Backpacking Vietnam from India was something on my list from a long time. Vietnam has this enticing image of a beautiful backpacker friendly country. Its also one of the cheapest places I have backpacked to. So when I could manage enough leaves and the budget, I didn’t have to think twice about the destination.
The detailed itinerary along with places to stay, what places to visit and what activities to perform were all ready. However, this trip was going to be slightly different as this was not a solo, group or a couple trip. I had my friend Kshipra as my backpacking mate. We had both planned Arunachal Pradesh earlier in 2019, but thanks to Jet Airways debacle we had to cancel. But as I always say & believe “Jo hota he acche ke liye hota he“, the trip cancellation left me with enough money and leaves to plan a bigger international trip.
Backpacking Vietnam from India – Trailer Video
Backpacking Vietnam from India has become even more convenient now. You now have direct flights to Hanoi & HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon). Till I post a detailed account, enjoy this short trailer.
Backpacking Vietnam from India Itinerary
Let’s get you started:
- Day 2 – Bai Dinh & Trang An
- Day 3 – Halong Bay Day Tour
Accommodation Expenses
Throughout our trip, we stayed in hostels in Vietnam. We tried to keep a good variety in the selection of hostels and stayed in party hostels, service apartment kind of hostels, hostels with no bunk beds and even an aesthetically pleasing french villa converted into a hostel.
|
Hostel Name & Booking Link |
Cost | Review |
| Buffalo Hostel, Hanoi | 2,97,000VND (Approx. 13$) for 2 people for 2 nights (6 bed mixed dorm) | Buffalo Hostel |
| KonTiki Hostel, Da Nang | 20$ for 2 people for 2 nights. (8 bed mixed dorm) | KonTiki Hostel |
| Tribee Bana, Hoi An | 35$ for 2 night for 2 people (3 bed mixed dorm) | Tribee Bana |
| Hangout, Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) |
10$ advance + 600000 VND. (6 bed mixed dorm) (Around 3000 Rs. for 2 people for 3 nights) |
HCM Hangout |
Food Expenses
One of the biggest advantage of backpacking Vietnam is the cost of food. If you can survive on street food, you would be spending less money per meal than even in India.
A rough budget of 100-200 INR/meal/person is more than enough to have a decent meal with in Vietnam. Indian food is also easily available in most major cities, however, it will be costly. Some of the chain of restaurants include Ganesh, Tandoor India, Namaste India etc.
We personally, ate Vietnamese food throughout our trip except the last day dinner. Ideally you should budget around INR 300-500/person per day for meals.
Must eat dishes in Vietnam
One word – LEGENDARY. I could write a book on it, its that damn good. In fact, I have written a separate post on this – 10 Must eat Vietnamese dishes.
Activity Expenses
A day-wise expense of all activities along with details about where to book for the best service and cost effectiveness is mentioned in their individual posts. From the top of my head, you biggest activity expenses on the Vietnam trip would be:
- Halong Bay Cruise
- Sun World Bana Hills
- Mekong Delta Tour.
- Cu Chi Tunnels Tour.
- Ninh Binh or Trang An Tour.
Flight Expenses
I had booked a multi-city flight from Mumbai. We also had internal flights in Vietnam between Hanoi and Da Nang and so on.
A detailed post with the flights, expenses and what added services to take are mentioned in this post – Vietnam Trip Flight details.
Overall Trip Expenses
The overall trip expenses for this Backpacking Vietnam from India trip were 70-80K INR. This included both Vietnam & Cambodia for a total of 16 days. I have discussed the budget in more detail at the end of the Cambodia travelogue.
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