Vietnam Travel Guide: Itinerary and Travel Budget

(This contains only travel itinerary and tips. To read about my adventures, check my Vietnam Travel Story Series.)

Vietnam, arguably the cheapest country in the world, has everything – from mountains to beaches (and combination of both), beautiful villages to busy cities, ancient monuments to unique nightclubs, cheapest beer to the best food. This travel guide will help you plan for an amazing holiday in no time and at an unbelievably low budget.

Itinerary and Travel Guide for Vietnam

The following itineraries are moderately paced, suited for working-class travelers like me, who want to cover everything in lesser time but also need to relax a bit. You can choose either one based on number of days, but my recommendation is to follow itinerary #2.

Itinerary #1: Da Nang – Hoi An – My Son – Hai Van Pass – Hue – Ha Long Bay – Hanoi

9D Plan	1st Half	2nd Half	Night
Day 0	–	–	T Da Nang
Day 1	T Da Nang	E Da Nang	S Da Nang
Day 2	T Hoi An	E My Son	S Hoi An
Day 3	E Hoi An	E Hoi An	S Hoi An
Day 4	T&E Hai Van	T&E Hai Van	S Hue
Day 5	E Hue	E Hue	S Hue
Day 6	E Hue	E Hue	T&S Hanoi
Day 7	T Cat Ba	E Cat Ba	S Cat Ba
Day 8	E Ha Long Bay	E Ha Long Bay	T&S Hanoi
Day 9	E Hanoi	E Hanoi	–
	T = Travel to	E = Explore	S = Stay

Click on the below highlighted links for detailed travel guide and travel tips for those locations.

• Day 1: Get a morning/previous night flight to Da Nang (usually layover in Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur). Immigration should take 30 minutes max, as it is not a busy airport. Check-in to hostel, rent a bike and proceed to explore Da Nang. Spend the evening at beachside restaurants.
• Day 2: Leave for Hoi An, one hour ride from Da Nang. Check-in, rent a bike and leave for My Son sanctuary. Come back and explore nightlife in Hoi An.
• Day 3: Spend the day exploring, eating and shopping around the world heritage city. Everything is in walking distance. Take an early break for a long day the next day.
• Day 4: Rent a bike for Hai Van Pass trip and start early by 8 AM. Explore places in the famous Hoi An – Hai Van Pass – Hue road trip. Reach Hue in the evening; explore city life.
• Day 5: Take a 2-day pass and explore all World Heritage Sites and (literally) hidden gems in Hue. Explore the nightlife along the river.
• Day 6: Complete the rest of the heritage sites in Hue. Take an evening flight to Hanoi; explore nightlife in Hanoi. (Or, stay overnight in Hue and take early morning flight to Hanoi at 7 AM.)
• Day 7: Explore Hanoi Old Quarter. Take a noon bus to Cat Ba Island. Explore around the island, or sit back and relax at the beaches. Explore nightlife and take an early break.
• Day 8: Take an early morning day-cruise of Ha Long Bay. Enjoy the natural beauty of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with fully provided cheap packages. Take the last bus from Cat Ba to Hanoi, take rest or explore Hanoi nightlife.
• Day 9: Explore rest of Hanoi during the day; take an afternoon/evening flight back home. OR, extend Hanoi for a day and take a flight back home on Day 10.

Itinerary #2: Da Nang – Hoi An – My Son – Hai Van Pass – Hue – Phong Nha – Ninh Binh – Ha Long Bay – Hanoi

If you have a few more days to travel, the following is the most recommended 13 days itinerary.

13D Plan	1st Half	2nd Half	Night
Day 0	–	–	T Da Nang
Day 1	T Da Nang	E Da Nang	S Da Nang
Day 2	T Hoi An	E My Son	S Hoi An
Day 3	E Hoi An	E Hoi An	S Hoi An
Day 4	T&E Hai Van	T&E Hai Van	S Hue
Day 5	E Hue	E Hue	S Hue
Day 6	E Hue	E Hue	T Phong Nha
Day 7	E Phong Nha	E Phong Nha	T&S Ninh Binh
Day 8	E Ninh Binh	E Ninh Binh	S Ninh Binh
Day 9	E Ninh Binh	E Ninh Binh	S Ninh Binh
Day 10	T Cat Ba	E Cat Ba	S Cat Ba
Day 11	E Ha Long Bay	E Ha Long Bay	T&S Hanoi
Day 12	E Hanoi	E Hanoi	S Hanoi
Day 13	E Hanoi	E Hanoi	–
	T = Travel to	E = Explore	S = Stay

