Things to Do in Laos in December
December weather, activities, events & insider tips
Shoulder Season · Good Value
December Weather in Laos
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
82°F (28°C)
High Temp
63°F (17°C)
Low Temp
0.1 inches (3 mm)
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
Is December Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + December lands squarely in Laos's dry-season sweet spot. The monsoon taps shut in late October, and by December the air has shed the waterlogged weight that drags through the wet months. Over Luang Prabang the sky snaps into sharp blue by 8 AM, and the Mekong slips low enough to expose pale sandbars and slick rock shelves that stay submerged half the year. Northern highland trails around Phongsali and Luang Namtha are dry, firm underfoot, and the valley mist caught between karst peaks burns off by mid-morning, delivering visibility you never see from June through September.
- + Temperatures finally behave like Southeast Asia on its best behavior. Vientiane afternoons peak around 28°C (82°F) with humidity hovering near 65%, a clear drop from the 85%+ that soaks the capital from May onward. Above 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in the northern mountains, mornings dip to 8-10°C (46-50°F), cool enough that Hmong villagers in padded jackets huddle around small fires. For anyone used to dripping through Bangkok or Phnom Penh, the relief is instant.
- + December flips Laos food culture into cool-season gear. Sellers along Luang Prabang's morning market on Sisavangvong Road wheel out jaew bong, a thick, smoky mash of roasted chili, dried buffalo skin, and padaek (Lao fermented fish paste), pounded fresh in mortars so large two people haul them. Charcoal grills along the Night Market fire up earlier because the air is finally cool enough to stand beside open flame without misery. Sticky rice steams in bamboo baskets everywhere, and that warm, faintly sweet, starchy scent becomes the baseline note of every meal.
- + The Mekong stays navigable yet calm, making December prime time for the two-day slow boat from Huay Xai on the Thai border down to Luang Prabang, roughly 300 km (186 miles) of river framed by teak forest, limestone cliffs, and villages reachable only by water. Water sits low enough for the captain to weave through rapids without worry. Yet high enough to dodge the sandbars that strand boats in March and April. You glide through stretches where the only sounds are the engine, the water, and the occasional rooster calling from an unseen village up the bank.
Considerations
- − December kicks off peak season, and Luang Prabang feels the increase. The UNESCO-listed old town, about 35 blocks of French colonial and traditional Lao buildings squeezed between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, packs tight from mid-December to early January. The dawn alms-giving along the main road, where saffron-robed monks collect sticky rice from kneeling residents, now draws a ring of tourists with telephoto lenses and idling tour buses. The ritual still runs. It remains a living practice. But the tone has changed. If it matters to you, walk three blocks south to the smaller wats where five monks move in silence and no one watches.
- − The northern highlands turn cold enough to shock. Travelers who packed for tropical Southeast Asia land in Phongsali or the Bolaven Plateau and shiver at 6 AM in shorts and a tank top while fog presses against the guesthouse glass. Nighttime temperatures above 800 m (2,625 ft) regularly fall below 10°C (50°F) in December, and heated rooms barely exist outside a few spots in Luang Prabang. Trekking in Luang Namtha province or sleeping in village homestays demands layers, a proper fleece, and at minimum a sleeping bag liner.
- − Rooms in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng sell out quickly for the Christmas-New Year stretch, and prices jump. What you paid in September can double or triple for the same bed in late December. Booking six to eight weeks ahead for December nights in Luang Prabang isn't overcautious, it's essential if you want any choice. Vientiane feels less pressure. Yet riverside rooms tighten around Lao National Day on December 2nd.
Best Activities in December
Top things to do during your visit
December in Laos brings clear, dry days around eighty-two degrees and cool nights. The light is sharp. Rivers run clear and limestone karsts stand out against a pale blue sky. Life moves outdoors. Monks air saffron robes and families gather on the Mekong banks at dusk. The air carries charcoal smoke and grilling fish. Lao National Day on the second fills the capital's avenues with parades, then riverside picnics with laughter and pop music. In the north, Hmong communities around Phonsavan and Luang Prabang celebrate their New Year. Villages become busy gatherings. You will hear crossbow competitions and smell steaming bowls of pho. Young people in indigo dress play courting games. This is a homecoming, not a tourist show. It has a rare window into living culture. December provides clarity. The weather is clear, the light is good, and cultural access is direct. It is a prime window for exploration, from ancient temple lanes to misty highlands.
