This is a personal account of what it’s like digital nomadding around Laos. I’ll just give you a quick explanation of all the important things you need to know.
My name is Duncan, and I’m the creator of the Open Travel Blog. The idea of the Open Travel Blog is to get travellers to share travel information that’s as useful as possible. I’ve written this post myself to share what I know about digital nomadding in Laos.
To give you my background quickly, I’ve been a digital nomad for the last 18 months, and I work as a freelance content writer.
I travelled all over SE Asia in 2023, and I think Laos was my favourite country. Everything’s quite laid back there, and there’s plenty of nature, outdoor activities and remote places. I’m more of a countryside type person than a city person, so it’s the kind of place I like.
I came across the border to Laos from Vietnam at Lao Bao. I got off a bus in Vietnam full of neon lights and onto a bus in Laos that was full of chickens. Everything was quite laid back, and I liked the place straight away. I liked Vietnam as well, but this is more my kind of thing.
Some General Info
Here’s some basic info on costs and Wi-Fi.
Costs
Laos is a cheap country to travel in. It’s one of the cheapest countries I’ve travelled in in the past 18 months. The cost does vary from place to place, but in some places, like Nong Khiaw, I think I was spending only about $25 per day. That’s for having a decent enough private room with some kind of desk (not a proper work desk), eating whatever I want and doing activities in my spare time.
Places like Luang Prabang cost slightly more and costs vary from person to person. For me it was cheaper than Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Wi-Fi
You get Wi-Fi pretty much everywhere. You can also get a SIM card and hotspot yourself in case there’s no Wi-Fi, and this work’s okay pretty much everywhere. You have to go somewhere very remote to not get Wi-Fi. If you’re unsure about a location, look on Booking.com to see if the guesthouses have Wi-Fi or not. I didn’t have any restrictions in terms of the places I could visit. You have to go to a distant place not to get Wi-Fi.
The only problem with Wi-Fi is that I don’t know how easy it is to get high speed Wi-Fi. I work as a content writer, and all I really need is to be able to search the internet and do occasional meetings with 3-4 people. It’s fine for this sort of thing pretty much everywhere in Laos. I never had problems with loading video calls, lagging or anything like that.
It might be, however, that you run into trouble in some places if you really need fast Wi-Fi. If you do, then I think look into this issue for yourself in other sources. I looked at the other blogs on digital nomadding in Laos, and they slate the Wi-Fi. I think things have probably improved since they were written, but if you need good Wi-Fi for big uploads and things, do a bit of research into this.
Locations
I ended up travelling all over the country, and I digital nomadded in pretty much all the places people tend to go to. It’s not a digital nomad place like Thailand or something like that at all, where you get lots of comforts and facilities and things. It’s more of a place for proper travelling. I don’t think you’ll find any kind of properly developed digital nomad community anywhere. It’s more about adventurous kind of travelling and being in places that have activities like hiking, scooter trips and things like that. Luang Prabang is an exception, being a place where you things are sort of set up for digital nomads to chill for a longer period.
I was only staying in places for 2-3 weeks at a time. Other people could do more or less.
People will come into Laos from all directions, so check the places I mention in this article on a map to see where it’s all located relative to where you’ll arrive.
Vientiane
Most people will probably arrive in Vientiane.
I didn’t think Vientiane was really that great. There are quite a few sights, and there’s a bit of a traveller scene with busy hostels, nightclubs and some partying. In terms of facilities, Vientiane also has everything you basically need. There are restaurants and nightclubs, a night market and other things to do.
You won’t have any problems in Vientiane, it’s just that I don’t think it’s that good a place to hang around for an extended period. Other places in Laos are far nicer. I ended up being there for almost a couple of weeks, I think. I had to wait for a parcel was one thing, and then I was delayed for something.
The other blogs on digital nomadding in Laos tend to focus on Vientiane. I think some of them are blogs that websites have just written for the sake of it, and people don’t know what else to do other than talk about Vientiane. It’s a shame because it’s better really to direct people away from Vientiane and on to other things Laos has to offer. Vientiane is okay, but you’d do way better to explore other places.
One useful, random thing to know is that there’s a good community gym and swimming pool in Vientiane. It’s basic but useful, it’s usually quiet, and it’s cheap as well.
Have a look at Vientiane Fitness Centre on Insta and Facebook.
Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng is equipped fine for digital nomads who are happy to explore a bit. I very much doubt there are any coworking spaces, but there are hundreds of places to stay, and you’ll be able to find one that has a desk. The Wi-Fi is also okay everywhere in the village/town. I also met at least one other digital nomads there, and there’s plenty of stuff to do. It’s a fun place with loads of swimming and activities. The landscape and scenery in the area is also very nice.
Vang Vieng is a bit rundown from its heyday, is one thing to point out. The whole town is just a bit dishevelled. It was a big party place a few years back, but a lot of the partyers actually died. Mainly in accidents involving drugs or alcohol and water. It was curtailed because things were so dangerous. Now it’s lost its status a bit. The scenery around makes you think that it will just reestablish with more of a focus on outdoor activities.
Overall, I thought it was okay. I had to go and meet someone in Luang Prabang, so I only stayed 2 days. I’m not sure how long I would have stayed otherwise. Probably, only a week. I met a couple of people who loved the place, saying it was their favourite place in Laos, so don’t just listen to me.
