price up front and saves haggling
- Bicycles
- Rented by the day from guesthouses and shops in the centre; keep bags out of the front basket
- Pronunciation
- Lao speakers say r as l, so Setthathirat becomes Setthathilat when you ask for it
- Cycle to That Luang in the early morning; by late morning the roads out of the centre are hot and exposed.
- Shopfronts often print their address in Roman letters, which is the easiest way to work out which street you are on.
Know before you go
What makes Vientiane worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- That Luang in the early morning, before the heat, when the grounds are quiet and the gold catches the low sun.
- Wat Si Saket's cloister, its walls lined with thousands of tiny Buddha images set in niches.
- The COPE Visitor Centre, free and sobering, on the bombs still buried across Laos.
- A riverside beer garden at sunset, with grilled Mekong fish and a large Beerlao.
- The view from the top of Patuxai, straight down Lane Xang Avenue to the presidential palace.
Good to know
- Bag snatching by passing motorbikes is rising: keep bags off cafe tables and out of bicycle baskets, and shout if it happens, since police boxes are close by.
- Cover shoulders and knees at That Luang and the wats, and take your shoes off before entering a temple hall.
- Boiled eggs at riverside stalls may be incubated duck eggs, so ask before you crack one.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Vientiane, month by month
Tap a month to see what to expect. Figures are long-term averages for Vientiane.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Vientiane (World Meteorological Organization, Deutscher Wetterdienst, via Wikipedia).
A long weekend in Vientiane from That Luang to the Mekong promenade
Vientiane suits a relaxed long weekend. See Pha That Luang at opening time while the gold is lit from the side, then Wat Si Saket's cloister of Buddha images and Haw Phra Kaew on Setthathirat Road, and finish each day with a beer on the Mekong promenade as the sun drops over Thailand.
Morning one starts at Pha That Luang, ideally at opening time, while the courtyard is empty and the gold is lit from the side. A tuk-tuk back into the old quarter drops you on Setthathirat Road, where Wat Si Saket and Haw Phra Kaew face each other. Give the Si Saket cloister longer than you expect, since its niches hold thousands of small Buddhas. Lunch on baguettes and coffee around Nam Phu Square.
The afternoon belongs to the COPE Visitor Centre on Khou Vieng Road. Allow at least an hour for the films and the exhibits on bomb survivors and the prosthetics programme. At sunset, walk down to the Mekong and claim a table at one of the beer gardens upstream of the main promenade.
Day two opens at Patuxai, climbed early for the view down Lane Xang Avenue towards the presidential palace, followed by the Lao National Museum. History buffs can add the Kaysone Phomvihane Museum out on Dongdok Road (closed Mondays), which covers the revolutionary leader, though its displays are hard to follow without background. Otherwise sit out the hottest hours with a traditional massage on Rue Francois Ngin, and browse the riverside night market after dark.
Khao jee pâté, laap and grilled Mekong fish
Start a Vientiane morning with khao jee pâté, a warm baguette filled with pâté, herbs and chilli from stalls around Nam Phu Square, with strong sweet coffee. Lao meals proper mean sticky rice eaten by hand with laap, minced meat salad with herbs and lime, and grilled Mekong fish at the riverside stalls.
The French left the city its bread habit. Stalls and cafes around Nam Phu Square split warm baguettes and fill them with pâté, herbs and chilli sauce, a sandwich Lao people call khao jee pâté, served with strong, sweet coffee.
Lao food proper means sticky rice eaten with the fingers from a small woven basket, alongside laap (minced meat or fish sharpened with lime, mint and toasted rice powder) and tam mak hoong, the fiery papaya salad pounded to order. For breakfast or a late snack, khao piak sen is a thick rice-noodle soup ladled from roadside pots.
Evenings are about the river. A string of beer gardens and simple restaurants runs for roughly 2 km upstream from opposite the BCEL bank, and the cheaper ones lie past the main promenade. Order the grilled fish, take a large Beerlao and watch the sun drop behind Thailand. One warning: the boiled eggs some stalls sell are fertilised duck eggs, a local snack that surprises the unprepared. Away from the Mekong, the capital has the most international restaurant scene in the country, with French bakeries and kitchens from across Asia within a few streets of the square.
Pi Mai water fights, boat races and the That Luang full moon
December and January are the best months in Vientiane, with highs near 29C, nights about 18C and almost no rain. April averages 35C with smoke from field burning, and the rains peak in July and August. The calendar brings Pi Mai water fights in April, autumn boat races and the That Luang festival at the November full moon.
