Vietnam travel budget: how much to plan?

The flight is most of a short trip's budget. From €248 return, it weighs more than several weeks of living on the ground. It is the classic Southeast Asian pattern, and it drives the strategy: stretching the stay drives the daily cost down.

On the ground, prices are among the comparator's lowest. A well-rated hostel runs €3 a night, a three-star €23 to €31, a four-star €44 to €54. Trading up stays very affordable, which makes comfort reachable even on a contained budget.

The two cities cost exactly the same, index 0.36 on both sides, with slight structural differences: Hanoi is a little pricier mid-range, Ho Chi Minh City a little pricier at the top. Across a trip, the gap is negligible.

Eating counts for almost nothing. A phở or bánh mì costs €1 to €3, a restaurant meal €4 to €8. As in Thailand, the food budget question does not really arise, and street cooking is often the best.

The country has not one season but two, and they do not overlap. This is the central planning point of a Vietnamese trip.

Hanoi has four marked seasons. Winter is cool, 16 to 18°C in January and February, with little rain, 28 to 41mm. Summer is hot and very wet: 29°C in July, with 266mm in July and up to 320mm in August. Spring and autumn, around 21 to 25°C, are the best windows.

Ho Chi Minh City stays permanently warm, between 26 and 29°C year-round, with no cool season. The distinction is rain alone: the dry season runs December to April, at 10 to 70mm a month, while the monsoon brings 199 to 305mm from May to October.

From December to April, both ends of the country are workable at once. It is the only period allowing a north-south itinerary without compromise, with a cool but dry North and a warm, dry South. Logically it is high season.

The flight starts at €248 and varies noticeably: on a ticket of that size, comparing dates has a real return.

Eating. Vietnamese street food is among the trip's best bargains. A phở, a bánh mì or a bún dish costs €1 to €3 at a stall, and is frequently better than the same thing served in a restaurant at €4 to €8. The humblest stalls, with their small stools on the pavement, are often the most locally celebrated. Vietnamese coffee, served filtered with condensed milk, costs under a euro.

Getting around. Domestic flights are plentiful and cheap in such a stretched country, and the overnight train remains a comfortable option that saves a night's lodging. In town, traffic is dense and two-wheelers omnipresent: ride-hailing apps, including motorbike taxis, are far simpler than street negotiation and cost a few euros.

Sightseeing. Site and museum admission stays very modest, a few euros. Organized excursions, particularly to Ha Long Bay, are the one line where gaps between operators are considerable, with widely varying comfort and service levels: comparing several offers genuinely changes the value.

Currency. The Vietnamese dong, not the euro. Amounts run in tens and hundreds of thousands, which disorients at first: get into the habit of checking the number of zeros. Cash remains heavily used for the street, markets and short trips.

Language. Vietnamese. English is spoken in tourism and the major cities, less elsewhere. The country is very used to independent travelers and communication comes easily.

Offset climate. This is the major planning point, and the most often neglected. North and South do not share a rainy season: building a north-south itinerary without checking the periods means crossing a monsoon. From December to April, both ends are dry.

Traffic. Urban traffic is dense and two-wheelers very numerous. Crossing a street is done at a constant pace without sudden moves, riders anticipating your trajectory. Ride-hailing apps avoid all negotiation and fix the price in advance.

Entry. Check the entry requirements in force before booking; they vary by nationality and length of stay.