Salavan Province Travel Tips
To have a better travel experience in Salavan Province, there are some useful Salavan Province travel tips which may be helpful for your Salavan Province tour. When plan your trip to Salavan Province, view our answers to questions about Luang Namtha Province travel to get better understanding of Luang Namtha Province.
Useful Numbers
- Fire: 190
- Police: 191
- Ambulance: 195
- Zip code inquiry: 14000
- Tourist Police:021-251-128
Best time to visit
The best time to visit Salavan is from November to March, which is considered to be the dry season. Start from May to October, the rain will take place throughout the region. July to September would rain the most. It is a scenic province of rock and valley, rivers, and forests when travel is difficult in the monsoon season. As a result, the period between May and October is a decidedly low season.
Currency
The unit of currency in Laos is the kip, with denominations of 10 kip, 200 kip, 500 kip, 1,000 kip, 2,000 kip, 5,000 kip, 10,000 kip, 20,000 kip, and 50,000 kip. Thai baht and U.S. dollars are widely accepted throughout the cities, and some stores in northern Laos also accept the Chinese Yuan.
Exchange Rate
The exchange rate is roughly 1 USD ≈ 16,925 Kip and 1 RMB ≈ 2,493.37 Kip. (varying). Kip can be exchanged at airports, hotels, and post offices in major cities such as Luang Prabang and Vientiane, with some exchange offices clearly marked with "Exchange, $US, and ແລກປ1ຽນເງiນຕາ(lek bian en da)".
Card Consumption
Most restaurants, family hostels and handicraft stores in Laos are unable to use credit cards, and only some high-end hotels and restaurants support Visa and MasterCard, usually in popular tourist cities such as Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. Amex and Japanese JCB credit cards can be used to a very small extent.
UnionPay
All BCEL bank ATMs in Laos carry the "UnionPay" logo and usually charge a fee for using UnionPay cards.
Top Attractions
Tadlo tourism centre
There are two waterfalls, which are very nice places for relaxing. There are many guest houses, restaurants and drink shops you can should as you want for sleeping and relaxing, there are many activities such as elephant riding around Tadlo centre, trekking with a local guide, sun bathing and swimming.
Souphanouvong bridge
Over the Sedone river, the bridge was built in 1942. It was designed by Mr. Souphanouvong who became the first President of Lao PDR in 1975. It was destroyed by the American bombing in 1968. You can still see the huge broken bridge lying on the riverbank.
Buddhism library
Built over 200-years ago, bombers destroyed the original Wat Simongkhoun on the Xe Don River in 1972. Remnants of this temple and its stupa can still be seen in the town’s northeast, though vines and shrubs try to hide it. Novice monks sometimes rest in the temple’s sala on the river bank near the warehouse storing longboats used during the annual boat racing festival. In 2009, it was rebuilt by according to original style by the strong wood art which located in the middle of the temple pond due to solidarity of Salavanh’s people, faithful, protected and preserve valuable Lao people.
More: Top Tourist Attractions and Top Things To Do in Salavan Province
