Vietnam Tour PackagesVietnam Trip Cost: What You Really Pay
Vietnam trip cost comes down to what a package covers and what you pay on top. This page adds up the real numbers, from package prices per person to street food, hotels and visa fees. Every Vietnam tour package price leaves something out, and the extras are where budgets slip. This page breaks down what each package covers, what you still pay yourself, and what a do-it-yourself traveller needs per day based on published guide figures.
Inside Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Terrazzo from Vernon Hills, IL, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer The short answer on cost
A Vietnam trip costs from $98 per person for a 3-day regional package to $1,998 for 12 days through Vietnam and Cambodia, before international flights. On your own, Vietnam Tourism suggests a daily budget of $25 to $40 for backpackers, $50 to $100 for mid-range and $200 or more for luxury travel.
Key takeaways
- Grand tours of 8 to 10 days run from $929 to $1,099 per person, like the 9-day tour from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi with a cruise night and two domestic flights on its itinerary.
- Longer itineraries cost more but cover more ground: the 14-day tour from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is $1,544 per person with Sapa, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An and Hue.
- If you travel independently, the guide to the route shows how many days each stop needs, which drives the total more than any single price.
- For a wider view of what Vietnam tour packages include and how they compare, the homepage comparison table lines up every listing by price and length.
What Vietnam Tour Packages Cost
Package prices depend on length and how far the route runs. The figures below are the card prices per person in US dollars from the listings compared on this site.
Prices by Trip Length
The cheapest way to see Vietnam on a package is a short regional loop from one base city. A 2-day Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay trip starts at $168 per person and a 3-day Sapa trek at $98. Once the route spans the country, prices climb with the flights.
Here is how the card prices compare by trip length, per person, from the listings on this site.
| Length | Card prices | What the price usually covers |
|---|---|---|
| 2 days, one region (Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay) | $168 | Meals, entrance fees, a homestay night, a full-day cruise without an overnight on the water |
| 3 days, one region (Sapa, Ha Giang, Ninh Binh with Lan Ha Bay, Mekong Delta) | $98 to $261 | Meals, guides, transfers from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, homestays or 3-star hotels, entrance fees on most trips |
| 4 days, one region (Ha Giang Loop) | $230 | Easy Rider drivers, homestays, most meals, gear, a bus from Hanoi, but the border permit is extra |
| 6 to 7 days, one region or a north or south loop | $279 to $639 | Hotel class, meals and entrance fees vary by tour. On the 7-day tour the Hanoi to Da Nang flight ticket is excluded |
| 8 to 10 days, grand tour | $929 to $1,099 | A Ha Long Bay cruise night, 2 domestic flights on the itinerary, most lunches, entrance fees, private rooms on the 9 and 10 day tours |
| 12 to 14 days, grand tour | $1,544 to $1,998 | The 12-day option adds Cambodia with 3 domestic flights, the 14-day adds Sapa. Hotels are 3-star or similar, with a 4-star resort in Hoi An on the 12-day tour, and many dinners are on your own |
What a Package Price Leaves Out
No package price is the full cost of your trip. International flights to and from Vietnam are never included. The Vietnam e-visa costs $25 for single entry or $50 for multiple entry, and it is your own purchase. Dinners are the other recurring gap: on the 14-day Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City tour dinner appears only on the cruise night, and on the 9-day south to north tour every dinner except the cruise is on your own. The 12-day Vietnam and Cambodia tour is more explicit, pricing excluded meals at about $4 to $10 per person each.
Surcharges and permits also sit outside the base price. The 3-day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay cruise adds a $35 government VAT per person plus a $12 peak season surcharge from 1 October to 30 April. The 3-day Sapa trek carries a 40 percent public holiday surcharge on the total price around Tet and two other holiday windows. On the 3-day Ha Giang Loop small group tour the border permit costs $10 per person. The 6-day south and island tour does not list its two flights in the inclusions, so ask before you book. For how a package handles safety and local conditions on the road, see whether Vietnam is safe.
A Daily Budget on Your Own
Travelling without a package shifts the cost from one booking to many small ones. These are the street-level prices published by guide sources, quoted in dong exactly as they list them.
What Things Cost Day to Day
The figures below come from Wikivoyage, Vietnam Tourism, Nomadic Matt and money guides that track Vietnamese prices. Street food keeps costs low, and hotels start at dorm prices.
