Vietnam is one of Asia’s fastest growing countries, and as a result, the cost of visiting is going up every year. Despite this, it’s still possible to travel in Vietnam on a backpacker’s budget of $40 or less per day, or enjoy a more comfortable trip for $60 to $100 per day.
For a five-star experience in Vietnam, it’s best to budget $200 or more per day – roughly the same amount as you’d spend in nearby countries like Thailand.
Below, we’ve broken down the costs of travelling in Vietnam, from hotels to buses, flights and food. We’ve also covered factors like Vietnam’s currency and the availability of ATMs, credit card usage and the cost of visas and other travel documents. See also the Travelhappy Quick Guides to Vietnam’s major attractions. You can jump straight into finding out exact costs by checking Skyscanner for the cheapest flights to Vietnam (and within Vietnam); checking Booking.com for hotel prices from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City; and looking at 12Go for the cost and timetable of trains and buses in Vietnam. Otherwise, read on and see our specific recommendations on where to stay and what to do.
Daily Budget for Vietnam Although Vietnam is getting more expensive every year, it’s still a cheap country to visit. Costs are comparable to Thailand and other nearby countries like Cambodia, although like with any country, certain things are either cheaper or more expensive in Vietnam than elsewhere. As a general rule, you’ll be able to travel around Vietnam as a backpack on a budget of $40 to $50 per day. However, your luxuries will be limited and you’ll spend more of your time eating at local restaurants instead of Western cafés and eateries. For a more comfortable backpacker experience in Vietnam, it’s best to budget around $50 per day. This way, you’ll have more money to spend on things like food, drinks, activities and hotel rooms. For a comfortable mid-range experience in Vietnam, it’s best to budget $60 to $100 per day for your entire costs. This gives you enough to pay for a comfortable three to four star hotel room, eat in mid-range to high-end restaurants and visit most activities and attractions. For a five-star experience in Vietnam, expect to pay $150 per day at the bare minimum (you’ll spend about $75-$100 for your hotel room, at the very least) or $200+ if you plan on dining out often and staying in a very luxurious hotel.
Getting There Buses run day and night in and out of Mui Ne, whose outskirts touch National Route 1A, with trips from Ho Chi Minh City running five hours and less than about four to Nha Trang. Buses run right downtown to the main tourist hotel strip Nguyen Dinh Chieu. Just beware the addresses, as they make little sense, with odd numbers at the south half of the street and odd numbers in the north. There is also a daily train to Phan Thiet, about five kilometers from Mui Ne with fair, metered cabs available for the ride in. There’s also sporadic bus service into town for a dollar.
The Rest of It Not ready to try wind sports? Be careful swimming. Don’t assume surfers will see or avoid you. Stay clear of launch and landing area and do your laps early in the day or after dark. Mui Ne also has a few subpar tourist attractions, (not including the spectacular sand dunes) to while away your time. The Ham Nin fishing village is a sight to behold, with its odd round rowboats and the sheer number of fishing vessels in the bay. There’s also a “fairy stream,” which is little more than a muddy ankle-deep trickle of water and a hardly falling waterfall. Basically, there are two reasons to go Mui Ne: The watersports and the sand dunes. Unless you’re into paved-over beach resorts filled with Russians, there’s no other real reason to be there. For the non-surfer, that’s about two days. For the active, it’s as long as your endurance (and money) lasts.
Surf’s Up There are currently about a dozen kite boarding & surfing centers in Mui Ne and competition is fierce. Just a few years ago you might see just a couple of kites and sails on the water during an afternoon. Now it can be quite the spectacle. Kite surfing centers and instructors are popping up everywhere, so choosing the right training place can be tough. Some good options would be C2Sky, the only International Kiteboarding Organization-sanctioned center on the beach, as well Storm Kiteboarding, and the German-run Windchimes.
Beach Life And the beaches are lovely. Erosion constantly plays games with the landscape, so some years you’ll find your favorite strip of sand is now rock, but come back in a year and it may be back. The only obstacle to a good suntan is the preponderance of kite surfers, whose canopies fill the skies and whose boards come tumbling in on the waves with the riders. There’s a core group of young guys (and the occasional girl) kite surfers who jump around Southeast Asia, doing a couple months in Mui Nei, jump a plane for a few weeks in Thailand’s Hua Hin or, for the adventurous, Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach, and Sihanoukville in Cambodia. But they’ll all tell you, it blows best in Mui Ne.
