When is the Best Time to Visit Laos?

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For those who are planning Tours to Laos soon, we hope this post will address the common question about the best time to visit Laos.

Climate

The land-locked country of Laos has a typical tropical climate which is heavily influenced by monsoon patterns. Generally, monsoon affects the whole country at the same time thus there’s not much difference across Laos during monsoon. During the year, there are two main seasons: the rainy season from April to November and the dry season from December to March of next year. The rainy season is characterized by intense heat and lots of rainfall. At the beginning of it, with hot monsoon from the west, temperatures can reach as high as 40 degrees. It is hard to tolerate even for the locals. During the European summer months from June to April, although rainfall is at its peak, the landscapes are adorned with green floras. However, reaching towards the end of the rainy season, in September and October, the weather becomes uncomfortably wet. While the conditions during rainy season vary quite a lot, the weather in the low season is generally pleasant. That being said, in the mountainous area such as the Bolaven Pleateau in Southern Laos, it can be very cold so you will need to bring some warm clothes for your expedition. With that in mind, November to March is the best time to visit Laos weather wise. If you want to travel to Laos during this season, we highly recommend that you book your tours to Laos well in advance for wider range of choices and better service rates. Well, unless you wish to enjoy Laos at its most authentic, with no other fellow travelers in sight and you are able to cope with the aforementioned weather in April, May and September, October.

best time visit Laos

Graph describing climate in Vientiane (source: Wikipedia)

Festivals

After considering the weather, we think it’s could be even better should you know some worth-visiting festivals in Laos. Here are 3 of them:

1. Songkran

Songkran, also called Pii Mai is Lao New Year. It is a public holiday celebrated throughout the country from April 14^th to April 16^th. During Songkran, people often throw water or flour at each other as a wish for good luck.

2. Dragon Boat Races

These festivals (also known as Boun Song Hua) are held at different time in late summer or early fall, depending on the particular location. The most prominent dragon boat race is in Vientiane, held on the second week of October.

3. Vat Phou Festival

This is an Angkor festival held on the full moon of the 3^rd month of Lao lunar calendar (often February) at Vat Phou, a temple that has been in Champassak province (10 hours drive from Vientiane) for more than 1,500 years. This is one of the most important religious festivals in Laos. With our own office in Luang Prabang, Exotic Voyages have been providing customizable trips to Laos for many years. Take a look at some of our best luxury tours to Laos or scroll down to take a look at some beautiful pictures of Luang Prabang taken by our Laos team last year. We hope this guide provide useful information for you and thank you for reading!