Vietnam is one of the best value destinations in the world, and also one of the most misleading to budget for. Every guide gives you a daily figure. Almost none of them mention that the number swings by more than double depending on which city you happen to be standing in.
A mid-range traveller should budget around $850 per person for ten days on the ground, before international flights. But the same person, with the same habits, can spend $38 or $97 on an identical day. The difference is not the travel style. It is the postcode.
The short version
Backpacker: $350 for ten days, about $35 a day. Hostels, street food, sleeper buses.
Mid-range: $850 for ten days, about $85 a day. Three-star rooms, restaurants, a daily activity.
Comfort: $2,000 for ten days, about $200 a day. Boutique hotels, domestic flights, private tours.
All per person, land only. Add international flights and the $25 e-visa.
How much does a 10-day trip to Vietnam cost in 2026?
Three realistic tiers, per person, land only. International flights are excluded because they range from about $120 within Southeast Asia to $900 from Europe or North America.
| Tier | 10-day total | Per day | What that buys |
| Backpacker | $350 | $26 to $42 | Hostel dorm, street food, sleeper buses, an activity every other day |
| Mid-range | $850 | $65 to $95 | Private three-star room, mix of street food and restaurants, Grab, a daily activity |
| Comfort | $2,000 | $150 to $250 | Boutique hotels, domestic flights between cities, private day tours, spa |
Vietnam runs roughly 18 to 25 percent below Thailand for the same standard of travel, which makes it one of the best value countries in Southeast Asia. Food is where that gap shows most clearly.
The real variable: the city, not the tier
This is the thing daily-average figures hide completely. Here is an identical day, priced in two Vietnamese cities.
Same traveller. Same pho breakfast, same two coffees, same banh mi, same dinner out. The gap is almost entirely three lines: the room, the ride-hailing and the beer.
A bia hoi, the fresh draught beer poured on plastic stools across northern Vietnam, costs around 12,000 dong. A craft beer in a Hanoi Old Quarter bar is 100,000. That is eight times the price for the same act of having a drink.
The two decisions that matter most
Rent a bicycle or motorbike instead of taking Grab everywhere, and drink local rather than imported. Those two choices alone move a Vietnamese daily budget by $20 to $30, which is more than most travellers save by downgrading their hotel.
Vietnam travel cost breakdown: where the money goes
A mid-range ten days splits into five lines, and unusually, no single one dominates.
Accommodation: about $300
Hostel dorms run $5 to $12 a night in the major cities. A clean private room in a guesthouse is $15 to $30. Mid-range hotels sit at $30 to $60, and boutique properties in Hoi An or Hanoi climb to $80 and beyond.
Rates in Hanoi and Hoi An have risen roughly 8 to 11 percent this year as visitor numbers have grown. Hue and Nha Trang remain 15 to 25 percent cheaper for equivalent quality.
Food: about $205, and the cheapest part of the trip
A bowl of pho at a street stall is $2.50 to $4. A banh mi is about $1.50. A sit-down dinner at a mid-range restaurant with drinks runs $15 to $25 per person.
Vietnamese drip coffee at a neighbourhood cafe is $0.80 to $2, which is worth noting because Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer and the surplus shows up in the price.
Transport: about $150, and higher than you would expect
Vietnam is 1,650 kilometres long. Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is a greater distance than London to Rome, so a ten-day trip almost always involves two or three internal moves.
Domestic flights run $35 to $80 one way booked two or more weeks ahead. A soft-sleeper berth on the Reunification Express costs $20 to $45 for the 32-hour run, and saves a hotel night. Open-bus tickets along the Da Nang, Hue and Hoi An corridor are $15 to $35 per segment.
Within cities, Grab is $0.80 to $3 for a short ride and city buses are a flat $0.30 to $0.40. A scooter is $5 to $10 a day, or $10 to $15 for an automatic.
Activities: about $145
Heritage entries in Vietnam are exceptional value. The Hoi An Old Town pass covering five attractions is $4.80. Hue Imperial City is $8, and the four-monument combo including three royal tombs is $21.
The exception is the Ha Long Bay overnight cruise, which is covered below.
