If you liked getting your hotel room at a discount, you should like shopping in the markets of Laos where, as in most of the region, you bargain to get the best price - whether you are buying Lao silk or cotton fabric or Lao handicrafts, carvings or jewellery.

Remember to enjoy the bargaining process, do not be frustrated by it - smiling and being polite are more effective than aggravated behavior in getting a good deal.

This Laos Shopping Guide gives a brief background on what you may wish to buy whilst in Laos. For more specific details, including details of recommended shops, go to the Laos Destination Guide page, click on your choice of destination, and visit the shopping guide page on that site. And don't forget to finish off a shopping trip with a visit to one of the Laos Restaurants, where you're sure to leave feeling satisfied.

Laos Shopping Guide

Buying locally made Lao products is a good way to contribute to the local economy and helps preserve traditional crafts, many of which are products of the different hilltribes in Laos. These include a range of hand woven and dyed textiles with designs that are unique to a region or tribe. Other traditional trades and crafts include wood and bone carving, basket weaving, saa papermaking (from mulberry bark).

Lao gold and silver jewellery are also popular buys because of their beautiful designs and discounted prices. For one-stop-shopping, most everything that is produced in Laos is sold in Vientiane. Many shops in Vientiane and Luang Prabang are geared towards tourists and accept credit cards, however only cash is used outside the major cities and in the markets. Most shops are closed on Sundays.

Important note: there are fines for trying to take out Lao antiques or Buddhist artifacts which are prohibited from leaving Laos.