How much does a trip to Vietnam cost?
Most Vietnam trips are really a transport problem: the country is long, and how you cover the distance between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City sets the budget more than where you sleep.
A typical 16-day trip works out at roughly $800–$2,400 at a mid-range standard, or $50–$150 a day. That excludes international flights, which vary far too much by origin to average usefully.
Daily cost by travel style
Backpacker
$25–$50 / day
Hostels and guesthouses, local transport, street food
16 days ≈ $400–$800
Mid-range
$50–$150 / day
Private rooms and 3-star hotels, the odd taxi, restaurants
16 days ≈ $800–$2,400
Comfort
$200–$300 / day
4-star and up, private transfers, guided activities
16 days ≈ $3,200–$4,800
What actually moves the budget
- North-to-south overland costs a fraction of flying but eats days you may be paying for elsewhere
- Ha Long Bay cruises are a single large line item that skews any per-day average
- Motorbike hire is cheap; the deposit and any damage claim often are not
Where these numbers come from
These are ranges read off published travel-cost guides, not figures measured from DollarBuddy trips. They are shown as ranges because the range spans the figures given by the guides cited below, which do not fully agree with one another, and because a single number distilled from that spread would imply a precision nobody has. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.
There is no category breakdown on this page for the same reason: no source publishes a split that adds up to its own headline figure, so any breakdown here would be invented. Breakdowns appear on destinations where we have enough real logged trips to measure one.
Costs are per person and exclude international flights. Local prices are shown in US dollars; on the ground you will be paying in VND.
Common questions about Vietnam travel costs
- How much does a 16-day trip to Vietnam cost?
- Budget on roughly $800–$2,400 per person for 16 days at a mid-range standard. Travelling as a backpacker brings that down to about $400–$800, and a comfort-level trip runs $3,200–$4,800. All three exclude international flights, which vary too much by origin to average usefully.
- How much money do I need per day in Vietnam?
- Per person, per day: $25–$50 as a backpacker, $50–$150 mid-range, and $200–$300 at a comfort standard. Travel style moves the daily figure more than any other single decision, which is why it is shown as three bands rather than one number.
- Is Vietnam expensive to travel in?
- At a mid-range standard Vietnam works out at $50–$150 a day per person, so a week costs around $350–$1,050 before flights. Whether that reads as expensive depends mostly on style: the gap between the backpacker and comfort bands here is about $175 a day.
- What currency is used in Vietnam?
- VND. Every figure on this page is converted to US dollars for comparison, but on the ground you will be paying in VND. If you log spend in DollarBuddy as you go, each expense is recorded in VND and converted at the rate on the day you spent it, so the trip total stays accurate as the rate moves.
- What drives the cost of a trip to Vietnam up or down?
- North-to-south overland costs a fraction of flying but eats days you may be paying for elsewhere. Ha Long Bay cruises are a single large line item that skews any per-day average. These are the line items that move a Vietnam budget most, and they are the reason a single daily average is a poor planning tool on its own.
Compare with other destinations
- Nepal$39–$100 a day, mid-range
- Thailand$60–$120 a day, mid-range
- Indonesia$100–$200 a day, mid-range
- India$60–$150 a day, mid-range
- Japan$125–$250 a day, mid-range
- Portugal$100–$160 a day, mid-range
- Mexico$90–$150 a day, mid-range
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