Universal, polite, works with anyone.
Essentials- Capital
- Hanoi
- Currency
- Dong (₫)
- Language
- Vietnamese
- Best months
- Varies by region
- Visa
- E-visa, 90 days
- Daily budget
- $32 mid-range
Vietnam is long. Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is roughly the distance from London to Rome, and the food at either end has less in common than you would expect. The north is subtle, herb-forward and comparatively restrained — that is where pho comes from, and northern pho is a clear broth with almost nothing added. Central Vietnam, around Hue and Da Nang, is the spiciest and the most complex, a legacy of the imperial court. The south is sweeter, more tropical, more influenced by Khmer and Chinese cooking.
The standard ten-day itinerary tries to cover all three, which means three internal flights and a lot of time in transit. Two weeks makes it comfortable. One week means picking one end.
When to go
Jan: Mixed time to visit
Feb: Good time to visit
Mar: Best time to visit
Apr: Best time to visit
May: Good time to visit
Jun: Mixed time to visit
Jul: Mixed time to visit
Aug: Mixed time to visit
Sep: Mixed time to visit
Oct: Good time to visit
Nov: Best time to visit
Dec: Good time to visit
Best Good Mixed Avoid
There is no single good season for the whole country. March–April and October–November are the best compromise: dry enough in the north, before or after the central typhoon season, and tolerable in the south. The centre floods September to November — Hue and Hoi An genuinely go under. Northern winters, December to February, are cold and grey; Hanoi at 12°C and damp surprises people.
What it costs
| Item | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Guesthouse room, private, AC | $14 / night | $196 |
| Food and drink | $8 / day | $112 |
| Night buses and trains (4 legs) | — | $68 |
| One internal flight | — | $45 |
| Local transport, Grab bikes | $3 / day | $42 |
| Entry, Ha Long boat, museums | — | $85 |
| SIM, laundry, sundries | — | $25 |
| Fourteen days | $573 |
Vietnam is the cheapest country in this set and the one where a small budget goes furthest. Grab motorbike taxis are absurdly cheap — often under a dollar across a city centre — and are the single best transport decision in Hanoi and Saigon.
What to eat
Pho
₫40–70k
In the north it arrives plain: broth, noodles, meat, spring onion. No basil, no bean sprouts, no hoisin. Adding them is a southern habit and northerners will let you know.
Bun cha
₫40–60k
Grilled pork patties in a sweet-sour broth with cold rice noodles and a mound of herbs. Hanoi’s best lunch. Eaten from about 11am until it runs out.
Banh mi
₫15–35k
French baguette, Vietnamese filling. Hoi An and Hue make the best ones. Ask for it with everything.
Bun bo Hue
₫40–60k
Central Vietnam’s signature: lemongrass beef noodle soup, properly hot, with a chilli-oil slick on top. Nothing like pho.
Cao lau
₫40–60k
Hoi An only, made with water from one specific well. Thick chewy noodles, pork, greens, barely any broth.
Ca phe sua da
₫15–30k
Robusta coffee dripped over condensed milk, poured on ice. Strong enough to change your afternoon. Egg coffee in Hanoi is the other one to try.
Where to base yourself
| Place | Notes | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | Stay in the Old Quarter for the food and the chaos, or Ba Dinh if you want to sleep. The street food is the best in the country. | 3–4 nights |
| Hue | Imperial cuisine and the citadel. Overlooked by people rushing between Hanoi and Hoi An, which is their loss. | 2 nights |
| Hoi An | Beautiful, and very much aware of it. Stay outside the old town, cycle in, avoid 6–9pm when the lanterns bring the crowds. | 2–3 nights |
| Ho Chi Minh City | District 1 for convenience, District 3 or 5 for eating. The Mekong Delta is a day trip or a two-night detour. | 3 nights |
A route that works
Hanoi: arrive and walk
Old Quarter on foot, nothing scheduled. Bun cha for a late lunch, egg coffee in the afternoon.
Hanoi: food and the lake
Morning pho, Dong Xuan market, Hoan Kiem in the evening when the streets close to traffic at weekends.
Hanoi: museums or Ninh Binh day trip
Ninh Binh is the better version of Ha Long — limestone karst, no cruise ships, two hours away.
Ha Long or Bai Tu Long overnight
If you do a cruise, pick Bai Tu Long bay to avoid the worst of the traffic. One night is enough.
Night train south to Hue
Soft sleeper, roughly 13 hours. Cheaper than a flight and it saves a hotel night.
Hue: citadel and imperial food
Citadel in the morning, then the small restaurants doing court dishes — banh beo, banh khoai, bun bo Hue.
Hue to Hoi An by road
Take the Hai Van Pass, not the tunnel. Three hours with the best coastal views in Vietnam.
