Homestay in Laos

Are you looking for homestay in Laos? If you answer “yes” then this page is for you.

If you wish to experience the real Laos, learn about Lao culture and lifestyle, enjoying a homestay is one of the great ways to fulfil these wishes.

Staying in Lao family homes will give you the experience that you won’t normally get when you stay in hotels. You will learn the culture, observe the ways of life of the locals through living in their homes, sharing food with them and taking part in their family activities.

Home cooking in Homestay

Although there are many homestays on offer around Laos, they’re not widely known as they are not advertised as well as they should be.

This page will provide a list of available homestays in Laos, how to arrange them and some (if not all) necessary information to help ease your homestay arrangement.

Some places with homestays in Laos

Northern Laos Akha Village – Phongsali Ban Chaleurnsouk- Luang Namtha Ban Nam Dee - Luang Namtha Ban Vieng Neua - Luang Namtha Nam Ha Hill Tribe- Luang Namtha Ban Saileck - Muang Sing Ban Nam Deat Mai - Muang Sing Nam Ha Hill Tribe Central Laos Ban Hatkhai – Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area Ban Na – Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area  Southern Laos Don Daeng – Champasak Don Kho – Champasak Sabaidee Donkhong – Champasak (Khong Island, in 4000 Islands)

Sleeping gears in local howestay

How to arrange your homestay in Laos

One of the easiest ways to arrange a homestay is through a local travel agent.

Although it is more expensive, it is convenient and hassle free and will enable you to enjoy your stay without problems. The travel agent will take care of all the arrangements, provide an English-speaking guide, take you to the destination of your homestay and pick you up at the end.

Most homestays are offered as part of trekking tour packages.

However you can make your own arrangements, although this might be a little challenging, because the locals who you might need to deal with usually speak very little or no English. But with accurate information and determination, and if you can laugh or stay cool when misunderstandings happen, not only will you successfully arrange your homestay you will also have fun and memorable experience.

Here is contact information (for booking) for each homestay listed on this page.

What is homestay in Laos like?

Most homestays in Laos are usually established by ecotourism projects or community-based development projects to help locals to generate income as a way to alleviate poverty. They are run by villagers (in rotation) with the supervision of the Lao Tourism Administration. The fee you pay will directly benefit the host families and their community.

For example, Akha Village homestay in Phongsali province is part of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) project. The project was established to help the villagers to create an alternative source of income after opium growing was prohibited (villagers were opium growers in the past).
To help the villagers overcome hardship, the UNODC, PADF (Phongsali Alternative Development Fund) and local authority established a tourism project with marketing support from Tiger Trail travel agent. The villagers learned skills through the project and now run and manage their homestay and tourist activities by themselves.

Usually the villagers provide their family homes as a homestay and that means you’ll be sharing the house with them.

In some villages a separate house is built and owned by the community. It is a kind of multi-purpose building used for community meetings, events or ceremonies such as weddings, and also as a dormitory homestay when needed.

As most homestays in Laos are in rural areas, bear in mind that things are very basic. For instance toilets are normally tiny huts outside the house and you use water from a bucket to flush, bathing is often in a nearby river or by scooping water from buckets to pour over yourself, food is usually home cooked Lao food, using  local ingredients collected fresh from forest or back yard garden and sleeping is under a mosquito net in dormitory type house (private rooms are rare). However, sleeping bags, foam mats and mosquito nets are usually supplied.

To make the most of your stay you should be prepared for some new experiences and allow yourself to sink into the local rhythm of life. If you can do that you will be able to live the way the locals do thus really enjoy your stay.

Now (2024) there is a place called Mystic Mountain Homestay in Paksong Bolaven Plateau, in southern Laos. The place is more modern with adventure activities (from the look of it, I have yet to personally check it out but I'm too excited to share it with everyone).

Mystic Mountain Homestay

There are facilities like electricity, hot/warm water, Wi-Fi, campfire and a site for camping. It's popular during cold season, November-January, the temperature there can drop to one digit number. The homestay has a Facebook page, here https://www.facebook.com/mysticmountainhomestay. Booking in advance is required, please contact the owner directly through the page, or call.  Phone number is available in the Facebook page.

Camping site at Mystic Mountain Homestay

Prices?

The price varies from place to place. It also depends on how you do it (with a tour group or by yourself).

If you go by yourself, direct to the village, you can be looking at around US$10+/person/night depending on location. 

Here is an example of a break down estimation (based on minimum costs).

Note: the prices listed below were a few years ago, they've surely gone up to keep up with everything else, thanks to current bad economic and inflations.

Accommodation: 20,000kip (US$2.50)/person/night, it can vary.
Food: 60,000kip (US$7.50)/person/day (US$2.5 per meal, 3 meals a day), it can vary.
Transport to/from nearby town: varies depending on locations. It can range from US$1-US$10.
Activities: Varies (US$2.5-US$10)
Village fund: Varies (starts from US$1)

If you go through the travel agent, the price starts from around US$20/person/night. Again it varies greatly from one travel agent to another, it also depends on the group size (max of 8 people) and the length of your stay (the larger the group and/or the longer you stay, the cheaper it is).

There you go. Hope you find it helpful. And enjoy your homestay in Laos

Note: The prices are provided as a guide only, I’d recommend that you check with the travel agent or contact provincial tourism office of the place you intent to go for current prices.

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Travel in Laos

Transports in Laos

• Travel by bus
• Travel by train
• Travel by air
• Airport Transfer

Accommodation

• Hotels
• Guesthouses
• Apartments
• Homestays

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