Laos Weather & Best Time to Visit 2024

Laos, officially known as Laos People Democratic Republic, is one of the most beautiful countries in South East Asia. The mountainous country borders with Vietnam to the East, Cambodia to the South, Thailand to the West, China and Myanmar to the North. 

You can go to Laos for a vacation all year-round; however, there is the best time to visit Laos for having a remarkable trip to this wild and rustic country.

Laos Weather

Like almost every other South East Asia country, Laos has a tropical climate with two distinct seasons: the dry season and the wet season. The country is warm year-round but it can get down to freezing temperatures in some mountainous areas in the winter.

Wet season

The wet season in Laos runs from May to October. The higher you are the more rainfall you will get. Towns along the Mekong river and Vientiane get the least rain. The most obvious consequence of the wet season is infrastructure damage. The roads will become slippery and muddy. With rainfall, rivers can be dangerous sometimes and can destroy bridges, roads, etc. So do not be surprised if your trip takes longer than expected.

Traveling in the wet season can be a little tricky

On the other hand, during the wet season, boat transfer becomes available and easier to access. Rivers are so high that slow boats can move with ease. Along the Mekong River, there are many speedboats. But there is something you should consider taking a speedboat trip. During the wet season, rivers can be very messy with objects which were brought to the river by the water stream of heavy rainfall. Hitting an object at 35mph can be very ugly. However, the temperature is lower, the air is cleaner during the wet season. Traveling this time can still be interesting.

 

Dry season

Laos dry season is divided into 2 sub-sections: the cool dry season and the hot dry season. The cool dry season runs from November to February, which matches the winter. Northern Laos still has winter for those who are wondering. The hot dry season runs from March to April and the temperature is amazingly high.

From March to May, Laos farmers set the rice fields and forest on fire to improve soil quality and prepare for the new rice crop. The result is most of Laos is covered by smoke. The temperature is very high which can rise above 40^oC, the whole country is covered by smoke and dust. This is not the best time to go.

The cool dry season is an excellent opportunity to travel in Laos

The cool dry season is completely opposite to the hot dry. This is a great chance to visit Laos without worrying about the weather. Temperatures are relatively low, the air is fresher. Especially in November and December, the water levels in rivers are high enough to take a boat trip. But this is the peak tourist season in Laos.

 

Best time to visit Laos

Laos generally has a laid-back climate, with no coastline to bring troublesome storms. The weather here is generally more affected by altitude and topography, with a cooler mountainous north and a steamer delta-plain south.

January and February is a very pleasant time of year in Laos, with dry conditions throughout the country. The main cities are comfortably warm, with average temperatures around 25°C and the lower-lying southern plateau is warmer still, closer to 29°C. In the northern mountainous regions the evenings, in particular, will be cold, so make sure to bring some warmer clothing.

Laos in a sunny day

Things start to heat up in Laos in March and April. It will be hot and dry across the whole country, and further to this farmers will start “slash and burn”, an agricultural practice used to burn the remaining leaves and un-used plant life leftover from the harvest. Laos New Year also falls in April and is always a riot of color.

November is the first month of the cool and dry season and an excellent time to visit the whole of Laos. The rains will well and truly have passed, but the rural areas will still be very green and lush. The rivers will be high so boat rides are ideal at this time of year, and temperatures are warm except for the northern highlands where it will start to feel cooler.

December is a great month for Laos with minimal rain, warm temperatures and lots of sunshine. The northern highlands can get quite chilly at night, but otherwise it’s incredibly popular to travel in this month.

 

Laos National holidays and festivals

Besides the weather, festivals are also a big deal to consider when visiting a country or territory. With festivals and public holidays, you will have a great opportunity to learn about local culture.

Boun Pi Mai

Boun Pi Mai is considered as Laos New Year. This is the biggest national holiday of Laos which takes place annually every mid-April. The celebration lasts for 3 days but it is often taken place for about a week. Like Songkran of Thailand, during Boun Pi Mai, there will be many parades, dancing, singing, etc. People pouring water and flowers onto Buddha temple, as well as friends and relatives to wish them good luck in the new year. Boun Pi Mai takes place during the driest and hottest month of the year, you can see the exciting water fights everywhere. So unless you want to get wet, avoid walking on the streets these days.

Laos people celebrating their New year

Rocket festival

The Rocket festival takes place on different weekends in different villages, but usually in late May. This is the dry season in Laos, people use the Rocket festival as a “rain caller”. They go to the suburban areas to launch their homemade rockets. There are also many contests for the rockets. Get yourself a motorbike, go to the countryside and enjoy the festival. But remember to prepare for the lack of concern for health and safety. Drunk driving is a serious problem here, so watch out.

Loy Khatoung

This is the national boat racing festival in Laos. The festival takes place from November 15^th in the Lunar calendar. The race is held on November 16^th starting in the early morning. Over 20 teams with dragon boats line up for the race on the Mekong river. People come from all around Laos to take part in this significant festival. There are three categories: Sport for men, Traditional for men and Traditional for women. The race and prizes are live broadcast on the national TV of Laos. Street these days are shut down for vendors and booths, so be prepared for the sea of people.

Xayaboury

Xayaboury is the Elephant festival. Located in the west of Laos, Xayabury is the home of hill tribes, wild animals, and of course, elephants. This festival takes place every year in February or March and usually lasts for two or three days. It draws people from all over the world to celebrate and observe over 100 elephants with their trainers demonstrating working techniques and many interesting things. The celebration is filled with elephant-related activities. Tourists are welcomed to film documentaries.

Hundreds of elephants will take part in the festival

With all the information given about the weather, festivals and public holidays of Laos, maybe you already have an idea for yourself. Laos is a beautiful country with many unexplored things. So do not hesitate to book a Laos tour and pay a visit to this magnificent land of South East Asia.

Read more Useful Information For A Trip to Laos

Hoang Nguyen

(Images source: Internet)