For accommodation, transport, food, attractions and more

Golden Bridge at Sunworld Ba Na Hills | Source: Author

I went to Central Vietnam for a week! Below is a breakdown of my spending according to the various categories. However, do note that since I went overseas with a friend, we could split the accommodation and transport (excluding flights) costs. Nonetheless, I will still give the cost per pax. Other than pre-trip expenses, all other categories’ costs would be given in units of 1000 VND (dong currency used in Vietnam).

Pre-trip expenses

Note: Flight tickets were booked 1 month in advance of the trip.

Accommodation

Note: The first accommodation was booked 1 month in advance of the trip, while the subsequent accommodations were booked 1 or 2 nights before arrival.

Transport (Train / Taxi / Bicycle)

Costs table for transport | Source: Author

Note: If it took us close to an hour or more of walking to get to a destination, we would hail a ride using Grab to get there faster and safer. But, I think it would be cheaper to rent a motorbike and explore around. Unfortunately, I do not hold a Class 2 license.

Food & Beverages

Note: How much you spend on food would depend greatly on location, dining style (street stall, restaurant, or cafe) and menu item ordered. On some days, I would also buy dessert(s) to “treat” myself, which adds to the total amount spent. That said, I think that you can get your decent three meals with a cup of morning coffee at around 3*40,000 + 20,000 = 140,000 VND (~8 SGD) from street stalls!

Attractions & Tours

Costs table for attractions and tours | Source: Author

Note: The “big ticket” items all belong to this category! My friend uses a YouTrip card for these purchases, which I would recommend you to do so as well 😀 Interestingly, despite not wanting to do “touristy” stuff, we still ended up going on 2 tours and visiting 4 tourist attractions 😂

Miscellaneous

Things I Wished I Didn’t Buy

Costs table for wasted purchases | Source: Author

Note: I didn’t want to include this table originally, but I did spend the money after all …

Summary of Trip Expenses

Summary costs table for all categories | Source: Author

Ending Note

Based on an exchange rate of 1 SGD = 17,000 VND, I spent 7,750,000 VND = approx $456 SGD during the trip. Together with my pre-trip expenses, I spent a total of $340 + $456 = $796 SGD for my 1 week trip to Central Vietnam. I’m quite happy with this expenditure (except for whatever was in the category of “Things I Wished I Didn’t Buy”) because my budget for the trip was $1000 SGD, which I kept to very well! 😀

I don’t think this trip followed a “budget” or “frugal” style, but it’s not extravagant as well. Accommodation ranged from homestays to hotels, while food ranged from street stalls to restaurants too. We hardly took public transport and relied often on ride-hailing services, but walked and cycled whenever possible.

I hope this article has given you a realistic budget to work with, and may my sharing help you for your future trip to Vietnam!

Thank you for reading!