The Numbers That Go Stale

Every figure on this page was checked in September 2026.

Quick reference

Emergency numbers 113 police · 114 fire and rescue · 115 ambulance · 112 search and rescue No universal number. English is not guaranteed. Insurer’s hotline second; for anything not life-threatening, a Grab to the hospital beats waiting for an ambulance.

International hospitals — names only; look up the current number of the one nearest your route before you fly Hanoi: Vinmec Times City, Hanoi French Hospital, Family Medical Practice · Ho Chi Minh City: FV Hospital, Family Medical Practice, Raffles Medical · Da Nang: Vinmec Da Nang, Family Medical Practice · Phu Quoc: Vinmec Phu Quoc. None in Hoi An (use Da Nang), Hue, Ninh Binh, Sapa, Phong Nha or on the Ha Giang loop — provincial hospital, then Hanoi.

Lost passport Police report → embassy in Hanoi or consulate in Ho Chi Minh City for an emergency document → exit visa from the Immigration Department. Working days, not hours.

E-visa $25 single entry, $50 multiple entry, up to 90 days from the entry date on the form, roughly three working days to process. Official government portal only — evisa.gov.vn; the address ends in .gov.vn. Agencies charge several times this for the same form. Fee is non-refundable, including for typos and rejected photos.

Pre-arrival declaration Separate from the visa and also required. Free, online at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn, under ten minutes, one per person, submitted within 72 hours of landing. Generates a QR code you show at immigration alongside your visa. Mandatory at Vietnam’s main international airports since 2026 and expanding — check for your arrival airport. Visa-exempt travellers are not exempt from this.

Best months February to April if you’re crossing regions — from mid-February in 2027, because of Tet. March is closest to good everywhere, though the north is grey and Ha Long often fogged. October to November is second best, with the centre still at flood risk.

Tet 6 February 2027 · 26 January 2028. Transport sells out the week before; small businesses close for several days after. Other peaks: 30 April–1 May, 2 September, and the June–August school holidays.

Rough distances and times Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is around 1,650 km — about two hours by air. Hanoi to Da Nang: roughly 790 km by rail, 14 to 16 hours by train, 80 minutes by air. Hanoi to Ha Giang: about 300 km, six to eight hours by bus. No train, no airport. Hanoi to Phong Nha: six to seven hours door to door by air, nine to twelve by sleeper bus. Within a region, most journeys are under three hours.

Budget, mid-range, two weeks, excluding international flights Around $1,500 for two sharing, on the fourteen-day route. Lean version $1,200. With a mid-range cabin, the flight to Hue and the guided days as tours, about $2,000. Solo, add a quarter — nearer $1,900.

The rule Use AI for reasoning. Verify every fact.

This is the page with a shelf life. The rest of the book is built to survive a few years — the reasoning, the procedures, the things that are true about how Vietnam works and how AI fails. What’s below was true about what Vietnam cost on the date at the top, and some of it will have drifted by the time you read it.

That’s why it’s here rather than scattered through ten chapters. Three reasons, and they’re the same three every time:

The rule the book follows: every price in this book appears on this page. Only the ones that carry an argument also appear in a chapter — the visa fee, because agencies overcharging for it is the point; the Hoi An ticket, because the confusion about it is the point; the daily budget bands, because disagreeing about them is the point. Everything else lives here alone. And where a chapter and this page ever disagree, this page is the newer of the two.

And treat all of it as a yardstick, never a quote. The point of knowing that the ride into Hanoi is around 300,000 dong is not to argue over 320,000. It’s to know instantly that 900,000 is somebody trying it on.

Connectivity — Chapter 3

Price
Ordinary monthly data plan, city carrier shop roughly 70,000–150,000 VND for thirty days — the package names change; ask for the one locals buy
Tourist SIM, city carrier shop 60,000–200,000 VND (~$2.50–8)
Tourist SIM, airport arrivals counter 250,000–500,000 VND (~$10–19)
Pre-registered local eSIM from a reseller ~$6–20 for 7–30 days
International travel eSIM ~$4–28 per week

The airport markup. Sources disagree — claims run from 10–15 per cent up to 30–40 per cent, and the two ranges above don’t overlap at all. Assume you’re paying meaningfully more at arrivals, and decide whether the queue you’re skipping is worth it.

Throttling. Where a plan slows rather than stops, expect 512 Kbps to 1 Mbps after the daily allowance is gone.

