We highly recommend Vietnam! Friendly people, good food, and excellent value.
Coming from Greece to Hanoi we were tossed from the frying pan into the fire, literally and figuratively – culture shock and hot and humid weather! Merrill started out fearful, even cynical, but her tune has changed: “Shout out to Vietnam! I never got food poisoning, or upset tummy – neither felt ripped off nor scammed.”
Do you want to go to Vietnam?
Do you wonder, How much does it cost to travel in Vietnam?
Here is the breakdown for our 3 weeks of travel in Vietnam visiting Hanoi, HaLong Bay, HoiAn, DaNang and Hue.
Total Expenses: $1659.56 for 22 days. An average of $75.43 per day (for two people.)
Food: $416.54 on average $18.93 per day.
Accommodations: $609.55 for 20 nights (including gratuities), on average $30.48 per night. Not including HaLong Bay overnight cruise.
HaLong Bay Overnight Cruise Excursion: $328.38 (includes beverages and gratuities)
Transportation: $154.79 ($67.58 for taxis, $21.50 for a bus trip from HoiAn to Hue, $15.18 for a train trip to DaNang from Hue, and $51.61 for 8 days of motor scooter rental and gas. On average $7.08 per day. This does not include airfare to or from Vietnam.
Entertainment: $70.98 for admissions and a few massages – on average $3.23 per day.
Miscellaneous: $79.31 (includes $50 for e-visas, laundry, and souvenirs) an average of $3.61 per day.
We paid $40 USD for a week rental in Hoi An and $4.30 for a day rental in DaNang plus gas.
Our hotel reserved assigned “soft seat” seats on the crowded train to DaNang from Hue.
List of Accommodations
Hanoi: Hotel Viola Royal, 2 nights, $30.10 a night including breakfast. (I had booked Cristina Hotel on Booking.com but upon check in they “upgraded” us to a different hotel.) Hanoi Era for 1 night for $30.10 including breakfast. Neither the Cristina Hotel nor Viola Royal could accommodate us after the cruise, but they found us a room at the Hanoi Era. We liked it the best.
Halong Bay Cruise: Viola Cruise, 1 night, $300 including transfers from Hanoi and meals. (Booked through the hotel via email. They accepted $300 US dollars for payment.)
Hoi An: Gia Lam Villa Homestay, 8 nights, $25.27 a night (breakfast extra) booked on Booking.com and T&T Villas, 3 nights, $31.39 a night including breakfast. Found on Booking.com then went in person to check it out and was quoted a higher price. We negotiated a comparable rate.
Hue: Hue Gardenia Hotel, 3 nights, $33.30 a night including breakfast. Booking.com.
DaNang: Cosmos Hotel, 3 nights, $35.40 a night including breakfast. Booking.com.
I use Booking.com for most of our short term accommodations. I get a better price on Booking.com than I do just showing up and asking for a price!
Get $20 off when you book through Booking.com using this link.
Gia Lam Villa Guesthouse booked on Booking.com. Breakfast was available for $3.45 each.
We moved to the T & T Villa Hotel to be within walking distance of the Old Town.
The Gardenia Hue Hotel for $33.30 a night.
Cosmos Hotel in DaNang. 4-star luxury for $35 a night!
Delicious banana blossom salad.
Vietnam: 500+ ways to eat noodles. Every village has its own preparation for each noodle dish!
Look at that beautiful garden! I love the fresh greens in many Vietnamese dishes: lettuces, watercress, cilantro, mint. Every house has planter boxes planted with the greens, if not a garden like this patchwork quilt of greenery.
Vietnam has a (confusing) coffee culture. The menu had Saigon Coffee and Vietnamese Coffee. I asked,”What’s the difference between Saigon Coffee and Vietnamese Coffee?” The answer: “One comes in a tall glass and the other in a short glass!”
After 3 weeks we are getting anxious to move on. Next up: a return to a destination we loved when we visited 3 years ago. It almost feels like we are “going home” knowing we get to stay put and spread out for a month-long stay, not in a hotel, but an entire condo.
Meet You in the Morning next time from Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Meet You In The Morning 