Taxis, tuk-tuks and ride apps in Laos

Forget the idea of stepping off a curb into a metered cab: that is not how Laos works. Tuk-tuks handle short hops around town and can be hired for a half or full day, and they wait in obvious places, outside markets, temples, bus stations and hotels. Fares are negotiated, not metered.

Songthaews, converted pickup trucks with two benches in the back, run set routes like informal buses: you flag one down, squeeze in, and pay a small fare when you get off. They are the cheapest way to move around and between nearby towns, at the cost of stopping whenever anyone else wants on.

LOCA is the Lao-built ride app and the easiest answer for a visitor. It books licensed cars, taxis and motorbike rides with the fare shown before you accept, English in the app, and payment by cash, card or a Lao QR code, so there is nothing to negotiate and no cash-only trap. Coverage runs across Vientiane and Luang Prabang and reaches other main towns including Vang Vieng, Pakse and Savannakhet.

Two practicalities. It needs mobile data, so sort an eSIM or a local SIM before you rely on it, and cars can be thin on the ground at busy times or late in the evening, especially outside the capital. For an airport pickup or the run to the railway station with luggage, booking ahead through the app is the calmest way to do it.

With a tuk-tuk, the price is whatever you agree, so agree it before you get in and be clear that it covers the whole trip and any waiting time if you are asking the driver to hold. Confirm whether the price is per person or for the vehicle, which is the most common misunderstanding. Asking your guesthouse what a ride should cost before you walk out gives you a reference point, since fares move with fuel prices and there is no published tariff.

Pay in small kip notes. A driver rarely has change for the largest note, and a hundred-dollar bill from an ATM is no use to anyone here. Rounding up is a normal thank you, and a driver who gave you a full day deserves more than rounding. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For the wider picture, see cash or card in Laos, tipping in Laos, and the Laos money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Laos

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do I need cash in Laos, or can I use cards?Cash, and plenty of it. Laos is the most cash-dependent country we cover, and the friction is not acceptance, it is the ATM: low limits and a fee every time. A little planning fixes it.
• Tipping in LaosLaos is not a tipping culture, so there is no percentage to remember and nobody is waiting for one. In tourist areas a small tip has become normal and is genuinely appreciated, which is a different thing from expected.
• Booking the Laos-China Railway, and why that is the hard partThe Laos-China Railway is fast, comfortable and the obvious way to move between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Getting a seat is what catches visitors out, because the booking and payment side was not built for anyone without a local phone number. Here is how it actually works.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Laos?Yes, and the online route is the expensive one. Laos charges roughly ten dollars a person more to apply in advance than to buy the visa at the airport counter, which is the reverse of the usual advice. Here is what each costs, and what the cheaper one wants from you.
• Staying connected in Laos.Laos sells data for almost nothing and has less of a network to sell it on than its neighbors. The right move is a cheap local SIM plus the habit of downloading things before you leave a town.
• What does getting sick in Laos cost?Laos has the starkest medical geography of anywhere we cover. Serious care is not in the country, it is across the river in Thailand, and the honest planning question is not what a doctor charges but how you get across and how fast.