Getting around — Chapter 3

Journey App · metered taxi
Noi Bai → Hanoi Old Quarter (~27 km) 280,000–380,000 VND by app · 350,000–400,000 by taxi, often a flat rate
Tan Son Nhat → District 1 (~8 km) 120,000–280,000 VND by app · 150,000–250,000 by taxi incl. airport toll
Da Nang airport → city centre 70,000–120,000 VND by app · 90,000–150,000 by taxi
Da Nang airport → Hoi An (~30 km) 250,000–350,000 VND by app · 300,000–400,000 by taxi · hotel car 350,000–500,000
A 2 km hop across town 30,000–50,000 VND by car · 15,000–25,000 by bike

Rates behind those figures. GrabCar starts around 27,000–32,000 VND plus roughly 9,000–12,000 per kilometre. GrabBike starts around 12,000–14,000 plus roughly 4,000–5,500 per kilometre.

Surcharges. Roughly 4 per cent on payments made with a foreign card, itemised on the receipt; hotels and restaurants that add a card fee usually add two to four — common, though the central bank’s card rules don’t allow the shop to pass it on (Chapter 9). An automatic uplift between about 11pm and 5am. Surge of about 1.2 to 2 times base in the rush hours, in rain, and on holidays — far above that around Tet.

Domestic flights. Around $15–60 each on a budget carrier, more on the full-service airline. Two internal flights on a two-week trip is normal.

Hanoi to Da Nang by rail. Roughly 790 km, 14 to 16 hours, against 80 minutes in the air. Published fares for this route are the book’s standing example of sources disagreeing: I found $30, $44, $55, $63, $75 and $125 for the same journey, and one major platform claiming the overnight train doesn’t exist.

Hanoi to Hue by rail — the berth in Chapter 9’s plan. Roughly 12 to 14 hours overnight. Four-berth soft sleeper about 1,000,000–1,250,000 VND (~$40–50) on the official railway, less on the older carriages and out of season; six-berth hard sleeper about 800,000–1,100,000; the English-language aggregators add a small markup. The same trains call at Ninh Binh, so the berth can start there. Check — fares vary by train number and season.

Hanoi to Ninh Binh. The limousine minibus from an Old Quarter hotel 250,000–300,000 VND (~$10–12) a seat; the train, seats only, 100,000–200,000 VND; a car with a driver for the whole day $100–140.

Money and fees — Chapters 3 and 5

Exchange rate. Around 26,000 dong to the US dollar. Everyday prices therefore run to five and six figures.

ATM withdrawal fees. VPBank and ACB are consistently reported fee-free for foreign cards; VPBank with the highest fee-free per-transaction limit. Most other banks charge a flat 20,000–55,000 VND. A few — HSBC, VietinBank and Sacombank among them — charge a percentage instead, which is worse on a large withdrawal; TPBank, recommended as fee-free in older guides, now charges a percentage too, and sources disagree on whether BIDV charges a flat fee or a percentage. That is the argument for checking the fee disclosure screen every single time. Airport ATMs are consistently dearer than city machines.

E-visa. $25 single entry, $50 multiple entry, up to 90 days, roughly three working days to process. Non-refundable, including for your own typos. Agency sites charge two to five times this for the identical form.

Pre-arrival declaration. Free. Anyone charging for it is charging you for a government web form.

Travel insurance. Roughly $30–80 for a fortnight.

