Overall assessment of Luang Prabang -

Although it is pretty touristy, we really enjoyed Luang Prabang. It is a cute, clean, walkable little town with some good restaurants and interesting sights. We especially liked seeing all the Monks and Novices everywhere and watching the morning Alms. Surprisingly, it wasn’t quite as cheap as a lot of the places we had visited in SE Asia (because of how touristy it is), especially given that the average income in the country is only about $1,800 per year. But it is still very cheap by US standards. We read up on the country a bit and decided that Luang Prabang was the only place we really wanted to see, and after talking to several other travelers and hearing about the other Laos stops they had made, we decided we made the right choice.

It was very nice and we definitely enjoyed it, but I am not sure it needs to be on anyone’s “must see” list, unless you are already fairly close and can get a cheap flight… then I would say to definitely check it out. Four or five days would be plenty.