Everything I Spent During a 2-week Trip to Vietnam
In May 2024, I traveled through Vietnam for 2 weeks. It’s now one of my favorite countries I’ve ever visited.
I visited Central and North Vietnam, opting to skip out on the South because of time constraints. I spent 3 days in Hội An, 3 days in Huế, 4 days in Hanoi, and 5 days exploring the Ha Giang province by motorbike.
I did some research ahead of time and planned a budget that allowed for modest but comfortable necessities, plus some big tours and attractions that were on my bucket list.
However, I didn’t fully know what to expect until I was actually in the country — and there was a lot that surprised me.
Curious about the current cost of food, drink, transportation, accommodation, and attractions in Vietnam?
In this article, I’ll break down what I spent, with detailed info about the cost of local vs. craft beer, buses vs. the train, and some must-see tours and activities that absolutely were the highlight of my trip.
At the end, I’ll cover some expenses that I didn’t plan for, along with purchases that were a lot more than I expected. Bonus points to whoever can guess how much I paid for a visa to enter Vietnam.
How I Budgeted
Here’s my philosophy when traveling: I travel on a budget, but I also splurge for certain must-see attractions that are on my bucket list.
When I’m in a new country, I want to experience it to the fullest. So I’d rather spend more on activities, and try to cut back on spending when it comes to food, drinks, and accommodation.
I budgeted $10-15 per night for accommodation, $10 per day on food and drink, $50 total for transportation, $50 total for souvenirs, and $200 total for activities.
All in all, this adds up to between $600 – $650 for two weeks in Vietnam. This does not include flights — only in-country expenses.
I use an app called Travel Spend to track all my expenses. A fellow traveler recommended it to me, and it’s become a huge help while traveling on a budget. This is not sponsored in any way; I just really like the layout of this app and happily recommend it to others!
What I Spent (Categorized)
I’ve broken it down into five different categories: food & drink, accommodation, tours & attractions, transportation, and clothes & souvenirs.
Food & Drink (Total: $141.32)
My budget was $10 per day on food and drink. Let’s see how I did.
(Categories with an “X” mean that the price of that meal was included in our accommodation or in a special tour that we did.)
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Drinks | Total |
| 1 | X | Bánh mì ($1.20) | Pizza ($7) | Craft beer ($7) | $15.20 |
| 2 | X | Bánh mì ($1.20) | 3-course meal at local restaurant ($7.90) | Coffee ($2.36) | $11.46 |
| 3 | X | X | Street food ($3.50); Ice cream ($2.75) | Coffee ($1.14); Smoothie ($0.79) | $8.18 |
| 4 | X | Bánh mì ($1) | 3-course meal at local restaurant ($7.20) | Beer [x2] ($2); Milk tea ($1) | $11.20 |
| 5 | Yogurt and granola ($2) | Bún bò Huế ($2) | 2 courses at local restaurant ($4.90) | Water ($0.60); Beer ($1) | $10.50 |
| 6 | Bánh mì ($1.50) | Bún bò Huế ($2) | Chicken congee (Cháo Gà) ($2) | Water ($0.60) | $6.10 |
| 7 | Croissant ($1.40) | Bánh mì ($1.40) | Bún chả ($3.15) | Coffee ($1.15) | $7.10 |
| 8 | Roti ($.079); Croissant ($1.40) | Bánh mì ($1.18) | 3 course dinner ($9) | Coffee ($2); Craft beer [x2] ($6.30) | $20.67 |
| 9 | American breakfast ($5.50) | Bánh mì ($1.18) | Phở ($3.15) | Craft beer ($3.15); Water ($0.79) | $13.77 |
| 10 | Street food ($2) | X | Pizza ($5.90) | Beer ($1); Water ($0.79) | $9.69 |
| 11 – 14 | X | X | X | Beer ($9.45); Water ($3.15) | $12.60 |
| 15 | American breakfast ($4.70) | Dumplings ($1.50) | Phở ($3.15) | Coffee ($2.35); Kombucha ($3.15) | $14.85 |
Food in Vietnam was very affordable, especially when just eating a bánh mì or a noodle bowl. Sitting down and ordering a few different dishes at a local restaurant was pricier, but still quite reasonable. Western food, like pizza, was the most expensive.