Entrances, boats and caves — Chapters 6 and 7

Price
Trang An, Ninh Binh — all-in, entry plus boat 250,000–300,000 VND, and rising: the newest sources quote the top
Hoi An Old Town ticket, foreign visitors 120,000 VND for five tear-off tabs. Unchanged for most of a decade — the city’s own figures say 2012, most guides say 2017; either way, overdue for a change
Hoi An, domestic rate 80,000 VND, fewer included sites — this is the figure you’ll see quoted and misread
Hoi An, children Priced by height: under 1 m free, 1–1.4 m 50,000 VND
My Son, entry 150,000 VND foreign adult; children 5–15 50,000; under 5 free. Includes the shuttle and the dance
My Son, sunrise tour from Hoi An ~$15–30 per person with transport and guide, entry usually extra — check which
Marble Mountains, Da Nang ~40,000 VND, lift a little extra
Ba Na Hills, Da Nang ~900,000–1,000,000 VND — the priciest entry in the centre; rises most years, check
Hue Imperial City ~200,000 VND; tombs ~150,000 each
Hue combination ticket, Imperial City plus two or three tombs ~420,000–530,000 VND — check
Hue dragon boat, Toa Kham → Thien Mu → Minh Mang ~1,350,000 VND per boat one way, ~1,650,000 round trip — the boat, not the seat, so it’s for a group. A one-hour river cruise from the same wharf 100,000–250,000 per person
Paradise Cave, Phong Nha ~250,000 VND (~$10); the buggy from the car park ~40,000 more, each way
Phong Nha Cave, by boat ~150,000 VND entry; the boat is shared and paid on top, split between whoever is in it
Dark Cave, with zipline, mud bath and kayak ~450,000 VND; children 1–1.3 m 150,000, under 1 m free. A cheaper limited ticket exists and sources can’t agree on its price — ask at the desk
Hang En, two days camping 8,800,000 VND (~$333); rises to 9,500,000 (~$358) for departures from mid-November 2026
Son Doong, six days 80,000,000 VND (~$3,000), one operator, a thousand places a year, booked around a year ahead

Two nights in Phong Nha, in cash. Room, two cave entries, the shared boat, four meals and a bicycle: roughly 1,500,000–2,500,000 VND per person, before Dark Cave or a guided trek. That’s the sum to carry in from Hue or Dong Hoi; the village ATMs are not a plan.

Ha Long Bay overnight cruises. Budget boats cluster around $90–130 per person for two days and one night. Mid-range $145–250. On top of whatever you’re quoted, add fifteen to thirty per cent for drinks, kayaking beyond the included session, spa, cabin upgrades and crew tips — the ratio holds even when the prices don’t.

Guided tours. A Ha Giang Easy Rider package runs about $170–220 for three days and $215–285 for four, usually including the bus from Hanoi — ask; self-drive is roughly half. The border-zone permit for the loop is 230,000–300,000 VND per person, arranged by the operator or at the immigration office in Ha Giang. A private Hue day sold as a tour, or a two-day Mekong trip: each around $100–200; a shared Mekong day trip from Saigon roughly $30–80 depending on what’s included — check; a car and driver for the Hue tombs booked as a car through the hotel is roughly $40–70 for the day — check. Hai Van Pass, Hoi An or Da Nang to Hue: Easy Rider day roughly $45–70 per person, six to eight hours hotel to hotel; luggage ahead by car is sometimes in the price and sometimes $3–5 a bag on top — ask; lunch at Lang Co 150,000–250,000 VND is on you. Private car or transfer $60–90 per vehicle; the train 100,000–200,000 VND depending on class — all drift, check.

Hoi An tailoring. A two-piece suit in a mid-range shop runs about 2,400,000–3,600,000 VND (~$95–140); the well-known houses and better cloth take it to $250–400. A dress 1,800,000–3,100,000 VND. Two or three fittings and three days is the honest minimum; anything promised faster is cut, not tailored. The price is agreed on the sketch, before the cloth is cut, and it includes the fittings — a charge for a second fitting is a sign to leave.

Entrances, boats and ferries — Chapter 8

Price
War Remnants Museum 40,000 VND adult; children and students less; daily from 7:30, closing time varies by source between 5 and 6 pm
Reunification Palace 40,000 VND; 65,000 with the exhibition in the grounds; daily 8:00–16:30, last tickets 15:30
Cu Chi Tunnels, foreign visitors 135,000 VND from February 2026 — 35,000 entry plus 100,000 “service”; older figures of 90,000–125,000 are the pre-February price. Firing range extra, sold per bullet, roughly 40,000–60,000 each
Saigon metro, Line 1 6,000–20,000 VND by distance; a little more for cash
Cai Rang floating market, boat from Ninh Kieu a shared tour 3–4 hours from around 150,000–250,000 VND per person; a private boat by negotiation the night before
Ferry Ha Tien → Phu Quoc ~230,000 VND, about 1½ hours
Ferry Rach Gia → Phu Quoc ~330,000 VND, about 2½ hours
Ferry Tran De → Con Dao ~360,000–390,000 VND, about 2 hours
Ferry Saigon or Vung Tau → Con Dao ~990,000 VND from Saigon, 3½ hours — when it runs; the route was suspended twice in 2025–26

Daily budgets and trip totals — Chapter 9

What everyday things cost, in dong — the yardstick for the thirty small transactions a day:

