Some tips for a cheap trip to Vietnam
Would you like to make a cheap trip to Vietnam? In the following article, we will share in detail the cheap travel guides to Vietnam with our own experience and understanding, through our travel times in Vietnam. Let’s get started!
1. Find cheap flights:
+ Use a flight comparator. The price for the destination Vietnam varies from one airline to another and, of course, from one date to another. You can find several by typing: “flight price comparator on Google.
Here are some airfare comparison sites:
- https://www.skyscanner.fr/
- http://voyages.i-comparateur.com
- http://www.billetavion.info
- http://voyages.kelkoo.fr/
Don’t forget to check the option: “flexible travel date” to find the best price.
+ Search for tickets directly from the airlines. Some websites of airlines often offering promotions:
- http://www.turkishairlines.com/
- http://www.airasia.com
- http://www.cathaypacific.com
- http://www.singaporeair.com
- www.malaysiaairlines.com
- www.qatarairways.com
- www.vietnamairlines.com
+ Be flexible on travel dates
Airline tickets are often cheaper in the middle of the week than during the weekend. To go on a cheap trip to Vietnam, it is better to be flexible on the departure and return dates.
Search engines like Skyscanner allow you to search for prices throughout the month and thus find the cheapest dates.
Don’t take it at the last minute, flights bought early, a few months before departure, are often cheaper.
2. Travelling out of season
Whether it is for air tickets, hotels or all-inclusive tours, the prices are always according to the offer and the season.
If you still want to go in the summer, try to favor the months of late April, May to mid-July and September. These are also good times to see the green rice fields in northern Vietnam and there is often sunshine.
Another advantage: on the spot, you meet less tourists and more locals.
3. Sleeping in a local’s house
The guest houses are everywhere in Vietnam, the comfort for the majority is correct, moreover the kitchen at the inhabitant is often very good and not expensive.
In Vietnam, you can spend the night at a local’s house in places such as:
Tam Coc, Pu Luong, Mai Chau, Nghia Lo, Mu Cang Chai, Sa Pa, Bac Ha, Ha Giang, Bao Lac, Cao Bang, Ba Be, Bac Son, Hoi An, Mekong Delta, Central Highlands villages and also on some islands such as Con Dao, Ly Son etc., where large complexes do not prevail yet.
4. Take buses and night trains
There are shuttle buses and or sleeping all comforts and inexpensive for trips to and from:
Hanoi-Sa Pa, Hanoi-Bac Ha, Hanoi – Ha Long Bay, Hanoi – Hue, Hue – Hoi An, Hoi An – Nha Trang, Mui Ne – Sai Gon.
The night train is a good solution for a cheap Vietnam trip, it allows the economy of a night in a hotel and time saving: the day before you can visit Hanoi during the day, the next day you can be in Hue in the morning and start visiting the city.
Routes for which you can use the night train: Hanoi-Lao Cai (near Sa Pa), Hanoi – Dong Hoi, Hanoi – Hue, Hanoi – Da Nang, Ninh Binh – Dong Hoi, Ninh Binh – Hue, Nha Trang – Sai Gon.
- https://www.baolau.com/ you can book your travel by bus or train depending on the options available and from abroad.
- https://www.rome2rio.com/fr/ here it is possible to calculate your route, suggestions for transport are made.
- https://vietnam-railway.com/ allows you to calculate your train journeys.
5. Eating in the street or in restaurants where the locals go.
You will eat local, you will often pay less, you will have good quality food (otherwise the locals don’t go there), and above all you will have authenticity from the locals and with the locals!
6. Do not forget the good and cheap hotels in all cities of the country
In the big tourist cities like Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Sai Gon, Can Tho or in the small remote mountainous cities (Nghia Lo, Mu Cang Chai, Bac Ha, Ha Giang, Dong Van, Cao Bang…), you can always find small hotels that are good, or very good and not expensive at all.
7. Négocier
You can ask for a price reduction in stores, souvenir stores, street vendors, but not in restaurants or in places where the price is displayed.
8. Don’t fall victim to scams
In the eyes of some people, tourists are often like bank cards on wheels. The temptations are great and the opportunities to be swindled are numerous.
The most common and repetitive scams come from cabs. Between the one who takes you for a long detour and the one who asks you for 3 times the price because you are a foreigner, the expenses can quickly climb. Some pedicab drivers and street vendors are also scammers..
Cabs must display fares clearly in their cabs as well as an odometer, check that the driver matches the photo on his cab license which must be visible.
Three reliable companies in Vietnam:
- Mai Linh green cabs all over Vietnam
- Cab Group only in the North white and red colors
- Vinasun cab in the South, dominant white and green, they all have the logo of their company on their body.
If you are nevertheless a victim of a cab scam, simply note the license plate of the vehicle and contact the local police, your hotel will help you. Under no circumstances should you try to take the law into your own hands, as this could turn against you..
Cabs are still a reliable way to get around in comfort.
9. Travelling together, get together
The more you are, the less you will pay, the common benefits will be shared such as:
Boats, transfers (gas and vehicle fees), guides, drivers, discounted tours etc. For a cheap Vietnam trip, this is a very good idea, which allows you to share the good times with friends or (and) relatives.
10. Go through a local agency
If you want to go through a travel agency to save time, energy, get good advice and optimize your visit to this foreign country, choose a local agency and not a big tour operator from your country. The latter subcontract their tours with a local agency, which implies that you will have to pay an additional commission.
With a local agency in Vietnam, it is possible to split your trip and opt for “free visits” of the cities easily doable alone on foot as in Hanoi, Hoi An, Sai Gon there you will not have the supervision of the guide and driver therefore a reduced price.
If you choose a trip with a local agency:
The agencies:
According to the Vietnamese tourism law, in order to organize trips with foreign travelers, you must be a legalized travel agency.
- Have the registration at the Department of Planning and Investment of the city to get the “stamp”.
- To have the international travel license approved by the national tourism department, with a deposit of 250 million VND, which is used to compensate travelers in case of disputes.
+ When you go through an agency:
- It is important to list your expectations and the agencies will have to listen.
- If you are interested in culture and history, you should specify it and ask for a guide experienced in these fields.
- If hiking and trekking are more for you, say so when you make your requests.
The guide:
- It must be a professional, he must proceed his guide card.
- He will accompany you on the route of your tour from beginning to end, region by region, occasionally calling on a local guide. He must know the provinces where he will lead you and the ethnic groups that are there, as well as the major sites. He must be able to answer your questions, must also be able to propose alternatives according to your profile, your desires, if they do not disturb too much the sense of the circuit.
Travel agencies use drivers from legalized agencies to transport tourists, they have a “transport title” with a stamp and a permit to transport foreign passengers.
With these tips, we hope that everyone can go on a cheap Vietnam trip to discover this beautiful country where the change of scenery is guaranteed.