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm bed | 100,000 VND (Wikivoyage and Nomadic Matt), or $5 to $12 (Vietnam Tourism) | The cheapest bed in the table |
| Cheap double room | From 250,000 VND, en-suite rooms with air conditioning and TV from 300,000 VND (Wikivoyage) | Costs more in Hanoi |
| Guesthouse and 3-star hotels | Guesthouse private room $15 to $30, a 3-star hotel in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang $35 to $70 per night (Vietnam Tourism) | Boutique hotels run $60 to $150 |
| Banh mi | 12,000 to 25,000 VND (Wikivoyage) | A street food price |
| Noodle soup and pho | Noodle soup 20,000 to 35,000 VND for meat versions, pho 35,000 to 50,000 VND | A restaurant meal runs 45,000 to 95,000 VND per Nomadic Matt |
| Coffee | 15,000 to 25,000 VND, take-away iced coffee 10,000 to 12,000 VND (Wikivoyage) | Another guide gives 15,000 to 30,000 VND |
| Beer | From 10,000 VND a 0.33 L can in supermarkets, from about 20,000 VND in bars (Wikivoyage) | Nomadic Matt gives 20,000 to 35,000 VND for a bar beer |
| SIM card, 30 days | About 150,000 to 200,000 VND in a city carrier store, 250,000 to 300,000 VND at the airport (Vietnam Tourism) | Buy in town, the airport carries a markup |
| ATM withdrawal fee | About 55,000 VND at most banks, VPBank and ACB described as charging no withdrawal fee | Wikivoyage lists ABBank and DongA at 20,000 VND and HSBC at 100,000 VND |
| Grab or XanhSM ride | not stated | The UK FCDO recommends both apps, and the app shows the fare before you book |
Three Daily Budgets
Two published sources give ready-made daily budgets. Vietnam Tourism suggests $25 to $40 per day for backpackers, $50 to $100 for mid-range and $200 or more for luxury travel. Nomadic Matt works in dong and suggests 600,000 VND per day for backpackers, plus 20,000 to 40,000 VND extra if you drink, 1,125,000 VND per day for mid-range and 2,460,000 VND per day at the top end, a figure that includes a multi-day Ha Long Bay trip.
A backpacker day is a dorm bed, street food and city buses, which run 7,000 to 15,000 VND per ride in Hanoi per Nomadic Matt. Nomadic Matt lists mid-range Ha Long Bay tours at 3,000,000 to 4,500,000 VND. Compare those daily totals against the package table above. The 9-day grand tour is $999 per person with a cruise night, most lunches and all entrance fees.
| Budget level | Vietnam Tourism | Nomadic Matt |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | $25 to $40 per day | 600,000 VND per day |
| Mid-range | $50 to $100 per day | 1,125,000 VND per day |
| Luxury or upscale | $200+ per day | 2,460,000 VND per day |
Sources: Vietnam Tourism budget page, Nomadic Matt Vietnam guide, Wikivoyage Vietnam
Vietnam Expenses and Travel Tips
What a trip actually cost, item by item. Third-party video by Dane and Stacey. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Tickets, Trains and Flights
Entry tickets, train fares and domestic flights are the line items a package price usually absorbs and a do-it-yourself plan must budget one by one. All figures below come from official price lists and published guides.
Entrance Tickets by Site
Most headline sights charge at the gate, and children often pay a fraction or nothing. The biggest single ticket on the classic route is the Fansipan cable car at 850,000 VND for adults, while Hoa Lu costs just 20,000 VND. Several listings differ between sources, so both printed figures are given where guides disagree.
A table keeps the numbers straight. Ticket prices are set in dong and are shown exactly as the sources list them.