Vientiane Cultural Tour with Private Guide
private_tourExamines the languid capital. It moves past postcolonial facades. You might hear a temple bell clang in Wat Si Saket, with its thousands of Buddha figures. You can feel the cool stone of the ancient stupa at Wat Phra Keo. Your guide will explain the Ramayana scenes on its walls. The tour connects spiritual history to modern life. It often ends at a local coffee shop for a dark brew and tales of the city.
This tour explains Vientiane's slow-paced charm through a knowledgeable local's insight.
Insider tip: Start in the late afternoon for golden hour light at the monuments and the early evening buzz along the Mekong.
Luang Prabang: Craft Your Own Aroma Candle in Heritage Home
culturalTakes you into a traditional wooden house. The air smells of melted beeswax and essential oils like frangipani or lemongrass. With gentle instruction, you will hand-pour your candle. Watch the wax pool and set. You create a personal souvenir with the scent of this UNESCO town.
This is a tactile way to connect with local artisanal spirit inside a historic home.
Insider tip: Ask about the stories behind the oils, like dok champa, the national flower used in temple offerings.
Prabang Plates Food Tour with 15+ Tastings
foodIs a deep examination of the city's food. It is a marathon. Start with the crunch of riverweed and the tang of tam mak hoong salad. The tour winds through busy markets and alleyway stalls. You will taste smoky sausages, noodle soups, and sticky sweets. Feel steamed bamboo and hear meats sizzle. Learn about the French and Southeast Asian influences on Lao cuisine.
It is the most complete introduction to Lao food, making you an informed enthusiast.
Insider tip: Come very hungry and pace yourself. The 15+ tastings are a challenge. Skip lunch.
Private Tour: Vientiane City Tour Full Day with Buddha Park
day_tripStudies contrasts. See the serene, gold-leafed Pha That Luang stupa. Then visit the bizarre concrete sculptures of Xieng Khuan, called Buddha Park. Feel the calm in the oldest temples. Hear traffic on the Friendship Bridge. Walk among giant statues of deities and demons. Their mossy surfaces are cool.
This day captures Vientiane's dual character: a dignified capital and a place of whimsical curiosity.
Insider tip: At Buddha Park, climb inside the three-story pumpkin structure. See depictions of heaven, earth, and hell. Exit through a demon's mouth.
Vientiane Half-Day City Tour
guided_experienceEfficiently covers landmarks. Trace your hand over the bullet-pocked arch of Patuxai. Feel the quiet reverence inside Wat Si Saket, with prayers and incense. See the bright white facade of the presidential palace. Absorb the panoramic city view from the war monument's summit. Your guide explains the complex history.
It is the ideal, condensed overview for travelers with limited time.
Insider tip: Wear shoes you can slip off easily. You will enter multiple temple grounds.
Pony Riding in Luang Prabang
otherHas a gentle, clopping-paced perspective. It takes you on dirt paths through quiet villages. Hear the soft snort of your steed. See laundry drying on bamboo fences. The route often winds through rice fields under fruit trees. Local children wave with shouts. It provides a glimpse of rural life near the UNESCO core.
This connects you to the Lao countryside's gentle pace. It is accessible and memorable.
Insider tip: The ponies are calm and well-trained, good for first-timers. Wear long pants.
Where to Stay in Laos in December
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for December travellers.
December Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
December 2
Lao National Day (Wan Xat Lao)
On 2 December 1975 the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed, and Vientiane still marks the date with equal parts state ritual and backyard party. Pha That Luang, the golden stupa that doubles as national emblem, hosts wreath-laying officials, crisp military parades and monks whose chants roll across the esplanade. The real draw is the spill-over: families spread bamboo mats of sticky rice and grilled pork along the Mekong parks, teenagers balance speakers on motorbikes and crank Lao pop, and the night market stays open late with bonus food stalls and makeshift music stages. Banks and government offices shut. Yet the city keeps its unhurried pulse, tie a small Lao flag to your pack and invitations to share beer and gossip arrive faster than you can finish your first sip.
Late November through December (varies by village)
Hmong New Year (Kin Chiang)
Hmong New Year sweeps northern Laos from late November through December, dates shifting village by village. Luang Prabang and Phonsavan open the most accessible grounds: fields become fashion runways of indigo batik, silver neck rings and coin-jangling headdresses flashing in December sun. Young singles line up for pov pob, tossing cloth balls while trading sung riddles, drop the catch and you surrender a bracelet, redeemable later with a song. Nearby, bulls butt heads, tops spin and crossbows thwack. Grilled pork skewers and fragrant pho steam the air. These are family reunions, not staged shows, dress modestly, move respectfully, ask before raising your camera. Xieng Khouang villages outside Phonsavan host the largest gatherings.