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang is probably the most natural place to be a digital nomad in Laos. Particularly for people who have quite a bit of work to do and need a nice place to stay, decent facilities and things like that. It’s a chilled out place with historical architecture and lots of Laos culture. There are also things to do in the local area. There are some well known waterfalls nearby, which are great for swimming. There’s also another well known place nearby where you can learn about rice farming.
You’ll find decent hotels, reliable Wi-Fi, nice restaurants and maybe even a coworking space. You can also walk everywhere in UNESCO heritage site area.
One possible drawback is that, I think, if you were planning to stay for an extended period, you might find the digital nomad community is quite small. There are plenty of travellers, on the other hand.
Nong Khiaw
Up from Luang Prabang is Nong Khiaw, and I digital nomadded there for a few weeks. It’s a good, outdoorsy place with lots of trekking, hill tribes, other remote local communities, boat journeys and things like that. It’s not really a digital nomad place, but there’s no reason not to digital nomad there.
The Wi-Fi might be slow in some guesthouses, and you might not see any other digital nomads, but otherwise, it’s great. Get a room with a table and chair, and you’ll be fine. Maybe get a phone as Wi-Fi back up.
I had a good time in my free time hiking up the mountain that overlooks the village, going to the other viewpoints, trekking, cycling and doing boat journeys in the local area.
You can go up to the next place up the river as well, Muang Ngoy. There’s more trekking to do around there, and there are some interesting local villages. I didn’t do any work while I was in Muang Ngoy, and unless things have developed by the time you’re reading this, you might be in sketchy Wi-Fi and phone signal territory. There is Wi-Fi up there, but it might be unreliable. Not sure. It’s fair enough. The only way there is by boat.
Further up the river, at Sopchem, there’s no Wi-Fi, and the phone signal runs out.
Four Thousand Islands
All the places mentioned so far are in North Laos, and Four Thousand Islands is way down on the southern tip of Laos. The southernmost islands are on the border with Cambodia and a long way from Nong Khiaw.
It’s worth heading towards Four Thousand Islands and travelling through the southern half of Laos, though, because of the Thakek Loop, the Pakse loop and possibly also for Savannakhet. There’s no strong digital nomad base between Vientiane and Four Thousand Islands, but the south of Laos is a good place to visit anyway. There are also places you can stop for a bit if you need to do a bit of rush digital nomadding on your way towards Four Thousand Islands.
Anyway… at Four Thousand Islands.
I digital nomadded at Four Thousand Islands for a couple of weeks, and it’s totally fine for it. If you’re okay working in your room, a common area or in a restaurant, then it’s all okay. I’m sure there aren’t any co-working spaces, and I can’t remember any fancy coffee houses or anything like that. It’s a nice place to hang out, though. It’s chilled out, there are some activities to do, and there’s enough to keep you entertained for a while.
It’s a well known place with very special sunsets and sunrises, and there are some people who go there for a long time.
Places in Loas I Didn’t Go
The Gibbon Experience. This is a well known trip that people do. I doubt you can digital nomad there.
The slow boat from Thailand. A lot of people come to Laos from Thailand on the slow boat from North Thailand. I came in from Vietnam and left through South Laos, so I don’t know what the digital nomadding is like on the slow boat. Probably impossible.
Other Things to Do in Laos
Most of the digital nomad places I’ve mentioned are in North Loas.
Other things I know of to do while you’re in North Loas are the Gibbon Experience, as just mentioned and the Plain of Jars. There are also well known places to go further north past Sopchem, as mentioned earlier. Not sure what else there is up north. There’s heaps. Have a look for yourself.
If you decide to head south, though, towards Four Thousand Islands, definitely think about stopping off for the Thakhek Loop and maybe the Pakse Loop as well. I really enjoyed the Thakhek loop. It’s well known scooter loop with loads of famous caves and some good ziplining. It gets lots of travellers as well, and it’s quite a social place to go as a traveller. The Pakse Loop has waterfalls and Mr Hook, who’s an interesting guy. It’s good as well, and I was glad I did it.
Thakhek would be an okay place to stop for a few days to do some digital nomadding if you need. There’s not too much there, but if you find a nice place to stay, it’ll be fine. Pakse would also be okay with a decent place to stay, although it’s a biggish city, and it’s slightly noisy and crowded. In both places, you could probably stop off somewhere on the loop if you wanted. At one of the busy, popular guesthouses, that would probably be preferable.
I also stayed in Savannakhet for a bit. It’s okay as a stop over/short visit place if you need. The surrounding countryside is quite nice, and there are a things in the town to see. I rented a scooter and headed into the countryside one day, and found some really interesting villages. There are also temples to visit, and there’s a crocodile conservation project to go and see as well.
There’s a nice guesthouse in Savannakhet called Sala Thongyong.
In Summary
Outside of Luang Prabang, Laos is more of a travel place than a digital nomadding place. If you don’t need the kind of conveniences people get in other places, though, digital nomadding everywhere else in Laos is totally possible. You might find yourself roughing it a bit every now and then. But you can also find nice places to stay, a comfortable place to work and the basic things you need in most places.
The attraction, however, is the travel experience. If you want to digital nomad and travel in an interesting country at the same time, then it’s perfect. Laos is a really scenic country, and the people are nice and laidback. It was my favourite country in SE Asia. It’s a real travel experience, where other places like Thailand are more developed nowadays. You do proper travelling, and you see a lot of traditional ways of life you don’t get see in many countries. Plus, you travel on boats where there are no roads, trek into hill tribes, go up mountains. All the fun travelling stuff, I think. It’s the most ‘real’ place in SE Asia, I think, and I recommend it to anyone who’s interested in that.