Vietnam trip cost by city
Where you spend your nights moves the total more than almost anything else.
| City | Per day | Worth knowing |
| Hue | $52 | The old imperial capital, consistently 15 to 25 percent cheaper than Hanoi for equivalent rooms. |
| Ninh Binh | $58 | Limestone karst landscapes without the Ha Long crowds or prices. Easy from Hanoi. |
| Hoi An | $68 | The best mid-range value in Vietnam. A boutique guesthouse with a pool and breakfast costs $35 to $60. |
| Da Nang | $74 | Beach city with a strong cafe and remote-work scene. Resort competition keeps rates honest. |
| Nha Trang | $78 | Coastal and busy, with a wide spread of accommodation standards. |
| Ho Chi Minh City | $92 | District 1 hotel demand pushes rates up, but it has the cheapest hostel dorms in the country at $4 to $10. |
| Hanoi Old Quarter | $98 | The highest day-to-day costs anywhere in Vietnam. Business demand and a compact tourist core do it. |
The best-value ten-day shape
Stay north and central: Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Hue and Hoi An. Skip the south unless you have three weeks. You avoid one long internal flight and the two cheapest bases on this list are both on that route.
Cheapest time to visit Vietnam
Vietnam's price calendar is driven less by weather than by domestic holidays, which is unusual.
| Months | What to expect |
| May, September, October | The cheapest windows of the year and outside the major Vietnamese holidays. September and October are particularly good in the centre and south. |
| March and April | Reliable weather across most of the country and moderate prices. A safe all-round choice. |
| June to August | Hot and humid in the south, wet in the centre, but European summer holidays keep coastal demand up. |
| November and December | Pleasant in the south, cool and often grey in Hanoi. Prices climb through December. |
| Tết, late January to mid February | Lunar New Year and the single most disruptive period to travel. Transport sells out weeks ahead, prices spike, and much of the country closes for several days. |
Check the Tết dates before you book anything
The dates shift each year with the lunar calendar. If your trip overlaps, expect sold-out trains and flights, closed restaurants and shops, and hotel rates well above normal. It is a fascinating time to be in Vietnam and a difficult one to travel around.
Costs that never make the budget
Six charges outside any daily figure, and one of them is far larger than the rest.
| Cost | 10-day total | What to do about it |
| Ha Long Bay cruise | $120 to $500 | An overnight cruise is the single biggest optional expense in Vietnam. A day trip from Hanoi starts nearer $45, and Ninh Binh offers similar karst scenery for a fraction. |
| Mobile roaming | $100 to $160 | The easiest to cut to almost nothing. See below. |
| Domestic flights | $70 to $160 | $35 to $80 each way. Book two or more weeks ahead, or take the sleeper train and save a hotel night. |
| Heritage entries | $30 to $60 | Genuinely good value. The Hue four-monument combo at $21 is among the best cultural tickets in Asia. |
| E-visa | $25 | Apply on the official government portal rather than an agent site, which charges several times more. |
| Card and ATM fees | $20 to $50 | Withdraw larger amounts less often, and always choose to be charged in dong rather than your own currency. |
Cash is still essential
Cards work at mid-range hotels, better restaurants and tour operators in the major cities. Street food, sleeper buses, market stalls and anything in smaller towns are cash only. Carry dong, and keep small notes for street vendors.
How much does mobile data cost in Vietnam?
Roaming is the hidden cost with the widest gap between what most visitors pay and what it needs to cost.
International roaming typically runs $10 to $16 per device per day. Across ten days that is $100 to $160 per person, and double if two of you are travelling.
You will use data constantly. Grab for every journey, Google Maps because Vietnamese addresses are long and layered, Zalo because that is how hotels and drivers reach you, and translation for menus outside the tourist areas.
What a Vietnam eSIM costs instead
The ETravelSim Vietnam eSIM gives you 4G, LTE and 5G across the country, with 5G widely deployed in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. A few things make it practical for a ten-day trip:
- No paperwork. A local SIM at Tan Son Nhat or Noi Bai means passport registration and a 10 to 25 minute queue after a long flight.
- QR code by email, instantly. Buy weeks ahead and install at home on Wi-Fi.
- Hotspot on every plan listed here, so you can tether a laptop or share with a companion.
- Your home number stays live. On a dual-SIM phone the eSIM handles data while your own SIM keeps calls and banking codes.
- Full refund before activation, if plans change.
Prices verified on the ETravelSim product page in August 2026. Prices can change, so check before buying.
