Traveling Vietnam is perhaps not expensive, so you don’t need to be rich. However, as advised by a lot of experienced travelers, you should spend your money wisely for further travel, even you are on a luxury trip in Vietnam. Here come up to 11 tips to save money for your Vietnam travel.
- “Hunt” for promotion to save Vietnam travel cost
For the services of same level, you need to pay less if you buy it during a promotion campaign. Does it sound exciting? If you wish to cut your Vietnam travel cost, this is the first way to go.
Take air ticket as an example. It is studied that the airlines often offer tickets at better rates around 3 months or half year before departure date. So in case your plan has been fixed, follow some airlines that you wish to book your ticket and “hunt” for their promotion.
- Book Vietnam hotel room early for better price
In case you have not been offered with accommodation, such us your relatives’ or friends’ house, then a Vietnam hotel room is a must-consider item for your trip to Vietnam. In this case, an early reservation is highly recommended. Why?
Not only getting your reservation guaranteed, booking hotel room early will give you a cheaper price than booking in last minutes. It is due to the fact that the lesser the demand, the cheaper the product and vice versa. Most accommodation centers will hike their accommodation rate if the demand is too high, especially in high season.
A recent study conducted by money-saving experts, Vouchercloud, has calculated the perfect time to book your hotel. Accordingly, the CHEAPEST time to book a hotel is up to a month in advance that could save you 15 per cent or more.
- Vietnam visa cost saving
Vietnam visa is perhaps the very first important item that you should prepare for your trip to Vietnam.
As a tip to save your Vietnam visa cost, always remember to check your Vietnam visa requirements first. If you are eligible for Vietnam visa exemption, congratulation! You are lucky enough to save an amount of money. Wish to know whether you are eligible for it, click here: https://www.vietnam-visa.com/vietnam-visa-exemption.
In case a visa is required for Vietnam travel, please remember that there are up to 3 ways for you to request the visa.
- Getting Vietnam embassy visa;
- Getting Vietnam e-visa; and
- Getting Vietnam visa on arrival.
These options, of course, have their own advantages and disadvantages. You can see their full comparison at: 3 ways to get valid Vietnam visa and decide which one you should choose for your Vietnam visa application.
If you have a clear plan for Vietnam trip, you are highly recommended to apply for the visa soon, at least 1 working week before departure, so that you will not be charged for urgent processing.
- Take advantage of public transport in Vietnam to save your travel cost
According to the experience of pro backpackers, when traveling, especially to foreign countries, you should make use of public transport such as bus and subway because of convenience and savings.
And for public transport, in Vietnam, it’s bus and train (bus for traveling within the city and train for traveling one province to another).
Here are major bus fares in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city that you should be aware of:
- From airports to downtown: The bus fare ranges from VND 7,000 to VND 30,000 (~ US $0.3 – 1.5).
- Within the city: The bus fare ranges from VND 7,000 to VND 10,000 (~ US $0.3 – 0.5)
The family of a tourist often choose to walk for short distances of less than 2 km. “If you go to a taxi, it would be a waste. So with short distances, my family can walk and have the opportunity to interact with native people”.
- Use the available things as much as possible
Many tourists choose to cut quite a bit of eating expenses. According to a female tourist, both to avoid digestive problems, while minimizing the cost of meals, each time of traveling, she always carries some food such as chips, candy, and instant noodle.
Vietnamese food can be very delicious to some people, but for others, their taste may be stranger, and they are not familiar with it. Therefore the experience of preparing dry food is a good idea. Moreover, utilizing available items is a relatively effective way to save costs.
In terms of drinking water, according to her experience, the hotel usually provides 2 bottles of mineral water daily for each room. The day when the children go out much and drink more than usual, she takes advantage of the hotel’s super-hot kettle to boil more water. “If you have a family trip to Vietnam for a week, taking advantage of the super-hot kettle to boil water also helps to minimize the cost because buying more water in the hotel costs almost four times as expensive than normal.”
- Ask more information from the local people
Not being in luxury restaurants or eating luxurious dishes is to enjoy the holiday. The most important is to find a cheap restaurant with fresh and delicious food. You just have to get acquainted with any indigenous people, ask them where they usually eat, where the food is good and cheap.
“Last time I went to Da Nang, with the same amount of dishes, I had to pay more than 1 million VND in the restaurant. The next day, the local people showed me the way to a seafood shop in the fishing village. It is much cheaper than I expected. Still those dishes, but the bill was more than 500,000 VND.” said a tourist.
If you are active in acquiring and searching for information from local people, you will surely know a lot more interesting things such as the reliable address for car rental with reasonable price, for example.
- Choose a suitable accommodation
If you want to cut travel expenses, minimize your vacation costs, Instead of a holiday resort, you can choose hotels, motels with a cheaper rate. However, remember to read reviews of this hotel and services on travel websites. Take advantage of friendships, relatives to stay in a few days if possible.
In Vietnam, the form of homestay (living in the house of indigenous peoples) is developing. Of course, in this form, you have to consider carefully when choosing the person you are going to stay with to ensure absolute safety.
- Do not go on holidays or high peak season
On holidays or peak season, the travel costs such as accommodation and services increase unreasonably, two or three times, but it is not sure that you will receive a good service. To avoid these cases, travel on weekdays, when motels, hotel rooms, and air tickets are super cheap. You can also look for luxury travel companies such as Exotic Voyages and customize your own Vietnamese tour package to avoid stress. In particular, the destination will be very quiet and visitors will have a completely quiet atmosphere to enjoy the true meaning of the trip.
- Stay at a single point for maximum discovery before leaving
When you arrive at the destination, explore it completely before heading out to other nearby towns and cities. For example, when arriving in Hanoi, do not rush to Ho Chi Minh city because just exploring this beautiful city, you could have been busy for weeks!
- Search for promotional offers at your destination
Even in places where you travel, there are many stops, affordable services, and promotions. Buy public transport tickets for tourists, bring a student card (if available) to a number of museums and libraries. Pre-book information on the internet for free or low-cost entrance, such as art museums, galleries, and parks.
- Go to the market for shopping
The markets are a haven for shopping for unique local produce. Instead of walking around supermarkets and shopping malls, visit the markets. Here, the prices are much cheaper, the items are rich from furniture, food to antiques and you can completely bargain. If you do not want to buy something, an afternoon walk around the market also makes you relax and feel comfortable.
We hope that the above information will be helpful for you. Have a nice trip in Vietnam!
