Vietnam Travel Costs

The famous historic Japanese bridge in beautiful Hoi An, Vietnam
Accommodation – Hostels start around 100,000 VND per night for the most basic accommodation. For a nicer place, you can pay almost double. Private rooms cost at least 350,890-425,000 VND per night for a double room. While hostels were once scarce, they have started popping up all over the country to accommodate budget travelers.

Most hostels include free WiFi, and many also include free breakfast or free beer during certain hours of the day. Self-catering facilities are not very common since eating out is so cheap.

For a budget hotel with a double bed, expect to pay around 225,000 VND per night. This usually includes free Wi-Fi and free breakfast.

On Airbnb, a private room costs at least 325,000 VND per night. For an entire home or apartment, prices begin around 600,000 VND. Prices double when not booked in advance so plan accordingly

Food – Vietnamese cuisine is fresh, flavorful, and uses a lot of herbs and vegetables. Rice and noodle dishes are common, as are various soups such as the iconic pho (a beef noodle soup). Wonton soup, meat curry, fresh French bread (known as bahn me, and grilled fish are just some of the popular dishes you’ll encounter. Standard ingredients include fish sauce, lemongrass, chili, lime, Thai basil, and mint.

You can get a bowl of pho or a rice dish for 20,000 VND. Most sit-down restaurants are also inexpensive at around 45,000-95,000 VND. The fancier (and more touristy) the restaurant, the more expensive. Western food is also more expensive, usually around 110,000 VND for a fast food meal, so skip it if you’re on a budget.

If you want to splash out on a fancy three-course meal, expect to spend around 250,000 VND.

A liter of water at a convenience store is about 15,000 VND, while beer or soda is about 20,000-35,000 VND.

For those looking to cook their own meals, expect to pay at least 400,000 VND per week for basic groceries. Be sure to shop at the local markets to get the cheapest and freshest food. That being said, food is so cheap in the country that it’s simply easier – and cheaper – to just eat street food.

Backpacking Vietnam Suggested Budgets
On a backpacker budget, you can visit Vietnam for 600,000 VND per day. This budget covers a stay in a large hostel dorm, eating street food for all of your meals, limiting your drinking, and taking the bus between cities. On this budget, you can enjoy free walking tours as well as other free activities such as hiking and enjoying the beach. If you plan on drinking, add another 20,000-40,000 VND to your daily budget.

A mid-range budget of about 1,125,000 VND per day covers staying in a cheap hotel, eating street food and at the occasional sit-down restaurant, enjoying a few more drinks, taking the occasional taxi to get around, and doing more paid activities such as museum visits and water upper shows.

On a “luxury” budget of 2,460,000 VND, you can stay in a nice hotel, eat out for all your meals anywhere you want, enjoy lots of drinks, and more taxis, and do whatever tours and activities you want, including a multi-day trip to Ha Long Bay. This is just the ground floor for luxury though. The sky is the limit!

You can use the chart below to get some idea of how much you need to budget daily, depending on your travel style. Keep in mind these are daily averages – some days you’ll spend more, some days you’ll spend less (you might spend less every day. Who knows?). We just want to give you a general idea of how to make your budget. Prices are in VND.