My name is Mayank Singhal and I am a Delhite. I’m an avid traveller by passion and love to explore different places across India and abroad. I am also an analytics professional from the last 9 years. Travelling is oxygen to me and detoxes my body. So far, I have travelled to 8 different countries and more than 25 Indian destinations. And I have mostly travelled solo or with unknown groups as a budget traveller, that helps me keep my expenses as low as possible plus getting to know different people is amazing and addictive. So I kickstarted the New Year and embarked on a 5-day solo backpacking trip to Vietnam in ₹40,000. So for all those you looking for a great Vietnam itinerary check this out.
Why Vietnam?
The Vietnam buzz is quite up from a while and after reading about it, I understood how distinctive it gets and the best part about Vietnam is how cheap it is to travel here. So, therefore, it becomes a must-go destination. Getting an e-visa is quite simple. New airlines have also come to India which offers cheap tickets to this destination. So there are so many favourable factors that makes it a go-to destination in 2020.
“You don’t need magic to disappear, All you need is a destination”. After hearing this beautiful phrase many times, I finally started planning for a Solo “Vietnam” trip. And since its a big country, it’s difficult to cover maximum places in a short span. However, I am happy with the way I designed the itinerary and covered maximum places possible.
Planning My Vietnam Trip
To start with Visa first, there many online websites or blogs that claim to give you an approval letter for around $15 ( ₹1072 approx) to $20 ( ₹1429 approx) and pay for stamp fees at the airport which would cost you $20 ( ₹1429 approx). Please do not fall into this trick, instead, use this website and pay $25( ₹1785 approx) to get the e-visa. Simply walk up to immigration for clearance in Vietnam, there is no additional cost anywhere.
Also Read: A Budget Trip To Vietnam With My Husband Under 60K
After getting the visa, I booked my Vietnam flights from Delhi to Ho Chi Minh in ₹6ooo and Hanoi to Delhi in ₹7000. I preferred not to book an internal flight in advance as it is not very expensive even if you book a day before This is the benefit of going to Vietnam. Finally, the day arrived and I took off with a mixed feeling of travelling solo. A trip for people travelling to Vietnam, try to avoid currency conversion in India rather take dollars. Once you land you can do currency exchange in the local market at a very good rate. So here’s my 5-day solo backpacking trip to Vietnam in ₹40,000 from 16th January to 22nd January 2020.
Day 1
I landed in Ho Chi Minh early morning and took a GRAB ride to my hotel for ₹150. I booked my hotel in District 1 as it is closer to most of the tourist places. You can download the GRAB app and set up your payment method before landing in Vietnam. Using GRAB you would hardly spend ₹300 to ₹400 and roam around the entire city, without burning a hole in your pocket. If you really do not want to spend a big amount on stays, then Saigon offers you good hostels at a very cheap price. However, I booked a cute hotel, Lief Pulo.
After checking into my charming hotel. I visited the Ben Thanh Market. It is a covered market, full of tourist and fake branded stuff. It’s a good place to visit, especially for people looking for a great shopping destination. Don’t forget to change your currency in this market. You can buy almost everything at a cheap price but one should know how to bargain. Here are 10 Reasons Why Vietnam Is A Backpacker’s Paradise
I next headed to the Bình Quới Tourist Village. Its a very unique natural set up in this big city and quite relaxing, very beautiful. You can even stay here by booking a nice cottage. Binh Quoi village is a natural setup where you would find greenery all around with beautiful cottages, you can plan your lunch or breakfast with a view of a river
The tourist village is set up on lawns and has tall coconut trees, thatched cottages and clear creeks. It’s a sight to behold.
After a relaxing time at the tourist village, I next trod off to the Thu Thiem Bridge. This place is silent with a small street cafe where you can sit and spend your evening if you want with a nice view of the city.
I then went to the Bitexco Financial Tower. It’s the tallest building in the whole of Vietnam and has kept its status from 2010 to 2011, only to be beaten by Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower. But around Bitexco Financial Tower there are many beautiful cafes and restaurants, where you can enjoy your evening coffee. The ship-shaped Elisa Floating Restuarant took my breath away. If you’re a vegetarian then here’s A Survival Guide for Vegetarians in Vietnam
After having a good time, exploring the city, I went to the Tram Cafe hidden in this big city. It’s a must-visit place for foodies. You would love the ambience and the feel. It exuberates the flavours of Vietnam right from the artificial brooks, stone-paved pathway to the green potted plants, it gives you a feel of the country.
I even met a friendly local at Tram Cafe. We had a lovely conversation discussing about how similar yet different our cultures are. It was lovely talking to her.
Day 2
Next morning, I decided to leave for my next stop, Danang. I booked a flight in ₹2600 from Ho Chi Minh to Danang and reached there by afternoon. I took a GRAB taxi to Hoi An. This place has different vibes and I feel anybody coming to Vietnam shouldn’t miss Hoi An at any cost. This is one of the most beautiful places I ever visited.
It is a very small town and they do not let you drive any kind of motor vehicle since it’s an ancient town. So its recommended that you take a bicycle to explore the place. Here’s Everything You Need To Know Before You Pack Your Bags for Vietnam
I booked a very cosy place in Hoi An, the Garden Villa only for ₹1000 per night. I would recommend this accommodation.
Right after reaching Hoi An in the afternoon, I went for a massage as it is quite famous here. I paid around ₹1000 to ₹1200 and in return, I got total mind detoxification.
After a lovely relaxing massage, I visited the Hoi An Night Market in the evening. I got my free bicycle and headed there. It’s a gorgeous market where you can get amazing leather products like shoes, bags and much more at very affordable prices.
It’s the best place to buy souvenirs and little treats for your friends and family. And you can also spend a lot of time window shopping here.
