Cost of Living in Pakse
Where this figure comes from. No cost survey covers Pakse, so the $620 a month above is our own estimate rather than a measurement. On 330 of our 981 city guides the figure is built from a published Numbeo basket, a one-bedroom rent in the centre plus one person's monthly costs without rent, converted to USD; this city is not one of them. Treat it as a starting point and check current rental listings before you budget against it. How we source everything.
Budget around $620 a month, which puts Pakse among the cheapest places on this site. A one-bedroom runs roughly $150 to $350, with the riverfront and the newer blocks near the centre at the top. Market food costs very little and the Bolaven plateau above the town grows the country's best coffee, so a good cup is cheap here in a way it is not elsewhere in Laos. Imported goods carry a markup, and Thailand across the river is where people go for anything the town does not stock. Utilities are inexpensive. The kip has lost a great deal of value in recent years, which helps a visitor and hurts residents considerably.
Where to Work in Pakse
Connectivity is workable rather than good. Fibre reaches the centre of Pakse at speeds adequate for video calls on a good day, and mobile data from Unitel and Lao Telecom covers the town and the main roads. Power is reasonably reliable, though cuts happen in the wet season. There is no coworking, so most people work from guesthouses or the riverfront cafes, several of which have understood what a laptop customer wants. The time zone is seven hours ahead of GMT, which gives a comfortable European afternoon overlap and works well with the rest of Southeast Asia. Anyone with call-heavy work should test the connection before committing to a month.
Getting Around Pakse
Pakse is small enough to walk across in half an hour and flat, so bicycles work well. Tuk-tuks and jumbos cover the rest cheaply, and rented motorbikes are the usual way people reach the Bolaven plateau, which is the point of being here: the loop takes two or three days past waterfalls and coffee farms. Pakse International Airport is a few kilometres northwest with flights to Vientiane, Bangkok, Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City. Buses run south to Si Phan Don, the four thousand islands where the Mekong splits, and east into Vietnam. The Thai border at Chong Mek is about forty kilometres west and is a straightforward crossing.
Sorting transport? Book an airport transfer, or compare car rental on Auto Europe and QEEQ.
Visas for Pakse
Laos issues visas on arrival at Pakse airport and at the main land borders for most nationalities, valid for thirty days for a fee in United States dollars in cash, and an e-visa is also available in advance. Extensions of a further thirty days are applied for at the immigration office in town. There is no remote work visa and working on a tourist visa is not permitted. Overstaying carries a daily fine that is enforced on departure. Anyone crossing to Thailand and back should note that the Lao visa is not multiple entry by default, so a return means paying for a new one at the border.
Best Time to Visit Pakse
November to February is the cool dry season and the best window, with temperatures around thirty degrees, low humidity and clear skies. March to May is very hot, regularly above thirty five and uncomfortable on the plateau road. The rains from June to October are heavy and the waterfalls on the Bolaven are at their most spectacular then, which is the argument for coming in the wet season despite the mud. The Mekong is high and fast from August to October and low enough to expose sandbars by March. Boun Bang Fai, the rocket festival, falls in May and is worth arranging a trip around.
Pros and Cons of Pakse
The case for Pakse is that it is a genuinely relaxed river town at very low cost, with the Bolaven plateau's waterfalls and coffee farms immediately above it, the Khmer temple of Wat Phou an hour south, and Si Phan Don a few hours further. It is far less visited than Luang Prabang and considerably cheaper. The case against is that Pakse itself is a modest town rather than a destination, connectivity is adequate rather than good, medical care is limited with Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand the serious option, and there is no community of remote workers to speak of. Air quality in the March burning season is poor.
Who Pakse Is For
Pakse suits motorcyclists and anyone drawn to the Bolaven loop, coffee people, and travellers moving slowly through southern Laos who want a base rather than a stop. It suits anyone whose budget is the binding constraint, since very few places offer this quality of life at this price. It does not suit anyone who needs a reliable connection for client calls, anyone wanting nightlife or a professional community, or anyone unwilling to ride a motorbike, because that is how the interesting part of this region is reached. Families will find the medical situation the main concern rather than anything else.
Photo: Christophe95 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
