MONOPOLY MONEY?
While the official currency of Laos is the Kip, the value of the currency has historically been so low that the government allows the free circulation of dollars and baht to encourage economic transactions.  In fact, in years past Dollars and Baht were almost exclusively used in the markets and restaurants of Luang Prabang and there was no use in having any Kip in your wallet. 

The Kip has risen in status and now the menu prices read in Kip, and the market vendors quote their prices in the local currency as well.  However, every store, restaurant, hotel, and vendor will still take both Dollars and Baht as a substitute. 

WITHDRAWING MONEY
As far as WHERE to get Lao Kip, make sure to follow our money exchange travel tip and to get your cash out of an ATM.  You can find several ATMs on Luang Prabang's main strip. 

I'd recommend you withdraw minimal amounts of Kip (and just keep Dollars or Baht handy), as it is difficult to exchange Lao money into another currency, and there is absolutely no place to exchange Kip once you leave Laos -- so make sure you spend all of your Kip!

SMALL BILLS
On the note of Dollars and Baht, I'd also recommend you save up your one-dollar bills and small Baht notes for your trip to Luang Prabang.  These small bills will come in handy when paying in cash, since the locals won't have enough change for anything much larger.

TIPPING
See our Tipping Guide.

PRICES
Most of the vendors in the Night Market have small calculators that they will use to quote prices (so as not to lose anything in translation) and also to calculate exchange rates. 

Just keep in mind that they will use a generic exchange rate, so some quick mental math and knowledge of the actual Kip-Dollar or Kip-Baht exchange rate on your part will let you know if you are getting a good deal or not. 

CASH OR CREDIT
Like most places in SE Asia, cash is far and away the preferred (and in many cases only) way to pay for goods and services.  The one exception to this policy is at hotels, which do accept credit cards.