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View Laos Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
The morning alms-giving ceremony in Luang Prabang, tak bat, starts between 5:30 and 6:00 AM depending on the season, and December's later sunrise means monks walk in near-darkness with headlamps occasionally flashing between the saffron robes. The main route along Sisavangvong Road has become a tourism spectacle, with organized groups sitting on plastic stools and flash photography that the monks visibly dislike. Walk instead to the smaller wats on the peninsula's quieter southern streets, Wat Sene Souk Haram, Wat Xieng Mouane, where the ceremony develops with three or four monks and perhaps one or two locals offering rice. This is the version worth witnessing. If you participate, kneel below the monks, do not touch them, and offer plain sticky rice purchased from morning market vendors, not the commercially packaged offerings sold to tourists that the monks reportedly discard.
Laos food in December leans heavily into grilling and stewing because the cool evenings make standing over a charcoal fire pleasant rather than punishing. Seek out or lam, the definitive Lao stew, a thick, intensely herbed broth of lemongrass, dill, galangal, and wood ear mushrooms with pork or buffalo, cooked in a large pot and served communal-style with mountains of sticky rice. You eat it by tearing a golf-ball-sized chunk of rice, pressing it flat in your palm, and using it to scoop the stew. Most Lao families eat this at least once a week in cool season. The places that have done it longest, look for the ones where the menu is handwritten on a whiteboard in Lao script and every table is full of locals, are where the recipe has been refined over decades.
The Lao kip is not accepted outside Laos and exchange rates at the border are consistently worse than in-country. ATMs in Vientiane and Luang Prabang dispense kip reliably. But outside those cities machines thin out fast and sometimes run dry. Carry a mix of Thai baht and US dollars as backup, both are widely accepted in tourist areas, with baht preferred in the north near the Thai border. Crisp, post-2006 US bills only. Anything torn, marked, or pre-2006 series gets refused. December's higher tourist volumes mean ATMs in Luang Prabang's old town empty faster than usual, on weekends.
The two-day slow boat journey is often described as uncomfortable, and it can be, wooden benches, no air conditioning, engine noise. But the upper deck on most boats now has cushioned seats, and the key to enjoying it is framing: this is not a transfer, it is the destination. Bring a book, snacks from the morning market, a small bottle of Lao-Lao (rice whiskey) if you are so inclined, and let the river set the pace. The stretch between Pakbeng and Luang Prabang, where the karst formations close in and the river narrows to canyon-like passages, is the most dramatic. December's clear weather means you can see the full depth of the valley rather than peering through monsoon haze.
Avoid These Mistakes
Underestimating distances and overestimating road speed. The 340 km (211 miles) from Vientiane to Luang Prabang by road takes 8-10 hours on Route 13, not the 3.5 hours Google Maps optimistically suggests. Lao highways are two-lane mountain roads with switchbacks, livestock crossings, and sections where the pavement simply ends for a few hundred meters. The Laos-China Railway, however, covers Vientiane to Luang Prabang in about 2 hours and has transformed travel in northern Laos since its 2021 opening, use it. December is peak season for the train too, so book tickets through the official LCR app a few days ahead.
Pack only shorts and T-shirts and you'll land in Luang Prabang or the northern highlands shivering. December nights in Luang Prabang slide to 14°C (57°F), and above 1,000 m (3,280 ft) the mercury sinks into single digits Celsius (mid-40s°F). Budget guesthouses seldom deliver hot water that works, let alone heaters. Every December, travellers queue at the Luang Prabang night market for cheap fleece jackets after assuming Laos equals tropical. Treat Laos in December as a layering exercise.
Turning the alms-giving ceremony in Luang Prabang into a photo shoot ignores the fact that tak bat is a living religious ritual. Blocking the monks' path, popping flash, or wearing skimpy clothes is disrespectful yet increasingly common among visitors who arrive clueless. Local authorities have posted signs asking for considerate behaviour. Read them. Stand back, set your camera to silent, and skip selfies with monks. If you want to give alms, learn the correct posture and protocol from your guesthouse staff the evening before.
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