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North Vietnam Trip 11D10N Expenses

  • Post category:Travel

For accommodation, transport, food, activities and more

Sapa Village | Source: Author

I went to Vietnam for 11 days and visited Ninh Binh, Sapa and Hanoi! Below is a breakdown of my spending according to the various categories. (Exchange rate used: 1 SGD = 16,750 VND)

Pre-trip expenses

Flights

Flights cost total: $233.45 SGD

Note: Flight tickets were booked a day before departure LOL

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance cost total: $24.96 SGD

Accommodation

Accommodation cost total: $94.69 SGD

Note: I stayed in hostels all the way, and slept in bunk beds in shared dorms. Accommodations were all booked via Booking.com.

Food, Transport and Miscellaneous

Food, transport and misc cost total: $201.27 SGD

Note: How much you spend on food would depend greatly on location, dining style (street stall, restaurant, or cafe) and menu item ordered. For most stalls, one main dish costs around 50,000 – 70,000 VND (~ 3-4 SGD). I think prices in North Vietnam are generally higher than Central Vietnam, or perhaps it’s because I mainly went to “touristy” areas?

Transport-wise, most of the money was spent on sleeper buses and train rides. I booked my rides in advance online, but prices would be cheaper if you booked onsite via hostels, at the train stations, or call the bus companies directly since online booking platforms do charge a premium.

Miscellaneous items include toilet entry fees, motion sickness pills, and a bottle of throat spray.

Ascending order of costs by location: Ninh Binh, Hanoi, Sapa

Activities

Activities cost total: $133.13 SGD

Note: I think the Fansipan mountain train & cable car ride was quite expensive, but the view at the peak was quite worth it! On the other hand, I found the 1-day trek to be too pricey since we were trekking to the villages and were only provided a trekking guide, lunch, some water, and a short car ride back to Sapa town at the end. My friend managed to book a similar trekking tour at just 35 SGD ._.

Summary of Trip Expenses

Trip cost total: $687.50 SGD

Ending Note

I had previously gone to Central Vietnam and thought the food in North Vietnam would be as cheap or even cheaper. However, it turns out that food & beverages were pricier there ): In Ninh Binh (Tam Coc) and Sapa, the whole place felt catered to tourists because the streets were littered with homestays, hotels, restaurants, cafes, and bike rental shops. Nonetheless, I enjoyed all my sightseeing activities and am still in awe of the all nature sights!

Thank you for reading!