Rough Guides has just published a brand new edition of their Rough Guide to Laos, their first guidebook update for Laos for 4 years
I’m a big fan of the Rough Guide to Laos. Usually I tend towards Lonely Planet guides, but I’ve learnt that the quality of guidebooks from both Lonely Planet and Rough Guides can be very variable. I had a copy of Rough Guide Thailand when I was backpacking a few years ago which I taught sucked both information and presentation wise (admittedly I bought it secondhand in Australia so it was out of date as soon as I got it) but my Rough Guide Laos was a gem of well-assembled, concise practical info mixed in with lots of brief bits about Laos culture and history which is important to help you understand and appreciate half of the stuff you’re looking at. Well, it is for me, anyway. I have yet to see this new edition, but I would definitely recommend you check it out, especially as Lonely Planet’s guide to Laos is 2 years old now.
