how to travel cheap in vietnam ?

Vietnam is a very beautiful and mountainous country with more than 1000 years of history . It’s per capita income sits in the upper section of the developing nations . I live in India . In comparison to India food prices are almost the double and transportation cost is very high . I stayed there , almost one month . So keeping my budget low I have to use different strategies .

The biggest cost of travel in vietnam is the transport . For low budget travelers like me prefer bus , train or boat for intra vietnam journey . Major problem in vietnam is that public transport is not strong except in the Hanoi city . So for , long road transport you have to go for the private transport .

Some tips to reduce the cost of transport in Vietnam :

1. In my mind the train is the cheapest transport in vietnam for Long distance . Book Air Conditionered seating ticket . That is the most cheapest option in vietnam Railway . I booked a train from the Hue to Hanoi(800 km) and it cost just 414000 VND .
2. Go to the train station and book the train ticket . That is the cheapest option , otherwise you can book online also .
3. For long distance travel book bus ticket from the bus stand rather than online . It will give better rate and there is lots of localised transport .
4. For inside city tour choose city buses . This bus will cost from 5000 to 9000 VND . The rates are fixed in a certain route . If you travel any distance in this buses , fare will be same .
5. Everywhere In Vietnam , you can rent a motorbike . It will cost you 100000 to 150000 VND /day . If you rent for the long time it may reduce the cost . I heard from somebody that they rented the bike from one city and dropped in another city . So by that way you can reduce the cost of transport and make a very quick journey .
6. You can also rent a bicycle for the city tour . It will cost you around 30000 – 60000 VND / Day .
7. There is another option of shuttle Bus which will pick up from your hotel but it is expensive than the normal bus . but another facility is that you don’t have to book a cab .
8. If you have to use Taxi then either book online app or go with the meter . For metered taxi first 1 km is 20000 VND and then after 14000 VND / km .

How to reduce the food cost in Vietnam ?

1. In all south east asia noodles are very popular type of food . So whenever travel in Vietnam , make sure you have some packets of noodles or cup noodles(for mid travel usage) . Hot waters can be available in the Trains and small convenient stores . one packet of noodles may cost from 5000 – 25000 VND / per pack according to the size and flavor .
2. Pinaple(8000 – 20000 VND / per piece) , mango(20000 – 30000 VND/ kg) , Guwava(15000 – 30000 VND/ kg) , watermelons(10000 VND /kg) and banana(20000 VND /kg ) are cheapest fruits and available all around Vietnam .
3. Winmart is one of the convinent store chain which are present everywhere in vietnam . Prices are very cheap here .
4. If your accommodation does not provide drinking water then buy 5-6 liters of water pack which cost between 24000 – 30000 VND per bottle . Because 500 ml and 1.5 liter pack are most costly .
5. Try local food and street food . Then you can manage one meal around 30000 – 60000 VND . Food prices increases from south toward North Vietnam .
6. Pho(rice noodles) , Banh my(stuffed bread like sandwich ) and com ga/bo/ca/thit lon (rice with chicken/beef/fish/pork ) are the major meals for lunch and dinner in Vietnam .

How to reduce the acommodation cost in vietnam ?

• In Vietnam , mostly you get the bunked Dormitory Hostel as the cheapest option . Here cost for one night stay , mostly below 100000 VND /per day . Check out time in most of the dormitory is before 12 pm but if you have a train in the late evening , you can keep the luggage in the common area .
• Mostly choose hostel which have shared kitchen and drinking water facility . Making just one time meal and free drinking water will drastically reduce your cost of living in a foreign country . I book through booking.com and Agoda in Vietnam . This have presence in all the world
• For privacy reason , if you want to stay in a hotel , prefer to stay in a homestay or little far from the city center . Then it will cost less Price . For a hotel private room will cost between 250000 – 400000 VND / day .

Tips to reduce the overall budget of a trip :

I stayed all together 26 days in Vietnam and my total expenses is 49276 INR among this 19220 INR is spend on Air flight . So the actual living cost for 26 days is around 30,056 which is 1156 INR / Day . This include all the hotel cost , transportation cost , entree fees to different tourist places , food cost and every small costs required for living in the Vietnam . I make the cost such a low because I choose certain way of living in vietnam . some of the tips to make budget trip in vietnam are

• In my total stay in vietnam , I only used Hostel as accommodation which cost me from 250 – 450 INR /day .
• I manage one time meal with fresh fruit which also reduce the cost . In all vietnam processed foods were more expensive than the fruit .
• Most costly foods are those you eat in Restaurant . In Vietnam in a street or restaurant one time full meal will cost minimum 30000 VND .
• If you travel in Hue city , you can buy the combined ticket for all the attractions in the hue city . As the cost of a single ticket is very expensive for the tombs of the vietnames king . Entry fees for the imperial palace is 200000 VND and any tombs are 150000 VND for the single spot . But the combined ticket for all the attractions are 580000 VND and valid for 2 days . This include multiple tombs , imperial palace and much more .
• Hire a bike or bicycle for the side-seeing spots as this spots were quiet far from one another in Hue City . Public transport is very weak in Vietnam except the bigger cities like Ho chi minh city and Hanoi .
• For the city and the nearby side seeing spots you can book the hop – on – hop – off buses . As this buses are available in all major touristy cities and very moderately priced .
• Buy food and necessary items from either the local market or hypermarket as this are much cheaper than the convenient stores like WinMart and Mini Mart .

Summary :

In any tour , major costs were inured in the Food , Transport and Accommodation . So if you can reduce the cost on those areas then the budget can be reduced . I must say any transport is costly in Vietnam not the bike rental . So better to hire a bike if you are comfortable in any city . Accommodation is very cheap in Vietnam and foods are moderately priced . But vietnames cuisine is very different than our Indian Cuisine , so before traveling to Vietnam prepare to have trouble with the food . You can find Indian restaurant in all Vietnam but it is very expensive . If you can arrange one or two meal by yourself your whole budget can be reduce drastically .