Tips & Thoughts for a Motorcycle Tour through Laos // 2018

Tips & Thoughts for a Motorcycle Tour of Laos // 2018.

Here are our Experience and, if you want, a few tips for a tour through Laos. We have neither seen everything in Laos nor experienced everything. But these are our thoughts. Feel free to add to them! And they are by no means complete, just an inspiration!

Our experience for travelling by motorbike in Laos

  1. Do not rent anything without looking at the machine first. 
  2. There are hardly any real motorbikes, more scooters. And the few real ones have to be found, they are all quite rickety. There is supposed to be a good rental company in Vientiane. We had two 250cc Honda. They were quite sufficient.
  3. When renting, you hand in a passport with visa to the rental company and get it back when you return the motorbike.
  4. No one is asking you for a driving licence, so decide for yourself what you are confident in and what is right.
  5. There is no one-way rental. We found one, but it costs extra for the return and an extra day.
  6. The north is extremely good for exploring, the roads are pure disaster, but exciting, interesting, doable 
  7. The south is easier to drive, scooter will do, roads much better, scenery beautiful but not spectacular (I would spend more time in the north) The Bolaven Plateau is less hot if the heat gets you down.
  8. 4000 Islands better without a motorbike.
  9. If you're tricky, take your own helmet. The helmets they have here are better nutshells, a bit scary and already have cracks and sometimes no visor. 
  10. If you rely on Laos helmets, be sure to bring sunglasses (dust protection!)
  11. I would also wear protectors or airy bike clothing again on another trip. You may be the only one, but you are also the only one with a "big" bike. 
  12. I would recommend sturdy shoes, should not be the best. Mud, dust etc. It is off-road like in the mountains above.
  13. Rainwear would still be important to me. Or: quickly shelter somewhere when the rain starts and have a good time with the locals!
  14. If something is broken, there is help and so-called tinkering workshops (I wouldn't call them workshops) EVERYWHERE.
  15. Many of the workshops do not know motorbikes, only scooters. Stick around when they are screwing. 
  16. Take rubbers or tension straps with you, you can always use them.
  17. We had 2 big plastic rubbish bags for the backpacks. That was a good decision, the roads are muddy or dusty. And if it rains: perfect! If the bags get broken: there are new ones at every market!
  18. Eating, drinking, sleeping on the road no problem. Very very rudimentary, but okay. And friendly! We were in early October, low season, everything easy. Mostly we paid 7 euros per room per night.
  19. Take a piece of paper with you with the most important Lao words. As soon as you get out of the cities, hardly any English!
  20. Danger of bombs or unexploded ordnance. So if you have to, don't go into the bushes, but only on well-trodden paths.
  21. Petrol stations are a dime a dozen.
  22. You can have your clothes washed overnight anywhere. One euro per kilo. Easy!
  23. If you want to do something good, take coloured pencils, paper or footballs. This way you will always have something fun to give away in the villages.
  24. The best navigation app for us was Maps.me (you can download Laos in its entirety and then use it offline).
  25. Internet is good and cheap, just ask for sim cards everywhere. 4G/3G. 300MB costs 50 cents.
  26. Insurance is an undefined issue. So either ask at home beforehand or trust that nothing will happen. Because I have no idea what is insured and what is not.
  27. What we did have was someone we could have called at any time who knew motorbikes and knew English/Lao. That was mega important for us, because otherwise we would not have seen any sun during the repair.
  28. In the north, you may only be able to travel at 30 km/h, in the south at 50 km/h. So take your time and enjoy! So take your time and enjoy!
  29. We would definitely do it that way again! It was a wonderful time, it was brilliant and mega! 
  30. Most important Tip: plan for more time than you allow... everything takes longer, roads can suddenly disappear, motorbikes break down, there are places where you suddenly want to stay longer and the clocks, if they exist here, tick looooong (and that's the best thing here!).

081 - Adventure Laos - How days pass and motorbikes are repaired in Laos
081 - Adventure Laos - How days pass and motorbikes are repaired in Laos

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