Vientiane is quiet if you expect a big-city night out and surprisingly varied if you expect neighbourhood bars. What travellers actually end up in falls into three groups: beer bars where you sit down with Beerlao and food, pubs and bars with live bands, and clubs that start late and sit away from the centre. Each group opens and closes at different hours, feels different and needs a different way of getting there, so "Vientiane nightlife" is really three separate evenings. This guide is based on the hours and descriptions of the clubs, pubs and beer bars listed on this site.
Beer bars and restaurant-bars: the most Lao night out
Despite the name, a beer bar is closer to a restaurant. You order draught or bottled Beerlao and eat alongside it: grilled pork neck, larb, tom yum and other Lao and Isan-style dishes. Most of the listed beer bars open around 6 or 7 pm and close between 11:30 pm and midnight; a few stay open until 2 am on Saturdays. The crowd is mostly local, menus mix Lao and English, and the mood is relaxed rather than loud. The bigger beer bars have room for large groups, which makes them easy when you are travelling with several people.
Live-music bars and pubs: bands, cocktails, whisky
A live-music bar is built around a band, with beer and food on the side. Some start at 9 pm and run until 2 am, and there are warehouse-style beer gardens with local bands playing nightly. The pub category also mixes places that have nothing in common: an Irish pub with a long whisky list, a Belgian beer bar by the Mekong, a hip-hop cocktail bar, a sofa lounge. Read the description rather than trusting the name. Riverside places tend to open in the daytime, and several downtown pubs stay open until between 1 and 3 am.
Clubs and KTV: from 10 pm to 4 am
Most clubs are not in the city centre but out along main roads. The larger ones are on Thadeua Road, on Khouvieng Road in the Dong Palan area and in Xaythany district. Opening hours typically run from 8 or 10 pm to 4 am, and to 4:30 am at weekends; one or two open at 1 am and close at 4. Inside, table and sofa seating is more common than an open dance floor, and most clubs run private karaoke (KTV) rooms. The crowd is mainly young Lao locals, and there are DJ sets and stage shows. Some clubs have a dress code, so skip flip-flops and shorts. Tables and KTV rooms can come with conditions such as a minimum order, so ask before you sit down.
The three types at a glance
Beer bars: open from about 6 or 7 pm, close around 11:30 pm to midnight, local crowd, food with beer. Live-music bars and pubs: evening until about 1 to 3 am, bands, cocktails and whisky, very mixed in style. Clubs and KTV: from about 8 to 10 pm until 4 am, outside the centre, table seating, mostly a young Lao crowd.
What time should you go? A common order is to start at sunset on the Mekong riverfront or at one of the night markets, which open in the early evening, eat dinner there, move to a beer bar or a live-music bar around 8 or 9 pm, and only go to a club late. Clubs run until the early hours, so there is no reason to arrive before 10 pm. Hours differ by venue and change, so check the timetable on each venue page. Some places close one day a week; the closing day is usually Monday or Sunday.
Plan the way home before you go out
Cars are hard to find on the street late at night, and even harder out by the outer-ring clubs. Install a ride-hailing app such as LOCA before you leave your hotel, book the ride home in the app, or ask your hotel to arrange a car. For a late return or an early departure it is better to book ahead than to count on a driver being nearby, which is also the advice in our getting-around guide. Do not rent a motorbike to get home after drinking.
Staying safe after dark
Use ATMs inside bank branches or malls at night. Bag-snatching from passing motorbikes happens occasionally, so carry your bag on the side away from the road and keep your phone in a pocket until you need it. Take only the cash you need and lock valuables in the hotel safe. Drugs are illegal in Laos and penalties are severe; decline any offer, every time. Drink from glasses poured in front of you and do not leave your glass unattended. If something goes wrong, the Tourist Police in Vientiane handle visitor complaints, and your hotel can help you reach them.