Vietnam is cheap – but “cheap” is not a budget. A bowl of noodle soup costs under two euros; a last-minute domestic flight can easily cost sixty. Here are three budgets for 21 days, broken down item by item with prices published in 2026, and the places where a travel budget really slips.
Three budgets for 21 days
The table follows a classic north-to-south route: Hanoi, Sa Pa, Halong or Lan Ha Bay, Huế, Hội An, then Saigon. It is a breakdown of price ranges published in 2026, not a measurement of our own. The items are averages: some days you will spend half, others double.
| Item | Backpacker | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | 200,000 VND / day | 700,000 VND / day | 2,000,000 VND / day |
| Food and drink | 250,000 VND / day | 450,000 VND / day | 900,000 VND / day |
| Local transport (Grab, buses) | 50,000 VND / day | 150,000 VND / day | 400,000 VND / day |
| Entry fees | 100,000 VND / day | 200,000 VND / day | 400,000 VND / day |
| Other (water, laundry, data) | 50,000 VND / day | 100,000 VND / day | 200,000 VND / day |
| Daily subtotal | 650,000 VND ≈ 22 € | 1,600,000 VND ≈ 53 € | 3,900,000 VND ≈ 130 € |
| Long journeys north → south (3 weeks) | 2,250,000 VND | 3,650,000 VND | 7,200,000 VND |
| Halong / Lan Ha boat trip | 1,000,000 VND | 3,000,000 VND | 6,500,000 VND |
| TOTAL 21 days | 16,900,000 VND ≈ 560 € | 40,250,000 VND ≈ 1,340 € | 95,600,000 VND ≈ 3,190 € |
In short: about €560 as a backpacker, €1,340 mid-range, €3,190 in comfort, without the flight to Vietnam. That is roughly €22, €53 and €130 a day on the ground. One travel portal puts the absolute 2026 floor at 650,000–750,000 dong a day; the backpacker column deliberately sits at the bottom of that range.
Food: the item you control
Nowhere is the gap between the three budgets as wide as on food – and nowhere is it as easy to control. On 2026 price lists, a street dish costs 25,000 to 50,000 dong (under €2): a phở 35,000 to 60,000, a bánh mì 20,000 to 35,000, a cơm tấm (broken rice with grilled meat) 40,000 to 60,000. In a restaurant, a dish costs 80,000 to 150,000 dong.
Two meals on the street and one in a restaurant put you in the backpacker column. Eating out every evening in Hội An’s old town or central Saigon moves you into mid-range – without ever feeling you spent much.
Beer, coffee, water: the small sums
A glass of bia hơi, the street’s draught beer, costs 5,000 to 10,000 dong; a bottled beer 15,000 to 25,000. A Vietnamese coffee costs 20,000 to 40,000 dong in an ordinary café, but 50,000 to 80,000 in cafés designed for tourists – double, for the same cup.
Water is an underestimated item. A 1.5-litre bottle costs 15,000 to 20,000 dong; many places to stay offer filtered refills at 2,000 to 5,000 dong a litre. At two or three litres a day for three weeks it is no fortune – but it adds up, like laundry (30,000 to 50,000 dong per kilo).
Getting around: bus, train and domestic flight
Vietnam stretches more than 1,700 km: long journeys are an item in their own right. The 2026 prices:
- Sleeper bus Hanoi – Sa Pa: 250,000 to 350,000 dong for a berth, 400,000 to 550,000 for a VIP cabin, 5.5 to 7 hours.
- Train Hanoi – Huế: 688 km, 12 to 14 hours, about 700,000 dong in a four-berth sleeper. Booking opens 60 days ahead.
- Train Huế – Đà Nẵng: 100,000 to 150,000 dong, one of the country’s finest lines, 2.5 to 3 hours.
- Domestic flight: 400,000 to 800,000 dong booked early – but 1.2 to 1.8 million at the last minute.
The table’s “long journeys” line is the sum of these prices: as a backpacker, sleeper bus to Sa Pa, train to Đà Nẵng and one early-booked flight to Saigon; mid-range, a VIP cabin, two early-booked flights and Grab to the airports; in comfort, two flexible flights and private transfers. A night train or night bus has a side effect no table shows: it saves a hotel night.
In town you get around by Grab or taxi; city buses cost 10,000 to 30,000 dong. From Nội Bài airport to Hanoi’s Old Quarter, bus 86 costs 45,000 dong and a Grab 200,000 to 300,000. The detail: our two-week itinerary.
Full guide: Hanoi & Saigon Airport to City Centre: Bus, Grab, Taxi
Entry fees: a few big ones, many small ones
Most entry fees are modest, but a few make the difference. The Huế Imperial City costs 200,000 dong, or 530,000 with three royal tombs. Hội An’s old town costs 120,000 dong for five coupons; the Tràng An boat 300,000; the War Remnants Museum in Saigon 40,000. The Fansipan cable car near Sa Pa, on the other hand, costs 850,000 dong return – as much as two days of backpacker budget.
The boat trip in the bay has its own line because it is the largest single expense: about 1 million dong for a day in Lan Ha Bay, 2.2 to 6.5 million for two days with a night on board. The bays compared: Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay.
What the table leaves out
The flight. According to Kayak, a Frankfurt – Hanoi return usually cost €701 to €1,026 in autumn 2026, and Paris – Hanoi €732 to €1,100 – often more than the whole backpacker budget on the ground. When to book: cheap flights to Vietnam.
The visa. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK are exempt until 14 March 2028 for stays of up to 45 days. Everyone else pays for an e-visa: 25 US dollars for one entry, 50 for several.
Insurance and data. Three weeks of travel insurance cost 60 to 120 US dollars according to one travel portal. For data, an eSIM starts at about 18 dollars for 10 GB over 30 days, or a Vinaphone tourist SIM costs 199,000 dong (15 days, in store with your passport) – compared in Vietnam eSIM.
Cash and ATMs
Markets, street stalls and many small guesthouses take cash. Most banks charge foreign cards about 50,000 dong per withdrawal, with a limit of 3 to 5 million per transaction. Fees change without notice – one large bank ended its free withdrawals in 2025. Read the screen before you confirm.
Two habits save more than hunting for the “right” ATM: withdraw less often but more each time, and always pay in dong. When the machine offers to convert into your home currency, it applies its own rate, usually worse than your bank’s.
What really blows a budget
- Tết. Around the Lunar New Year – 6 February 2027 – dorm prices double in Hanoi and Saigon, and trains and buses fill up weeks ahead. To plan your dates: the best time to visit Vietnam.
- Last-minute flights. The difference between 800,000 and 1.8 million dong per flight is the largest avoidable cost of the trip.
- Tourist prices. Coffee in tourist cafés, restaurants on the main squares, taxis without an app: double every time, and you never notice.
- Too many stops. Every move costs a journey, a transfer and often a poor night. Three weeks with six stops cost less than three weeks with ten.
Our verdict
Three weeks in Vietnam can be done on about €560 on the ground, comfortably on €1,340. The flight often costs more than the stay. A budget rarely slips because of one big expense: it slips because of many small ones – and flights booked too late.
For the route: two-week Vietnam itinerary and 15 highlights from north to south. All the country guides are on the Vietnam blog.
