Good dye mate! (always wanted to say that)
Your best bet is to just go there and find one. They don't really advertise on the internet or anything. I'm sure you can find someone who speaks some english and would be willing to follow you guys around for 3 days, all expenses paid. There are many university grads with nothing to do, just show them the money. You got to understand in Laos it is not very organized. Us westerners like to plan and prepare everything, not the case in Laos. So your girl doesn't speak much english and you don't speak much lao/thai... hmmm.

By the way, what's with you aussies and your obsession with the wizard of oz? The admin seems to be the same way.

OZ 111 wrote on 13^th Jan, 2013 at 6:07pm:


Laos is a communist country, we don't advertise anything on the internet. Search for a tour guide in Thailand and you'll find plenty of them, that's the difference between a closed society and an open society.

As Buk Hoo Kee mentioned, you can basically find a tour guide on the streets of Laos quite easily. Jumbo and Tuk Tuk drivers deal with tourists every day. You just have to approach them and pick a guy with good English and negotiate a price. They'll take care of you pretty much immediately if you show them the money, that's what Lao society is like.

You don't really need to book a tour guide, however this can also be done. Exchange phone numbers with the driver, and just make an arrangement for him to pick you up at a certain time or day.

The average cost is between 1000 baht ($33 US) to 2000 baht ($66 US) for a day in and around Vientiane.

True. Unlike your typical taxi driver in Australia or America who don't really care about you, other than dropping you off from point A to point B, Jumbo and Tuk Tuk drivers in Laos are pretty flexible in their job. Their job has no limits, and they'll do anything for you because they are always in need of money to feed their family.

There are professional tour guides in Laos, but it will cost you a bit of money. Just pick someone off the streets is the way to go.

English is becoming more popular than French these days.

There are dozens of small travel agencies in Vientiane (over 100 last time I counted).  Just walk in and ask them to fix you up with a translator/guide.

Laos is nothing like Thailand and the Lao people are honest and caring people again nothing like the Thai’s. I speak passable conversational Thai for an Australian and found excellent English is widely spoken in Vientiane and the only downside was there is basically no taxi’s to be found other than the airport or large hotels. The Jumbo and Tuk Tuk drivers mostly spoke good English and I found them to be decent people.