Hoi An: old town and tailors
Cao lau for lunch, an early or late walk through the old town, and if you want clothes made, order on day one.
Hoi An: beach and cycling
An Bang beach in the morning, rice paddies by bike in the afternoon. The most relaxed day of the trip.
Fly to Ho Chi Minh City
Da Nang to Saigon, about $45 and 90 minutes. The one flight worth taking.
Saigon: District 1 and war history
War Remnants Museum in the morning — it is confronting and it is important. Ben Thanh area after.
Saigon: District 5 and street food
Cholon, the Chinese quarter, for a completely different city. Banh mi and broken rice for dinner.
Mekong Delta day trip
Can Tho for the floating market if you have two days; Ben Tre for a decent single day.
Saigon: last morning, out
Coffee, one more banh mi, airport by Grab.
Practical notes
| Entry registration | No arrival card, but the e-visa must be approved before you fly. Apply only through the official portal at evisa.gov.vn — the lookalike sites charging four times the fee are the single most common Vietnam travel scam. | |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | Vietnam issues a 90-day e-visa online to most nationalities as of 2026, around $25, processed in three to five working days. Apply through the official government portal only — there are many convincing fake sites charging four times as much. | |
| Money | Cash-heavy. The dong has a lot of zeros; 100,000₫ is about $4. Count carefully — the 20,000 and 500,000 notes are similar colours. | |
| SIM | Viettel has the best rural coverage, Mobifone is fine in cities. Around $6 for 30 days with generous data. | |
| Transport | Grab, including Grab Bike, which is the fastest and cheapest way across any Vietnamese city. Motorbike helmets are provided and legally required. | |
| Crossing roads | Walk slowly and predictably into the traffic and it flows around you. Stopping suddenly is what causes problems. This is genuinely the skill to learn on day one. | |
| Water | Bottled only. Ice in established places is made from filtered water and is fine. | |
| Etiquette | Remove shoes entering homes and some temples. Pass things with both hands to elders. Bargaining is expected in markets, not in restaurants. | |
| Tipping | Not traditional but increasingly common in tourist areas. Rounding up is plenty. | |
Where your time is better spent
Ha Long Bay cruises are the most oversold experience in Vietnam. If you have seen Ninh Binh or are going to Thailand or the Philippines, skip it — the bay is beautiful and the volume of boats is not.
Sapa has become a construction site with a view. Trek from Bac Ha or Ha Giang instead if the mountains are what you want. And Hoi An between 6 and 9pm is a photograph queue rather than a town; go at 7am.
Before you book
Visa rules, park fees and prices in this guide were checked in September 2026 and they move. Confirm entry requirements with your own foreign ministry and current fees with the relevant authority before committing money.
Say It Yourself
Back to the route
Twelve phrases in Vietnamese
Vietnamese has six tones in the north and the diacritics tell you which one. The marks are not decoration — they change the word entirely. Learn to read them and your pronunciation improves immediately, even without practice.
Add nhiều for thank you very much.
EssentialsAlso how you interrupt politely.
EssentialsKhong is the all-purpose no.
EatingQuá means very. Say it and mean it.
EatingCho toi is give me. Point at the rest.
EatingTien is money. Often shortened to bao nhieu.
MoneyThe most-used phrase in any Vietnamese market.
MoneyMarkets yes, restaurants no.
MoneyO dau is where. Reusable.
Getting aroundFor Grab bikes and taxis.
Getting aroundToi is I. Hieu is understand.
Getting aroundThe 6 tones, drawn
Ngang
level, no mark
Huyền
falls (à)
Sắc
rises (á)
Hỏi
dips and returns (ả)
Ngã
broken rise (ã)
Nặng
short and heavy (ạ)
One to ten, for price tags
1một
2hai
3ba
4bốn
5năm
6sáu
7bảy
8tám
9chín
10mười
The dong has a lot of zeros. Vendors usually quote in thousands — nam muoi means fifty, meaning 50,000 dong, roughly two dollars.
Vietnam Questions
The four I get asked most
Is Vietnam better in the north or the south?
The north for food and landscape, the south for energy and ease. If you have one week, pick Hanoi and the north — the street food is denser and the day trips are better.
Is the overnight train or bus better?
Train, without much argument. Soft sleepers are comfortable, the bathrooms are usable and the roads are the more dangerous option. Sleeper buses are cheaper and much less pleasant.
Do you need a guide for the Mekong Delta?
For a day trip, yes — the logistics do not work well independently. For two or more days, base in Can Tho and arrange a boat locally at dawn, which is far better than any group tour.
How bad is the traffic really?
In Hanoi and Saigon it is constant but slow, which makes it survivable. Renting a motorbike as an inexperienced rider is the single most dangerous thing most travellers do in Vietnam.
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