eSIM Laos

Vientiane has the strongest signal. It holds along the Mekong riverfront, around Patuxai and Pha That Luang, and all the way out to Wattay International Airport. Luang Prabang’s old town, Vang Vieng and the stations on the Laos-China Railway are well covered too, and the southern towns of Pakse, Savannakhet and Thakhek are fine. Route 13, the long road that runs north to south, has signal for most of its length. Things get patchy on the Mekong slow boat and between villages on the Thakhek Loop. The mountains of Phongsaly and Luang Namtha are weaker still.

Connects to Lao Telecom (LTC) and ETL on 4G/LTE. With two networks on the plan, your phone can switch to the other one where the first is weak, which helps most on the edges of towns. Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and the southern towns all get a good signal. It drops out on the river between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang, sometimes for hours, and on the train it vanishes each time the line enters one of its many tunnels. There’s no speed cap from Esimy; signal and your handset set the pace.

• 1–3 GB: a few days in Vientiane and Luang Prabang with maps, LOCA rides and WhatsApp
• 5–10 GB: a two- or three-week loop by train, slow boat and bus, with photo uploads and the odd video call
• 20 GB: a month or more, laptop work from a café in Luang Prabang or Vang Vieng, or a hotspot shared with a friend

Luang Prabang is the town most people come for, with Kuang Si Falls, Wat Xieng Thong, the night market and the dawn alms giving (tak bat) along Sakkaline Road. Vang Vieng is all river, karst peaks and blue lagoons. Vientiane moves more slowly: Pha That Luang, Patuxai and sunset on the riverfront. The two-day slow boat between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang stops for the night in Pakbeng. Further out are the Plain of Jars near Phonsavan, Kong Lor Cave on the Thakhek Loop, and the coffee farms and waterfalls of the Bolaven Plateau. In the far south, the 4000 Islands (Si Phan Don) mean Don Det, Don Khon and Khone Phapheng Falls.

LOCA is the ride-hailing app most visitors use in Vientiane, as Grab doesn’t operate in Laos. In Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and the smaller towns you’ll mostly ride tuk-tuks, so settle the price before you get in. Laos-China Railway tickets can sell out days ahead in high season; book in the LCR Ticket app or at the station as early as you can. Google Maps is fine in towns, and maps.me is popular on the Thakhek Loop because it works offline. Many shops and cafés display a QR code for Lao bank apps such as BCEL One, but you need a Lao account to pay that way, so carry kip.

Roaming in Laos on a UK, European or US SIM usually costs a lot. Add the eSIM on Wi-Fi a day or two before you fly. Once you land, turn on Data Roaming for the Esimy line, choose it for mobile data and switch data roaming off on your home SIM, which can stay active for calls and bank texts. Along the Mekong in Vientiane, your home SIM may latch onto a Thai network across the river, one more reason to keep its roaming off. Coverage stops at the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai and at every other border crossing.

• Online at Wattay as soon as roaming is on, without queuing at an arrivals kiosk
• Two networks, Lao Telecom and ETL, on one plan
• No passport photocopy or SIM registration
• Days only start counting at your first connection in Laos
• Hotspot allowed, and top-ups go onto the eSIM already in your phone

• November to February: dry and cooler, the main season; nights in Luang Prabang and the northern hills can be cold
• March to May: hot, and in March and April smoke from field burning often hazes the north
• Mid-April: Pi Mai, Lao New Year, with three days of water throwing, liveliest in Luang Prabang
• June to October: the rainy season, green and quieter, though dirt roads on the Thakhek Loop and in the south can turn to mud

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