December and January are the months to aim for. Average highs sit around 29C, nights drop to about 18C and rainfall is close to nil (5 to 7 mm a month). Heat builds quickly after February: April averages 35C, and smoke from field burning hangs over the city until the monsoon breaks.
The rains peak in July and August, when Vientiane averages around 300 to 340 mm a month, mostly in heavy afternoon bursts. Mornings often stay dry enough for temples.
Three dates shape the calendar. Pi Mai, Lao New Year in mid-April, turns the streets into a water fight for several days, so keep phones in a dry bag. In October, the end of Buddhist Lent is followed by boat races on the Mekong, with long crews paddling in front of crowds on the bank. Then, around the full moon of November, the That Luang Festival brings pilgrims from across the country for processions, dawn alms-giving and a fair in the stupa grounds. Rooms near the centre fill early that week.
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How we research our Vientiane travel guide
Vientiane's visa-on-arrival rules, border crossings and festival dates are checked with Lao official sources and the operators; Buddhist festival days follow the lunar calendar and are confirmed each year.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of VientianeLaos official e-VisaUNESCO
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Vientiane.
Getting there
About 3 km, one of the shortest airport rides of any Asian capital. Take a taxi from the counter in arrivals or book a LOCA car; either reaches the old centre in a few minutes outside rush hour.
It is the most convenient one. The lanes between Nam Phu Square and the Mekong put Wat Si Saket, the riverside and most cafes within walking distance, and many guesthouses there can be booked by simply walking in.
General
Yes. Two days covers That Luang, Wat Si Saket, Haw Phra Kaew, the COPE Visitor Centre and a Mekong sunset. Most people then head north by train.
Not at all: December highs average about 29C and evenings near 19C are just right for sitting outside. November to February is the dry, cooler stretch. March to May is very hot and hazy from field burning, and June to October brings heavy afternoon rain.
Violent crime is rare, but snatching from cafe tables and bicycle baskets is increasing. Keep bags on your lap or across your body, and shout loudly if it happens, since police boxes are close by.
The Laos-China Railway is fastest, about one hour to Vang Vieng and two to Luang Prabang. Tickets sell out, so book early and allow time to reach the station outside town.
Yes. Since July 2024 a direct overnight sleeper has run from Bangkok to Khamsavath station on the outskirts of Vientiane, with Thai exit checks at Nong Khai and Lao immigration at Khamsavath. Times change, so check the State Railway of Thailand timetable before you book.
Baguette stalls and cafes ring Nam Phu Square in the morning, and the beer gardens upstream of the main Mekong promenade grill whole fish every evening. Ask before cracking a boiled egg, as many are fertilised duck eggs.
Cover shoulders and knees, and take your shoes off before entering any temple hall. Go early in the day, when the stupa grounds are cooler and quieter.
Traffic is far gentler than in Bangkok, and the centre is flat enough to walk or cycle. Street signs are patchy and appear in Lao and French, with 'thanon' rendered as road, rue or avenue almost at random, so give drivers a landmark such as a temple, hotel or market. Asking passers-by for directions rarely helps, because many people are shy about their English.
Prices & payment
From Bangkok it often is. Domestic flights to Udon Thani usually undercut international ones to Vientiane, and a shuttle covers the 50 km or so from Udon Thani airport to the Nong Khai border.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Vientiane is Nov to Feb. Dry, with cooler mornings for temple walks, before the heat and haze of March to May.
- Best overall: November - February (Dry and sunny with cool mornings, the easiest months for walking and cycling)
- Hot season: March - May (Fierce heat and haze from field burning; Lao New Year in mid-April turns the streets into a water fight)
- Rainy season: June - October (Heavy afternoon downpours, greener streets and fewer visitors)
April is the warmest month in Vientiane, with average highs of 35°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 18°C. August is the wettest month, at about 341 mm of rain; December is the driest.
Visa & documents
Most visitors need a visa, available on arrival at international airports and main land borders or as an e-Visa online. Citizens of some countries, including several ASEAN states, are visa-exempt. All arrivals complete the Lao Digital Immigration Form (LDIF).
Health & safety
Laos is generally safe. Unexploded ordnance from the Vietnam War remains in rural areas, and some governments advise against non-essential travel to Xaisomboun Province.