Some of our hostels included a free breakfast. Water was available for free in some places, while in others we had to buy bottles. We did not drink from the tap.
Local beer is around $1 for a bottle of lager. Craft brews become more expensive, ranging from $3-5 for a pint. I had a Jasmine IPA from a brewery in Hanoi that literally changed my life, so although it was expensive it was so worth it.
Food in Ha Giang was already included in the price of our tour, which explains the apparent lack of eating on days 11 – 14.
And yes, I ate bánh mì nearly every day and never got tired of it. It’s fantastic.
💲 SUBTOTAL: $141.32
Accommodation (Total: $74.08)
My budget was $10-15 per night on accommodation. Surprisingly, I found hostels available for half this price:
| Location | Type of room | Price per night | # of nights | Total |
| Hoi An | Private room | $7.86 | 3 | $23.58 |
| Hue | Private room | $6.50 | 2 | $13 |
| Hanoi | Hostel dorm | $7.50 | 5 | $37.50 |
| Ha Giang | Homestay | X | 4 | X |
All of the hostels we stayed in were fantastic! They were clean and had working AirCon, flush toilets, and all of the other amenities we could want. I’m so impressed by the quality we got for the super affordable price.
I’m traveling with my partner, so many times splitting the cost of a private room in a hostel was just as affordable as a dorm.
Accommodation was fully included in the Ha Giang tour that I did. I’ll cover more on that in the “Tours and Attractions” section.
💲 SUBTOTAL: $74.08
Tours and Attractions (Total: $253.72)
My budget was $200 for activities. I ended up spending a bit more:
| Location | Activity | # of days | Anything included? | Cost |
| Hoi An | Basket boat tour and cooking class | Half day | Lunch | $20 |
| Hoi An | Bike rental | 24-hour rental | No | $1.40 |
| Hue | Imperial Palace tour | Half day | No | $7.86 |
| Hanoi | Museum of Vietnamese History | Half day | No | $1.57 |
| Hanoi | Hoa Lo Prison Museum | Half day | No | $5.89 |
| Ha Giang | Motorbike tour | 4 days, 3 nights | All meals and accommodation | $206, + $11 driver tip |
Even though I went over budget by nearly $50, I am so happy with all of the activities we did. They were worth every penny, and I can confidently say my experience in Vietnam would not have been the same without them!
The Ha Giang Loop was absolutely the best activity we did in Vietnam — maybe even in all of Southeast Asia.
It was the most expensive, but it included all meals and accommodation for 4 days, plus a free night at a homestay before the tour began. For what you get (and the absolutely mind-blowing scenery you see on the tour), I’d say it’s super worth it.
I also really loved the basket boat tour and cooking class that we did in Hoi An.
💲 SUBTOTAL: $253.72
Transportation (Total: $94.5)
My transportation budget was $50 total. I ended up spending almost double:
| Location | Method of Transportation | Time | Cost |
| Da Nang Airport – Hoi An | Taxi | 45 minutes | $8 |
| Hoi An – Hue | Bus | 3 hours | $11 |
| Hue – Hue | Taxi | <10 min | $1.50 |
| Hue – Hanoi | Overnight Train | 15 hours | $40 |
| Hanoi – Hanoi | Taxi | <10 min | $2.57 |
| Hanoi – Hanoi | Taxi | <10 min | $0.55 |
| Hanoi – Ha Giang | Bus | 5 hours | $12 |
| Ha Giang – Hanoi | Bus | 5 hours | $12 |
| Hanoi – Hanoi Airport | Taxi | 40 minutes | $6.88 |
Transportation surprised me a bit — it was more expensive than I thought.
Most of the buses that we took were chartered, not public, so they were pricier than I had planned for. However, it was honestly worth the extra cost to be comfortable on a 3-5 hour ride.
We saved money on the overnight train by opting for the public Vietnam Railways instead of a private company. The private companies will charge $75-150 for the same route that we did for $40.
