Vietnam rewards the thrifty traveller: cheap sleeper trains, dollar bowls of pho and guesthouses that cost less than a city coffee back home.
The whole country on a shoestring
Vietnam is one of the great value destinations, and travelling it end to end — Hanoi in the north to the Mekong Delta in the south — can be done comfortably on a modest budget. Overnight trains and sleeper buses cover the long distances cheaply and save you a night's accommodation into the bargain.
Street food is the secret: a bowl of pho or a banh mi costs a couple of dollars and beats most restaurant meals hands down.
Stretching the budget
- Take the Reunification Express in stages; soft-sleeper berths are cheap and comfortable.
- Eat where the plastic stools are full of locals, not where the menu has photos.
- Rent a motorbike for a day in places like Ha Giang or the Hai Van Pass.
Allow three or four weeks to do it justice without rushing. Travel slowly, eat on the street, take the night transport, and Vietnam gives you an extraordinary amount of country for very little money.
