I arrived in Hanoi at 11 PM on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Bangkok that cost $112 one way. The airport taxi into the Old Quarter should have cost 350,000 dong ($14) but the driver quoted 700,000. I showed him the Grab app price on my phone, he muttered something in Vietnamese, and agreed to the meter. The meter read 320,000 dong ($13) when we arrived. Lesson one of Vietnam: always use Grab or at least know the Grab price before negotiating with a taxi driver.

I spent 18 days in Vietnam, traveling from Hanoi to Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City, and my total spend was $438, which works out to $24.33 per day. That included accommodation, food, transport, activities, and a few beers. Vietnam is one of the best value destinations on the planet right now, and the weak dong, roughly 25,000 dong to the dollar, makes it even cheaper for foreign visitors.

Hanoi: Street Food Capital of Southeast Asia

I stayed at the Hanoi Rocks Hostel in the Old Quarter for $6 per night in a six-bed dorm. The location was perfect, on a narrow street where motorbikes buzzed past my window from 6 AM to midnight. The hostel included a free breakfast of banana pancakes and Vietnamese coffee, which alone saved me $3 per day.

Hanoi's street food is the main attraction, and it is absurdly cheap. A bowl of pho at the famous Pho Gia Truyen on Bat Dan Street costs 40,000 dong ($1.60). A banh mi from a street cart on Hang Ma Street costs 25,000 dong ($1). A glass of bia hoi, fresh draft beer brewed daily and served on the sidewalk from plastic stools, costs 10,000 dong ($0.40). I ate dinner at a bia hoi corner near Ta Hien Beer Street every night, sitting on a tiny plastic stool that could barely support my weight, surrounded by locals and a few backpackers, drinking three beers and eating a plate of grilled pork for under $3.

The must-do activity in Hanoi is the Hoan Kiem Lake walk at dawn, which costs nothing. At 5:30 AM, the lake comes alive with locals doing tai chi, jogging, and playing badminton. The Ngoc Son Temple on the lake's island charges 30,000 dong ($1.20) for entry. The Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university founded in 1070, costs 30,000 dong. I spent a full morning there, wandering through courtyards of ancient stele that recorded the names of doctoral graduates from the 15th century.

Street food vendor serving pho in Hanoi's Old Quarter
Street food vendor serving pho in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City

I took the overnight train from Hanoi to Da Nang, then a local bus to Hoi An. The train ticket in a soft sleeper berth cost 850,000 dong ($34), which included a bed in a four-person cabin. The bus from Da Nang to Hoi An was 30,000 dong ($1.20). Hoi An is famous for its tailors, and I had three shirts custom-made at BeBe Tailor on Le Loi Street for 450,000 dong ($18) each. The fabric was high-quality cotton, the fit was perfect, and they were ready in 24 hours.

Hoi An's ancient town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the walking streets are magical at night, lit by hundreds of silk lanterns. The town entrance fee is 120,000 dong ($4.80) and covers access to five historic buildings. I skipped most of them and instead rented a bicycle for 30,000 dong ($1.20) per day and rode through rice paddies to An Bang Beach, where I ate seafood at a restaurant called the Mermaid for 150,000 dong ($6). The grilled squid was the best I have ever tasted.

Ho Chi Minh City was hotter, louder, and more chaotic than Hanoi. I stayed at the Hideout Hostel in District 1 for $7 per night. The War Remnants Museum cost 15,000 dong ($0.60) and was the most powerful museum I have visited in Southeast Asia, with photographs and exhibits that document the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective. I spent three hours there and left feeling shaken. The Cu Chi Tunnels, a network of underground tunnels used by Viet Cong soldiers during the war, cost 90,000 dong ($3.60) for a half-day tour including transport. Crawling through the tunnels, which were expanded slightly for Western tourists but still claustrophobic, gave me a visceral understanding of what wartime survival required.

Hoi An ancient town illuminated by silk lanterns at night
Hoi An ancient town illuminated by silk lanterns at night

Vietnam on $25 a day is not a stretch. It is a comfortable budget that covers good accommodation, excellent food, transport between cities, and all the major activities. I never felt deprived, never skipped a meal I wanted to eat, and never stayed in a place I did not like. The only thing I skipped was luxury: no fancy hotels, no private tours, no Western restaurants. For $25 a day, Vietnam gives you everything you need and most of what you want.