We didn’t attempt the public bus around the city, but we found taxis to be very affordable. A taxi around the city should be less than $2 for a short ride.
💲 SUBTOTAL: $94.5
Clothes and Souvenirs (Total: $83.00)
My budget for souvenirs was $50 total. I spent about $83 on souvenirs and spoiler alert — they were all clothes.
| Location | Item | Price |
| Hoi An | Custom Tailored Shirt | $60 |
| Hue | Patagonia bags | $9 |
| Hue | North Face hiking pants | $14 |
I definitely was not expecting souvenirs to be such a pricey part of our trip. However, similar to our activities portion, I’m glad we bought what we did.
Getting clothes custom-made in Hoi An is the thing to do. There are over 500 tailor shops in the small city.
You bring in a picture of what you want, choose your fabric and colors, and then the expert tailors get to work. Ultimately, we felt like a trip to Hoi An was not complete without experiencing this tradition.
All throughout Vietnam, vendors sell expensive athletic gear from big-name brands for an eighth of their typical cost. They have North Face, Arcteryx, Salomon, Cotopaxi… it’s a heavenly array of gear, all for insanely low prices. (I even include some of these items in my Vietnam packing list!)
The Patagonia bags we bought cost around $4-5 each, and they’re great quality. I’ve worn mine nearly every day since buying them.
💲 SUBTOTAL: $83.00
Money I Regret Spending
Travel inevitably comes with some unforeseen costs, overpriced souvenirs, and yes… scams.
On our first day in Hoi An, we were taking a picture of a particularly gorgeous-looking street when a woman carrying a fruit basket made a beeline for us.
She handed her basket over to us, gave us her hat, and took photos of us. At this point, I knew we would probably have to pay her, but I didn’t know how much.
After the photos, she immediately starts loading fruit into a bag, piling it high with bananas, mangosteen, mandarins, and more. “300,000,” she says. I panic. That’s nearly $11 for some fruit — fruit that we don’t even want.
I have no problem paying someone who helps you with a picture, but I was planning on giving her something more in the ballpark of $1-2. I definitely did not want nearly five pounds of bad-looking fruit for $11.
After many minutes of arguing, bargaining, and forceful eviction of fruit from our bag, we settled on $2 for an unripe mangosteen. I never ate it. As annoyed as I was about the fruit situation, it was the principle, not the price, that hurt me.
The most painful financial burden came before we even entered the country.
Unlike many tourists, Americans need a Visa to enter Vietnam — a fact we were blissfully unaware of until 3 days before we were set to fly into the country.
It’s $35 for a tourist visa, but timing was not on our side. The visa takes anywhere from 3-5 days to come through.
When we still didn’t have our visas by the day before our flight, we ended up paying extra to expedite it so that it would be approved on time.
The cost to expedite was $90, bringing the total cost of my visa up to an excruciating $125.
🛵 Read Next: My 3-day motorbike trip through northern Vietnam’s Ha Giang Loop
You Should Expect to Bargain
There were some other things I overpaid for at the beginning of our trip — tourist traps like an overpriced taxi or overpriced street food.
It took me a few days to realize that bargaining was not just necessary but expected. The initial price you are offered is usually double what they actually expect you to pay.
I’ll admit, this was hard for me to get used to. As a tourist, I understand that the difference between a $3 and $6 souvenir was not much to me but might make a big difference for a shopkeeper. However, our local hosts in Vietnam confirmed that bargaining is a necessary part of the deal.
Once I got used to the culture of bargaining, I got a lot better at holding my ground. It’s still not something I’m super comfortable with, but I’m happy to say I saved a few dollars by bargaining a lot better towards the end of our trip.
👉 Read Next: I traveled the world for a year with just 2 backpacks
***
My original budget for Vietnam was around $600-650. In total, my 2-week trip to Vietnam cost me around $775.
However, if you take out the $125 for the expedited visa, I really only spent around $650 in the country. Not bad!
Planning a trip to Vietnam? Drop a comment if you have any more questions about my trip!
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