Traveling on a Budget in Vietnam: 5 Tips to Consider

Exploring a new world seems to be everyone’s dream. Nonetheless, it would be really costly to embark on luxurious style of traveling(live in expensive resorts, or always dine in fancy restaurants), and perhaps resorting to a genuine way of traveling that help close to local life is more trendy recently. Today, we are going to share some tips to inform travelers how to lower budget in Vietnam, so that travelers can easily make use of the money to visit more places.

Tip 1：Hostels could be your places to stay

Speaking of cost caused from traveling, accomodation expense is probably a great part without saying. Therefore, how to select a bargain place to stay is what pro travelers need to think about it in advance. In Vietnam, a paradise for tourism, is somewhere standing a great number of inexpensive yet cozy hostels to choose; as a matter of fact, staying in a small-scale and comfortable hostel in Vietnam can let you get closer to local life, like socializing with Vietnamese staff, and it’s absolutely an unforgettable piece of story in the journey. 

Tip 2：Learn some Vietnamese language 

Being a budget-conscious travelers, you are definitely eager to bargain with the local people to get a good price. Then, you should at least learn some Vietnamese phrases to better pick up what local people utter to you. For example, travelers new to the country can learn greetings, number, etc., to make your shopping more easily.

【Greetings】

• Hello：Xin chào!
• Good morning: Chào buổi sáng
• Good afternoon: Chào buổi chiều
• Good evening: Chào buổi tối
• Thank you：Cảm ơn
• Goodbye：Tạm biệt
  

【Number】

• One：một
• Two：hai
• Three：ba
• Four：bốn
• Five：năm
• Six：sáu
• Seven：bảy
• Eight：tám
• Nine：chín
• Ten：mười

Read more:5 Best Places to Spend Summer Vacation in Vietnam

Tip 3：Take more public transportation and less taxi

Although taking taxi is a more comfortable and faster way to directly drive you to the destinations; however, it’s costly compared to other way of transportation. To save money, travelers may take public transportation into consideration. So, firstly, you should stay in a district that is convenient to many tourist attractions through public transportation. Then, taking some time to do preparation will make your journey more smoothly. Checking the schedule of buses, trains, and subway would save your time, and lower the opportunities to take taxi. Both big cities now have urban rail: Hanoi has its metro lines, and Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien) opened in December 2024. When you do need a car or motorbike ride, ride-hailing apps such as Grab or Xanh SM show the price up front, so you don’t have to bargain.

Tip 4：Don’t be picky. Why not try some local foods?

For foreign visitors from different cultural background, it’s not an easy job to effortlessly savor the taste of Vietnamese foods, and some would rather stick to McDonalds such international chain stores to avoid unexpected flavor. Nonetheless, when traveling to a new, it would be a better option to take a try of typical local foods, not only because the fact that the foods taste more fresh and authentic, but because of the prices are more affordable. Actually, the price that chain stores offers is more expensive, and if you always visit there, the budget goes higher than you expect. So, don’t be anxious about trying Vietnamese foods, and you will be more open-minded and embrace local culture of living.

Tip 5：Find travel partner or gather with friends

The reasons why you should go traveling to Vietnam with friends are that you will be able to share deals with more people and divide the whole price; also, go traveling with more people will be safe compared to solo traveling. When gathering more traveling partner, you will be more flexible to arrange your itineraries. For example, scheduling a group to some places, booking a shuttle bus, or finding a well-known restaurants seems more easy to do for more people.

Read more:Visiting Vietnam：8 Advice for Family Travelers