The night was calm, little lanterns were hung on trees and lit the pathways beautifully. I was just soaking in the vibe of the night market. I then went to the Thu Bồn River.
This place is just jaw-dropping when you see this place you can feel the romantic vibes and listen to soothing music at shops and cafes nestled by the river.
I took a calm, peaceful long walk across the river. The best part about Hoi An has got to be its streets.
Day 3
After an alluring night, I woke up with a different energy and was all ready to explore the rest of Hoi An. I hit the beach and visited the An Bang Beach. It’s a nice serene beach with not many people around.
The beach was laden with palapas, which are thatched roofs made of dried leaves, to provide people with shade. Round boats or basket boats were strewn across the clear sands. And the beach had a one of a kind vibe to it.
After having some good peaceful time, I went to the “Famous Japanese Bridge” This place is magical, just visit the ancient town and have your breakfast, roam around the streets and you would fall in love.
Then I slurped the famous “Egg Coffee” of Vietnam, it wasn’t too bad. It’s made out of egg yolks, condensed milk, sugar and robusta coffee.
After a great start, I headed my way to Danang. I took a cab for ₹900 from Hoian to Danang. It is again a big city with tall buildings, if you love parties then this is your place. However, my plan was to explore this city by midnight and leave for Hanoi for the next day. So finally got to see this beautiful coastline.
There are many places that you can plan to go in Danang like Hand Bridge and Hai van Pass, however, due to limited time in hand I went to the place I decided to go to and that was the Marble Mountains. You can easily reach there by Grab, it will cost you around ₹150 for the entrance fee. This place is surprising. It’s a big famous cave. This is the Largest Known Cave Passage Is In Vietnam & It’s Humongous
Ths statue of the Buddha was just alluring. And I couldn’t take my eyes of it.
I then visited the Dragon bridge which spits fire at 9 pm on Sundays and Saturdays. The Dragon Bridge is built over the River Hàn at Da Nang. It’s the longest bridge in the country and offers a dazzling display of lights, fire and water to passers-by.
The bridge was beautifully decorated when I visited Vietnam. There were red heart shape installations adorning the bridge and the sidewalk was shimmering.
After a yummy dinner, I went back to my place as I had booked a midnight flight from Danang to Hanoi. And even though I booked it at the very last minute I only paid ₹1500. SO I got ready and reached the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
Day 4
After reaching Hanoi, I had booked a tour to Ninh Binh District (Tam Coc) online in ₹2000 for a day. It started early morning at 8 am and finished at 6 pm. Tam Coc is a lovely place. People call it Halong Bay on land. You can experience a mix of everything. From tours to ancient temples and structures, peaceful and quiet boat ride to a really nice cycle tour. I had an amazing time boating here. I even took a picture of my boatman to capture the entirety of the moment.
After a great tour, I came back to Hanoi and after dinner went back to sleep. I was content that the day took a lovely turn and I could get a memorable boating experience, which was the highlight of my day.
Day 5
Hanoi is Vietnam’s Capital with too much traffic and nothing really to explore except Dong Xuan Market and nearby night markets. I wanted to book a day tour to the most talked-about Halong bay. However, I cancelled it after some feedback as it is 4 hours away from Hanoi and in the tour you do not really get a good amount of time to explore Halong Bay with sunset and sunrise.
The Best way to explore Halong Bay is to have a cruise stay for a day or two and interestingly it is not an option for solo travellers, as most of the cruise only let couples to stay. Therefore it is a must for couples to have a cruise stay in Halong Bay. And even though I did not go to Halong Bay, I strolled around the city and took off for my home back in India. My heart was brimming with joy, excitement and contentment after exploring a wonderful understated, gem of a place, Vietnam. And I would recommend everyone to definitely plan a trip here as it is an enriching, pocket-friendly experience.
Tips For People Travelling To Vietnam
- No point in renting anything, always use Grab App and set it up before arrival.
- I found cheapest hotels through Make My Trip, so you can check it out too.
- Do try to travel solo to Vietnam as you can meet and interact with people of different countries from Korea, China and even Japan.
- Most of the people do not know English hence make sure you have a Google Translator
- Check before you eat anything most of the food served here is non-vegetarian and it’s not even Chicken
- People are quite friendly and helpful, so don’t hesitate to ask for help.
Budget Breakup For Vietnam
Being a budget traveller, Vietnam offers everything at a very affordable price. Therefore I spent the most amount over flights from Delhi to Vietnam and return at ₹13,000. I booked it a month in advance. I took visa for ₹1900. Vietnam has very reasonable internal flights, I booked 2 flights in ₹3500, a week in advance. One from Hochiminh to Danang and others from Danang to Hanoi. One of the biggest expense was going to stay, hence I spent almost ₹14,000 for 6 days of rooms. However, you can spend less by staying at a hostel. Internal taxi or GRAB would hardly cost you ₹1500 for the entire trip. I also booked a tour online and that cost me almost ₹2000 and I spent around ₹5000 on food. In all my solo trip to Vietnam cost me ₹40,000 including flight tickets.
Why You Must Travel To Vietnam?
I would recommend anybody going to Vietnam should visit Hoian. This place has different vibes and I feel anybody coming to Vietnam shouldn’t miss Hoian at any cost. this is one of the most beautiful places I ever visited. Vietnam offers everything that you would want in a destination to have- like beautiful beaches and shores, ancient sculptures and temples, romantic places like Hoianand even party places like Hoi Chi Minh and Danang. It’s easy to get Visa and flight tickets and it for many UNESCO Heritage Sites. So I would like to convey that Vietnam must be on your go-to list, so you can have a wonderful time as I did.
To know more about my travel adventures click here or here
This article was contributed to Curly Tales by Mayank Singhal. If you have an article or similar experience to share, do write to us on hey@curlytales.com