The alms round. Monks walk Sakkaline Road at first light, about 5:30 a.m. in summer and 6:30 a.m. in winter. Watch from across the street, lower than the monks, shoulders and knees covered, no flash. Do not buy rice from the vendors who appear at dawn: it is stale and makes the monks ill.
The kip. Everything is paid in kip, in cash. ATMs give at most around ₭2,000,000 per withdrawal with a fee, and the ₭100,000 note is the largest. A dollar is about ₭22,000 at the time of writing and the rate moves.
The train. The Laos-China Railway from Vientiane takes about two hours, six trains a day, second class around ₭330,000. Buy in the LCR Ticket app (email sign-up, card payment, a ₭10,000 fee) when sales open a few days before, or in cash at the station. Both stations are 12 to 15 km out of town, so add a shared minivan of around ₭40,000 or a Loca ride of 25 minutes at each end, and arrive 45 minutes early for the baggage scan.
The palace and the temples. The Royal Palace Museum opens 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., closed Tuesdays, ₭30,000. Knees and shoulders covered, with sarongs lent at the door, shoes off, and every bag, camera and phone goes in a free locker. Temples charge around ₭20,000 each and the same dress applies; a sarong in your bag solves it.
Kuang Si and the night market. Kuang Si’s fee rose in 2026 to ₭60,000 for foreigners, which includes the bear rescue center inside the gate. Gates open at 8 a.m. and the minivans arrive from 10:30 a.m.; a shared tuk-tuk is around ₭50,000 a seat. The night market closes Sisavangvong Road from 5 p.m.; the food alley at the palace end feeds you for about ₭60,000.
Unexploded bombs and the eVisa. Laos is the most heavily bombed country per head in history, and unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains in the fields. In town and on worn trails you are fine; off the paths stay on used ground and never pick up metal. The UXO Lao Visitor Centre explains it in half an hour. Most nationalities need a visa: the eVisa at laoevisa.gov.la costs around US$50 for most passports, takes about three working days, and is accepted at Luang Prabang airport and the Boten railway border; otherwise pay on arrival at the airport in dollars.
On the day. Take out kip the evening before, save the train QR code and the eVisa approval in Waystop’s Documents, and put the palace on a morning that is not Tuesday. At the alms round, keep the camera down until the monks have passed.