Money & Costs

VIETNAM:

Backpacking Budget: My budget for Asia was $35 a day and was more then adequate.

• Make sure you notify your bank you will be traveling so as not to have hold restrictions placed on your card. Most banks allow you to do this online.
• Arrive with a few US dollars as lots of places take dollars or exchange them.
• Local currency is called the Vietnamese dong (VND).
• There is approximately 20,000 dong to the US$1.00
• Most tourist towns and centers accept debit and credit cards normally with a 3% processing fee.
• In rural areas you will only be able to pay in local currency.
• Always carry some small notes.
• Never carry lots of money with you.
• Stash an emergency amount some place.
• Bring a backup card or an alternative credit card.

• $20 – $25 Low budget 
• $30 -$35   Budget
• $40 -$50  Medium
• $50 -$100 High

Quick average daily cost break down:

• Accommodation: $6 – $25
• Food & Beverages: $10 -$15
• Gas: $4
• Sightseeing entrances: $2-$5

Accommodation Tips: 

• Guest houses and hotels can work out cheaper then hostels. Here´s why; hostels charge by the bed but hotels and guest houses charge by the room. So if you find someone or people who want to split a room (you can get a three single bed room for $6) you can split that by 3. Do that math.
• In a guesthouse room you get your own bathroom and less people.
• Hostels charge by the bed per person from $4-$10, are often crowded and party centrals but that can be a fun way to meet people.
• Guest houses are normally peoples homes where they have designated one or more floors to a kind of hotel room scenario with their own bath rooms. This means you will get more of a sense of how people live.

Accommodation:

• One night in a hostel (6-p dormitory): $4.00
• One night in a double room in a simple guesthouse:  $6.00
• One night hotel in main city $20 – $25 
  

Food & beverages:

• Banana pancake $1.00
• muesli with fruit and yogurt $1.00
• smoothy $1.20
• fancy green tea $1.00
• Fresh spring rolls $1.10
• Plate of Morning glory and rice  $1.50
• Corn & crab soup $2.00
• Chicken $3.00
• Egg sandwich $0.50
• A bottle of water (0,5L) at the store: $0.27
• local beer at a bar/restaurants:  $0.87
• A glass of coca cola in a restaurant: $0.87

Other:

• Bike $200 – $300
• Bike repairs up to $50
• Bike accessories (bungie cords, tools, plastic bag cover $10
• Helmet $25
• Waterproof Jacket $25
• Train trips $25 -$50
• Sight seeing $50
• Diving open water certificate $300
• Delta Ferry crossings
• Taxi from airport to Hanoi
• Buses  to Cambodia
• Medicine
• Sundries