Travel Costs: Vietnam Budget Update
We’re continuing to post our spending numbers as a resource for other travelers. Here is a breakdown of what we spent for two people over 30 days in Vietnam, traveling from the border with southern Cambodia to Can Tho, Saigon, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi.
The currency in Vietnam is the unfortunately named Dong, whose exchange rate was 20,950 VND to $1 US as of March 2013.
Spending Breakdown:
| Activity | $354.42 |
| Food/Drink | $420.81 |
| Lodging | $547.04 |
| Misc. | $33.63 |
| Transportation | $157.55 |
| Immigration | $120.00 |
| Grand Total | $1,633.45 |
This works out to about $54/day for two people.
We also bought and shipped home tailor-made clothing while in Hoi An for $130 US, which I’m listing as a separate expense from our daily expenses.
A few notes on our spending habits:
- The most expensive activity was our 2 day/1 night Halong Bay cruise ($96/person). We also took a cooking class in Hoi An, went on a snorkeling trip in Nha Trang, toured the Cu Chi tunnels in Saigon, and toured the floating market in Can Tho. This figure also includes small admission charges to various sites and museums and a few bicycle rentals.
- For lodging, we were able to stay in really nice local hotels/guesthouses with AC, TV, wi-fi, hot water, free breakfasts, and great service! We averaged about $18/night. We saved money by taking two overnight buses. Vietnam’s accommodations were definitely the best value so far.
- For food and drink, we ate really well exclusively at street stalls and local cafes. We usually stopped for coffee each afternoon and drank our fair share of bia hois on the weekends. Most of our hotels offered large free breakfasts, which saved us money. We averaged about $14/day.
- The transportation figure includes bus tickets from the Cambodian border to Can Tho, from Can Tho to Saigon, and the Sinh Tourist open bus ticket, which covered our buses from Saigon to Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi for just $46 US/person. The open bus ticket kept us firmly on the beaten path, but saved us plenty of money.
- The miscellaneous category includes two loads of laundry, new toiletries and books, and motion sickness medicine and a new hat for Skyler.
- Immigration Fees were two 30 day single entry tourist visas, obtained at the speedy consulate in Sihanoukville, Cambodia for $60 US/person.
- This includes only our spending in the country. It excludes our airfare here and upfront costs like immunizations, travel insurance, etc.
Vietnam was really friendly to the budget. You can really stretch your dong here without sacrificing comfortable accommodation and great food. A little dong goes a long way in Vietnam!
Click here for our other budget updates
