Vietnam – easy on your pocketbook

The affordable accommodations, cheap, tasty food and beautiful sights of Vietnam make it an outstanding holiday spot in the Asian region for people on a low budget.




For only $20, travelers could discover Hanoi by motorbike-taxi and enjoy delicious street food, says Forbes.

The best way to explore Hanoi or any place in Vietnam is on foot or by motorbike to avoid the traffic congestion and observe the busy life of the people. Those who cannot drive can get a xe om (a motorbike-taxi) which are conveniently available every where.

It is easy to recognize xe om drivers, sitting on their motorbike at some corner looking at the pedestrians as potential fares. The payment should be negotiated before you get on, usually VND10,000 ($0.5) per kilometer.

Unlike other countries, in Vietnam, staying in the city centre is usually the first choice of many travelers, thanks to the reasonable prices. There are hundreds of guesthouses, backpacker’s hostels, and family run mini hotels which start at only VND500,000 ($22) for a single room.

Dorm rooms shared between 4-10 people are also offered by hostels from VND100,000 to 150,000 ($4-6) per person. Thanks to helpful booking sites such as www.booking.com and www.agoda.com, checking the availability, condition and price of the accommodation is just a click away.

The centre of big cities like Hanoi, Danang or Ho Chi Minh City is not only the busiest area but also the most charming. Delicacies of each city are usually offered in the centre from $1-2, like bun cha (grilled pork with fish sauce and noodles), nem (fried spring rolls), pho cuon (fresh rice pancake with stuffing), and cha ca La Vong (grilled fish) of Hanoi; banh trang cuon thit heo (dry pancake roll with pork) and Quang noodles in Danang; and com tam (broken rice), banh xeo (Vietnamese pancake) and hu tieu (a noodle and pork soup) in Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition, dozens of other street foods are available in these centers, which are served alone or with fresh beer. At the weekend, the center of town becomes a pedestrian area where both the locals, travelers and expats gather to relax with their friends and family by strolling around or dining together, which adds a more boisterous atmosphere to the places.

Along with food, Vietnam features many beautiful landscapes - rice fields, mountains, forests, rivers and beaches, thanks to the diversified terrain from the north to the south. From a big city, it’s easy to get a bus or train to visit popular destinations, like Sapa, Ha Long Bay or Mai Chau from Hanoi.

In the first eleven months of this year Vietnam welcomed over 9 million international tourists, a 25.4 per cent increase year-on-year and exceeding the initial 2016 target of 8.5 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

VN Economic Times