Price
Pho or a noodle soup, at a stall 35,000–70,000 VND; double or triple in a restaurant on a tourist street
Banh mi 25,000–50,000 VND
Ca phe sua da 25,000–45,000 VND at a street café; more at the chains
Bia hoi, a glass 15,000–25,000 VND
Bottled beer, in a bar 25,000–50,000 VND
A sit-down meal, mid-range restaurant 150,000–300,000 VND per person
Dorm bed $7–18; Hanoi and Saigon at the top
Clean private double, budget $20–50 the room
Three-star room $35–100 the room — Hoi An and Phu Quoc at the bottom, Hanoi and Saigon at the top
A 2 km hop across town see Getting around, above

What a mid-range day is made of, middle of the range:

Per day
Bed (3-star, per person sharing) $30–50
Breakfast $3–8
Lunch $5–12
Dinner $10–20
Coffee $2–5
Local transport $8–15
One activity, amortised $10–25
A drink or two $4–12

Note that these sum toward the top of the $60–110 mid-range band in Chapter 9 and, at the top of every line, past it — because the list assumes you do all of it every day. Most people don’t. That gap is not an error in either figure; it’s what “mid-range” actually means in practice. In dong, the band is roughly 1.5–2.8 million a day; three days of the cash part of it — food, coffee, small entries, the odd motorbike taxi — is about 3–5 million at mid-range and half that for a backpacker.

Trip totals, excluding international flights:

Backpacker · mid-range · comfort
7 days $350–490 · $600–1,150 · $1,500+
10 days $500–700 · $850–1,650 · $2,100+
14 days $700–1,000 · $1,200–2,300 · $2,500+

The totals include transport between regions, one big one-off — the cruise or its equivalent — and a buffer. The daily bands don’t, which is why a total divided by its days comes out above the band.

International flights. Typically $650–1,050 return from Europe or North America. More than everything above combined for a backpacker; about a third of the trip at mid-range.

The figure I’d plan around, first trip, mid-range, two sharing, the fourteen-day route from Chapter 4, excluding international flights: $1,500 — thirteen days at about $75 (fourteen, less the cruise night), $150 of transport between regions, about $300 for what the route contains that no daily rate does (a budget cruise with extras, Trang An, a shared Hue car, the Hai Van Pass, a shared Mekong day), $100 buffer. Lean version $1,200. With a mid-range cabin, the flight to Hue and the guided days as tours, about $2,000. Solo, add a quarter.

Real-traveller averages, from one platform’s data rechecked in early 2026: $24 a day budget, $65 mid-range, $183 luxury — and on the classic Hanoi-to-Ho Chi Minh City route specifically, nearer $42 and $93. These are averages of whole trips, with the big days folded into every day and the transport between regions left out; Chapter 9 shows how they reconcile with the $1,500 plan.

Tipping, where it’s expected at all: a guide or driver you’ve had for the day, and the cruise crew, 100,000–200,000 VND a day per person, up to 300,000 for a guide; a street-level massage, a 20,000–50,000 note; a hotel spa, about ten per cent if no service charge is on the bill; a porter at an upper-end hotel, 20,000–50,000 a bag. Nothing at a stall, in a Grab, or in a restaurant beyond rounding up.

Emergencies — Chapter 10

Domestic flight change. A fee of roughly 350,000–600,000 VND plus the fare difference, in the airline’s app, depending on carrier and fare class; the cheapest fares on some carriers can’t be changed at all. Check in the app before you assume.

Private international hospital. A consultation in the tens of dollars — roughly $50–100; an emergency visit with tests in the low hundreds; a night admitted, several hundred to over a thousand. The card covers it until the insurer’s guarantee of payment arrives. Bands, not quotes — check.

Lost passport. The emergency travel document is priced by your own country, from a few tens of dollars up; the Vietnamese exit visa is a small fee. The real cost is the working days it takes. Check your embassy’s page.

Replacement phone. A basic Android handset from a chain such as Mobile World or FPT Shop, roughly 2–4 million VND; a physical SIM for it needs your passport (Chapter 3).

The ratios, which age far more slowly

Everything above will drift. These won’t, or not nearly as fast; the arguments behind them are in Chapter 9.

What I’d check myself before flying

Not because these are wrong, but because they move fastest, and each takes under a minute:

If you find that several of these have moved a long way from what’s printed here, the rest of this page has probably moved too. That’s the honest use of a dated page: not to be right forever, but to tell you when it has stopped being right.