Do hostels in Laos accept cards or only cash?

Laos hostels usually want cash, not cards. Even in Vientiane, I found only one hostel with a working card machine. Most said “cash only” at check-in. ATMs are frequent but come with high fees and low withdrawal caps, which is frustrating. If you don’t want to keep running to ATMs, carry kip in advance or change dollars/baht at a money exchange. Hostels here are not reliable for card payments, so treat cash as your main option.

In Luang Prabang, I stayed in a hostel that accepted card but added a 3.5% surcharge. Others demanded kip cash straight away. ATMs are everywhere, but you can only withdraw limited amounts, and foreign cards often get hit with double fees. Laos is definitely not the country to rely solely on plastic. For avoiding ATM runs, change some cash before arrival and budget for kip bills to cover your hostel check-ins.

Laos is still very cash-heavy. In Vang Vieng, every hostel I checked asked for kip upfront. A few had card machines, but either they “weren’t working” or they added hefty fees. ATMs from BCEL and Lao Development Bank are common but only allow small withdrawals. To skip last-minute scrambles, have enough kip for a couple of nights. Hostels rarely depend on card payments, especially outside major cities.

Hostels in Vientiane and Luang Prabang often want cash in kip, though some tourist-oriented ones take cards. My hostel in Luang Prabang said card payments had a 3% fee, so I just paid cash. ATMs are widely available but charge steep withdrawal fees, usually around 20,000-40,000 kip per transaction. If you want to avoid last-minute ATM runs, definitely bring some kip cash upfront. Cards can work, but cash is the standard in Laos.