The Best of Cambodia & Laos

2 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
PASSPORTS
A passport with at least 6 months validity
remaining is necessary for entry to Laos.
VISAS
A tourist visa for Laos with 30 days validity
can be issued via a travel agent or by
applying to a Lao embassy or consulate.
The visa will cost between $30 and $42,
depending on your nationality and in
which city you apply.
Getting a visa on arrival is easily done at
most overland crossings between Thailand
and Laos, including the entry points at
Huay Xai, Vientiane, Savannakhet, Tha
Khek, and Vieng Tao. It is also available at
Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Pakse airports,
costing $37, in cash only. You will
need one passport-size photo. Visas are
also available at the Boten crossing with
China and at the main international crossings
from Vietnam. Visa on arrival is not
available at the Paksan crossing at present,
nor the southern road or river crossings
from Cambodia. That may change shortly
but at the time of writing, if you are planning
a trip overland from Cambodia to
Laos make sure you get a visa in Phnom
Penh before making your way up the
Mekong.
You can extend a tourist visa either
through the immigration office in Vientiane
or through a travel agent. The cost is
$2 a day if you do it yourself (Vientiane
only). It’s a fairly relaxed process. It will be
closer to $3 per day if you use a travel
agent, which is a necessity if you are outside
Vientiane. All tourist visas are single
entry only. If you want to stay in Laos
longer than a month, it’s no problem to
cross to Thailand and come back into Laos
on a new tourist visa for another 30 days.
If you do overstay your visa, you will be
fined a fairly hefty $10 a day, which
mounts up pretty quickly. If you’re calcu-
lating an overstay of anything over than a
day or two, then you are better off leaving
within the expiration date of your visa and
crossing over to Thailand to enter on a
fresh one.
There is no departure tax if leaving by
land on either a bridge or a boat, though
one is occasionally asked for an illicit but
small “fee” of some sort, particularly after
dark or on a weekend. If you’re flying out
of either Vientiane or Luang Prabang
international airport, there is a departure
tax of $10, but since early 2009 this fee
was being incorporated into the price of
the air ticket at the point of sale.
CUSTOMS
Being very much still a Communist country,
what you can and can’t take into Laos
remains of some importance. Any traveler
arriving at either an international airport
or any other international land crossing
can bring in free of import duties and
taxes 1 liter of spirits and 2 liters of wine;
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of
tobacco; and 50 grams of perfume.
A wide variety of goods are subject to
prohibitions and restrictions. These goods
are defined as products that affect national
stability and security, public health, wildlife,
endangered species, environment,
archaeology, and the artistic, cultural, and
historical heritage of Laos. Import and
export of articles of national heritage,
which include antiques and artifacts such
as Buddha statues and images, bronze
drums, spears, swords, and bracelets shall
be made after the approval of the Ministry
of Information and Culture.
MEDICAL
REQUIREMENTS
The only required inoculation is for yellow
fever, if you have come from a country
where it’s prevalent. While not required, it
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PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO LAOS 10
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS