Grand Laung Prabang Hotel
Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 145 Opinions
Ban Xiengkeo, Khet Sangkalok P.O. Box 1191, Luang Prabang, Laos
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90%
of people enjoy staying here
145 Opinions
- Excellent
- 41
- Very Good
- 51
- Average
- 17
- Poor
- 5
- Terrible
- 6
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Forum Posts
Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by travelbug9
Hi - anyone who has been to luang prabang - was it compulsory for you to have immunisations and what did you have to have? Did you have to show proof at the airport or border by way of certificates? What about all the mosquitoes - this sounds corny I know, but I've been reading about malaria in south asia and need to know whether there are zillions of mosquitoes as sites say. thanks in advance for your reply(ies).
Re: Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by cachaseiro
Malaria is not a big risk in Luang Prabang and you will not be asked to show any prrof of any vaccinations when you enter the country.
Dengue fever is a real risk though and not getting bitten by mosquitos is the only way to be sure there so good insect repellent is what you first of all need.
And i never had real big problems myself with mosquitos and oither bugs in Luang Prabang.
Re: Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by picek
Hi there,
if you're not from some African country (for yellow fever) you won't need to show any proof of vaccination.
As above poster have said, dengue fever is greater risk to get.... especially this year. Though, malaria, does exist in certain remote regions in Laos, and in certain period of a year - rainy season. Mosquios there are - almost everywhere... as many as you wish, especially round water. They're small and very quiet, you won't even hear when they land on you and bite you. The itch can be very unpleasant, locals always put variety of balms to soothe the wound.
I suggest you do your best to avoid being biten.
In case of emergency there are foreign clinics in Vientiane, state ones are rather poorly equipped. Or go to Thailand.
Re: Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by GrumpyDiver
See a doctor who is up on travel medicine for advice, not us amateurs here on VT. It's something I automatically do before heading off to a developing country.
Re: Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by Durfun
My experience was that mosquitoes are definitely a problem at night-time in LP - I went in mid February.
Use repellant sprays as they are very effective. Coils are available locally.
Re: Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by mim95
malaria pills do not prevent you from getting other mosquito-borne diseases, which can be equally fatal. The amount of mosquitoes also depends on the season. But whatever you do, use repellent to avoid getting bitten. As said, there are no compulsory shots.
Re: Vaccinations and Mosquitoes
by cachaseiro
And one thing that goes for all developing countries is that you should get vaccinated against hepatitis A.
That vaccination is valid for the rest of your life once you have it and hepatitis A is something that is quite easy to catch in developing countries and very unpleasant and potentially dangorous, so a shot against that should be a must if you don´t have it allready.
Travel Tips for Luang Prabang
L'Etranger Bookshop
by sieffron
L'Etranger is one of the best bookshops in Southeast Asia. It's not the selection that sets this Luang Prabang backpackers institution apart, but the atmosphere of the place. The brick terrace out front or the comfy second floor tearoom are both great places to take a break from walking around town and veg out for a little while. Though L'Etranger does not house a lot of books, it's not difficult to find a good read there with most titles in English or French. Trading in a book usually cuts an already bargain price in half.
L'Etranger is located next to Hive Bar on Thalat Latsavong, on the Nam Khan side of Phu Si. This place is recommended in Lonely Planet and they're on the mark with this one.
exchanging money in LP using an ATM or Visa card
by seagypsy
Sorry, I don't use MC (although I have one but I prefer to use only one major VISA) but I had no problems using my USA banks ATM in Luang Prabang to withdraw funds. Also VISA is linked to both BCEL Bank and Lao Development Banks' ATMs (these are the 2 main banks in Luang Prabang ALTHOUGH there are a number of foreign exchange offices/kiosks/booths in LP, especially along the main-street/Sisavangvong/tourist central .
However, you do incur a 20,000 kip (approx. U$2.50 local bank service fee) and this does not include your own bank/VISA's fee unless you have one of those high-end accounts which provides complimentary use of international ATMs (they reverse the charge or reimburse you for all fees --BUT double check your bank's ATM or Visa card's fees).
Also, subject to your account, you might also incur a foreign exchange fee.
DO NOT draw cash or get a cash advance using your VISA card because it's usually at a hefty interest rate.
BTW, BCEL now operates 5 ATMs in Luang Prabang and one of them is right next to the exit door of LP's airport terminal so you don't need to exchange at a bank unless you want/need to upon arrival.
Hope this helps!
Oops, almost forgot; you're limited to a maximum withdrawal of 700,000 kip or approx. U$85 per ATM transaction BUT you can put your ATM card right back into the machine and withdraw again up to your ATM's daily maximum.
Also, annother caveat!!!! Some ATMs sometimes run out of cash and MAY not dispense said Lao kips so keep your receipt. The main BCEL branch is on Phu Vao Road which is about one mile from the main tourist area (5 minute bike ride, 20 minute walk, or 2 minute tuk tuk ride) and they have an office that takes care of ATM disputes since this seems to occur from time to time. A friend visiting from California had this problem and had to go to their main office and had no problem getting his funds since they have a data read out of all ATM transactions. I myself had no problems using the ATM to get cash/kips, even sometimes doing several cash withdrawals in one day.
Use What's Available
by thedouglas
Laos has the rather dubious honour of being the most shelled (bombed) country in SE Asia - and you often seen shells lying around, or being utilised for some practical purpose. These were quite a juxtaposition, being used as planters in the vicinity of various sacred areas, near the top of Mount Phousi.
Sabaidee!
by Jyrki
Nearly everyone in the entire country will greet you with the Lao "Hello". It's ice change from other countries where once they notice your white ass they just say 'hello'. So join in the fun and smile, wave enthusiatically and belt out sabaidee back to them!
Continuing with this trend "thank you" in Lao is "Khawp Jai" and "thank you very much" is "khawp jai lai lai". Easy to say, easy to remember, why not give it a whirl!?
Kayaking the Mekong
by trisanna
I highly recommend doing some kayaking on the Mekong. We took a large tuk tuk (our kayaks strapped to it's roof) to the Nam Ou (near the Pak Ou Caves), which then flows into the Mekong. We had a great experience and we stopped at some villages along the way. Some of the local kids took our kayaks and used them for a few minutes while we rested in a nearby village. If you aren't familiar with kayaking it's recommended to do so on the Mekong in the dry season, when the water level drops considerably. Also there are less hidden or visible rocks to deal with.
We booked this trip through an outlet in downtown Luang Prabang. They took care of a guide, the kayaks and transporation back and forth.
Hotel Helper
Luang Prabang
Questions and Answers
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Grand Laung Prabang Hotel
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
- Grand Hotel Luang Prabang
- Grand Luang Prabang
Address: Ban Xiengkeo, Khet Sangkalok P.O. Box 1191, Luang Prabang, Laos
