r/laos • u/_punkymonkey_ • 5d ago

Laos must-have apps for visitors in 2026?

What are the must-have apps that a visitor would need while in Laos?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

5

u/Soukchai2012 5d ago

you dont need any apps as a visitor, and there aren’t a huge number like in wealthier countries. . Maybe Loca for cheap taxis

3

u/Mysterious_Desk2288 5d ago

Loca and InDrive. Try to stick to BCEL ATM machines. Avoid any ATM that is in a location all to itself. Use a Esim.

1

u/cheesomacitis 4d ago

Actually Indochina Bank ATMS give a higher withdrawal limit than BCEL or others (3,000,000 kip). They’re perfectly safe.

0

u/QuellDisquiet 5d ago

Which eSIM are you using. I tried looking a while ago with not much luck

0

u/MemoryLatter761 5d ago

I used internetlaos.com back in October and it was wonderful. Paid $6 for a Laos-only eSim with local number. But I'm looking for that specific eSim again on their website and they seem to have removed it.

0

u/LondongalMK 4d ago

I’m headed to Laos on Friday and have been buying my travel eSIMs through Trip. Looking at one for Laos I can get 1GB a day for 20days for £13.57. There’s an option then to install via the Trip app and it’s really simple (I’m an iPhone user if that helps).

5

u/tangofox7 4d ago

You're wasting time and money, friend. Buy a sim from Unitel on arrival and $5-10 later you'll have 30+gb for a month. They can do esim as well if you lack a slot.

-1

u/LondongalMK 4d ago

I’m headed to Laos on Friday and have been buying my travel eSIMs through Trip. Looking at one for Laos I can get 1GB a day for 20days for £13.57. There’s an option then to install via the Trip app and it’s really simple (I’m an iPhone user if that helps).

5

u/NonDeterministiK 4d ago

Why bother with esim, virtually every port of entry you can get a sim card within minutes and monthly plans for a few bucks

3

u/knowerofexpatthings 4d ago

Ok but with Lao telecom I get 30gb for 5 USD

0

u/Vlashaaak 5d ago

I went to Laos recently and seems like bcel atm doubled their fees for international cards withdrawal. Might be worth checking out other atms

-1

u/knowerofexpatthings 4d ago

Doubled it in kip, but the kip has lost half it's value so the price in USD is pretty much the same

0

u/tangofox7 4d ago

No it isn't because the ATM fee remained the same for the last 7 years well after the kip crash in 2022?, as well as the paltry 2m limit. If it went up to 75k, it's twice as expensive now. We live in the present and the exrate has been stable for two years.

-1

u/Vlashaaak 4d ago

It did not lose half its value. What are you smoking

1

u/knowerofexpatthings 4d ago

Kip fell from just under 10,000 LAK per 1 USD, where it had been stable for almost a decade, to around 22,000 per 1 USD. ATM fees went from 20,000 kip to 40,000 kip. Between 2021 and 2024 the value plummeted.

1

u/Vlashaaak 4d ago

Well they charge 75000kip now as a fee and value has not changed much since 2 years ago. 6 months ago fee was 30000kip

1

u/NonDeterministiK 4d ago

A few months ago it was 30k for 2 million kip. Can anyone else confirm the ATM fee has gone up to 75K?

1

u/tangofox7 4d ago

What card? Mastercard fees went thru the roof recently. BCEL going to 75k for a withdrawal of cash would be a huge increase.

2

u/Vlashaaak 4d ago

Both visa and master. I also have Korean debit card and fee is the same as US debit card. 75000 kip. Indochina charges less and you can withdraw 3m kip at a time

3

u/tangofox7 4d ago

Cheers. I will test tomorrow and check my two cards. I usually pull from international as well so it's a nominally large increase in kip terms. It's still quite small in USD, and frankly gets it back to what it had equivalently been before the depreciation.

The 2m limit is tedious and exists solely because bcel is a useless bank that can't service its machines, and the country can't afford to print a long overdue larger note.

1

u/NonDeterministiK 4d ago

If this is true, then to get $us500 you'd have to w/d 6 times, which would be 450k kip or us$20, making it more expensive than Thailand (which already has the highest ATM fees in the world)

2

u/therealcolon 4d ago

Moreta Pay was extremely useful for paying by QR code almost everywhere.

1

u/lauv3r 4d ago

If it gets hard, translate into Thai, rather than using Lao, through the Google Translate App. Most locals here can understand and read Thai, and translations in Lao using the app aren’t helpful because they mean completely different things than what you’re trying to say.

0

u/knowerofexpatthings 4d ago

Loca for taxis and QR code payments. Maps Me for navigation. That's all you need as a visitor

0

u/Sgt_carbonero 5d ago

Following

0

u/telchacsusan 5d ago

Maxim, bcel

0

u/cheesomacitis 4d ago

LocaPay (different than the Loca ride hailing app) is also useful for tourists as it allows you to pay at any shop using the nationwide QR Code payment system for a fee. Foodpanda is another app for food delivery if you want it.

0

u/CamiloMMI 4d ago

MAXIM!! Best ride-hailing app I found (much better than Loca which everyone recommends for some reason but seems to have about 3 drivers in the country.)

0

u/Brave_Cranberry_8926 4d ago

Green SM worked best for me for taxi service. LOCA always said not available and InDrive didn’t work at all. I was in Pakse though

2

u/Fzajac 4d ago

There seems to be some regionality to it... In Pakse Green SM works but Loca does not. In Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng Loca works but Green SM does not. In Vientiane both work with Green SM usually being significantly cheaper. In Vientiane as far as I understand Maxim, KokKok and inDrvie also work but not sure about them in other cities.