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Every night in the heart of Luang Prabang’s UNESCO old town, Sisavangvong Road turns into a long, glowing night market full of textiles, snacks, and easygoing bargaining.
If you love wandering through stalls, picking up small gifts for family and friends, and soaking up a relaxed “festival” atmosphere, this market is made for you.
If this sounds like your kind of evening, the Night Market will give you that quiet happiness where you stroll slowly, look up at the lanterns, and feel like the whole street festival is yours for a while.
Because it’s so central, it’s easy to stop by after sightseeing or dinner, and you’ll probably find yourself returning more than once.
I ended up dropping by almost every night, even on days when I “wasn’t going to buy anything.”
Is Luang Prabang Night Market good for souvenir shopping?
Luang Prabang’s Night Market is very much a tourist-oriented market.
It originally began as a place for Hmong people to sell their traditional handicrafts, but over time the number of purely Hmong stalls has decreased, and the number of stalls selling easy-to-buy souvenirs for visitors has increased.
That makes it perfect for finding gifts for yourself, your family, and your friends .
Stalls line the street for roughly 300 meters , and the whole stretch feels like a small festival where it’s very easy to loosen your grip on your wallet.
If you enjoy browsing colorful stalls more than shopping malls, this is your kind of place.
It’s not flashy luxury—it’s the simple kind of fun where you walk slowly, look at each stall, and feel like the whole evening is yours for a while.
7 best souvenirs to buy at Luang Prabang Night Market
The Night Market is full of tempting things, and because prices are generally quite reasonable, it’s easy to end up buying more than you planned.
Below are seven souvenirs I especially recommend , including items I actually bought myself.
1. Local T-shirts (Beerlao, Lao script, etc.) The classic souvenir anywhere is the local T-shirt, and Luang Prabang is no exception.
Beerlao logo shirts and T-shirts printed with Lao script are absolute standards .
The quality isn’t exactly premium, but they’re inexpensive and perfect as fun travel memories.
They work well for yourself or as “joke” gifts for friends who’ll appreciate something light-hearted.
For example, one design I saw had “Sabaidee (hello) Luang Prabang” printed across the front when the shop staff spread it out.
2. “Southeast Asia style” loose pants In hot, humid Southeast Asia, thin, loose pants are a perfect match for the climate.
Many stalls at the Night Market sell this style of pants in all kinds of patterns and colors.
I brought some back for my family, and they ended up being perfect “at-home pants” — very easy to move in and wonderfully cool in summer.
3. Honey, jam, and Lao whisky (lao-lao) Honey, jam, and local whisky make very gift-friendly food souvenirs .
Laos has plenty of fruit, so the jams are naturally delicious.
If you enjoy alcohol, the local rice whisky called lao-lao is another option.
Near Luang Prabang there’s a village called Sang Hai that’s famous for distilling lao-lao, and it’s along the road to Pak Ou Caves.
If you like strong spirits, it’s worth a stop.
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Personally, the thing I most recommend among these is honey .
In the photo from my trip you can see “jungle honey,” which is collected from wild bees living in the jungle.
Because it’s labeled as being produced in Luang Prabang, it’s easy to use as a local-branded gift.
Unlike honey from managed hives, this jungle honey is harvested from natural hives in the forest, which makes it quite a rare product.
I gave it to relatives, and the “unusual jungle honey” factor made it one of the most appreciated gifts from my trip.
4. Small pouches and zip bags For “bulk” souvenir-giving (office colleagues, acquaintances, etc.), small fabric pouches are excellent.
They’re (1) inexpensive, (2) compact and easy to pack, and (3) not something that causes trouble for the person receiving them.
You’ll find many stalls selling pouches in different designs and sizes.
You can even adjust the size based on how close you are to the person: larger ones for close friends and family, and smaller ones for people you’re giving gifts to more out of courtesy.
In one stall I saw tiny pouches only about 7 cm wide —perfect for “just a small something” to hand out at work.
5. Bamboo smartphone speaker & bamboo straws Bamboo smartphone speakers and bamboo straws also make fun, eco-style souvenirs.
The speaker is a simple, electricity-free product: you slot your phone into the center, play music, and the sound is naturally amplified through holes on each side.
The sound quality is not great, so think of it as a “for the vibe” souvenir rather than a serious speaker.
