VIETNAM · TRAVEL BUDGET

This article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A private room, a bowl of noodles and a short ride can all look affordable in Vietnam. The total changes when you add two weeks of moving between regions, airport transfers and paid days out.

Here is a practical budget for the route we recommend, with the costs that split when you share—and the savings worth considering.

Want to estimate your own Vietnam trip budget? You’ll find an interactive calculator at the end of this guide. Choose your travel style, trip length and number of travelers to see a suggested budget.

We recommend reading the guide first so you understand what’s included, which costs you can share, and what you may need to budget for separately.

Jump to the budget calculator

This budget follows our 14-day Vietnam itinerary, with a day-by-day plan for each stop: Hanoi → Ninh Binh → Hoi An → Da Nang → Ho Chi Minh City.

That means 13 nights: 3 in Hanoi, 2 in Ninh Binh, 2 in Hoi An, 2 in Da Nang and 4 in Ho Chi Minh City. Arrive in Hanoi and fly home from Ho Chi Minh City, with two domestic flights between the regions.

Think simple private rooms, local meals mixed with casual restaurants, some car transfers and a few paid days out. All amounts are in USD. This is an estimated trip budget, not a record of my own spending or a fixed-price package.

Sharing makes the biggest difference to rooms and car journeys. Food, flights, admissions and individual data plans still cost money for each traveler.

$2,200 is for both travelers together—about $1,100 each. International flights, visas, insurance and shopping are extra. For nights out, see the separate nightlife budget. Before booking, check room and flight prices for your dates and adjust the total to match.

For a simple private room with air conditioning and your own bathroom, I would set aside around $30 per room per night. Start your search around $25–35; cheaper rooms can leave more money for the rest of the trip.

The budget uses $30 across the 13 nights. That is a practical amount to plan with, rather than a claim about the average hotel price across Vietnam. Some stops and dates will cost less, others more.

Check recent room photos, location and comments about noise. A low price can mean a small room or no outside window. Breakfast is not assumed to be included: it already has a place in the food budget. If your room includes it, that gives you a little extra spending room. Always compare the total after taxes and fees.

For Hanoi–Ninh Binh, you can compare bus and train departures on 12Go. Check the pickup and drop-off points as well as the fare—a cheap ticket can be less useful if you still need a long ride to your hotel.

For rail journeys, also check Vietnam Railways. Trains serve Da Nang; Hoi An needs a road connection. Compare the same route and seat or berth class, and leave time to get from the station to your next stop.

Set aside $165 solo or $177 total for two for the airport and intercity connections on this route. This includes a private car from Ninh Binh to Hanoi airport; shared shuttles or public buses can bring the cost down when their pickup points and times work for you.

Grab is a ride-hailing app similar to Uber. Its GrabCar service shows the fare before booking; compare it with a hotel-arranged car instead of assuming either is always cheaper. Two people can share a car, while walking and local buses can be cheaper for short trips. Demand, airport fees and pickup rules can affect the total.

For local sightseeing transport, set aside $120 for the trip, whether traveling solo or as two sharing the same car: roughly $60 for city rides and $60 for getting around Ninh Binh’s countryside. Walking days balance the days when a viewpoint, boat departure point or outlying sight needs a paid ride. Bicycles can reduce the spend if the distances and weather suit you.

This is a shared transport budget, not $120 each. Ask your accommodation about a car with waiting time or a bicycle for Ninh Binh, rather than assuming a cheap ride will always be available for the return. Airport/intercity transfers, Ba Na Hills transport and the transport included in your Cu Chi excursion are counted separately. Extra private-driver days need a separate quote.

Set aside $200 per person for sightseeing over two weeks. That covers admissions across all five stops, a Ba Na Hills day with lunch and transport, a shared-group Cu Chi outing and one extra experience of your choice.

Mix those paid outings with walks, markets and beach time. You do not need to book every optional activity in the itinerary. If a cooking class is your extra experience, compare Hoi An cooking classes by what is included, especially transfers and the meal, before choosing one that fits your $40 allowance.

The $35 per person excursion budget is for a shared-group Cu Chi Tunnels outing, with return transport and entry included—not a private tour or a promise that every HCMC excursion costs the same. Cu Chi is the wartime tunnel network outside the city. A published operator example lists a $35 group option, checked 29 October 2026, requiring at least 10 adults for the group departure to operate. Confirm availability before booking; private options cost more. The operator lists entry and return transport, with free hotel pickup in Districts 1, 3 and 4; other pickup arrangements may cost extra.

Compare Ho Chi Minh City excursions and check the full price, pickup area, entry fees and duration. If you choose a Mekong Delta day trip instead, replace this $35 with that trip’s actual total. Meals remain in the food budget unless your booked excursion includes them.

Vietnam does not have one cheap season that works everywhere. Use these periods as a guide, then compare the actual dates:

• Hanoi and the north: October–April is broadly part of the busier international travel period. May–September can offer lower-demand dates, but summer trips and public holidays are exceptions; June–August is hot and rainy.
• Hoi An and Da Nang: February–August is generally the drier stretch, with June–August a busy domestic beach-holiday period. September–January can bring quieter dates, but rain, storms and flooding risk—especially around September–November—can make a cheaper room less useful.
• Ho Chi Minh City and the south: December–April is the dry-season travel period. May–November is wetter and can offer quieter dates outside holidays; rain does not mean the whole day is lost.

The official regional weather guide and Da Nang tourism’s summer travel information explain why the central coast differs from the north and south. These are seasonal patterns, not guaranteed discounts.

Watch Tet (Lunar New Year, in January or February depending on the year), late December–early January, April 30–May 1 and September 2. Holiday demand can raise transport and room costs even within a normally quieter month. Check that year’s exact holiday dates before booking.