💰 My Vietnam Trip Cost: Budget Breakdown (2025)

💰 Trip Cost	Very Affordable
💵 Typical Budget	$30-$90/day
🍀 My Budget	$89/day
✈️ Trip Total	$1,068
🗓️ Trip Length	12 days

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Is Vietnam Affordable To Travel To?

Vietnam is a very affordable destination worldwide and is one of the cheapest destinations in Asia.

• The country has a low cost of living with affordable accommodations, even if you opt for nicer hotels.
• Street food is part of the everyday norm, so visitors have cheap local dining options.
• Public transport and domestic flights are inexpensive and widely available.
• Tourism has a well-developed infrastructure, keeping attractions competitive and affordable.

For comparison, here’s my daily budget for destinations in Asia:

Destination	My Budget
🇯🇵 Japan	$145
🇰🇭 Cambodia	$123*
🇸🇬 Singapore	$122
🇹🇼 Taiwan	$102
🇻🇳 Vietnam	$89
🇹🇭 Thailand	$77

*My Cambodia daily budget is high because I splurged on accommodation.

💰 What I Spent Traveling to 21 Destinations (2025 Update)

About My Trip

To give context to the expenses below, here’s what you need to know about my trip:

• I spent almost 2 weeks in Vietnam, visiting Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Ha Giang, Lan Ha Bay, Hoi An, and Da Nang.
• My trip was in November, during the high season, when things are more expensive.
• I traveled with another person, which allowed us to split costs like housing.
• I’m a mid-range budget traveler. I don’t aim to travel on a budget, but I’m intentional about my spending.
• I finance my trips and don’t receive sponsorship.
• All expenses are per person and in US dollars, converted from the Vietnamese dong.

🇻🇳 Planning A Trip To Vietnam: 12 Practical Things To Know

Total Cost

• $1,251
• $1,068
• $89

A mid-range budget traveler can expect to spend $60–$90 per day in Vietnam.

Budget Breakdown

Here’s a breakdown of my expenses by travel category:

Vietnam	Cost	% of Total	Daily Budget
✈️ Flights	$183	15%	–
🏠 Accommodation	$150	12%	$12
🍜 Food	$72	6%	$6
🏍️ Transportation	$110	9%	$9
⛰️ Entertainment	$735	58%	$61
Total	$1,251	100%	$89

Flight Cost

• $101 (flight from Taiwan to Vietnam)
• $82 (flight from Vietnam to Thailand)

A round-trip flight between the US and Vietnam costing under $600 is considered cheap, as international flights typically cost between $700 and $1,300.

Be aware of bag weight limits on budget airlines that hop around Asia. I flew AirAsia and VietJet Air, and both had a combined carry-on and checked-bag limit of 7kg (about 15 lbs). If you pass this limit, you’ll have to pay an extra checked bag fee. I paid $14 per bag, but some fees were as high as $45.

Accommodation Cost

• $150
• $12

The accommodations I stayed at:

Accommodation	Total Cost	Cost per Night
Hanoi hotel and Airbnb	$77	$19
Hoi An hotel	$52	$13
Cát Bà Island hotel	$21	$21

Accommodations in Vietnam are incredibly affordable. You can stay at mid-range hotels for as low as $20 per night. Even luxury hotels, which start at $100 per night, are relatively inexpensive.

Food Cost

• $72
• $6

My most affordable meals:

Meal	Location	Cost
Chicken and rice dish	Local Restaurant (Hoi An)	$1.50
Rose dumplings	White Rose Restaurant (Hoi An)	$1.80
Rice bowls (“xoi gia”)	Xôi Gia Truyền Bà Thu (Hanoi)	$2

Food in Vietnam is extremely affordable. Many of my meals, which included a drink, were $2 or less, especially at local restaurants. Restaurants that target tourists will charge more.

My most expensive meals:

Meal	Location	Cost
Noodles and vegetables	Nostalife (Hoi An)	$6.50
Dumplings and noodles	Taste of Asia (Hanoi Airport)	$6
Noodle dish	Yummy 1 (Cát Bà Island)	$5

I recommend going on an authentic food tour early on your Vietnam trip to discover authentic local food and restaurants that you can try throughout your trip.

Transportation Cost

• $110
• $9

The transportation I used:

Transportation	Total Cost
Domestic flight (Hanoi → Da Nang)	$34
Grab rides	$34
Round-trip bus ride to Lan Ha Bay	$28
Private car hire for Da Nang day trip	$14

Grab rides are almost always more affordable than flagging down a taxi or tuk-tuk. Pro tip: use Grab prices as a baseline for negotiating with taxis or tuk-tuks when they’re more conveniently available.

Entertainment Cost 

• $735
• $61

The activities/attractions I did:

Experience	Location	Total Cost
🏍️ Ha Giang Loop	Ha Giang	$228
🍜 Old Quarter Street Food Tour	Hanoi	$28
👗 Hoi An Tailor	Hoi An	$247
🧗‍♂️ Deep Water Solo	Halong Bay	$78
⛰️ Marble Mountain	Da Nang	Free
🐉 Ninh Binh Day Trip	Ninh Binh	$63
🥘 Cooking Class	Hoi An	$31
🎭 Water Puppet Show	Hanoi	$6
⭐️ Lady Buddha	Da Nang	Free
🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum	Hanoi	Free
🎪 Bamboo Circus	Hoi An	$25
💧 Hoan Kiem Lake	Hanoi	$1
🌉 Japanese Covered Bridge	Hoi An	Free
🌾 Tra Que Village	Hoi An	Free
🏖️ An Bang Beach	Hoi An	Free
📜 Temple of Literature	Hanoi	$1
💆‍♀️ Massages (3x)	Varies	$25
🪖 Vietnam Military Museum	Hanoi	$2

🏆 My Ratings for Vietnam’s Attractions

Cost Breakdown by Destination

Below are my trip expense breakdowns for the places I visited during my trip.

Hanoi

• 3 days
• $202
• $67

Hanoi is at the center of northern Vietnam, so even if you don’t spend much time there, you will likely fly there to access other parts of Vietnam. It’s a bustling city where you can spend a lot or a little on accommodation and food.

Hoi An

• 3 days
• $370
• $123

Hoi An is one of the most well-known places in central Vietnam. Even though it’s a fairly tourist-oriented town, you’ll be able to find plenty of Vietnamese food for cheap if you look for it.

Cat Ba Island

• 2 days
• $146
• $73

Cát Bà Island is a well-known tourist area in Vietnam, so you can expect prices to be high here. I visited during the island’s low season and thought the prices were comparable to other places in Vietnam.

Do You Need Cash?

• Vietnam’s economy heavily relies on cash transactions, so make sure to bring cash. I needed to use cash almost everywhere when I visited.

My tips on using cash:

• Vietnam’s currency is the Vietnamese dong. The US dollar is not widely accepted.
• Carry $30 to $40 worth of cash per day. It’s very rare for places to accept credit cards. I only used my card at high-producion shows, tailoring services in Hoi An (which had a 3% card fee), and Grab app rides.
• Tipping is not customary in Vietnam, but it’s appreciated. You can round up or leave small change at restaurants, tip $1 to $2 for drivers, and $3 to $5 for guides.

⛰️ 10 Epic Days in Vietnam: A Unique & Active Itinerary

Vietnam Trip Planner 2025

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Built in Notion, this is the tool I personally use to plan every trip. I genuinely love it and creating a Notion account is free.

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