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Trang An boat tour | 250,000 VND adult | 120,000 VND children 1 to 1.3 m, under 1 m free, guide 300,000 VND per route |
| Tam Coc Bich Dong boat | 250,000 VND adult | 350,000 VND with the electric car, per the Ninh Binh price list |
| Mua Cave | 100,000 VND | Official Ninh Binh price list |
| Hoa Lu Ancient Capital | 20,000 VND adult | 10,000 VND for children 6 to 15 and seniors |
| Bai Dinh Pagoda electric car plus Bao Thap | 150,000 VND combo | Or 100,000 VND car and 60,000 VND Bao Thap separately |
| Hoi An Ancient Town ticket | 120,000 VND | An 80,000 VND ticket covers fewer monuments, valid up to 3 days, under 16 free |
| Hue Imperial City | 200,000 VND adult | 40,000 VND for children 7 to 12 |
| Hue tombs (Minh Mang, Tu Duc, Khai Dinh) | 150,000 VND each | Combo tickets are listed at 530,000 or 580,000 VND for adults depending on the source |
| Fansipan cable car round trip | 850,000 VND adult | 550,000 VND children 1 m to under 1.4 m, combo with both trains 1,370,000 VND |
| Cu Chi tunnels | 110,000 VND Ben Dinh (Vietnam Airlines) | 90,000 VND for Ben Duoc, guide extra 20,000 VND, Nomadic Matt gives 100,000 VND |
| Independence Palace | 65,000 VND adult (Vietnam Tourism) | 45,000 VND students and seniors, 25,000 VND children 6 to 15, another guide gives 20,000 to 80,000 VND for general admission |
| Temple of Literature | 70,000 VND adult (Vietnam Tourism) | 35,000 VND students, under 15 free, night tour 199,000 VND, older sites list 30,000 VND for adults |
| War Remnants Museum | 40,000 VND | One source lists 60,000 VND from 1 October |
| Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum | Free | Closed Mondays and Fridays, and for about two months each year |
Trains, Buses and Domestic Flights
The Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City train takes more than a day, so most travellers fly that leg. Nomadic Matt says domestic one-way flights start from around 590,000 VND, and Local Vietnam estimates a Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City ticket at 35 to 80 USD. Shorter train legs are cheap: Hue to Da Nang costs 106,000 VND in a soft seat, per Seat61.
The overnight train to Lao Cai for Sapa costs from 316,000 VND in 2nd class, 446,000 VND in 1st class and 566,000 VND in VIP, and takes 8 hours, then a 40,000 VND bus covers the last 35 km to Sapa town in about 1.5 hours. Hanoi to Ninh Binh by train costs 80,000 to 200,000 VND for a 2 to 2.5 hour ride, and the expressway route to Ha Long covers the roughly 150 km in 2 to 2.5 hours by car or limousine. For the full route logic stop by stop, see the Vietnam itinerary.
Ha Long Bay Cruises Bought Yourself
Booking a bay cruise on your own costs widely different amounts depending on the bay and the boat. Day boats in Bai Tu Long cost 400,000 to 700,000 VND and overnight cruises there run 2,500,000 to 7,000,000 VND per person. One budget guide lists cheap Ha Long Bay tours from 1,200,000 VND and mid-range trips at 3,000,000 to 4,500,000 VND. Budget for the surcharge too: prices around Tet and Christmas to New Year can rise by 30 to 40 percent in Bai Tu Long.
Ha Long Bay day trips and overnight cruises also appear inside many packages. The 3-Day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay Cruise costs $261 per person with all meals and entrance fees, though a $35 VAT per person and a $12 peak season surcharge apply, and the 2-Day Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay Tour costs $168 per person with all meals included. Compare both against the full range of Vietnam tour packages before you book separately.
The Constellation of Literature pavilion at the Temple of Literature, Hanoi. Photo: Xiquinho Silva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cash, Cards, ATMs and Tips
Vietnam runs on the dong, cash still rules the street level economy, and the small fees around cards and ATMs add up over a two-week trip.
The Dong and Everyday Prices
The currency is the dong (VND) and there are no coins, only banknotes from 1,000 up to 500,000 VND in daily use. The dong is non-convertible, so exchange what is left before you leave the country. Wikivoyage put the rate at about 26,000 dong to US$1 and 31,000 dong to 1 euro, and warns that the 500,000 and 20,000 VND notes look alike, a classic note-switch scam, often by taxi drivers.
Street prices stay low: pho at 35,000 to 50,000 VND, a banh mi at 12,000 to 25,000 VND, coffee at 15,000 to 30,000 VND, supermarket beer from 10,000 VND a can and bar beer from about 20,000 VND. Hostel dorm beds start around 100,000 VND and en-suite air-conditioned rooms from 300,000 VND. An hour of massage costs 200,000 to 400,000 VND. Bargaining is expected at markets, with unmetered taxis and in walk-in accommodation.
ATMs, Card Fees and SIM Cards
Vietnamese ATMs dispense only dong, and fees vary sharply by bank. VPBank charges foreign cards no withdrawal fee, and ABBank and DongA charge 20,000 dong, against 66,000 dong at Techcombank and 100,000 dong at HSBC. Most other banks charge about 55,000 VND per withdrawal. Withdrawing 4.9 million dong instead of 5 million helps you get smaller notes.
Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted cards, mainly at hotels, travel agencies and upscale restaurants, but some places add a 2 to 4 percent card fee, so ask first. A 30-day tourist SIM costs about 150,000 to 200,000 VND in a city carrier store versus 250,000 to 300,000 VND at the airport, and physical SIMs require passport registration. Viettel has the best coverage in the mountains, including Ha Giang and Sapa. You must declare cash over 15 million Vietnamese dong or 5,000 US dollars on arrival.
Tipping in Vietnam
Tipping is not expected in Vietnamese restaurants, though mid-range venues suggest 20,000 to 50,000 VND or 5 to 10 percent for exceptional service. Check the bill first, because a service charge of usually 5 percent, sometimes 10 percent, may already be on it. For guides, the suggested figures are 50,000 to 100,000 VND per person per day on group tours and 100,000 to 200,000 VND on private tours.
Drivers on group tours get 25,000 to 50,000 VND per day and hotel housekeeping 20,000 to 50,000 VND per day. If you would rather not track these costs, a fully priced option like the 9-Day Vietnam Tour, South to North at $999 per person bundles transport, guiding, entrance fees and some meals into one figure, though tips are not included.
Money Tips for Vietnam
Do
- Do carry cash daily because Vietnamese ATMs dispense only dong and cards work mainly at hotels, travel agencies and upscale restaurants.
- Do use VPBank or ACB machines for withdrawals because they charge no fee for foreign cards while most other banks charge about 55,000 VND per withdrawal.
- Do buy your SIM in a city store because a 30-day tourist SIM costs about 150,000 to 200,000 VND there versus 250,000 to 300,000 VND at the airport.
- Do check the bill for a service charge before tipping because restaurants usually add 5 percent, sometimes 10 percent, already.
- Do exchange leftover dong before departure because the currency is non-convertible outside Vietnam.
Don't
- Don't mix up the 500,000 and 20,000 VND notes because fake spirit money and note switches, often by taxi drivers, are common cash scams.
- Don't withdraw 5 million dong in one go because taking 4.9 million helps you get smaller notes that street vendors can change.
- Don't expect a tip to be required at dinner because Vietnamese restaurants do not ask for one, so budget tips mainly for guides and drivers.
- Don't travel with more than 15 million dong or 5,000 US dollars without declaring it because Vietnamese entry rules require a cash declaration above those amounts.
Vietnam Trip Cost Questions
How much should you save for a trip to Vietnam?
Vietnam Tourism suggests daily budgets of 25 to 40 USD for backpackers, 50 to 100 USD for mid-range and 200 USD or more for luxury, on top of your international flights and e-visa fee of 25 USD single entry. For a guided alternative, compare the package prices in the overview of Vietnam tour packages.
How much do entrance tickets cost in Vietnam?
Most big sights charge modest gate fees, from 20,000 VND at Hoa Lu to 200,000 VND at the Hue Imperial City and 850,000 VND for the Fansipan cable car round trip. Guided trips fold these in, and the 3-Day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay Cruise at $261 per person includes all Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay entrance fees.
Is it cheaper to take trains or flights inside Vietnam?
Trains take far longer on long legs: Seat61 lists the Hanoi to Hue soft seat fare at 569,000 VND and Nomadic Matt puts that ride at about 13 hours, while he says domestic one-way flights start from around 590,000 VND. The Vietnam itinerary page maps which leg suits which mode.
How much do ATMs charge in Vietnam?
It depends on the bank. VPBank charges foreign cards no withdrawal fee, ABBank and DongA charge 20,000 dong, most banks about 55,000 VND, and HSBC up to 100,000 dong, so a fee-free machine saves real money over a two-week trip. Daily budget levels are compared in the budget section above.
Do I tip in Vietnam and how much?
Tipping is not expected in restaurants, but 50,000 to 100,000 VND per person per day is suggested for group tour guides and 100,000 to 200,000 VND for private tours, with drivers at 25,000 to 50,000 VND per day. Check any bill first because a 5 percent service charge is often already included.
Is Vietnam cheap for tourists compared with a package tour?
A do-it-yourself mid-range day runs 50 to 100 USD per the national tourism board, while an 8-day guided trip like the 8-Day Vietnam Tour, Saigon to Ha Long Bay costs $929 per person with 2 economy domestic flights, entrance tickets, most lunches and a cruise night, though its inclusion list does not mention hotels. The comparison depends on how you value convenience, and safety expectations are covered separately in Is Vietnam safe.