Vang Vieng Pub Crawls

The Vang Vieng Nightlife Scene

Vang Vieng is not what it was in 2010 when the tubing-and-river-bars combination had a documented body count, but it's not quiet either. The crackdown in 2012 closed most of the riverside tubing bars and removed the zip-lines; what replaced them is a more manageable version of the same idea. The Nam Song River still has tubing operators (the activity runs 9am–5pm on the river) and a handful of bars on the western bank that catch people drifting past. The main bar zone in town runs along the streets east of Tha Heua Road: a grid of bars, restaurants, and clubs that stays open until 1am most nights. Sakura Bar is the consistent fixture; Gary's Irish Bar is where the older traveller crowd ends up. The rooftop bars overlooking the karst limestone peaks make for a decent pre-dinner drink.

What You'll Pay

Beer (Beerlao or Beer Lao Dark) at a riverside bar: 15,000–25,000 LAK or $1.50–2.50. Cocktails in town: $3–6. Happy mushroom shakes appear on some menus; these are legally grey and best approached with full knowledge of what they contain. A full evening in Vang Vieng with dinner at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and five drinks: $20–35.

Best Nights

The tubing crowd determines the energy level: if boats came back full in the afternoon, the bars fill up from 7pm. Weekends have more arrivals from Vientiane (a three-hour bus). Thursday through Saturday run more consistently. The bar circuit is compact enough that a single night covers most of it.

Practical

Vang Vieng town is walkable. The river bars require either tubing out to them or hiring a kayak or long-tail boat — the infrastructure is organised through the guesthouses. Tuk-tuks cover the short distances in town. Cash is standard; USD and LAK both work. Some of the newer bars accept cards. No dress codes.