Around 2020, there was an eco boom in Luang Prabang cafés: many places stopped using plastic straws, and bamboo straws became popular.
What you see at the Night Market now is basically the remnant of that trend, and the number of stalls selling them has gone down.
Bamboo straws are harder to wash and care for, but unlike paper straws, they don’t affect the taste of your drink.
For eco-minded friends, they make an interesting, conversation-starting gift.
The bamboo speaker I bought years ago was originally very simple in design, with no colorful illustrations.
Bamboo doesn’t degrade easily, so even after more than 10 years mine looks almost exactly the same as when I bought it.
The only “problem” is that smartphones have become so much larger that my current phone no longer fits into the slot.
6. Textiles “made in Luang Prabang” In northern Laos, including around Luang Prabang, there is modest cotton cultivation and a long tradition of weaving.
At the Night Market you’ll find textiles sold with “Made in Luang Prabang” as a selling point.
That clear local origin makes them very easy to give as souvenirs .
Each piece has a different pattern, so choosing one becomes its own fun little experience—and even just browsing without buying can make you feel happy.
In Luang Prabang there’s a café called OCK POP TOK where you can actually watch the weaving process.
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My own favorite “souvenir for myself” is a woven textile from Luang Prabang.
Combined with a wooden hanger, it completely changed the feeling of my room and made it look much more stylish.
Sadly, I don’t see those wooden hangers at the Night Market anymore.
The good news is that OCK POP TOK café still sells wooden hangers, although they’re a bit pricey.
7. Traditional Lao skirt (sin) and Hmong clothing Some Night Market stalls sell traditional Lao skirts called sin and traditional Hmong clothing.
These outfits represent Lao culture very directly, so in a way they are the most “orthodox” kind of souvenir.
You probably won’t have many chances to wear them back home, but they’re cheaper than you might imagine and work well as a special travel memory.
Hmong traditional clothing, in particular, is very cute and works beautifully as a souvenir for small children.
I saw Hmong outfits in sizes starting from around one year old .
The cross-stitch patterns are adorable, and when a small child wears them, the cuteness level goes up even more.
How to bargain at Luang Prabang Night Market (without stress)
Bargaining is a big part of the fun at the Night Market.
Most stalls don’t display prices, so you’ll need to ask the price item by item .
Lao vendors generally don’t start with outrageous prices, so you’re unlikely to be quoted anything truly extreme at first.
Even so, a bit of bargaining is essential — especially if you’re buying several items at once.
If you’re purchasing multiple pieces, saying something like “If I buy this many, can you give me a better price?” often works surprisingly well.
Buying in bulk to get a discount is almost a universal rule at markets around the world.
ADVICE ADDED
If you’re not comfortable haggling hard, just aim for a small, friendly discount and walk away when the price feels fair to you—there’s no need to turn it into a battle.
2 important things to know before you buy at the Night Market
There are two key points to keep in mind when shopping at Luang Prabang Night Market.
They’re simple, but knowing them in advance makes a big difference to how smoothly you can “conquer” the market.
1. Stall locations change every day The first point: stall locations are not fixed .
Even if you spot a shop you like, there’s no guarantee the same stall will be in the same spot the next evening.
Even asking “Where will you be tomorrow?” doesn’t always give a clear answer.
If you’ve marked a stall in your mind, be prepared to search patiently for it next time.
Most importantly, if you feel “I absolutely want this!” it’s best to buy it on the spot rather than waiting .
ADVICE ADDED
If you hesitate too long, you may never see that exact item again.
2. Prices for the same item can vary by stall The second point: the same product may be offered at very different prices, depending on the stall .
There are many stalls selling identical or very similar items, and there’s no fixed “official price.”
As you walk through the market, try talking to different vendors and checking their prices.
Think of it as part of the experience and enjoy the bargaining game, rather than focusing only on getting the absolute lowest number.
Is there food at Luang Prabang Night Market?
Yes—Luang Prabang’s Night Market also has a food area .
You can use it not only to buy snacks, but also to have dinner or pick up something light to take back to your guesthouse.
The food section is mostly made up of simple stalls and street-food style vendors, and the festival feeling continues here too .
It’s a nice way to finish off your shopping: enjoy the search for souvenirs, then fill your stomach in the food area before you head back.
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