Vientiane Travel Risk — Moderate Risk (40/100)
Is Vientiane safe right now? Checked 16 October 2026
Vientiane scores 40/100 on our travel risk index (Moderate). The US State Department rates Laos Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution, updated 28 Jul 2026); the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country (updated 13 Aug 2026); Canada says: exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). No GDACS or USGS hazard events within 100 km in the last 14 days. No change in government advice in the last 7 days.
Crime (score 25)
Transport safety (score 45)
September 27, 2026
Vientiane, Laos has a current Travel Risk Calculator composite score of 40 out of 100 (moderate risk tier); the highest-rated risk category is transport safety at 45/100; the lowest-rated category is crime at 25/100; last updated September 27, 2026. For official nationwide security advisories, entry requirements, and health notices, see the Laos travel risk page. Real-time conditions below include live weather, official advisory levels, GDACS disaster alerts, and current news.
Get a personalized assessment for your tripHow safe is Vientiane to visit in 2026?
Vientiane currently sits at 40/100 on our composite travel-risk index, which puts it in the moderate-risk tier. Most travelers will be fine with normal precautions, but a few categories below score high enough that planning matters. The highest-rated risk category for Vientiane is transport safety (45/100), and the lowest is crime (25/100). This page was last updated on September 27, 2026; the baseline category scores reflect analytical indicators, layered with live conditions throughout the day. Live conditions — weather and air quality every 30 minutes, US State Department advisory every 6 hours, GDACS disaster alerts every 30 minutes, CDC health notices every 12 hours, and news every hour — are cached at the source and refreshed automatically when stale.
Driven by: security (43/100) and natural hazards (61/100).
A score of 40 is higher than 41% of the cities we score.
AI safety snapshot · refreshed Oct 16, 2026
Vientiane, Laos has a baseline composite safety risk of 40 out of 100, indicating moderate risk as of today. The U.S. State Department maintains a Level 2 advisory for the country. Additionally, travelers should note the Level 1 Global Dengue health notice from the CDC.
AI-summarized strictly from the live public-source data below (US State Dept advisory, GDACS, CDC, Google News). Auto-refreshed at most once per day on the first visit. Not official advice.
Live conditions last refreshed: Oct 16, 2026 17:23 UTC
What should I do now?
- Run a real assessment. Open the calculator for live data (weather, advisory, news) layered onto this baseline.
- Transport safety (score 45/100): Use the safest available transit. For high-risk routes, prefer reputable carriers and avoid late-night driving.
- Disease & health (score 35/100): Check CDC and WHO advice for required vaccinations. Pack basic medications. Confirm your travel insurance covers medical evacuation.
- Check your country's advisory. The single most authoritative live signal. Linked at the bottom of every real assessment.
Day vs Night Safety in Vientiane
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
Daytime conditions are generally secure along major corridors and commercial districts. Keep bags zipped and avoid displaying high-value items openly.
Risk levels elevate noticeably after dark outside main central zones. Avoid walking alone through unlit parks, alleys, or quiet transit stations; favor pre-booked door-to-door transport.
Safety by Traveler Type in Vientiane
Guidance based on our scores and official advice — not a measured score.
No group-specific warning is triggered in Vientiane for solo travelers (Crime 25/100 · Transport 45/100), women traveling solo (Crime 25/100), families with children (Health 35/100 · Natural disaster 30/100), older travelers (Health 35/100 · Transport 45/100), business travelers (Digital 20/100 · Money 25/100 · Transport 45/100) and lgbtq+ travelers (Advisory 30/100 · Political 30/100): these scores sit in the low-to-moderate range, so standard precautions apply. Local laws affecting LGBTQ+ travelers and gender-specific incident rates are not captured in our scores; check your government's travel guidance.
View complete category score breakdown & baseline metrics
Score layers
Safety categories
Source: Grounded open data research & citations
Quick facts
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Airport risk | medium |
| Road safety | medium |
| Public transport | medium |
| Tourist scam risk | medium |
| Night safety | medium |
| Last updated | September 27, 2026 |
Live conditions in Vientiane
Real-time data refreshed from public sources — weather and air quality from Open-Meteo, official advisory from the US State Department, disaster alerts from GDACS, health notices from the CDC, news from Google News. For an AI-synthesized briefing tailored to your specific trip, run a personalized assessment.
Official travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Laos - Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
Read full advisory → · US Department of State
Natural hazard calendar & history
5-Year Hazard Calendar (100 km Radius)
| Hazard | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| Wildfires | — | — | 28 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tropical Cyclones | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Most wildfire events within 100 km of Vientiane happened in March (28 of 45 in five years).
Source: GDACS, USGS; five years to October 2026.
For consular advice on women's safety, LGBT+ travel, and local laws, see the Laos travel advice & laws.
Check the official entry requirements for your nationality before you travel. See the Laos entry requirements.
Health notices
Health Notices for this Destination
-
Level 2 - Global Polio ALERT · 2026-09-23
Some international destinations have circulating poliovirus. Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines. Country List : Afghanistan, Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Nig
-
Level 1 - Global Measles WATCH · 2025-05-28
Measles cases are rising in many countries around the world. All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to CDC's measles vaccination recommendations for international travel. Country List : Afghan
Source: CDC Travelers’ Health · fetched 2026-10-16 07:26:45 UTC
1991–2020 climate normals
Seasonal risk & best time to visit Vientiane
The most weather-stable two-month window for Vientiane is December–January, when typical daily temperatures run from about 16°C to 27°C and monthly rain averages 9 mm.