• Day 1-6: Same as Itinerary #1
• Day 7: On Day 6, take an overnight sleeper bus to Phong Nha. It will take 7 hours and give a good sleep. Explore some of the largest caves in the world and have adventures in it. Leave for Ninh Binh in the evening.
• Day 8-9: Explore the World Heritage city of Ninh Binh with natural and historical heritage for two days. Possible to finish in a day if you want to cut the itinerary short – however, will be extremely hectic since you’ll be traveling from Phong Nha and to Cat-Ba, both long journeys.
• Day 10: Take early morning bus to Cat-Ba island. Explore around the island, or sit back and relax at the beaches. Explore nightlife and take an early break.
• Day 11: Take an early morning day-cruise of Ha Long Bay. Enjoy the natural beauty of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with fully-provided cheap packages. Take the last bus from Cat Ba to Hanoi, take rest or explore Hanoi nightlife.
• Day 12-13: Explore Hanoi Old Quarter and rest of Hanoi for 1-1.5 days, depending on your return ticket. Ideally needs 1.5 days to cover Hanoi. Take return flights on second half of Day 13.

Itinerary #3: (Add-on) Ho-Chi-Minh City + Itinerary #1/2

If you have extra days and want to go to Ho Chi Minh City as well, you can fly directly to HCMC first, explore for a day or two, take a flight to Da Nang and follow rest of the itinerary as above.

Itinerary #4: Itinerary #1/2 + (Add-on) Sapa

If you have extra days and want to go to northernmost Vietnam to see rural life and rice cultivation, you can take 3 extra days for a round trip from Hanoi to Sapa at the end of above itinerary, but you’ll have to come back to Hanoi to catch your return flight.

Travel Budget for Vietnam

(Note: Currency of Vietnam, Dong or VND, is quite devalued. 1,000VND is equivalent to Rs.3/ $0.04)

Vietnam is not only one of the most beautiful places on earth, but also one of the cheapest. You do not have to compromise on your comfort – follow the above travel guide, stay in luxury hostels, have beer almost every day, and have any food you want – and yet, guess how much will it cost you?

Only Rs.1500-1800 a day! (Equivalent of 500,000-600,000VND or $20-$25)

Well, don’t get shocked – here’s how to do it:

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1. Food: Unless you go to some fancy place, a non-veg meal in a decent restaurant will cost you 50-70,000VND (Rs.150-200); and you won’t believe how great it tastes. Roadside snacks cost 20,000VND (Rs.60). A can of beer costs ONLY 20,000VND (Rs.60). Do you even dare compare that to the beer cost in an average Indian bar? And the best thing? Most of the good hostels usually offer free breakfast and free beer!

Average cost per day: Rs.500 (~150,000 VND/ 7 USD)

2. Stay: Vietnam is quite tourism-friendly. In every place worth visiting, you’ll find hostels or homestays – most ideal place for backpackers. A decent hostel with free breakfast (and free beer or rum, if you’re lucky) will cost you 100,000-200,000VND. Highly ranked places in Hostelworld (click here to check) and Booking.com are easiest to choose.

Average cost per day: Rs.400 (~120,000 VND/ 5 USD)

3. Travel & Sightseeing: If you know how to drive a two-wheeler, rent scooters for intra-city travel, which cost 100,000VND, and with petrol of 50,000VND usually lasting the whole day. For intercity travel, use private buses – fast and cheap – costing around 100,000VND; the flight to Hanoi being the only exception. The sightseeing places are reasonably priced, going up to only 100,000VND for world heritage sites.

Average cost per day: Rs.600 (~180,000 VND/ 8 USD)

The costs average out based on the number of days spent, since you don’t need to rent a bike or eat luxuriously every day. Costs will further reduce if not traveling solo. Please note, the above costs are excluding visa and flight tickets, that will vary based on your location.

I will create a separate post for general travel tips in Vietnam. City-specific travel tips are already provided in the respective city-wise travel planners. Also, read food and stay suggestions for Vietnam, and check out my itinerary suggestions for other countries and places in India.

So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip already! Don’t forget to let me know your comments and suggestions. Happy travelling!