Orchao

How it works

Three steps. No friction.

The booking platform should be the boring part of your trip. Here is exactly how Orchao works — every step, every charge, every contact.

01

You pick what you want.

Browse 385 hosts across 18 provinces — guides, drivers, boat captains, homestay families, workshop hosts. Filter by destination, activity type, date, or language. Every tour shows the person's name, photo, languages, licence year, and ratings — before you book.

Have questions? Click "Message host" on any tour and ask them directly on WhatsApp. They usually answer within an hour. If they don't, message us and we'll loop them in.

What you can book on Orchao

  • Day tours (half-day or full-day)
  • Multi-day tours (2 days to 3+ weeks)
  • Train tickets (Laos-China Railway)
  • Airport transfers (3 airports)
  • Private vans, cars, and buses
  • Mekong slow boats and river crossings
  • Lao-owned boutique hotels, team-verified
  • Custom multi-region journeys

02

You pay a deposit.

To confirm your booking, we charge a deposit to your card. The deposit depends on the length of your trip:

Trip lengthDeposit
1–4 day experiences15% of total
5+ day experiences30% of total
Train ticketsFull payment (carrier rule)
Hotel reservationsFull payment

The balance is paid on the day of the experience. You can pay it by card through the Orchao platform, by LOCA Pay, BCEL One, EZyKip, or U-Money direct to your host (2–3% discount applies), or in cash (LAK or USD) direct to your host.

Why this way

Paying the balance directly to your host on the day gets more of the money to the person who actually runs the experience, and keeps payment costs down. It also means you only commit a small amount up front — and your booking is fully refundable if you cancel in time.

03

Your host handles the rest.

The day before your experience, your host contacts you on WhatsApp to confirm pickup time and meeting point, group size and any special arrangements, and what to wear, bring, and expect.

On the day, they meet you with a sign (for transfers) or at the agreed point. They deliver the experience, handle the logistics, third-party payments (entrance fees, restaurant stops), and your safety throughout.

Our team is on WhatsApp standby from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Lao time, daily — 15-minute response. If anything is unclear, off-schedule, or unsatisfactory, we step in and resolve.

If something goes wrong

  • Weather makes it unsafe — Full refund or free reschedule.
  • Guide cancels — Full refund or matched to another guide — your choice.
  • Vehicle breaks down — Replacement within 60 minutes, or partial refund.
  • You're dissatisfied — Message us within 24 hours; we mediate fairly.

If plans change

Cancellation in plain English.

Your cancellation window equals the length of your trip, capped at 5 days. Cancel before the window closes and your deposit is refunded in full. Cancel inside the window and you lose only the deposit — the balance is always refunded.

A 1-day tour: cancel more than 24 hours before. A 3-day tour: cancel more than 3 days before. A 14-day journey: cancel more than 5 days before. Outside the window, you get everything back.

Inside the window, you forfeit only the deposit — 15% for 1–4 day trips, 30% for 5+ day trips. The balance is always refunded.

Read the full policy

Our policy, plainly

  • Day tour, half-day, single transferCancel up to 24 hours before — free
  • 3-day journeyCancel up to 3 days before — free
  • 5-day or longer journeyCancel up to 5 days before — free
  • Inside the windowOnly the deposit (15–30%) forfeited. Balance always refunded.

Plain about what we're not

We are not your tour guide.

Orchao is a booking platform. We connect you to the licensed Lao hosts — guides, drivers, boat captains, homestay families — who deliver the experiences. They are independent professionals; we are the platform that organises the booking, the payment, and the customer support.

What Orchao does

  • Operates the platform and the booking flow
  • Holds the deposit and processes payment
  • Handles customer service (WhatsApp, email, disputes)
  • Vets every host before they're listed
  • Mediates if something goes wrong

What your host does

  • Delivers the experience itself
  • Sets the price and the schedule
  • Knows the route, the timing, the local context
  • Holds the safety and operational responsibility
  • Receives most of your payment directly

Come find us

Any questions before you book?

WhatsApp us. We answer in 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Lao time, daily.

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