Download offline maps before you go north
Coverage is strong in the cities and along the main corridors. It becomes uneven on the Ha Giang loop, remote mountain roads and inside the Phong Nha caves, and it can drop on Ha Long Bay cruises that go further out. That is true on every Vietnamese network, so plan around it rather than around a provider.
Ten ways to cut a Vietnam budget
- Base yourself in Hue, Ninh Binh or Hoi An rather than Hanoi Old Quarter. Worth $30 to $45 a day.
- Rent a bicycle or scooter instead of using Grab all day. The single biggest daily swing you control.
- Drink bia hoi, not craft beer. Eight times cheaper for the same evening.
- Take the sleeper train for one long leg. $20 to $45, and it saves a hotel night.
- Eat where the plastic stools are. A $3 pho is frequently better than a $12 one.
- Consider Ninh Binh instead of a Ha Long cruise. Similar karst scenery, a fraction of the cost.
- Book domestic flights two or more weeks ahead. Fares climb sharply inside that window.
- Buy the Hue four-monument combo. $21 for the Imperial City and three royal tombs.
- Apply for the e-visa on the official portal. $25, against several times that through an agent.
- Use a travel eSIM instead of roaming. Saves $85 to $145 per person over ten days.
Vietnam travel budget FAQs
How much money do I need for 10 days in Vietnam?
About $350 as a backpacker, $850 mid-range and $2,000 for comfort, per person, land only. Add international flights and the $25 e-visa.
Is $1,000 enough for 10 days in Vietnam?
Comfortably, for one person, if your international flight is already paid. That covers three-star rooms, restaurant meals, internal transport including a domestic flight, and a daily activity.
How much is Vietnam per day?
Roughly $26 to $42 a day as a backpacker, $65 to $95 mid-range, and $150 to $250 for comfort. The city matters more than the tier: Hue sits near $52 a day mid-range while Hanoi Old Quarter is closer to $98.
Is Vietnam cheaper than Thailand?
Yes, by roughly 18 to 25 percent across food and accommodation. Thailand is slightly cheaper for domestic flights and some adventure activities like diving.
What is the cheapest city in Vietnam?
Hue at around $52 a day mid-range, followed by Ninh Binh. Both are 15 to 25 percent below Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for equivalent accommodation.
What is the cheapest month to visit Vietnam?
May, September and October. Avoid Tết, the Lunar New Year in late January or February, when transport sells out and prices spike across the country.
How much should I budget for food in Vietnam?
$10 to $15 a day eating mostly street food and local restaurants, $20 to $30 if you mix in sit-down dinners and drinks. Imported alcohol is the one thing that will push it well past that.
How much is a Ha Long Bay cruise?
$120 to $500 per person for an overnight cruise, depending on boat standard. A day trip from Hanoi starts nearer $45. Ninh Binh offers comparable karst scenery for a fraction of the price.
Do I need cash in Vietnam?
Yes. Cards work at mid-range hotels, better restaurants and tour operators in the cities. Street food, sleeper buses, markets and smaller towns are cash only. Always choose to be charged in dong.
How much is the Vietnam e-visa?
$25, applied for on the official Vietnamese government portal. Third-party agent sites charge several times that for the same document.
Should I fly or take the train between cities?
Flights are faster and often similarly priced at $35 to $80 booked ahead. The Reunification Express sleeper is $20 to $45 for the full 32-hour Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City run, and a night on it replaces a hotel night.
How much does mobile data cost in Vietnam?
Carrier roaming runs $10 to $16 per device per day, so $100 to $160 across ten days. A Vietnam eSIM covering fifteen days costs $15.
Explore more travel guides
- International Roaming Plans & Data: Costs, Tips & Best Options (2026)
- Best Travel eSIM for Japan, Europe, USA & Australia (2026 Guide)
- Guide to Activating Your eSIM with a QR Code
Destination eSIMs you might also need
- Vietnam eSIM: 5G and LTE, from $4.00
- Asia eSIM: for a multi-country Southeast Asia route
- Cambodia eSIM: the usual overland next stop
- Thailand eSIM: often combined on a longer trip
- Malaysia eSIM: south along the same route
For all ETravelSim destinations, visit etravelsim.com/collections/travelesim.
Last updated: August 2026. All costs are approximate 2026 estimates and vary with travel dates, booking timing, city and travel style. Tết dates, e-visa rules and eSIM prices change. Verify current figures before booking.