Laos travel guide

Visas are required for all foreign visitors to Laos. A fifteen-day visa on arrival can be bought for $30 (US dollars cash only, plus one photo), but is only available to travellers entering Laos at Wattay Airport in Vientiane, Louang Phabang Airport or at the Friendship Bridge between Thailand's Nong Khai and Vientiane. If entering Laos from Chiang Khong in Thailand's Chiang Rai province, you can obtain fifteen-day visas through Chiang Khong guesthouses and travel agencies: processing takes 24 hours and costs the baht equivalent of $50. Thirty-day visas can also be arranged here for much the same price but take three to four days to process .

When leaving Laos by air or via the Friendship Bridge, you'll have to pay a departure tax equivalent to US$5, payable in US dollars, Thai baht or kip. At other border points, officials may levy small "fees" for arriving or departing during lunch, late in the day or at weekends

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