Hanoi budget

I promised myself to do a Hanoi budget post. 

Honestly, I been procrastinating too much.

But well, I'm finally here.

Honestly, I did enjoy Hanoi. But the best thing about Hanoi was that the price was really good and it was definitely value for money.

So if you are someone who wants to travel overseas and you are tight on cash, well, this post is for you!


I'm from a South East Asian Country. Okay, I'm from Malaysia. So my currency is already weaker but my flight ticket price is also cheaper because I don't have to fly too far to reach Hanoi. If I remember correctly, it was a 4 hour flight approximately. 

So I'll post 3 currencies here. VND, MYR and USD. The currency exchange rate as per google exchange rates at the time of this writing. (there has been some rounding up or down done)

So this what I spent on for the past 5 days.

Do note that I was travelling with 2 other girls. So our food and transport cost get to be split by three. But the cost written down is calculated for one person. 

Pre Trip
Flight - MYR370 - USD89 
Hotel (3D2N) - MYR270 - USD65
Halong Bay Cruise (2D1N) - MYR592 - USD143

Day 1
Transport (GRAB from airport) - VND92,000 - MYR17 - USD4
Food  (Lunch, Dinner & Snacks/Street food) - VND166,000 - MYR30 - USD8
SIM Card - VND75,000 - MYR14 - USD4

Day 2 
We went to the Halong Bay Cruise
So food was covered. Only drinks weren't covered. But for water, I bought 2 huge bottles of water from the convenience store and brought it with me in my luggage bag. So yes, hack #1 for a Halong Bay Cruise.

But we did spend abit here. We decided to get some mocktails because well, it's a trip. So treat yourself~
And we gave them tips because damn, the cruise staff were just so hospitable that we decided to do so as they truly deserved it.

Water from convenience store - VND32,000 - MYR6 - USD2
Mocktails - VND90,000 - MYR17 - USD5
Tips - VND100,000 - MYR18 - USD5

Day 3
Half day at the cruise. So we came back to Hanoi at night. 
Dinner - VND74,000 - MYR14 - USD4
Snacks - VND21,000 - MYR4 - USD1

Day 4
Transport (GRAB) - VND24,000 -MYR5 - USD2
Entrance tickets to places of interest - VND60,000 - MYR11 - USD3
Food & Drinks - VND238,000 - MYR43 - USD11

Day 5
Transport (GRAB) - VND32,000 - MYR6 - USD2
Entrance tickets to places of interest - VND50,000 - MYR9 - USD3
Food -  VND98,000 - MYR18 - USD5
Shopping - VND352,000 - MYR63 - USD16
Souvenirs - VND400,000 - MYR72 - USD18

So in total, I spent
MYR 1,579
USD 390

For me, a trip under MYR 2,000 for overseas is considered really good money. But that's my benchmark.
So if you're looking for a trip overseas under MYR 2,000, Hanoi can be your next destination!

If you can lower your accomodation and flight cost, the better. But for me, I found that flight price already quite cheap as it covers including food (on the flight) and luggage. So no, it wasn't the low cost fare without anything. 
But the airline company was still a budget airline but atleast it still included food and luggage. So yay!

Looking at the USD amount really makes me wish I was American. But of course, bear in mind that the flight ticket cost for an American could be totally different and higher. 

Anyhow, this only shows that, you can travel overseas even if you don't have like super alot. But I do acknowledge that not everyone can travel due to a lack of funds. And it's still a privilege. 

So yea, it's okay to not be able to travel. I didn't really get to travel overseas until I was in my university years. And I still know people who haven't travelled overseas and they are my age.

Honestly, even for me personally, travel isn't really my priority. After all, I'm ENFP. I don't need to travel to escape the world. I have my mind and it does a pretty good job anyway.