Vietnam on $50 a day - can it be done ?

Question

Can you live well in Vietnam on $50 (£25) a day.

Will this be enough to let you stay in a good Hotel and be able to eat well?

I want to travel from HCM to Sapa along the coast and via Hanoi and I have 10 weeks to spare.

Answer 1

I just returned from VIetnam after staying there for 2 1/2 months. I went there for my wedding in November, so my expenses would be quite a bit more than the typical tourist. Yet, I still had a hard time spending $300/month while there.

You should be able to continue traveling through Vietnam comfortably on your claimed budget and try to stay away from the tourist traps there. There is a new high speed train that goes between HCM and Nha Tran. I believe the cost is $20 US one way. From Nha Tran, you can catch a bus to Sapa for about $2 US. In Sapa, you can get a decent hotel for $10-$20 US/night. Food can range from $2-$5 US/meal. If you look around, some hotels will throw in dinner for your night's stay. Beer at a Bia Hoi (gas or draft beer) is about $0.25/glass. All that in mind, you can end up with an extra $10/day from your budget of $50/day and still have the time of your life.

Good luck to you!

Answer 2

i can suggest you to try motel. :)

Answer 3

yeah, but you're going to eat a lot of dog!!!

Answer 4

No problem - hotels arew available for $ 5 a night and food is very cheap - if you eat local food, not at the Italian place....

Answer 5

I am pretty sure you can. My friend was there before and she said very nice silk clothing only cost $3.

Answer 6

Definitely. There are clean hotels and youth hostels that you can have a very decent bed for $7 to $ 10/night. Meals are delicious, filling and very inexepnsive ($1 or less for breakfast, $2 to $ 3 for lunch and dinner). You can live well for $20 to $ 30 a day, leaving the rest for entertainment and transportation.

Go and enjoy, Lee. There's no other country in this world that's so beautiful, safe, clean, orderly, friendly, has of plenty of things to see and do and with the best cuisine this side of heaven...than Vietnam.

Make sure you stop by Hoian and Hue as well as Halong Bay on your way from the South to the North...

Answer 7

I don't know about Vietnam, but I spoke with a Vietnam vet, a couple of years ago, about Cambodia.  He says that you can stay in that country for three months on $1000 USD.  So, I imagine Vietnam cannot be that much different.

Good luck...

Answer 8

Eastern Europe is a better deal than SE Asia. Especially the western parts of Russia

Answer 9

what it really comes down to is how much alcohol do you plan to consume and are you going to be looking for "company". a vietnamese family of 4 or 5 could live very well on that much money in saigon, which is about the most expensive city i've been to in vietnam. also, don't forget, tall white people sort of stand out over there. they're going to know that you're a tourist and have money. i spend three months a year there and still some of the locals try to charge me double for anything i buy. and i live in a small town with my wife! prepare for some world class haggling over prices and don't take it personal, it's kind of like a game.

BTW just saw another question of yours. if you stay with your vietnamese friends, it's traditional to give them a gift when you leave. make sure you bring good whiskey and marlboro red cigs. buy the whiskey at home, a nice single malt perhaps, not as a gift, but to share at drinking parties. the cigs you can buy in either seoul or singapore. in fact you can buy them at tan son nhut but they have vietnamese writing on them and your friends will think you're a "cheap charlie". bon voyage

Answer 10

Yes. Below my estimates. Being to HCM many times.

Estimates per day:

1. Hotel US$10.00

2. Food US$10.00

3. Transport (within city) US10.00

4. Others: US$20.00