Vietnam has slowly but surely become a popular travel destination for all sorts of tourists. It features amazing-looking beaches and even a buzzing city life if you’re into that kind of thing. Locals are surprisingly welcoming to American tourists, who will love how far their dollars will go in the country. One of the best ways to prove Vietnam’s affordability is the Big Mac ratio or McDonald’s meal pricing. In this case, what you can get at the popular fast food joint in NYC for 10 dollars can be purchased in Vietnam for 5. That’s a pretty good indicator that things are much cheaper here.
Once you get there, you may not have to pay as much money for food or even accommodations. We’ll get to hotels more in-depth later on, but for now, keep in mind that you can rent a room for around 300 to 500 dollars a month in one of the country’s main cities. In fact, you’d live a “decent” life in many parts of the country with about 600 dollars a month. That aside, one of the biggest costs that Americans would have to contend with to get here is air travel.
You can get from LAX to different parts of Vietnam for around $800. It may be a rough trip, as you’ll likely have to deal with a layover. Compare that price, however, to the lowest ticket to Japan, for example. That’s a Delta flight that costs around $1200. Keep in mind, this is one of the cheapest times to visit Japan in recent memory, and the ticket is still over a third of the price of one to Vietnam. It’s important to understand a little bit of the local geography to ensure that you pick a good landing spot within the country. If you want to visit one of the main central cities and then head to the beach, you can fly there directly and then get on one of the sleep-in trains the country has to offer. That trip to the beach in one of these trains can be an experience within itself particularly since we’re not really used to taking those long train trips here.
Now, going back to the hotels, in one of the more popular beach cities Con Dao, you can find beachside hotels for 41 dollars a night. That’s a rate that’s hard to beat no matter where you are in the world. Some of the most exclusive hotels within that beach town top out at $150 a night. That can seem like a rate that’s a bit middle of the pack. Keep in mind, though, that you’d be staying at one of the most luxurious accommodations that the country has to offer.
Another thing that Vietnam has going for it is that it’s currently considered one of the safest countries in Asia to travel to. The country has long left its issues of civil unrest in the past. Now tourists from all over the place can roam freely. Enjoying low prices and good hospitality in great locations, particularly within the popular beach towns.
