Luang Prabang · Backpacking

The fixed costs are entry fees: Mount Phousi 20,000 kip, the Royal Palace Museum 60,000, the bamboo bridge 5,000 a crossing. A plate of food in a normal Lao kitchen across the north runs 20,000–45,000 kip. Plan on 250,000–350,000 kip a day if you sleep in a dorm and share the minivan out to Kuang Si.

Beds in Ban Phanluang and the lanes behind Wat Nong cost noticeably less than anything on Sisavangvong, and in the dry season the bamboo bridge (5,000 kip) puts you about ten minutes from the night market.

Domestic Laos-China Railway tickets open seven days before departure and the good morning departures go within minutes in high season. Station counters add a service fee of 20,000 kip per ticket, and the station is 12km out, so budget a shared van on top.

Free, donations welcome, open 08:00–11:30 and 13:00–16:00 Monday to Friday, behind the Souphanouvong Monument in Wat Naviengkham village — roughly a twelve-minute walk from the centre. Displays of ordnance, survivor accounts and clearance films; the best-value hour in town.

The heritage peninsula is about 1.5km end to end and flat, so most tuk-tuk rides are avoidable; bicycles rent all along Sisavangvong by the day. Tuk-tuk fares are quoted per vehicle, not per person, so agree the price and fill the seats before you set off.