Seasonal planning flags include heavy rain season in May–September; typhoon season in May–November; monsoon in May–September. These are climate patterns, not forecasts.
Climate normals are planning context, not a short-range forecast. Source: Open-Meteo Climate API. Refreshed Sep 7, 2026.
Calculate risk for these travel dates Compare seasonal windows →
Practical safety map
Safety infrastructure nearby in Vientiane
Vientiane has 10 hospitals, 6 police stations, 5 embassies, 9 pharmacies and 1 fire stations within 7 km of the city center in the latest OpenStreetMap extract.
The interactive map loads when it approaches the viewport.
Facility list (works without JavaScript)
- Hospital: Center of Medical Rehabilitation
- Hospital: Chanthabouli District Hospital
- Hospital: Children's Hospital
- Hospital: Children's Hospital
- Hospital: Mittaphap Hospital
- Hospital: Mittaphap Hospital
- Hospital: Nakhoneluang Grand Hospital
- Hospital: Rehabilitation Center
- Hospital: Xaisettha District Hospital (Vientiane Capital)
- Hospital: ບໍລິສັດ ການຢາ ເອັນເອັນຊີ
- Police: Lao Public Security Television
- Police: Metro Police
- Police: Ministry of Public Security
- Police: Police Command Centre 1191
- Police: Police ກອງພັນເຄື່ອນທີ່.ນວ
- Police: Special Police
- Embassy: Embassy of Japan
- Embassy: Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
- Embassy: Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
- Embassy: Swiss Cooperation Office
- Embassy: Thailand Embassy
- Pharmacy: Bouathong Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Bounhieng Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Khamla Chanthavong Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Khandowvanh
- Pharmacy: Shanghai
- Pharmacy: Vienkhoun
- Pharmacy: Vilaylak Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: Vilaythong Pharmacy
- Pharmacy: ຮ້າຍຂາຍຢາ ເຂັມເພັດ 1
- Fire station: Vientiane Fire Station
Map and facility data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations can be incomplete or outdated; confirm before relying on them. See this destination’s numbers or browse emergency numbers by country.
Emergency numbers (Laos)
| Police | 191 |
|---|---|
| Ambulance | 195 |
| Fire | 190 |
| General | — |
See nearby hospitals, police, pharmacies, embassies, and fire stations on the safety map.
Medical access
| Hospital access | medium |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy access | medium |
| Emergency response | medium |
| English-speaking care | unknown |
| Evacuation complexity | high |
For life-threatening medical emergencies or road accidents, travelers can contact the Vientiane Rescue Team or local ambulance numbers, though major medical care may require evacuation to a hospital in Thailand where possible.
Common scam patterns
- Cyber and Online Scam Networks. Authorities have uncovered illegal online gambling chat services and cyber fraud operations involving foreign nationals. Recent police raids in Vientiane Capital detained numerous individuals operating these scams. Tip: Avoid participating in unregulated online schemes, job offers requiring secluded tech setups, or unfamiliar digital work proposals.
Area notes
- Vientiane Capital. The capital region where local authorities have cracked down on cyber fraud networks and where dengue fever is common.
Nearest embassies & consulates
Find your home country's diplomatic mission in Laos for consular support, lost passports, or citizen emergencies:
Run a personalized assessment for Vientiane
Get a tailored briefing in ~15 seconds, with live weather, advisories, and recent news.
Calculate my trip riskScore history
| When | Score change | Tier | Reason / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | 0 → 0 | unknown | Data update Grounded open data research & citations |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 35 → 40 | moderate | Method change (scoring v2) scoring v2 |
| May 15, 2026 | — → 35 | moderate | Data update Editorial baseline 2026-05-14 (round 2: Numbeo + WHO + State Dept + GPI + EPI references) |
Every editorial change to Vientiane's composite score is logged here, with the source and reason for the change. Live data overlays (weather, advisories, disaster alerts, news) refresh continuously on their own cadences and are not recorded as score changes — see the Live conditions section above for current overlay state.
Been to Vientiane? Share your experience
Share your first-hand experience in Vientiane
Help other travellers stay safe. Share recent observations regarding street safety, transit, scams, or neighbourhood conditions. All submissions are moderated before publishing.
Transparency & Sources
We document the baseline sources, coverage scope, and data inputs for this destination below.
View full data sources, coverage scope, and registry notes
Sources used
- SimpleMaps World Cities (CC BY 4.0): Coordinates, region, population for Vientiane
- Travel Risk Calculator score (method v2): Security, crime and scams, health, natural hazards and current alerts for Vientiane, from US, UK and Canadian advisories, INFORM, World Bank, UCDP, CDC, GDACS, USGS and OpenStreetMap
- Editorial baseline (Travel Risk Calculator): City-level threat scoring across 9 categories (crime, health, advisory, political, disaster, transport, environmental, digital security, money safety)
Live data overlays on this page refresh asynchronously on the source cadences shown above. Run an assessment to create a trip-specific briefing using your dates and traveler profile.
Baseline scope
- Category scores represent an analytical baseline, updated from official feeds and public records.
Coverage notes
- Transport-hub safety notes (airport, train stations).
Methodology · Full data-source registry · Report a correction
Popular travel-safety searches right now
Cities our visitors look up most frequently — useful for trip planning, comparison, or just curiosity.
PAGE LAST UPDATED:
Disclaimer
Travel Risk Calculator provides estimated travel-threat information for preparation purposes only. It does not replace official government advisories, medical advice, emergency alerts, immigration rules, insurance advice, police guidance, embassy information, or professional security consultation.