Best Time to Visit Laos

Geographical location

Laos is the only landlocked state in Southeast Asia and borders China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.

About 6.5 million people live on an area of around 147000 square miles. This results in a population density of 29 inhabitants per square kilometre.

From north to south there is a mountain range which makes up about nine tenth of the country’s area. The highest mountain here is the Phua Bia with 2819 meters. The southwest is lowland, here lies the capital Vientiane.

The Mekong is the most important river of the country and about 1200 miles long on Lao territory and forms the border to Thailand and Myanmar. The mass tourism has not yet arrived in Laos, so the travel possibilities are limited mainly to guided discovery trips and individual tourism, especially backpackers.

There are airports in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Pakse and Savannakhet. These are mainly served from the surrounding countries Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Climate in Laos

In Laos, the typical Southeast Asian tropical-warm climate prevails. The weather is determined by the monsoon season. Vientiane is located in one of the warmest areas. Temperatures here vary between 14 °C to 28 °C during the course of the year in January and April, temperatures of 23 °C to 38 °C can already be found. Due to its height, the north is the coolest part of the country, with an average rainfall of up to 0.08 in.

From May to October the rainy season dominates in Laos, so that a large part of the precipitation falls in this region. During this time, the humidity rises up to 86 percent and leads to a humid air. Temperatures are very hot at 30 °C, even at night the thermometer shows no less than 20 °C. From November to February there is still a period of 30 °C during the day, but night temperatures drop to 15 °C.

March and April are the hottest months of up to 35 °C, but due to the rather low humidity these values are quite bearable.